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Use of 137Cs for soil erosion assessment

Year of publication 2017

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 80 p.

Author Emil FULAJTAR, Lionel MABIT, Chris S. RENSCHLER, Amelia LEE ZHI YI

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (stand-alone)

ISBN 978-92-5-130050-3

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Soil erosion is the most destructive land degradation process causing removal of soil, siltation of water reservoirs and pollution of water sources. Combating erosion needs reliable data on soil erosion rates, its dynamics and spatial distribution. Collecting such data with conventional methods requires great investment and long period of time. The 137Cs method for erosion assessment can address this problem. The Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture of the IAEA h as been working on this method for more than 20 years. This publication provides a brief guidance on this method. It covers major components of 137Cs method starting from its principles, the sampling strategy, gamma spectroscopic measurements, estimation of erosion rates with conversion models, data interpretation and the use of 137Cs method for erosion models validation. The publication is suitable for a wide audience such as researchers, agricultural and environmental experts, decision makers, farmers and students.

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Language English

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