Digital elevation model and satellite images an assessment of soil erosion potential in the Pcinja catchment

Abstract

Pcinja is large left tributary of Vardar River (135 km long, 2877,3 km2 catchment’s area), which drainages surface waters from northeastern Macedonia, and small part of southeastern Serbia. Because of suitable physical-geographic factors (geology, terrain morphology, climate, hydrology, vegetation coverage, soil composition, and high human impact), some parts of the catchment’s suffer significant erosion process. For this reason, it is necessary to research properly spatial distribution of erosion, then influence of physical and anthropogenic factors for the intensity of soil erosion, related erosion landforms (with morphology, genesis, evolution, soil erosion protection etc.). Earlier researches in the area have been performed generally with combination of cartographic and classic field analysis. But in last decades, there are new possibilities available like satellite images and digital elevation models. In this work has been presented the methodology of utilization of satellite images and DEM for erosion research, with analysis and comparisons of outcome data.

Pčinja je velika leva pritoka Vardara (135 km dužine i 2877,3 km2 površine sliva) i drenira površinske vode severoistočnog dela Makedonije i malog dela jugoistočne Srbije. Zbog raznovrsnih fizičko-geografskih faktora (geologije, morfologije terena, klime, hidrografije, vegetacionog pokrivača, sastava zemljišta i izraženih antropogenih uticaja) pojedini delovi sliva su ugroženi značajnim erozivnim procesima. Iz tog razloga, neophodno je istražiti prostorni raspored erozije zemljišta, uticaj prirodnih i antropogenih faktora na njen intenzitet, pripadajuće erozivne oblike (sa morfologijom, genezom, evolucijom, protiverozivnim merama, itd). Prethodna istraživanja na ovom prostoru predstavljala su kombinaciju kartografskih i klasičnih terenskih istraživanja. U poslednjoj dekadi, ostvarene su nove mogućnosti upotrebe satelitskih snimaka i DEM-a. U ovom radu, prikazana je metodologija korišćenja satelitskih snimaka i DEM-a u istraživanjima erozije, sa analizom i komparacijom dobijenih rezultata.