A comparison of the roles of tillage and water erosion in landform development and sediment export on agricultural land, near Leuven, Belgium

There is growing evidence that tillage processes may be important influences on the pattern of soil redistribution and landform development. This study uses evidence from caesium-137 (Cs) measurements, observation of water erosion, and mathematical simulation of tillage, to investigate the roles of water erosion and tillage in determining long-term patterns of soil redistribution, sediment export and landform modification for a field on loess soils near Leuven, Belgium. The pattern of long-term soil redistribution, represented by the distribution of Cs, is largely controlled by tillage displacement. Sediment export is dominated by water erosion with 60 % of the exported sediment derived from a valley floor thalweg occupying only 7.5 % of the study area and 39% from slope concavities occupying 15.5% of the area. Despite the incision effected by episodic water erosion, landform development in this field is dominated by valley-infilling as a result of annual tillage operations.

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