Erosion in Alpine Areas
An ArcGIS® toolbox for the identification of cultivation induced Soil Erosion
At a glance
- Project leader : Martin Geilhausen
- Project team : Dr. Luzius Jean Petit Matile, Dr. Patrick Laube
- Project budget : CHF 19'332
- Project status : completed
- Funding partner : Federal government (Bundesamt für Umwelt BAFU), Public sector (excl. federal government) (Kanton Uri & weitere Kantone)
- Project partner : Amt für Umweltschutz UR
- Contact person : Martin Geilhausen
Description
The protection of Alpine Soils is of great importance and closely linked to suitable farming strategies. The Guidelines for environmental protection in agriculture provide detailed reference for surveying, controlling and preventing erosion on alpine surfaces.
In this research project, an ArcGIS® Toolbox was developed that enables the (semi-) automatic identification of farming induced erosion from digital aerial imagery according to the Guidelines for environmental protection in agriculture. The GIS processing sequence was tested in a representative study area and validated with field findings.
This efficient, adaptable and user-friendly toolbox will support the cantonal authorities to objectively identify erosion.