Potential erosion

Water erosion is the detachment and transport of soil particles by water. It reaches its maximum in the sloping areas and in the presence of limestone and poor soils in organic materials subjected to low-conservative cultivation techniques. Erosion can also cause surface water pollution by conveying nutrients and pesticides present in the soil itself. The approaches that can be used to estimate the risk of erosion include the measurement of experimental data from dedicated measuring stations and the use of simulation models. Models can return values of potential erosion (i.e. erosive risk that would occur without considering the action of soil cover) and current erosion (considering the mitigating effect of land use). The cover acts both on the swinging action of the rain on the surface, and preventing surface sliding.