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The soil loss indicator can be interpreted as
both a state and as an impact indicator and is a measure of how much
soil is lost per year due to erosion. Soil loss and erosion is a
major factor in land degradation and has a severe effect on soil
function, affecting the soils ability to act as a buffer and filter
for pollutants, its role in the hydrological and nitrogen cycle, and
its ability to provide habitat and support biodiversity (UNEP,
2002).
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| Assessment of
Data |
The areas greatly affected by soil loss appear
to correlate with areas that are disturbed through commercial
forestry practices in the province. The north western part of the
province also appears to show signs of severe soil loss, but when
overlapped with the land cover map, this indicates that this soil
loss is occurring in areas of natural forests, woodlands and areas of
barren rock which suggests that this may be a natural phenomenon and
not necessarily induced by human interference.
The data presented in the table below (NDA,
2000) clearly indicates that most of the province is not suffering
from severe soil loss, with 49% of the province having very low (0 -
5 t/ha/a) (tons/hectare/annum) and 26% of the province having low
(6 - 12 t/ha/a) soil loss. only 9% of the province has been recorded
as having high soil loss (26 - 60 t/ha/a) and only 4% with very
high soil loss (>60 t/ha/a).
| Degree of Soil
Loss |
Loss (Tons) |
% Soil Loss |
| Very Low |
0 - 5 |
49 |
| Low |
6 - 12 |
26 |
| Moderate |
13 - 35 |
12 |
|
High |
26 - 60 |
9 |
| Very High |
>60 |
4 |
| TOTAL |
|
100 |
|
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