NATURE, EXTENT AND SEVERITY OF SOIL-EROSION IN UPLAND SCOTLAND

This paper examines the nature, extent and severity of soil erosion in upland Scotland, an area subject to land management pressures typical of temperate maritime uplands. Erosion features were classified and t heir area measured from aerial photographs. Some 12 per cent of the up land area sampled was subject to some form of erosion, which is very s imilar to the percentage for Europe as a whole. The most significant e rosion category was peat erosion, with 6 per cent of the area being af fected; a figure which increased to 20 per cent in one sub-region. Pea t erosion varied in severity, with the most severe erosion being in ar eas of eastern Scotland with the greatest land management pressures. G ully erosion of slopes on mineral soils was found in almost 5 per cent of the area sampled, particularly in sub-regions with large amplitude of relief. Debris flow/cone features and screes were less extensive a nd largely found at higher altitudes. Footpath erosion was mapped in p opular mountain areas, but overall the mean length of eroded footpaths was less than that of large gullies. There was little evidence of spa tial linkages between erosion of mineral soils and land management at the scale of the survey. Separating the roles of upland management and extreme rainfall events in the inception of erosion remains a key iss ue in the study of accelerated erosion in temperate maritime upland ar eas. Some guidance for management is presented.