Relationship between soil Cs-137 inventories and chemical properties in a small intensively cropped watershed

After estimating and spatializing the erosion risks in a small agricultural watershed in northeastern France in a previous study, the authors investig ate the quality of eroding soils. Soil erosion is a selective process, expo rting the finest particles, and associated chemical elements, in a preferen tial way. Consequently, the spatial redistribution of soil should translate into the depletion of soil in eroding areas and its enrichment in depositi on sectors. Of the fifteen elements considered in this study, only organic matter confirms this hypothesis. A significant correlation was found betwee n the soil Cs-137 (indicative of the severity of erosion) and organic matte r contents. This result suggests that erosion is a redistribution process t hat may influence the productivity of agricultural systems on the mid/long term. (C) Academie des sciences / Elsevier, Paris.