CONSERVING OF THE RESOURCES
Soil erosion processes and estimation of erosion risk in southeren part of Albania
Soil erosion and associated nonpoint pollution pose critical problems affecting the economic welfare, food security, and public health of Albania. Each year nearly 60 million tons of sediment are deposited by Albanian rivers into the Adriatic Sea. Because of favorable natural factors and strong human impact over environment during centuries, area of Albania is characterized with high soil erosion rate. In last decades, faster economic growth of the country and lack of soil resources, fresh water, forests etc., reinforce the need for soil protection and soil conservation. The objective of this paper is to quantify the magnitude of soil erosion and its effects on water quality at three levels of intensity—site-specific, watershed, and nation as a whole and to identify high-risk areas for immediate soil erosion control using a
geographic information system.