ANALISI E STIMA DEL TRASPORTO SOLIDO FLUVIALE NEI BACINI CALABRESI

Abstract

Over recent decades, Soil Erosion by Water (WSE) has become a severe issue worldwide, especially in European Mediterranean countries because they are subject to prolonged dry periods followed by heavy erosive rains. All this is very important in the case of river basins characterized by steep slopes and erodible soils. The paper analyzed and quantified river transport in Calabrian basins. Calabria is a region of Southern Italy that represents an interesting case study due to its geomorphological peculiarities for which it is generally subject to WSE. The analysis was carried out by applying the Erosion Potential Method (EPM), particularly reliable for rivers such as most of the Calabrian ones where most of the sediment transport is linked to the WSE and is divided into four main phases: morphometric characterization, estimate of average yearly precipitation and temperature, estimate of EPM coefficient, and estimate of river transport. The main result is that Calabrian rivers are characterized by a high river transport, especially in those with torrential and irregular hydrological regime.