SOIL EROSION EVALUATION IN THE RASTOCKI POTOK WATERSHED OF MONTENEGRO USING THE EROSION POTENTIAL METHOD

 V. Spalevic^1*, D. Vujacic¹, G. Barovic¹, I. Simunic², M. Moteva³, V. Tanaskovikj⁴

 ^1*Department of Geography, Faculty of Philosophy Niksic, University of Montenegro
²Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Croatia
³University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Dpt. of Land Management, Sofia, Bulgaria
⁴Agricultural Sciences and Food, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Macedonia
*corresponding author: velibor.spalevic@gmail.com

Soil erosion is the most important factor of land degradation worldwide, causing significant environmental problems in the region of South East Europe also. We studied soil erosion processes in the RastockiPotok Watershed of Montenegro using the Erosion Potential Method (EPM) of Gavrilovic, which is created in Yugoslavia and is the most suitable on catchment level for the watershed management needs in this Region. The peak discharge (Qmax) is calculated on 150 m³s^-1 and there is a possibility for large flood waves to appear in the studied basin. According to our analysis, the coefficient fs, (portion under forest) is 0.45; ft (grass) is 0.41 and fg (bare land) is 0.14 and the coefficient of the river basin planning, Xa, is 0.52. Real soil losses, Gyr, were calculated on 1472m³yr^-1, specific 250m³km^-2yr^-1. The value of the Z coefficient of 0.488indicates that the studied watershed belongs in the Destruction Category III: the erosion process is medium. This study confirmed the findings of the other Balkan researchers that the EPM method of Professor Gavrilovic is a useful tool for calculating sediment yield in the South East Europe.
Keywords: Montenegro, watershed, soil erosion, runoff, Erosion Potential Method (EPM)