Caracterización y mapa de estados erosivos de la cuenca aluvional Roca, General Roca, provincia de Río Negro, Argentina.

Abstract

The loss of soil due to runoff constitutes an environmental and also logistical problematic for the expansion of urban settlements that manifests itself with severe intensity on the North bank of the Río Negro in the region of the city of General Roca, the study being of great importance of the areas most vulnerable to erosion. In this regard, applications based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS), due to their versatility, are positioned as a main tool for proper environmental management. This work aims to identify these areas with greater sensitivity to erosion. For this, the hydrological method of the United States Soil Conservation Service (SCS) is used, which defines the capacity of a catchment basin to produce runoff by means of the Curve Number (CN) parameter. A method is proposed that, supported by the use of Geographic Information Systems, allows the calculation of the Curve Number in an automated way and through the use of updated data sources. Finally, the USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) model is used as a method for calculating soil loss rates, making it possible to draw up a mapping of erosive states, which allows the identification of areas of special sensitivity to erosion.