Jean Asseline

Relationship between soil erodibility and topsoil aggregate stability or carbon content in a cultivated Mediterranean Highland (Aveyron, France)

Abstract In the Rougiers de Camares area (in the south of France), hillslopes are very susceptible to water erosion. This is the result of physical features (steep slopes, soft bedrocks, thin soils), climatic aggressiveness (frost, storms), as well as farming systems (intensive tillage, short crop cycles, land consolidation). The objective of this work was to study the relationships between soil erodibility, macroaggregate stability, and carbon content of surface samples (0–10 cm), in a Rougiers Entisol (Lithic Udorthent) under various management practices (flat or raised moldboard ploughing, superficial tillage, direct drilling, with inputs in the form of mineral fertilizers or sheep manure). The soil erodibility was assessed by field rainfall simulation (60 mm h‐1) on manually retilled bare dry soil; water‐stable macroaggregation (>0.2 mm) was assessed by wet‐sieving, after immersion in water. Runoff, turbidity and soil losses were linked to water‐stable macroaggregation and carbon content in the 0–10 c...