GEOMORPHOLOGIC AND PEDOLOGIC RESTRICTIVE PARAMETERS FOR AGRICULTURAL LAND IN THE PERESCHIV CATCHMENT OF EASTERN ROMANIA - Carpathian Journal of Earth And Environmental Sciences

The Pereschiv catchment is representative for the south-western subunit of the Moldavian Plateau, Tutova Rolling Hills respectively. Based on evaluation score, the average land favorability corresponds to the medium class for most land use types, excepting pastures characterized by a high favorability. Although the arable land has a medium favorability, the major crops such as corn and sunflower have an evaluation score that fits them in the low favorability class. Among the geomorphologic factors that present restrictiveness for agricultural land use, the slopes and landslides are stretching on 81.2% of the area. Generally, they show a relatively low intensity, the average land score being penalized with only 11% of maximum suitability. The soil cover gives the highest restrictions for agricultural land use. The cropland presents at least low restrictiveness to 94.2% of basin with an average penalty that rises to 43%. The main pedological restrictive processes are represented by carbonatation, alkalization & salinisation, gleysation and surface-water gleysation which affect 17.6%, 10.7%, 3.2% respectively 1.6% from entire area with average penalties less than 5%. Severe restrictiveness is induced by physical matters, namely the clayey-sandy or sandy-clayey texture, high porosity, low edaphic volume that affect 17.5%, 14.8% and 13.4% of the fields presenting also penalty values less 4%. In particular, soil chemical problems are due especially to the low humus reserve on large area (80.7%) and less to alkaline pH (10.1%) with a higher intensity value of 16%, respectively, 1%. Other parameters such as the degree of base saturation, groundwater depth and pollution do not introduce restrictiveness. In synthesis, the geomorphologic and pedologic parameters induce high and very high restrictions on 28% of the research area, medium restrictions on 42%, respectively, low and very low restrictions on 30% of the Pereschiv catchment.