Modelling soil erosion reduction by Mahonia aquifolium on hillslopes in Hungary: The impact of soil stabilization by roots

• Effectiveness of Mahonia aquifolium strips on soil erosion control was studied.
• Mahonia aquifolium strips substantially reduced soil loss on all studied fields.
• The effective hydrological depth value increases with the age of the plant.

Agricultural activities on hillslopes often cause soil erosion and degradation. Permanent vegetation strips on cultivated slopes could be an effective soil conservation technique to reduce erosion. Previous studies showed that cultivated Mahonia aquifolium can be an effective plant for water erosion control. However, no detailed studies have been carried out to evaluate the efficiency of M. aquifolium as a permanent vegetation strip. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of M. aquifolium strips on soil erosion control under various bio-physical conditions with the use of the Revised Morgan–Morgan–Finney model (RMMF). The RMMF model was first calibrated by using measured quantities of surface runoff and validated against soil loss data from M. aquifolium plots. After calibration the model showed erosion to be transport limited process for all M. aquifolium plots and a detachment limited for the bare soil control plot. The model was then used to predict surface runoff and soil loss for various soil types, slope angles and cultivations with and without M. aquifolium strips. The study indicated that the presence of M. aquifolium strips substantially reduced the soil loss rate on all studied crop fields. For steeper slopes with M. aquifolium strips the model predicted a lower soil loss rate than for gentle slopes without strips.