CHEMICAL AND ELECTROMAGNETIC PARAMETERS FOR STUDYING EROSION PROCESSES:"Calanchi" of Aliano (Southern Italy)

This paper deals with the characterization of erosive processes in a degraded area of Southern Italy, by means of the integrated measurements of different chemical and physical soil parameters. In particular, we measured soil magnetic susceptibility. electrical conductivity, and pH. In the Mediterranean areas, climatic, geopolitical and anthropogenic factors are likely driving land degradation processes enhancing desertification risk. Particularly, we focused on a form of accelerated erosion producing landforms characterized by steep, scarp slopes with knife-edge ridges, known as calanchi. In this framework, our goal was to evaluate the ability of some physical parameters to discriminate areas with different degree of erosion. We selected a pair of eroded-vegetated contiguous sides for each one of the two calanchi. and we collected 50 samples of soil. According to our preliminary results, electrical conductivity seems to be able to discriminate calanchi characterized by different erosion degrees, whereas magnetic susceptibility values seem to discriminate soils with different geological characteristics. In addition. in situ measurements of superficial soil magnetic susceptibility shows a spatial distribution with a clear directionality that is probably ascribable to the water motion in the subsurface of the calanchi form.