Influence of Dominant Geographical Factors on the Geospatial Differentiation of Soil Erosion Intensity in the Velika Morava Basin

Tanja Srejić, Sanja Manojlović, Emina Kričković, Aleksandar Kovjanić

Abstract


Soil erosion, as a complex geomorphological process, is conditioned by the natural characteristics of an area, but its intensity is significantly amplified by various forms of anthropogenic activity. The main objectives of this research are: (1) to quantify erosion processes in the rural areas of the Velika Morava Basin; (2) to examine the geospatial differentiation of settlements based on the most significant geographical factors; and (3) to determine the influence and hierarchy of geographical determinants that shape the intensity of soil erosion. The Erosion Potential Model (EPM) was applied to identify and assess the degree of soil erosion risk. Geospatial differentiation of rural settlements was performed using Factor Analysis (FA) on a set of 18 selected geographical indicators grouped into three categories: physical-geographical, demographic, and agrarian-geographical. The first four extracted factors explain 79.52% of the total variance. The results show indicate that the majority of settlements are determined by natural conditions and demographic characteristics. This multidisciplinary methodological framework provides an important basis for developing sustainable soil management policies, diversifying the rural economy, and revitalising rural areas.

Keywords: Erosion Potential Model (EPM), Factor Analysis (FA), physical-geographical indicators, agrarian-geographical indicators, demographic indicators

© 2025 Serbian Geographical Society, Belgrade, Serbia.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Serbia.


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