Landscape structure model based estimation of the wind erosion risk in Brandenburg, Germany

The paper presents the development, adaptive improvement and use of the method to estimate the wind erosion risk in Germany for Cross Compliance (CC) regulations, based on the German standard DIN19706. It is illustrated by the example of the Federal State of Brandenburg. A landscape structure model was developed which calculates the sheltering effects of landscape elements. Basic inputs are the heights of all landscape elements and the frequencies and directions of erosive winds. In combination with the soil map of erodibility the wind erosion risk is derived in a high spatial resolution according to the CC requirements. In addition to improving the input data in terms of its spatial resolution by using air-borne laser scanning data, an innovative approach is presented which derives the sheltered areas behind landscape elements from the transport capacities of wind speeds above a threshold. Thus, our analysis represents one of the most comprehensive wind erosion assessment of cropland that can be used for landscape structure assessment well beyond CC use. The derivation of effective protection zones from the frequencies of erosive winds when critical thresholds are adjusted represents an innovative approach that provides an objective and transferable assessment of wind protection of landscape features in different wind regimes.