Quantifying erosion with fallout radionuclide, and its relationship with soil properties for various land use in the Upper Ciliwung watershed Indonesia

Emma Trinurani Sofyan; Sri Malahayati Yusuf; Ania Citraresmini; Taufiq Bachtiar; Asep Mulyono

Emma Trinurani Sofyan

, Sri Malahayati Yusuf

, Ania Citraresmini

, Taufiq Bachtiar

, Asep Mulyono

Abstract: Soil erosion causes the loss of the top soil layer, which is the most fertile part of the soil for plants. This experiment was conducted to study the impact of land use along Upper Ciliwung Sub-Watershed, on erosion potential, and its relationship with nutrient dynamics. Erosion estimation was determined using the Radionuclide Fallout technique, where the difference in inventory values of 137Cs or 210Pb between the reference area, and the sampling area was the basis for determining the erosion potential. The undisturbed forest area in Megamendung-Puncak West Java is determined as a reference area to obtain 137Cs and 210Pb inventory values that can provide comprehensive reference data. The sampling area was determined based on land use differences: moors, bare land, and mixed gardens. Multiple transect technique is used as a sampling method, to collect soil samples by using soil corer. To determine the vertical distribution of 137Cs and 210Pb in the soil layer, sampling was taken with the increment of the soil layer from 2 cm to the depth of 20 cm. The results showed that the inventory value of 137Cs and 210Pb in the bare land study area was lower than the reference area, proving fairly high erosion potency, where the net erosion values were 20 t/ha/yr up to 63.07 t/ha/yr, respectively. Data on soil chemical properties offer a thorough justification for the erosion potency, where N-total and C-organics are positively correlated with the presence of 210Pb. In contrast, base saturation is positively correlated with the presence of 137Cs.

Keywords: 137Cs; Ciliwung watershed; erosion; land use; radionuclide; soil properties

Citation: Trinurani, E. S., Malahayati, S. Y., Citraresmini, A., Bachtiar, T. & Mulyono, A. (2026). Quantifying erosion with fallout radionuclide, and its relationship with soil properties for various land use in the Upper Ciliwung watershed Indonesia. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 32(1), 51–60

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Date published: 2026-02-25

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