Soil erosion risk and agroforestry implementation in Tuscany: locating best practices for vulnerability management with a GIS-based scenario approach

n the Mediterranean basin, water soil erosion is increasing by extreme rainfall events. Agroforestry practices could reduce erosion risk by enhancing soil cover. The aims of this study are to (i) model the potential erosion risk of the cropland of Tuscany Region and (ii) classify silvoarable practices to be implemented for reducing the risk. A GIS-based assessment was carried out to classify agroforestry support practices needed to keep erosion risk under a sustainable threshold (11 Mg ha-1 yr-1). In the most part of cropland (58.7%) P-factors ranged from 0.99 to 0.1, thus alley cropping and multi-storey practices could maintain erosion risk under the threshold. Agroforestry practices combined with contour farming are suggested where the erosion risk is higher (P < 0.1, 12.4% of cropland). Overall, the implementation of agroforestry practices on total cropland surface could prevent the loss of about 69.5 Mg ha-1 yr-1 of soil at regional scale.