Anti-Erosion Effectiveness of Selected Crops in Sustainable Mountain Agriculture in a Warming Climate

Mountain ecosystems are among the most difficult areas for plant cultivation due to water erosion occurring on the slopes. Growing plants in these areas may lead to a weakening of ecosystem functions and in degradation of these areas and threatens sustainability. In this experiment, the anti-erosion effectiveness of maize, oat and spring vetch were assessed through the measuring of LAI and sheet wash from a slope where cultivation had occurred. Averaged values from the six years field experiment (2017–2022) reveal that maize achieved maximum soil protection between the 115th and 128th day of vegetation (14 days), when the LAI value equals to 3.8–4.0. The corresponding values for oats were 63–81 days of vegetation (19 days; LAI 2.4–2.7). The longest period of maximum soil protection was achieved from the cultivation of spring vetch compared to maize and oats (between the 49th and 82nd day of its vegetation, i.e., 34 days), when the LAI value was in the range of 2.2–3.0. Soil cover at their maximum development is conservative compared to mountain ecosystems, and in the case of the studied plants, the protection time varied. These relationships were quantified by simple regression equations. Additionally, taking into account the compiled climate data, the average air temperature in the years of research (2017–2022) was higher than the multi-year average (1961–2000) by 2.15 °C, which may confirm the fact that the climate is warming in the region of Southern Poland.