The AA. focused on : (1) using of the laboratory-based, proximally sensed in the visible-near-infrared (Vis-NIR, 400-2500 nm) spectral range to predict SOM content in the study area; (2) combining soil spectroscopy and geostatistics for mapping SOM
content; (3) mapping zones affected by water erosion processes in the study area; and (4) analyzing the relationship among soil erosion, SOM and soil spectral data. The study was performed in the Turbolo catchment, located in northern Calabria. Areas
were used as validation set. The optimum number of factors to retain in the calibration model was determined by cross validation. The results showed that zones with low content of SOM are affected by water erosion processes.