The impact of ponds on basins has recently started to receive its well-deserved scientific attention. In this study, pond-induced impacts on soil erosion and sediment transport were investigated at the scale of the French Claise basin. In order to determine erosion and sediment transport patterns of the Claise, the Coordination of Information on the Environment (CORINE) erosion and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) models were used. The impact of ponds on the studied processes was revealed by means of land cover change scenarios, using ponded versus pondless inputs. Results show that under current conditions (pond presence), 12.48% of the basin corresponds to no-erosion risk zones (attributed to the dense pond network), while 65.66% corresponds to low-erosion risk, 21.68% to moderate-erosion risk, and only 0.18% to high-erosion risk zones. The SWAT model revealed that ponded sub-basins correspond to low sediment yields areas, in contrast to the pondless sub-basins, which yield appreciably higher erosion rates. Under the alternative pondless scenario, erosion risks shifted to 1.12%, 0.52%, 76.8%, and 21.56% for no, low, moderate, and high-erosion risks, respectively, while the sediment transport pattern completely shifted to higher sediment yield zones. This approach solidifies ponds as powerful human-induced modifications to hydro/sedimentary processes.
Flash floods, among the most destructive natural hazards, are commonly studied as to their catastrophic power in terms of fatalities, infrastructure damages and economic losses. A devastating aftermath of flash floods, which has not received much‐deserved attention in the literature, is the sizeable and permanent soil loss due to soil erosion and sediment yields. This study aims at forecasting soil erosion and sediment yields due to the disastrous storm event that occurred in Mandra town (western Attica, Greece) on 15 November 2017. Gridded hydrometeorological forecasts were conducted at 5‐min and 1‐h time steps by means of the chemical hydrological atmospheric ocean wave system (CHAOS). The forecasts of soil erosion and sediment yields were achieved by a high‐resolution geographic information system (GIS) application of the modified universal soil loss equation (MUSLE) on the basis of the forecasted surface runoff hydrographs. The entire event lasted from the afternoon of 14 November until noon of 15 November, but the bulk of the disastrous storm occurred in the morning of 15 November 2017, flooding two torrent basins. As a result of the extreme flash flood, 2195 tons and 1435 tons of sediment were forecasted to be detached from the body of the soil's surface and transported to the stream networks of the Soures and Agia Aikaterini Torrent basins which cross Mandra. Soil erosion maps were constructed for every hour and the spatial and temporal evolution of soil erosion was shown throughout the event. This study provides concrete insights on the erosion‐prone areas of the study basins, which can inform actions against erosion.
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