Avalanche mapping and related G.I.S. applications in the Catalan Pyrenees

Furdada, Glòria; Martí, Gloria Novel; Oller, Pere; Garcı́a, C.; Mases, M.; Vilaplana, J. M.

doi:10.1007/bf00665748

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Snow avalanches are a major slope process in mountain environments, posing a significant threat in the coolest and highest regions of the world (Schneebeli et al, 1997;Johannesson and Arnalds, 2001;Fuchs et al, 2004;Keiler et al, 2005;Podolskiy et al, 2014). In the mountain environments of the Iberian Peninsula, snow avalanches are frequent; the Pyrenees, Cantabrian Mountains and Central Range are periodically affected by this kind of events (Mases and Vilaplana, 1991;Furdada et al, 1995;Julián and Chueca, 1999;Muntán et al, 2009;Fernández-Cañadas et al, 2015). In the Cantabrian Mountains only a few studies have addressed this issue (Castañón, 1984;Wozniak and Marquínez, 2004;Santos-González et al, 2010;Vada et al, 2012;García-Hernández et al, 2014;Serrano et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reforestation and land use change as drivers for a decrease of avalanche damage in mid-latitude mountains (NW Spain)

García-Hernández

Fernández

Sánchez-Posada

et al. 2017

Global and Planetary Change

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A B S T R A C TNatural conditions that explain the triggering of snow avalanches are becoming better-known, but our understanding of how socio-environmental changes can influence the occurrence of damaging avalanches is still limited. This study analyses the evolution of snow avalanche damage in the Asturian Massif (NW Spain) between 1800 and 2015, paying special attention to changes in land-use and land-cover patterns. A damage index has been performed using historical sources, photointerpretation and fieldwork-based data, which were introduced in a GIS and processed by means of statistical analysis. Mapping allowed connecting spatiotemporal variations of damage and changes in human-environment interactions. The total number of victims was 342 (192 dead and 150 injured). Results show stability in the number of avalanches during the study period, but a progressive decrease in the damage per avalanche. Changes in land use explain the evolution of damage and its spatial/temporal behaviour. The role played by vegetation cover is at the root of this process: damage was the highest during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when a massive deforestation process affected the protective forest. This deforestation was the result of demographic growth and intensive grazing, disentailment laws and emerging coal mining. Since the mid-20th century, the transformation of a traditional landmanagement system based on overexploitation into a system based on land marginalization and reforestation, together with the decline of deforestation due to industrial and legal causes, resulted in the decrease of avalanches that affected settlements (mostly those released below the potential timberline). The decrease of damage has been sharper in the western sector of the Asturian Massif, where oak deforestation was very intense in the past and where lithology allows for a more successful ecological succession at present. Taking into account that reforestation can be observed in mountain environments of developed countries worldwide, and considering present initiatives conducted to counteract its negative cultural effects by means of grazing and clearing operations, planning is imperative, and this research provides useful information for environmental management policies and risk mitigation in avalanche prone areas.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reforestation and land use change as drivers for a decrease of avalanche damage in mid-latitude mountains (NW Spain)

García-Hernández

Fernández

Sánchez-Posada

et al. 2017

Global and Planetary Change

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“…Desde hace ya varios años, esta herramienta se ha aplicado en la realización de cartografía geomorfológica y, en particular, de cartografía de aludes, puesto que éstos suelen aparecer en áreas con unas características de orientación, altitud e inclinación determinadas, que difieren sólo levemente en función del territorio analizado (Furdada et al, 1995;Misir y Karahalil, 2002;Oberoi y Thakur, 2004).…”

Section: Metodologíaunclassified

Los aludes de nieve en el Alto Sil (Oeste de la Cordillera Cantábrica, España)

González

Vega

Villar

et al. 2013

CIG

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“…En España, la mayoría de las investigaciones efectuadas sobre los aludes de nieve se han llevado a cabo en los Pirineos (Furdada et al, 1995;García et al, 2009;Muntán et al, 2009Muntán et al, , 2010Chueca & Julián, 2010) y, en menor medida, en el Sistema Central (fernández-Cañadas, 2014). Cabe destacar las tesis doctorales de Muñoz Trigo (1988), por su carácter pionero en la prevención y defensa contra aludes, y la recientemente defendida por Muntán (2016) en el ámbito de la dendrogeomorfología.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

La dinámica del paisaje en la Sierra del Aramo (Macizo Central Asturiano): procesos naturales y antrópicos

2019

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Se analizan los procesos naturales y antrópicos que intervienen en la dinámica del paisaje de la Sierra del Aramo, en especial la dinámica de laderas y el calentamiento atmosférico, así como el despoblamiento y los cambios de usos del suelo en los medios de montaña. La metodología ha combinado el trabajo de campo, la fotointerpretación de imágenes aéreas, el análisis de datos climáticos, fuentes demográficas y agrarias. El despoblamiento y el abandono de las actividades tradicionales explican la disminución de los pastizales. No obstante, la intensidad de los aludes de nieve actuales interfiere en buena medida en la recuperación de los bosques. En efecto, 3,7 km2 de la Sierra del Aramo se hallan deforestados por la recurrencia de tales avalanchas. Se muestra, por tanto, la relevancia de los aludes de nieve en la dinámica del paisaje de las montañas medias en las latitudes templadas.

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Avalanche mapping and related G.I.S. applications in the Catalan Pyrenees

Cited by 16 publications

References 2 publications

Reforestation and land use change as drivers for a decrease of avalanche damage in mid-latitude mountains (NW Spain)

Reforestation and land use change as drivers for a decrease of avalanche damage in mid-latitude mountains (NW Spain)

Los aludes de nieve en el Alto Sil (Oeste de la Cordillera Cantábrica, España)

La dinámica del paisaje en la Sierra del Aramo (Macizo Central Asturiano): procesos naturales y antrópicos

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