Effect of vegetation cover on the hydrology of reclaimed mining soils under Mediterranean-Continental climate

Heras, Mariano Moreno de las; Merino‐Martín, Luis; Nicolau, J. M.

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2008.12.005

Cited by 89 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…In semiarid central Mexico, Rebeca et al (2010) reported that runoff and soil erosion were reduced by vegetation patches. Moreno-de las Heras et al (2009) found that a 50 % vegetation cover was the threshold for channel initiation in reclaimed mining soils in Spain. .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Linking fine root and understory vegetation to channel erosion in forested hillslopes of southwestern China

Zhou

et al. 2014

Plant Soil

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Aims The forestland understory vegetation reduces concentrated overland flow through infiltration improvement by roots and raindrop interception by surface cover. However, little has been done to quantify the linkages between understory vegetation cover, roots, and channel erosion, and such information can help assessing the role of the reforestation in soil erosion control. In this study, we evaluated the relationships between channel density, root density, and vegetation cover in forested hillslopes of southwestern China. Methods Twelve locations (four slopes and three positions) of forested hillslopes with a wide range of understory degradation due to litterfall extraction and livestock grazing were selected for the study. Channel density as a measure of rill and (small) gully erosion, root density of different diameter classes, and vegetation cover of all types were determined using field measuring, soil coring and the line transect method, respectively. Soil loss rates were estimated using the caesium-137 ( 137 Cs) technique. Results Rills (depth<0.3 m) with a width of 0.05-0.1 m were the dominate channel erosion in all hillslopes with understory-degradation, and small gullies (depth>0.3 m) with a width 0.5-1.0 m were found at the locations of hillslopes with high understory-degradation. Channel density and soil loss rate increased with the increase in understory-degradation in the forested hillslopes. Simple correlation analysis indicated that channel density was negatively correlated with fine root density (diameter< 1 mm and 1-2 mm) and grass and shrub covers, but not with coarse roots (diam. 2-5 mm and 5-10 mm) and mulch and tree covers. The principal component regression revealed fine root density (diam. <1 mm), shrub and grass covers were the most important predictors for channel density in the forested hillslopes. Tree cover, mulch cover and coarse root density were found to have much less influence on channel density. For the model established from this study using principle component regression, vegetation variables could explain 82 % variance of channel density.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Linking fine root and understory vegetation to channel erosion in forested hillslopes of southwestern China

Zhou

et al. 2014

Plant Soil

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“…steep berms, tracks, etc.) located at the top of slopes (Moreno-de las Heras et al, 2008;Hancock and Willgoose, 2004). When the amount of overland flow is high, intense soil erosion processes develop; rill erosion being the most significant phenomenon.…”

Section: Merino-martín Et Al: Hydrological Heterogeneity In Reclamentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrological heterogeneity in Mediterranean reclaimed slopes: runoff and sediment yield at the patch and slope scales along a gradient of overland flow

Merino‐Martín

Heras

Pérez-Domingo

et al. 2012

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Hydrological heterogeneity is recognized as a fundamental ecosystem attribute in drylands controlling the flux of water and energy through landscapes. Therefore, mosaics of runoff and sediment source patches and sinks are frequently identified in these dry environments. There is a remarkable scarcity of studies about hydrological spatial heterogeneity in restored slopes, where ecological succession and overland flow are interacting. We conducted field research to study the hydrological role of patches and slopes along an "overland flow gradient" (gradient of overland flow routing through the slopes caused by different amounts of run-on coming from upslope) in three reclaimed mining slopes of Mediterranean-continental climate. We found that runoff generation and routing in non-rilled slopes showed a pattern of source and sink areas of runoff. Such hydrological microenvironments were associated with seven vegetation patches (characterized by plant community types and cover). Two types of sink patches were identified: shrub Genista scorpius patches could be considered as "deep sinks", while patches where the graminoids Brachypodium retusum and Lolium perenne dominate were classified as "surface sinks" or "runoff splays". A variety of source patches were also identified spanning from "extreme sources" (Medicago sativa patches; equivalent to bare soil) to "poor sources" (areas scattered by dwarf-shrubs of Thymus vulgaris or herbaceous tussocks of Dactylis glomerata). Finally, we identified the volume of overland flow routing along the slope as a major controlling factor of "hydrological diversity" (heterogeneity of hydrological behaviours quantified as Shannon diversity index): when overland flow increases at the slope scale hydrological diversity diminishes.

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“…The physical structure of vegetation protects the soil surface against the impact of raindrops, reduces the energy of runoff, and controls how water is channeled into and through the soil (Martinez-Meza and Whitford 1996;Bochet et al 1999). Among the physical structures of vegetation, coverage has the effect of reflecting critical stages of ecosystem development and functionality, so it is often taken as an important indicator of restoration success (Vallauri et al 2005;Moreno-de las Heras et al 2009). Some researchers (Bochet et al 1998;Martinez-Mena et al 1999;Sanchez et al 2002;Xu et al 2008) have documented that increasing vegetation cover is an important measure to control water erosion and to improve soil quality.…”

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confidence: 99%

Effects of different types of vegetation recovery on runoff and soil erosion on a Wenchuan earthquake-triggered landslide, China

Fusun¹,

Jinniu²,

Lü³

et al. 2013

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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Abstract:In order to find suitable vegetation types for wider earthquake-triggered landslide rehabilitation in the eastern Longmenshan, we chose six vegetation types, which included three artificial restoration vegetation types (shrub Paeonia decomposita, deciduous tree Betula albo-sinensis, and evergreen tree Cryptomeria fortunei), two natural restoration vegetation types (middle and high coverage of grasses), and one residual vegetation. Soil quality, runoff, and soil loss were evaluated for the six vegetation types. We found that high coverage of grass prevented surface runoff and soil erosion more effectively than other vegetation types, and the deciduous tree and shrub were more suitable for soil quality recovery than the evergreen tree after the landslide. Among the three artificially planted vegetation types, the roots of the deciduous tree had stronger expansion ability than those of the shrub and evergreen tree. Our results indicated that high coverage of grass and deciduous trees could complement each other to achieve a good restoring effect, which would not only help reduce surface runoff and soil erosion but also facilitate the formation of fertile islands and enhance the stability of subsurface soils. Therefore, the two vegetation types could be used to form an effective vegetation restoration pattern for wider earthquake-triggered landslide rehabilitation in this region.Key words: earthquake-triggered landslide-fertile island-runoff-soil erosion-soil quality-vegetation type On May 12, 2008, a catastrophic earthquake with a magnitude of Mw 8 and a focal depth of 19 km (11 mi) occurred at the Wenchuan area of the Longmenshan fault in Sichuan Province, China. The earthquake caused a colossal fault rupture with a distance of approximately 270 km (168 mi) and triggered enormous landslides; it was the worst mountain disaster in the 20th and 21st centuries (Chigira et al. 2010). After the earthquake, investigations were conducted using Beijing No. 1 and IKONOS earth observation satellite images with ground resolution of 32 m (105 ft) and 1 m (3 ft), respectively (Di 2008). The total area of landslides induced by this earthquake was 2,260 km 2 (873 mi 2 ), which was far larger than that of recent earthquakes in mountainous areas, such as the Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999 that occurred in central Taiwan (Lin et al. 2006), the Mid-Niigata Prefecture earthquake in 2004 that occurred in northwest Japan (Chigira and Yagi 2005), and the Kashmir earthquake in 2005 that occurred in northern Pakistan (Sato et al. 2007).The earthquake-triggered landslides changed green vegetation into naked rock and bare soil. The absence of a thick soil layer discouraged the percolation of rainfall, facilitated flow over the slopes as runoff, and increased the possibility of severe soil erosion when intense prolonged rainfall occurred. A preliminary estimation of soil erosion in landslides resulting from the earthquake was about 55.86 × 10 8 t (61.58 × 10 8 tn) (Chen et al. 2009). In order to reduce soil erosion and protect the enviro...

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Effect of vegetation cover on the hydrology of reclaimed mining soils under Mediterranean-Continental climate

Cited by 89 publications

References 34 publications

Linking fine root and understory vegetation to channel erosion in forested hillslopes of southwestern China

Linking fine root and understory vegetation to channel erosion in forested hillslopes of southwestern China

Hydrological heterogeneity in Mediterranean reclaimed slopes: runoff and sediment yield at the patch and slope scales along a gradient of overland flow

Effects of different types of vegetation recovery on runoff and soil erosion on a Wenchuan earthquake-triggered landslide, China

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