Hydroclimatic control of sediment and metal export from a rural catchment in northwestern Spain

Palleiro, L.; Rodríguez‐Blanco, M. L.; Taboada-Castro, M.T.

doi:10.5194/hess-18-3663-2014

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…However, this clearly departs from results obtained in other small catchments [15,18]. This also differs from the results obtained in the neighboring Mero basin, in which 63% of the SS load was usually transported during 10% of the time [20], despite it having similar characteristics to the Corbeira catchment. Although this difference is considerable, it should be noted that values reported by Palleiro et al [20] concern a three-year study period, and therefore, the probability of including high-magnitude events is less than in longer datasets, while the occurrence or otherwise of such events may influence the estimations [17].…”

Section: Dynamics In Suspended Sediment Load At Different Time Scalescontrasting

confidence: 95%

“…As a result of the foregoing, there is no clear seasonal pattern of SSC. Similar observations have been reported in other studies in rural catchments [20,34].…”

Section: Dynamics In Suspended Sediment Concentrationssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…As a result of the foregoing, there is no clear seasonal pattern of SSC. Similar observations have been reported in other studies in rural catchments [20,34]. Daily mean SSCs varied widely during the monitoring period ( Figure 4) and exhibited much more variability than discharge (coefficient of variation 272% vs. 100%).…”

Section: Dynamics In Suspended Sediment Concentrationssupporting

confidence: 90%

“…The SS load during the study period was estimated at 2118 Mg, resulting in a SS yield of 0.10 Mg ha −1 y −1 (Table 1), which is low according to the classification proposed by Meybeck et al [46]. The estimated SSY yield in the Corbeira catchment falls within the same magnitude as estimates from other semi-natural (forest or recolonized by forest) and small agricultural catchments under humid temperate conditions [13,19,20]. For example, Sherriff et al [13] reported SS yield of 0.09-0.25 Mg ha −1 y −1 for five small agricultural (pasture and arable) catchments in Ireland.…”

Section: Dynamics In Suspended Sediment Load At Different Time Scalesmentioning

confidence: 78%

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Long-Term Suspended Sediment Concentrations and Loads from a Relatively Undisturbed Agroforested Catchment in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula

Rodríguez‐Blanco

Taboada-Castro

2018

Water

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The suspended sediment dynamics in small catchments are difficult to estimate accurately because they result from the coupling of complex processes occurring at different scales. In this study, the dynamics of suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) and loads were assessed in an agroforested humid catchment in NW Spain, based on a long-term rainfall, discharge and suspended sediment dataset (12 hydrological years) from high-frequency monitoring. The results highlight the episodic nature of sediment transport in the study area, given that about 78% of SS was exported over 10% of the study period. The SS transport was related to runoff generation and flooding, although sediment availability also played an important role in SS transport. The SS load was mainly driven by high-magnitude rainfall events, while intense rainfall episodes generated high SSC peaks. The mean annual suspended sediment yield was relatively low from a quantitative stand point (10 Mg km −2 y −1 ); however, during 11% of the monitoring, SS concentrations exceeding the threshold threatened surface water quality (Freshwater Fish Directive 78/659/EEC and Directive 75/440/EEC), mainly during runoff events, indicating the need to adopt management practices in order to reduce or mitigate sediment loss during such episodes.

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Section: Dynamics In Suspended Sediment Load At Different Time Scalescontrasting

confidence: 95%

“…As a result of the foregoing, there is no clear seasonal pattern of SSC. Similar observations have been reported in other studies in rural catchments [20,34].…”

Section: Dynamics In Suspended Sediment Concentrationssupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Dynamics In Suspended Sediment Concentrationssupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Dynamics In Suspended Sediment Load At Different Time Scalesmentioning

confidence: 78%

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Long-Term Suspended Sediment Concentrations and Loads from a Relatively Undisturbed Agroforested Catchment in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula

Rodríguez‐Blanco

Taboada-Castro

2018

Water

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“…Ultimately, it is the combination of changes in transport capacity and erosion rates that determines the flow and sediment concentration in the river. No study has looked at the possible impact of climate change on suspended sediment yield in Galicia (northwest Spain), an area where rainfall is potentially highly erosive and episodic events may lead to short-term issues affecting water quality, owing to high concentrations of sediment, phosphorus and metals from agricultural land carried in runoff [25][26][27][28]. Climate change might contribute to increased soil erosion in this area because of the projected higher frequency of heavy rainfall in autumn and the increase in temperature (2-3 • C) [29], which would lead to a decrease in crop growth, thereby exposing the soil and leading to enhanced soil erosion as has been reported in other areas of the Iberian Peninsula [11,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Impact of Climate Change on Suspended Sediment Yield in NW Spain: A Case Study on the Corbeira Catchment

Rodríguez‐Blanco

Arias

Taboada-Castro

et al. 2016

Water

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Soil losses and the subsequent sediment delivery constitute significant environmental threats. Climate change is likely to have an impact on the availability of water and therefore on sediment yield in catchments. In this context, quantifying the sediment response to an increased atmospheric CO 2 concentration and climate change is of utmost importance to the proper management of rural catchments. However, quantitative assessment of climate change impact remains a complex task. In this study, the potential medium (2031-2060) and long-term (2069-2098) impacts of projected changes of temperature, rainfall and CO 2 concentration on sediment yield in a small rural catchment located in NW Spain were evaluated using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. Climate change scenarios were created using future climate data projected by regional climate models from the ENSEMBLES project and two CO 2 concentration scenarios (550 and 660 ppm). The results showed that climate change would have a noticeable impact on suspended sediment if the forecast temperature, rainfall and CO 2 concentration changes included in this study were met. Overall, suspended sediment is expected to decrease (2031-2060: −11%, 2069-2098: −8%) compared to the baseline period , mainly due to decreased streamflow. However, an increase in sediment transport in winter is predicted, possibly associated with increased erosion in cultivated areas (11%-17%), suggesting that, at this time of the year, the effect of soil detachment prevails over sediment transport capacity. Consequently, management practices aimed at reducing soil erosion in cultivated areas should be carried out, because these are the main source of sediment in the study area.

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A Global Data Analysis for Representing Sediment and Particulate Organic Carbon Yield in Earth System Models

Tan

Leung

et al. 2017

Water Resources Research

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Although sediment yield (SY) from water erosion is ubiquitous and its environmental consequences are well recognized, its impacts on the global carbon cycle remain largely uncertain. This knowledge gap is partly due to the lack of soil erosion modeling in Earth System Models (ESMs), which are important tools used to understand the global carbon cycle and explore its changes. This study analyzed sediment and particulate organic carbon yield (CY) data from 1,081 and 38 small catchments (0.1–200 km2), respectively, in different environments across the globe. Using multiple statistical analysis techniques, we explored environmental factors and hydrological processes important for SY and CY modeling in ESMs. Our results show clear correlations of high SY with traditional agriculture, seismicity and heavy storms, as well as strong correlations between SY and annual peak runoff. These highlight the potential limitation of SY models that represent only interrill and rill erosion because shallow overland flow and rill flow have limited transport capacity due to their hydraulic geometry to produce high SY. Further, our results suggest that SY modeling in ESMs should be implemented at the event scale to produce the catastrophic mass transport during episodic events. Several environmental factors such as seismicity and land management that are often not considered in current catchment‐scale SY models can be important in controlling global SY. Our analyses show that SY is likely the primary control on CY in small catchments and a statistically significant empirical relationship is established to calculate SY and CY jointly in ESMs.

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Hydroclimatic control of sediment and metal export from a rural catchment in northwestern Spain

Cited by 16 publications

References 36 publications

Long-Term Suspended Sediment Concentrations and Loads from a Relatively Undisturbed Agroforested Catchment in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula

Long-Term Suspended Sediment Concentrations and Loads from a Relatively Undisturbed Agroforested Catchment in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula

Potential Impact of Climate Change on Suspended Sediment Yield in NW Spain: A Case Study on the Corbeira Catchment

A Global Data Analysis for Representing Sediment and Particulate Organic Carbon Yield in Earth System Models

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