Intra and inter-annual variability of runoff and sediment yield of an olive micro-catchment with soil protection by natural ground cover in Southern Spain

Taguas, E. V.; Ayuso, J. L.; Pérez, Rafael; Giráldez, Juan Vicente; Gómez, José A.

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.04.011

Cited by 43 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…1, Table 1), in southern Spain. Both were described in detail by Gómez et al (2014b) and Taguas et al (2013) (Gómez et al, 2014b). The drainage area of the catchment is 8.0 ha and it presents an average elevation of 142 m and a mean slope equal to 9 %.…”

Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Management operations are kept to a minimum in order to reduce costs. It is located in an area with a long tradition of olive cropping in the upper reaches of the Guadalquivir Valley (Taguas et al, 2013). The catchment has a drainage area of 6.1 ha and the mean elevation is 239 m. The average slope is equal to 15 %.…”

Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…No-tillage with spontaneous grass cover growing from winter to spring was the management type corresponding with the first few years. Spontaneous grass is removed once (only in spring) or twice a year (September or October and March, April or May), mechanically or using phytosanitary products under the canopies (or combining both; see also Taguas et al, 2013). The details of the management applied during the study period are summarized in Table 2.…”

Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil loss (SL) and runoff coefficient (R c ) were measured in the catchments over 5 years (Taguas et al, 2013;Gómez et al, 2014b).…”

Section: Soil Degradation Indicators: Soil Loss Runoff Organic Mattmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, due to its zero cost, it is a common alternative in low production olive farms (e.g. Taguas et al, 2013). Furthermore, additional advantages of spontaneous covers in terms of biodiversity, carbon sequestration and the aesthetic improvement of the landscape might make it worth to study their potential contribution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the linkage between spontaneous grass cover biodiversity and soil degradation in two olive orchard microcatchments with contrasting environmental and management conditions

Taguas

Arroyo

Lora

et al. 2015

SOIL

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Abstract. Spontaneous grass covers are an inexpensive soil erosion control measure in olive orchards. Olive farmers allow grass to grow on sloping terrain to comply with the basic environmental standards derived from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP, European Commission). However, to date there are few studies assessing the environmental quality considering such covers. In this study, we measured biodiversity indices for spontaneous grass cover in two olive orchards with contrasting site conditions and management regimes in order to evaluate the potential for biodiversity metrics to serve as an indicator of soil degradation. In addition, the differences and temporal variability of biodiversity indicators and their relationships with environmental factors such as soil type and properties, precipitation, topography and soil management were analysed.Different grass cover biodiversity indices were evaluated in two olive orchard catchments under conventional tillage and no tillage with grass cover, during 3 hydrological years (2011)(2012)(2013). Seasonal samples of vegetal material and photographs in a permanent grid (4 samples ha −1 ) were taken to characterize the temporal variations of the number of species, frequency of life forms, diversity and modified Shannon and Pielou indices.Sorensen's index showed strong differences in species composition for the grass covers in the two olive orchard catchments, which are probably linked to the different site conditions. The catchment (CN) with the best site conditions (deeper soil and higher precipitation) and most intense management presented the highest biodiversity indices as well as the highest soil losses (over 10 t ha −1 ). In absolute terms, the diversity indices of vegetation were reasonably high for agricultural systems in both catchments, despite the fact that management activities usually severely limit the landscape and the variety of species. Finally, a significantly higher content of organic matter in the first 10 cm of soil was found in the catchment with worse site conditions in terms of water deficit, average annual soil losses of 2 t ha −1 and the least intense management. Therefore, the biodiversity indices considered in this study to evaluate spontaneous grass cover were not found to be suitable for describing the soil degradation in the study catchments.

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Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil loss (SL) and runoff coefficient (R c ) were measured in the catchments over 5 years (Taguas et al, 2013;Gómez et al, 2014b).…”

Section: Soil Degradation Indicators: Soil Loss Runoff Organic Mattmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Exploring the linkage between spontaneous grass cover biodiversity and soil degradation in two olive orchard microcatchments with contrasting environmental and management conditions

Taguas

Arroyo

Lora

et al. 2015

SOIL

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Rill and ephemeral gully erosion in a small olive grove catchment in Spain: Interactions between management and conservation measures

Taguas

2021

Earth Surf Processes Landf

Self Cite

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Concentrated flow erosion in Mediterranean cultivated areas is considered a major process of land degradation. Rills and ephemeral gullies in a 6.4 ha olive orchard catchment located in an intensive commercial farm, which could represent a common degradation scenario in hilly areas, were measured and compared with the sediment loads at the outlet. Four GPS survey campaigns were carried out between March 2009 and March 2014, for periods with cumulative precipitation ranging between 728 and 121 mm. Chopped pruning residues were kept on the lanes during campaigns 2–4, whereas a grass cover crop was seeded in campaign 4. Rainfall, runoff and sediment loads were measured in a flume gauge station at the catchment outlet. The ratio of concentrated flow erosion to catchment sediment load varied between 1.0 and 35.0. Total concentrated flow erosion ranged between 25.0 and 0.1 t ha−1. Rill erosion was the dominant process on ephemeral gullies for three campaigns, with a mean contribution to the total concentrated flow erosion of 55%. Rills clearly followed tractor tracks along the most parallel lanes to the maximum slope. Therefore, a change in traffic direction would be helpful to reduce the connectivity, controlled by the spatial distribution of rows and lanes in the farm. Olive plantation distributions should prioritize hydrological criteria to adapt traffic patterns in olive farms, as long as the tractor manoeuvrability and risk of overturning are not adversely affected. Although the farmer only kept the cover crop for one campaign, it proved to be an efficient measure for interrupting rills along the lanes, whereas pruning residues were effective for the control of interrill erosion. On‐site application of pruning residues reduced their handling and transport costs, while increasing the soil fertility and soil cover. However, guidelines for the efficient application of pruning residues are still necessary in terms of residue rates and orientation.

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Catchment scale hydrology of an irrigated cropping system under soil conservation practices

et al. 2016

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Soil erosion by water is a pressing environmental problem caused and suffered by agriculture in Mediterranean environments. Soil conservation practices can contribute to alleviating this problem. The aim of this study is to gain more profound knowledge of the effects of conservation practices on soil losses by linking crop management and soil status to runoff and sediment losses measured at the outlet of a catchment during seven years. The catchment has 27.42 ha and is located in a commercial farm in southern Spain, where a package of soil conservation practices is an essential component of the farming system. The catchment is devoted to irrigated annual crops with maize–cotton–wheat as the primary rotation. Mean annual rainfall‐induced runoff coefficient was 0.14 and mean annual soil loss was 2.4 Mg ha−1 y−1. Irrigation contributed to 40% of the crop water supply, but the amount of runoff and sediment yield that it generated was negligible. A Principal Components Analysis showed that total soil loss is determined by the magnitude of the event (rainfall and runoff depths, duration) and by factors related to the aggressiveness of the events (rainfall intensity and preceding soil moisture). A third component showed the importance of crop coverage to reduce sediment losses. Cover crops grown during autumn and early winter and crop residues protecting the soil surface enhanced soil conservation notably. The role of irrigation to facilitate growing cover crops in Mediterranean environments is discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Intra and inter-annual variability of runoff and sediment yield of an olive micro-catchment with soil protection by natural ground cover in Southern Spain

Cited by 43 publications

References 22 publications

Exploring the linkage between spontaneous grass cover biodiversity and soil degradation in two olive orchard microcatchments with contrasting environmental and management conditions

Exploring the linkage between spontaneous grass cover biodiversity and soil degradation in two olive orchard microcatchments with contrasting environmental and management conditions

Rill and ephemeral gully erosion in a small olive grove catchment in Spain: Interactions between management and conservation measures

Catchment scale hydrology of an irrigated cropping system under soil conservation practices

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