Reducing water erosion in a gypsic soil by combined use of organic amendment and shrub revegetation

Abstract

Degraded gypsic soils in the centre of Spain can be rehabilitated with organic amendment and shrub revegetation. Erosion has been measured on plots of 2 Â 0Á5 m 2 under simulated rainfall of 70 mm h À1 and a kinetic energy of 18 J mm À1 m À2 . Samples of water runoff and sediments were studied in the summer of the years 2002 and 2003. The presence of shrub Atriplex halimus (Chenonodiaceae) significantly reduces runoff from 16Á9 to 6Á7 ml m À2 min À1 and sediments from 0Á16 to 0Á02 g m À2 min À1 . When sewage sludge is applied the differences among plots with and without bushes disappear. Although both treatments independently applied are efficient as erosion control measures, the combined use of revegetation and organic amendment allows a reduced dose of sewage sludge with the same effect on erosion. A low dose of sludge is desirable in view of the accumulation of toxic chemicals.

Methodologies for soil erosion and land degradation assessment in mediterranean‐type ecosystems

“…A possible consideration could be, besides a better pasture management, also methods of re-vegetation, for example, by means of strips of T. vulgaris (Martínez Raya et al, 2006), Atriplex halimus (Marqués et al, 2005), or management of native matorral instead of bench terracing with afforestation (Ternan et al, 1996) should be accomplished. For a successful soil erosion risk assessment in olive orchards, Milgroom et al (2007) recommend an on-farm tool for participatory monitoring and evaluation.…”

“…The research methods on the quantitative level include experimental measurements of infiltration rates and water erosion by means of infiltrometers according to Hills (1970) and small mobile nozzle-type rainfall simulators (Ries et al, 2000b;Ries and Langer, 2002). The rainfall simulations are carried out at plots of 0Á28 m 2 size, the rainfall intensity is 40 mm h À1 with a duration of 30 min, and the fall height of the drops is 2 m. Especially in semi-arid regions, this type of rainfall simulator is used by many research groups for similar investigations (Ternan et al, 1996;Shakesby et al, 2002;Marqués et al, 2005;Seeger, 2007;Seeger and Ries, 2008).…”

Overland flow generation mechanisms affected by topsoil treatment: Application to soil conservation

“…As a consequence of climatic conditions and human activities, soil is not sufficiently protected by vegetation and is thus subject to loss of organic matter and nutrients (Marqués et al, 2005), which creates a positive feedback process that can lead to desertification (Lavee et al, 1998). Restoration of native vegetation is the most effective way to regenerate soil health, and control runoff and sediment yield production (Inbar et al, 1998;Alegre et al, 2004;Boix-Fayos et al, 2007).…”

The Effects of Soil Amendments on the Growth of Atriplex halimus and Bituminaria bituminosa in Heavy Metal-Contaminated Soils

“…The formation of CdCl n 2−n species in the saline soil LB may have restricted plant uptake of Cd (Lefèvre et al 2009). Marqués et al (2005) described how cultivation of A. halimus decreased rainfall-induced erosion of a degraded soil. The site at which the highly contaminated soil LB was obtained has a slope of 4%: phytostabilisation would minimise erosion and hence the spread of contaminants.…”

“…Erosion of soils via wind and water affects areas such as this, which have hot, dry summers and occasional heavy storms (Marqués et al 2005;Mendez et al 2007). The establishment of a vegetation cover at the contaminated sites would physically stabilise the soils (phytostabilisation) and minimise erosion and thus the dissemination of the contaminants (Mendez and Maier 2008).…”