Soil erosion by water on the desertification of a semi-arid Mediterranean fluvial basin: the Segura basin, Spain

López-Bermúdez, Francisco

doi:10.1016/0167-8809(90)90238-9

Cited by 43 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…No statistically significant differences (at p < 0Ð01, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test) were observed in the rainfall depth and intensity distribution between areas. High coefficients of variation (Martinez-Mena et al, 1998a) pointed to the high temporal variability of the characteristics of all storm events, as was to be expected for Mediterranean semi-arid areas (Sala, 1988;López-Bermúdez, 1990;Hussein, 1996).…”

Section: Rainfall and Runoff Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Active pluvial and hydrological erosion affects the slopes and transports quantities of solid material that affect the geosystem of these areas (López-Bermúdez, 1990). High-magnitude but low-frequency events play an important role in the erosion dynamics, as has been pointed out by several authors (Edwards and Owens, 1991;Poesen and Bunte, 1996;Larson et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Hydrological and erosional response to natural rainfall in a semi‐arid area of south‐east Spain

Martínez-Mena

Castillo

Albaladejo

2001

Hydrological Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:A better knowledge of soil erosion by water is essential for planning effective soil and water conservation practices in semi-arid Mediterranean environments. The special climatic and hydrological characteristics of these areas, however, make accurate soil loss predictions difficult, particularly in the absence of minimal data. Two zero-order experimental microcatchments (328-759 m 2 ), representative of an extensive semi-arid watershed with a high potential erosion risk in the south-east of Spain, were selected and monitored for 3 years in order to provide information on the hydrological and erosional response. A pluviogram and hydrograph recorded data at 1-min intervals during each storm, after which the soil loss was collected and the particle size of the sediment was analysed. Runoff coefficients of about 9% and soil losses of between 84Ð83 and 298Ð9 g m 2 year 1 were observed in the area. Rapid response times (geometric mean values lower than 2 h) and low runoff thresholds (mean values between 3Ð5 to 5Ð9 mm) were the norm in the experimental areas. A rain intensity of over 15 mm h 1 was considered as 'erosive rainfall' in these areas because of the total soil loss and the transport capacity of the overland flow. Differences in pore-size distribution explained the different hydrological responses observed between areas. The erosional response was more complex and basically seemed to be determined by soil aggregate stability and topographical properties. A greater proportion of finer particles in the eroded material than in the soil matrix indicated selective erosion and the transport of finer material.

show abstract

Section: Rainfall and Runoff Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrological and erosional response to natural rainfall in a semi‐arid area of south‐east Spain

Martínez-Mena

Castillo

Albaladejo

2001

Hydrological Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The low amounts of erosion measured can be explained by the fact that none of the three experimental sites is located in an areas where high erosion rates prevail, or where erodible soils occur. However, all the locations have relatively high degradation levels, which is related to past and present overgrazing, adverse land use and tillage practices (Lopez-Bermudez, 1990;Puddu et al, 1995;Vacca et al, 1995).…”

Section: à2mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The experimental field sites Is Olias in Italy, Spata in Greece and El Ardal in Spain are located in three representative areas which show problems of desertification including deterioration and depletion of soil properties and water resources, desiccation and decreasing biomass production, as well as signs of adverse land use management (Lopez-Bermudez, 1990;Puddu et al, 1995;Vacca et al, 1995;Yassoglou, 1989).…”

Section: Location and Characteristics Of The Field Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil erosion at three experimental sites in the Mediterranean

Díaz

Cammeraat

Vacca

et al. 1999

Earth Surf. Process. Landforms

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The results of erosion studies carried out at three representative sites in the European Mediterranean basin are discussed. The objectives of the study are to clarify the underlying processes affecting soil erosion and to quantify erosion and runoff in the framework of mitigation of land degradation. The study was carried out at three instrumented field stations using similar layouts and experimental set-ups and harmonized field procedures. Runoff and sediment yield from bounded plots were measured for different types of land use for longer periods.The runoff and sediment values were found to be relatively low, and showed average annual values between 2Á0 and 8Á9 1 m À2 for runoff, and between 20Á2 and 28Á1 g m À2 for sediment yield. The results show that the individual plot response on an event basis shows no relationship between runoff and sediment yield for two of the three sites. On an annual average basis a significant relationship is found between the runoff and sediment yield. Significant differences were observed between different types of land use, especially between semi-natural vegetation, burned and abandoned field cover types on the one hand, and agricultural fields on the other hand. The runoff and erosion values were lowest for the semi-natural fields. It was found that in non-cultivated fields the bounded plots might suffer from depletion of available sediment.It can be concluded that erosion figures are very low for the sites studied, and that the maintenance of semi-natural vegetation may help in the prevention of runoff generation and erosion. It can be concluded that the use of bounded plots may not be as ideal as might be expected from its wide application. In some cases open plots, especially under seminatural land use, may produce much better results, especially when measuring over longer periods.

show abstract

“…Soil erosion by water is often regarded as one of the most intense and widespread desertification processes (e.g. López-Bermúdez 1990;Pimentel et al 1995;Poesen 1995;Rubio & Bochet 1998). Table 1 gives an overview of potential indicators from the DIS4ME Indicator system that can be related to this process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment yield as a desertification risk indicator

Vanmaercke

Poesen

Maetens

et al. 2011

Science of The Total Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Soil erosion is often regarded as one of the main processes of desertification. This has lead to the use of various desertification indicators that are related to soil erosion. Most of these indicators focus, however, on small spatial units, while little attention has been given to the amount of sediment exported at the catchment scale. Such a small spatial unit approach neglects the transfer of sediment through catchments as well as the scale-dependency of erosion processes. Furthermore, this approach does not consider important off-site impacts of soil erosion, such as sediment deposition in reservoirs, flooding as well as ecological impacts.This study aims to illustrate the importance of also considering catchment sediment yield (SY, t km -2 y -1 ) in desertification assessment studies. Based on recently established databases of SY and soil loss rates in Europe and examples from previous studies, we illustrate that soil erosion rates at the plot scale are not representative for catchment SY, as they are often several orders of magnitude smaller. Also, the erosion response of catchments to changes in land use or climate often differs strongly from responses to those changes at the plot scale.We further discuss several of the impacts of SY and their link with desertification: i.e. the sedimentation of reservoirs, problems related to flooding, catchment hydrology, export of nutrients and ecological implications.Using earlier established criteria we evaluate the potential for using catchment SY as a desertification indicator and conclude that this could give an important added value to desertification studies. SY, used in combination with other indicators, allows the identification of other sediment sources than those considered at the plot scale and can reflect the results of desertification processes over longer time periods than periods over which assessments at the plot scale have been made. We argue therefore, that SY is a strong complementary indicator of desertification providing valuable information on the catchment response to changes in drivers of desertification.

show abstract

Soil erosion by water on the desertification of a semi-arid Mediterranean fluvial basin: the Segura basin, Spain

Cited by 43 publications

References 3 publications

Hydrological and erosional response to natural rainfall in a semi‐arid area of south‐east Spain

Hydrological and erosional response to natural rainfall in a semi‐arid area of south‐east Spain

Soil erosion at three experimental sites in the Mediterranean

Sediment yield as a desertification risk indicator

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Soil erosion by water on the desertification of a semi-arid Mediterranean fluvial basin: the Segura basin, Spain

Cited by 43 publications

References 3 publications

Hydrological and erosional response to natural rainfall in a semi‐arid area of south‐east Spain

Hydrological and erosional response to natural rainfall in a semi‐arid area of south‐east Spain

Soil erosion at three experimental sites in the ­Mediterranean

Sediment yield as a desertification risk indicator

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Soil erosion at three experimental sites in the Mediterranean