The effect of intense rainstorm events on the suspended sediment response under various land uses : the Aísa Valley experimental station

Authors

  • E. Nadal-Romero Universidad de Zaragoza
  • T. Lasanta Martínez Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología
  • J. C. González-Hidalgo Universidad de Zaragoza
  • M. de Luis Universidad de Zaragoza
  • J. M. García-Ruiz Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (CSIC)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18172/cig.1274

Keywords:

Time compression, largest events, suspended sediment load, experimental plots, Mediterranean mountains

Abstract

Time compression was studied at the Aísa Valley Experimental Station to assess the effect of large rainfall events on suspended sediment load. The study was focused on the response of land under traditional and current land uses/land covers in Mediterranean mountain areas, including dense shrub cover, grazing meadow, abandoned field, cereal cultivation, fallow land and both active and abandoned shifting agriculture. The results confirm the importance of the largest rainfall events in explaining the geomorphological effects that occur during a small number of such events. Three groups of land uses were distinguished: (i) dense shrub cover and grazing meadow, which showed relatively little time compression; (ii) cereal cultivation, fallow land, and both active and abandoned shifting agriculture, which were characterized by a high degree of time compression and a major impact of the largest events; and (iii) the abandoned field, which was intermediate in response between the other two groups. The greater geomorpho-logical effects of the largest events in the plots at the Aísa Valley Experimental Station relative to those reported in studies in the USA, is a consequence of the Mediterranean climate charac-teristics, and in part because of scale effects. The contribution of the three largest events to total accumulated suspended sediment load ranged from 25.4 to 71.2% whereas for the five largest events it ranged from 35.4 to 76.9%. For each of the land uses the 25 largest events represented more than 80% (in some cases more than 90%) of the total suspended sediment load recorded since 1991.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

ALVERA, B., GARCÍA-RUIZ, J. M. (2000). Variability of sediment yield from a high mountain catchment, Central Spanish Pyrenees. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research, 32 (4): 478-484.

BARNOLAS, M., ATENCIA, A., LLASAT, M.C., RIGO, R., (2008). Characterization of a mediterranean flash flood event using rain gauges, radar, GIS and lightning data. Advances in Geosciences, 17: 35-41.

BARRERA, A., ALTAVA ORTIZ, V., LLASAT, M.C., BARNOLAS, M., (2007). Heavy rain prediction using deterministic and probabilistic models – the flash flood cases of 11–13 October 2005 in Catalonia (NE Spain). Advances in Geosciences 12: 121-126.

BATHURST, J.C., MORETTI, G., EL-HAMES, A., BEGUERÍA, S., GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., (2007). Modelling the impact of forest loss on shallow landslide sediment yield, Ijuez catchment, Spanish Pyrenees. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11 (1): 569-583.

BEGUERÍA, S., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., GÓMEZ-VILLAR, A., RUBIO, V., LANA-RENAULT, N., GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., (2006). Fluvial adjustment to soil erosion and plant cover changes in the Central Spanish Pyrenees. Geografiska Annaler, 88A (3): 177-186.

BOARDMAN, J., FOSTER, I.D.L., DEARING, J.A., Eds., (1990): Soil Erosion on Agricultural Lands. J.Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 687 pp.

BOIX-FAYOS, C., MARTÍNEZ-MENA, M., ARNAU-ROSALÉN, E., CALVO-CASES, A., CASTILLO, V., ALBALADEJO, J., (2006). Measuring soil erosion by field plots: understanding the sources of variation. Earth-Science Reviews, 78: 267-285.

BOIX-FAYOS, C., MARTÍNEZ-MENA, M., CALVO-CASES, A., ARNAU-ROSALÉN, E., ALBALADEJO, J., CASTILLO, V., (2007). Causes and underlying processes of measurement variability in field erosion plots in Mediterranean conditions. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 32: 85-101.

BURGUEÑO, A., MARTÍNEZ, M. D., SERRA, C., LANA, X., (2010). Statistical distributions of daily rainfall regime in Europe for the period 1951-2000. Theoretical and Applied Climatolology, 102: 213-226.

BURWELL, R.E., KRAMER, L.A., (1983). Long-term annual runoff and soil loss from conventional conservation tillage corn. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 38: 315-319.

DE VENTE, J., POESEN J., (2005). Predicting soil erosion and sediment yield at the basin scale: Scale issues and semi-quantitative models. Earth-Science Reviews, 71: 95-125.

DE VENTE, J., POESEN, J., ARABKHEDRI, M., VERSTRAETEN, G., (2007). The sediment delivery problem revisited. Progress in Physical Geography, 31 (2): 155-178.

DEBUSSCHE, M., LEPART, J., DERVIEUX, A., (1999). Mediterranean landscape changes: evidence from old postcards. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 8: 3-15.

DESCROIX, L., OLIVRY, J.C., (2002). Spatial and temporal factors of erosion by water of black marls in the badlands of the French Southern Alps. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 47 (2): 227-242.

GALLART, F., LLORENS, P., LATRON, J., (1994). Studying the role of old agricultural terraces on runoff generation in a Mediterranean small mountainous catchment. Journal of Hydrology, 159: 291-303.

GARCÍA-RUIZ, J. M., (2010). The effects of land uses on soil erosion in Spain: A review. Catena, 81: 1-11.

GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., PUIGDEFÁBREGAS, J., (1982). Formas de erosión en el flysch eoceno surpirenaico. Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica, 8: 83-126.

GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., VALERO-GARCÉS, B., (1998). Historical geomorphic processes and human activities in the Central Spanish Pyrenees. Mountain Research and Development, 18 (4): 309-320.

GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., LANA-RENAULT, N., (2011). Hydrological and erosive consequences of farmland abandonment in Europe, with special reference to the Mediterranean region-A review. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 140: 317-338.

GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., LASANTA, T., ORTIGOSA, L., RUIZ-FLAÑO, P., MARTÍ, C., GONZÁLEZ, C., (1995). Sediment yield under different land-uses in the Spanish Pyrenees. Mountain Research and Development, 15 (3): 229-240.

GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., LASANTA, T., RUIZ-FLAÑO, P., ORTIGOSA, L., WHITE, S., GONZÁLEZ, C., MARTÍ, C., (1996). Land-use changes and sustainable development in mountain areas: a case study in the Spanish Pyrenees. Landscape Ecology, 11 (5): 267-277.

GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., MARTÍ-BONO, C., LORENTE, A., BEGUERÍA, S., (2002). Geomorphological consequences of frequent and infrequent rainfall and hydrological events in Pyrenees mountains in Spain. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 7: 303-320.

GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., LASANTA, T., BEGUERÍA, S., (2011). Mediterranean water resources in a Global Change scenario. Earth-Science Reviews, 105 (3-4): 121-139.

GIORGI, F., (2002). Variability and trends of subcontinental scale surface climate in the twentieth century. I. Observations. Climate Dynamics, 18: 675-691.

GIRÁLDEZ, J.V., LAGUNA, A., GONZÁLEZ, P., (1989). Soil conservation under minimum tillage techniques in Mediterranean dry farming. In: Soil erosion protection measures in Europe (Schwetmann, U., Rickson, R.J., Auerswald, K., Eds.), Soil Techonology Series, pp. 139-148.

GÓMEZ, J.A., ROMERO, P., GIRÁLDEZ, J.V., FERERES, E., (2004). Experimental assessment of runoff and soil erosion in an olive grove on a Vertic soil in southern Spain as affected by soil management. Soil Use and Management, 20: 426-431.

GONZÁLEZ-HIDALGO, J.C., DE LUIS, M., BATALLA, R.J., (2009a): Effects of the largest daily events on total soil erosion by rainwater. An analysis of the USLE database. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 34: 2070-2077.

GONZÁLEZ-HIDALGO, J.C., BATALLA, R.J., CERDÀ, A., DE LUÍS, M. (2009b). Contribution of the largest events to suspended sediment transport across the USA. Land Degradation and Development, 20: 1-9.

GONZÁLEZ-HIDALGO, J.C., PEÑA-MONNÉ, J.L., DE LUÍS, M., (2007). A review of daily soil erosion in Western Mediterranean areas. Catena, 71: 193-199.

GONZÁLEZ-HIDALGO, J.C., BATALLA, R.J., CERDÀ, A., (2011). Catchment size and largest daily events contribution to suspended sediment load at continental scale. Catena. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2010.10

GONZÁLEZ-HIDALGO, J.C., NADAL-ROMERO, E., BATALLA, R.J., CERDÀ, A., (submitted). Una nueva aproximación para estudiar la concentración temporal del transporte de sedimento: los eventos máximos diarios. Cuaternario y Geomorfología.

GROVE A.T., RACKHAM, O., (2001). The Nature of Mediterranean Europe: An Ecological History. Yale University Press, London.

HJELMFELT AT, KRAMER LA, SPOMER RG., (1986). Role of large events in average soil loss. In Proc. 4th Federal Interagency Sedimentation Conference, 1, USGS, Denver, Colorado, 3.1 to 3.9.

KOSMAS, C., DANALATOS, N., CAMMERAAT, L.H., CHABART, M., DIAMANTOPOULOS, J., FARAND, R., GUTIÉRREZ, L., JACOB, A., MARQUES, H., MARTÍNEZ-FERNÁNDEZ, H., MIZARA, A., MOUSTAKAS, N., NICOLAU, J.M., OLIVEROS, C., PINNA, C., PUDDU, R., PUIGDEFÁBREGAS, J., ROXO, M., SIMAO, A., STAMOU, G., TOMASI, N., USAI, D., VACCA, A., (1997). The effect of land use on runoff and soil erosion rates under Mediterranean conditions. Catena, 29: 45-59.

KUNDZEWICZ, Z.W., RADZIEJEWSKI, M., PIŃSKWAR, I., (2006). Precipitation extremes in the changing climate of Europe. Climate Research, 31: 51-58.

LANDWEHR, J.M., MATALAS, N.C., WALLIS, J.R., (1979). Probability weighted moments compared with some traditional techniques in estimating Gumbel parameters and quartiles. Water Resources Research, 15 (5): 1055-1064.

LARSON, W.E., LINDSTROM, M.J., SCHUMACHER, T.E., (1997). The role of severe storm in soil erosion: a problem needing consideration. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 52: 90-95.

LASANTA, T., (1988). The process of desertion of cultivated areas in the Central Spanish Pyrenees. Pirineos, 132: 15-36.

LASANTA, T., (1989). Evolución reciente de la agricultura de montaña: El Pirineo aragonés. Geoforma Ediciones, Logroño, 220 pp.

LASANTA, T., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., (2007). Cambios en la cubierta vegetal en el Pirineo aragonés en los ultimos 50 años. Pirineos, 162: 125-154.

LASANTA, T., BEGUERÍA, S., GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., (2006). Geomorphic and hydrological effects of traditional shifting agriculture in a Mediterranean mountain area, Central Spanish Pyrenees. Mountain Research and Development, 26 (2): 146-152.

LASANTA, T., NADAL-ROMERO, E., SERRANO-MUELA, P., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., (2010). Escorrentía y erosión tras el abandono de tierras de cultivo en montaña: resultados de la Estación Experimental “Valle de Aísa”. Pirineos, 165: 115-133.

LENZI, M.A., MAO, L., COMITI, F., (2003). Interannual variation of suspended sediment load and sediment yield in an alpine catchment. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 48: 899-915.

LEWIS, T., BRAUN, C., HARDY, D.R., FRANCUS, P., BRADLEY, R.S., (2005). An extreme sediment transfer event in a Canadian High Arctic stream. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research, 37: 477-482.

LLASAT, M.C., RIGO, T., BARRIENDOS, M., (2003). The ‘Montserrat-2000’ flash-flood event: a comparison with the floods that have occurred in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula since the 14th century. International Journal of Climatology, 23: 453-469.

LLORENS, P., LATRON, J., GALLART, F., (1992). Analysis of the role of agricultural abandoned terraces on the hydrology and sediment dynamics in a small mountainous basin. Pirineos, 139: 27-46.

LÓPEZ-BERMÚDEZ, F., ROMERO-DÍAZ, A. (1992-1993). Génesis y consecuencias erosivas de las lluvias de alta intensidad en la región mediterránea. Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica, 18-19: 7-28.

LÓPEZ-BERMÚDEZ, F., GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., (2008). La degradación del suelo por erosión hídrica en España. En Erosión y degradación del suelo agrícola en España (Cerdà, A., Ed.), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, pp. 11-51.

LÓPEZ-BERMÚDEZ, F., NAVARRO HERVÁS, F., MONTANER, E., (1979). Inundaciones catastróficas, precipitaciones torrenciales y erosión en la provincia de Murcia. Papeles de Geografía, 8: 49-91.

LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., BENISTON, M., (2009). Daily precipitation intensity projected for the 21st century: seasonal changes over the Pyrenees. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 95: 375-384.

LORENTE A., GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., BEGUERÍA, S., ARNÁEZ, J., (2002). Factors explaining the spatial distribution of hillslope debris flows. A case study in the Flysch Sector of the Central Spanish Pyrenees. Mountain Research and Development, 22 (1): 32-39.

MACDONALD, D., CRABTREE, J.R., WIESINGER, G., DAX, T., STAMOU, N., FLEURY, P., GUTIÉRREZ LAZPITA, J., GIBON, A., (2000). Agricultural abandonment in mountain areas of Europe: environmental consequences and policy response. Journal of Environmental Management, 59: 47-69.

MEADE, R.H., YUZYK, T.R., DAY, T.J., (1990). Movement and storage of sediment in rivers of the United States and Canada. The Geology of North America, Vol. 0-1, Surface Water Hydrology, The Geologic al Society of America, pp. 225-280.

MORÁN-TEJEDA, E., CEBALLOS-BARBANCHO, A., LLORENTE-PINTO, J.M., (2010). Hydrological response of Mediterranean headwaters to climate oscillations and land-cover changes: the mountains of Duero River basin (Central Spain). Global and Planetary Change, 72: 39-49.

NUNES, A., COELHO, C., DE ALMEIDA, A., RODRIGUES, A., (2010). Soil erosion and hydrological response to land abandonment in a central inland area of Portugal. Land Degradation and Development, 21: 260-273.

PARDINI, G., GISPERT, M., DUNJÓ, G., (2004). Relative influence of wildfire on soil properties and erosion processes in different Mediterranean environments in NE Spain. The Science of the Total Environment, 328: 237-246.

POESEN, J., HOOKE, J.M., (1997). Erosion, flooding and channel management in Mediterranean environments of southern Europe. Progress in Physical Geography, 21 (2): 157-199.

POESEN, J., VAN WESEMAEL, B., GOVERS, G., MARTÍNEZ-FERNÁNDEZ, J., DESMENT, J., VANDAELE, K., QUINE, T., DEGRAER, G., (1997). Patterns of rock fragment cover generated by tillage erosion. Geomorphology, 18: 183-197.

RÄISÄNEN J., HANSSON, U., ULLERSTIG, A., DÖSCHER, R., GRAHAM, L.P., JONES, C., MEIER, H., SAMUELSSON, P., WILLÉN, U., (2004). European climate in the late twenty-first century: regional simulations with two driving global models and two forcing scenarios. Climate Dynamics, 22: 13-31.

RAMOS, M.C., MARTÍNEZ-CASASNOVAS, J.A., (2009). Impacts of annual precipitation extremes on soil and nutrient losses in vineyards of NE Spain. Hydrological Processes, 23: 224-235.

ROUNSEVELL, M.D.A., REGINSTER, I., ARAÚJO, M.B., CARTER, T.R., DEDONCKER, N., EWERT, F., HOUSE, J.I., KANKAANPÄÄ, S., LEEMANS, R., METZGER, M.J., SCHMIT, C., TUCK, G., (2006). A coherent set of land use change scenarios for Europe. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 11: 57-68.

RUIZ-FLAÑO, P., (1993). Procesos de erosión en campos abandonados del Pirineo. Geoforma Ediciones, Logroño, 191 pp.

RUIZ-FLAÑO, P., GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., ORTIGOSA, L. (1992). Geomorphological evolution of abandoned fields. A case study in the Central Pyrenees. Catena, 19: 301-308.

SCHNABEL, S., GÓMEZ AMELIA, D., CEBALLOS, A. (1998). Eventos extremos y erosión en cárcava. In: Investigaciones recientes de la Geomorfología española (Gómez Ortiz, A., Salvador, F., Schulte, L., García Navarro, A., Eds.). Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, pp. 143-151.

TAILLEFUMIER, F., PIÉGAY, H., (2003). Contemporary land use changes in prealpine Mediterranean mountains. A multivariate GIS-based approach applied to two miunicipalities in the Southern French Prealps. Catena, 51: 267-296.

THORNES, J.B., (1985). The ecology of erosion. Geography, 70: 222-235.

THORNES, J.B., (1999). The hydrological cycle and the role of water in Mediterranean environments. In: Rural planning from an environmental Systems perspective (Golley F.B., Bellot, F.B., Eds.), Springer, pp. 85-107.

VANMARCKE, M., POESEN, J., VERSTRAETEN, G., DE VENTE, J., OCAKOGLU, F., (2011). Sediment yield in Europe: Spatial patterns and scale dependency. Geomorphology, 130: 142-161.

WEI, W., CHEN L. D., FU, B. J., CHEN, J., (2010). Water erosion response to rainfall and land use in different drought-level years in a loess hilly area of China. Catena, 81 (1): 24-31.

WHITE, S., GARCÍA RUIZ, J.M., MARTÍ-BONO, C., VALERO GARCÉS, B., ERREA, M.P., GÓMEZ-VILLAR, A., (1997). The 1996 Biescas campsite disaster in the Central Spanish Pyrenees, and its temporal and spatial context. Hydrological Processes, 11: 1797-1812.

WISCHMEIER W.H., (1962). Storms and soil conservation. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 17: 55-59.

WOLMAN, M.G., MILLER, J.P., (1960). Magnitude and frequency of forces in geomorphic processes. Journal of Geology, 68: 54-74.

ZHANG J, GARBRECHT J.D., (2002). Precipitation retention and soil erosion under varying climate, land use, and tillage and cropping systems. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 38: 1241-1253

ZOLINA, O., KAPALA A., SIMMER C., GULEV S.K., (2004). Analysis of extreme precipitation over Europe from different reanalysis: a comparative assessment. Global and Planetary Chang, 44: 129-161.

ZUZEL, J.F., ALLMARAS, R.R., GREENWALT, R.N., (1993). Temporal distribution of runoff and soil erosion at a site in Northeast Oregon. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 48: 373-378.

Downloads

Published

03-06-2013

How to Cite

1.
Nadal-Romero E, Lasanta Martínez T, González-Hidalgo JC, de Luis M, García-Ruiz JM. The effect of intense rainstorm events on the suspended sediment response under various land uses : the Aísa Valley experimental station. CIG [Internet]. 2013 Jun. 3 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];38(1):27-4. Available from: https://publicaciones.unirioja.es/ojs/index.php/cig/article/view/1274

Issue

Section

Articles