Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica

A new proposed model of EMOLUP for assessing of ecological capability of different utilizations and land use planning in Sepidan Township, Iran

Masoud Masoudi, Elham Asrari, Somaye Razaghi, Fatemeh Karimi, Artemi Cerdà — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0100

The optimum use and appropriate management of renewable resources, with dynamic characteristics, needs to evaluate and classify the ecological capability of environment and its socio-economic conditions. Land use planning (LUP) is an iterative process based on the dialogue amongst all stakeholders aiming at the negotiation and decision for a sustainable form of land use in rural areas as well as initiating and monitoring its implementation. The main objective of this paper is the implementation of integration quantitative model namely EMOLUP (Eco-Socioeconomic Model of Land Use Planning) in Sepidan Township of the Fars province in Iran. Therefore, two main steps were prepared for the new model: I. Ecological capability evaluation of different land uses. This step is composed of the geometric mean method instead of the Boolean and MCE methods. II. Land use planning and prioritizing for the various uses. This step has been composed intersecting ecological capability maps and land use planning, based on two scenarios (economic and social). Then, it was compared with current qualitative and quantitative methods. Also, current land use is used for calibrating and modifying the proposed models. Results show using the geometric mean method is better than Boolean models, and the method of the calibrated geometric mean (with overall accuracy > 63 and kappa index > 0.39 for all land uses) is the best among different used models. Also, results of prioritizing and land use planning showed that quantitative method with two socio-economic scenarios (with an average of EPM erosion model = 0.31) is the best method for land use planning in the study area. We confirmed that the EMOLUP model can contribute to a better understand land use planning in different regions of the world.

Circulation weather types as a key factor on runoff initiation and sediment detachment in Mediterranean shrublands

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0100

In this research, the circulation weather types (CWTs) associated with individual surface pressure data at different atmospheric heights were used to correlate and quantify soil erosion events collecting soil loss (g m^-2), runoff (l m^-2) and sediment concentration (g L^-1) using field plots and sediment collectors. Representative Mediterranean shrubland, located at Sierra de Enguera (Eastern Spain), was used as a case study where 213 rainfall episodes and related soil loss events were recorded for the 2010-2014 period. Average annual precipitation of 544 mm was registered, summarizing a total of 2,720.1 mm for the five years of the research period. A total of 34.4% of the registered precipitation events ranged from 10 to 29.9 mm, 23.5% from 30 to 49.9 mm, and 15.9% from 50 to 99.9 mm. The dynamic low-pressure with fronts (DLp+f) CWT was found to generate the highest precipitation amount reaching 60.6% of the total precipitation (105 of the 213 events). Over a third (35%) of the precipitation events occurred during Eastern CWT, which accounted for 48% of the total precipitation with average values of 17.6 mm per event. From the total runoff, 65.6% was related to the combined Eastern and cold drops (CD) CWT. The DLp+f CWT was found to produce 48.9% of sediment mobilization, of which 73.5% of this amount was generated by Eastern CWT. The highest sediment concentration event was found for the southern CWT under thermal low-pressure (TLp) reaching 51.65 g L^-1, followed by A (anticyclones) with the Eastern CWT (42.23 g L^-1). As a whole, the southern is the CWT generating the highest average sediment concentration (28.66 g L^-1), followed by Easter CWT. Our findings suggest that CWTs contribute to foreseeing the periods with the highest soil losses and may help to prevent them. We discuss the need to analyse the changes in soil erosion rates due to CWT to better characterize the soil erosion process and assess the soil erosion rates, improve the current soil erosion models and investigate how climate change is changing the role CWT plays in runoff initiation and sediment delivery.

Effect of tillage systems combined with plastic film mulches and fertilizers on soil physical properties in a wheat-agricultural site in southern Iraq

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0200

This study researches the influence of the three tillage systems (conventional, economical and mulch tillage) when combined with different soil plastic mulching and fertilizer applications on key selected soil physical properties (SPP) at 0-20 cm soil depth in a wheat agricultural site, during summer (from 1^st June to 31^st July 2015). SPP include soil porosity (Φ), volumetric soil water content 60 days after irrigation to field capacity (q₆₀), and mean weight diameter of aggregates (MWD). The term mulch tillage refers here to a soil conservation practice where the soil surface is disturbed by tillage whereby crop residues are mixed with the soil and a certain amount of residues remain on the soil surface, while mulching refers to the placement of inorganic material over the top of a soil surface to protect it. Soil treatments included tillage system: conventional tillage using a combination of a mouldboard plough and a disc harrow (MP+DH), economical tillage using a rotary cultivator (RC), and mulch tillage using a chisel plough (MT+CP); soil plastic mulching: transparent mulching (TM), black mulching (BM) of 200 cm wide with 0.05 cm thick, and without mulching (WM); and fertilisers: composed organic fertiliser (CoF), no-composed organic fertiliser (NoF), and chemical fertiliser (ChF). The split–split-plot design under the randomized complete block design (RCBD) was established in 27 treatments with 3 replicated, to map Φ, q₆₀, and MWD based on 81 soil samples from all treatments. Results showed that the different soil treatments have diverse impacts on SPP. MP+DH resulted in the higher q₆₀ (0.22 cm³ cm^-3), MWD (0.85 mm), and Φ (56.87%). Our findings showed that MT+CP obtained a higher MWD of 0.98 mm and lower Φ of 49% compared to other tillage systems. Soil mulching had significantly modified SPP, with BM resulting in the highest Φ (55.65%), q₆₀ (0.35 cm³cm^-3), and MWD (1.06 mm). Results indicated no significant differences between fertiliser types on SPP. The CoF had a significant effect on MWD and related soil characteristics studied. These findings can help us to understand the individual and combined effects of the tillage system, mulching, and fertilization application on some soil characteristics in wheat agriculture. A further study with more focus on the influence of tillage depths and mulching types (plastic vs organic mulch for different crops) under a variety of soils and climatic conditions, as well as on soil thermal properties needs further investigation.

Assessment of Land Degradation and Droughts in an Arid Area Using Drought Indices, Modified Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index and Landsat Remote Sensing Data

Abdessamed Derdour, Antonio Jodar Abellan, Amparo Melian-Navarro, Ryan Bailey — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Ain Sefra is part of the Ksour Mountains and it's situated in southwestern Algeria, where the climate is arid. The study area is progressively facing regression and degradation exacerbated by climate change. These trends point to a significant acceleration of desertification and drought and the loss of production systems that play a critical social, ecological, and economic role in the region. To better understand the natural hazard of dryness in Ain Sefra and the impact of climate change, we used various drought indices and remote sensing data. Hence, analyzing precipitation records from 1965 to 2021, through several drought indices, droughts were identified as a recurring phenomenon. Moreover, the frequency of successive dry years is relatively high. There were three most extended continuous dry periods. The first phase lasted seven years from 1980 to 1987, the second twelve years from 1994 to 2006, and the third nine years from 2012 to 2021. Calculation of the Modified Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI) for five multidate satellite images allowed us to follow the evolution of land use elements in this region from 1977 to 2017. Indeed, the study of these multi-temporal images reveals a considerable growth of sands, moving towards the north and northeast of the zone during the last decades. The combination of drought indices and remote sensing seems to be most promising; whose results are valuable tools for guidance and decision support to local and regional authorities.

Soil erosion due to rainfall and the impacts of climate change in an Andean highland in Colombia

Pedro Simón Lamprea-Quiroga; Omar Jaramillo-Rodríguez, Wladimir Mejía-Ayala — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Trends and median slope of daily rainfall that can affect rainfall aggressiveness and cause erosion in the Bogotá - Duitama corridor were studied. For this, the daily records of 26 stations (35 years, from 1980 to 2014) were evaluated, using the Sen's statistic and the Mann-Kendall test with confidence levels higher than 90%. The studied area covered about 8,100 km², located between 2,100 and 3,300 m a.s.l. in the Colombian Andes. Four stations with positive trends in median annual rainfall were found (from 6.90 mm/year to 28.80 mm/year) and one station with a decrease in median rainfall of -6.86 mm/year. In order to analyze the pluvial aggressiveness as the main agent of soil erosion, the Modified Fournier Indices (MFI) were generated for periods of 10 days. With the maximum decadal Modified Fournier Indices (MFI_dmax) of each year, it was possible to establish the median positive trend (Sen) of rainfall aggressiveness in five stations and three stations with negative trends. Through the correlation between the degree of erosion with the square of the decadal average maximum values of each year (MFI_dmax²) and the negative annual precipitation, a coefficient of determination (R²) greater than 0.50 was found. The validation of MFI_dmax² to explain the degree of soil erosion is a new useful methodology for land use planning and monitoring. In this way, developing countries have the possibility of using a tool to face the processes of pluvial erosion, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change.

Surveying three-dimensional perspectives of the flow structure around the bridge pile depending on the vegetation pattern distribution

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Modeling techniques have enabled us to understand how to protect vital infrastructures using nature-based solutions. In this research, we demonstrated that by selecting a specific vegetation pattern distribution upstream of the pile as a nature-based solution, we could reduce the amount of scouring around the bridge piles. This is essential to avoid the negative impacts that occur after landslides, flash floods, or mudflows close to populated areas. This solution can mitigate the global problem of bridge failure. To achieve this goal, an Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry device (ADV) was used to measure the velocity components in an experimental channel with a 90 cm width, 15 meters long, and 60 cm high. Two different widths of vegetation were used: the overall vegetation, with a 90 cm width, and the patched one, with a 10 cm width, positioned upstream of the bridge pile. In the case of using patched vegetation, a 36% reduction was observed in the amount of scouring around the bridge pile compared to the free-vegetation case, showing the positive effect of using vegetation to reduce scouring. In both cases, the amount of negative Reynolds shear stresses decreased when the presence of vegetation was registered. Using octant analysis, the overall vegetation was shown to convert internal events into external ones in front of the pile. However, in the case of using patched vegetation, internal events were also observed in addition to external events. Patchy vegetation changed the transverse direction of outward vortices from internal to external. In the presence of patchy vegetation, the dominance of the inward event decreased sharply. The presence of vegetation in the flow path affected some bursting events and, as a result, reduced scouring. The results showed that each of the used vegetation models has a different effect on bursting events, and these events can affect the amount of scouring hole depth.

Assessment of ecological capacity for urban planning and improving resilience in the European framework

Rafael Córdoba Hernández, Federico Camerin — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The basic idea underlying this research is that urban planning is one of the main causes of environmental degradation. Despite its relevance in impacting ecosystems, the current methodological assessments across Europe still fail to include spatial planning as a relevant factor. This paper aims to formulate an innovative methodology for the evaluation of ecosystems for protecting land at risk of degradation. This methodology is exemplified by the case of Spanish spatial planning applied in the Community of Madrid, being also capable to be employed in other European State Members after a cartographic adaptation. The proposed methodology specifically implements a European approach to the scale of regional and local spatial planning based on the “Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services” (MAES) project. Among the main results, four outcomes stand out. The first is the novelty to provide a methodology capable of dealing with natural values at regional and municipal levels based on a spatial-planning-based scale (1:20,000). The second result regards the incorporation of new attributes tied to existing ecosystems during the drafting of spatial plans, thus improving the quality of the information to make better decisions in terms of environmental protection. The third result is the more accurate environment assessment due to the inclusion of a new element of direct pressure on ecosystems, while the fourth outcome is that the proposed methodology detects the impacts of the drivers of change in the Community of Madrid. Although the cartographic information is defined at the regional scale, the results obtained can be linked to the municipal planning scale. The proposed methodology can be a much more useful tool for regional spatial planning for three main reasons: it works at the same scale as regional planning (1:20,000), it incorporates the environmental information necessary for the correct identification of natural values and impacts at the municipal level, and it works with geographic information systems. These reasons allow an easier and quicker incorporation of ecosystems in spatial planning tools by simultaneously interpreting and comparing different land protection issues such as ecosystem loss and ecosystem services.

Remote sensing and spatial databases for investigating latent urban-rural dynamics in rural, inland districts of Southern Italy

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0100

It is well-known that rural-urban patterns help to capture socioeconomic interactions between different settlement forms. The sustainability challenge requires to consider the evolution of these patterns as a reliable indicator of the dynamics of land use change and potential land degradation processes occurred in a time frame. In this research, by using multisource data (Corine Land Cover, Keyhole KH-9 and Landsat satellite images), we trace the diachronic evolution (1990-2018) of the rural-urban pattern in the provinces of Avellino and Benevento (Campania region, Southern Italy) with a specific focus on the key municipality of Ariano Irpino (1975-2018). The analysis confirms the considerable urban growth occurred in the study area, mostly in the form of urban sprawl phenomena decoupled from population growth. This happens concurrently with a transformation of the agricultural sector projected toward a greater specialization favouring agritourism activities and valuable crops (e.g., vineyards). These findings can support policy makers in future planning activities by mixing conservation, mitigation, and restoration actions.

Land degradation risks

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Soil erosion triggered by the archeological excavation and conservation of trenches. The case of “Cerro de las Trincheras” in Bailén (Jaén, Spain)

Jesús Rodrigo Comino, Juan Jesús Padilla Fernández, Artemi Cerdà — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Gully erosion is a landform developed due to accelerated soil erosion rates. Gullies can be identified by human impacts on geomorphological processes, as well as hydrological and erosional systems. In Spain, the trenches or "trincheras" from the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) are considered of archaeological interest for several reasons. At Cerro de las Trincheras in Bailén (Jaén, Spain), a trench was built during the Spanish Civil War. In 2020, an archaeological excavation took place to restore the ruins, triggering the development of gullies and rills and a decrease in vegetation quality. We present a first approximation of the variations in vegetation cover and the decrease in quality (using NDVI, the normalized difference vegetation index) due to the trench acting as a gully (1956, 2005-2020) and the increase in rills and gullies after the excavation. We strongly advocate for future archaeological excavations to include a protocol (soil mapping, vegetation survey, and hydrological connectivity index) to reduce soil degradation and prevent damage to vegetation and associated ecosystems, thereby curbing the increase in soil erosion rates.

Shit, P.K., Pourghasemi, H.R., Bhunia, G.S. (Eds.), 2020. Gully Erosion Studies from India and Surrounding Regions. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23243-6

Jesús Rodrigo-Comino — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0100