Use of Mediterranean legume shrubs to control soil erosion and runoff in central Spain. A large-plot assessment under natural rainfall conducted during the stages of shrub establishment and subsequent colonisation

CATENA ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 3-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Garcia-Estringana ◽  
N. Alonso-Blázquez ◽  
M.J. Marques ◽  
R. Bienes ◽  
F. González-Andrés ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Control Soil ◽  
Central Spain ◽  
Natural Rainfall ◽  
Large Plot ◽  
Shrub Establishment

scholarly journals Comparison between sprinkler irrigation and natural rainfall based on droplet diameter

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. e1201 ◽  
Author(s):  
MaoSheng Ge ◽  
Pute Wu ◽  
Delan Zhu ◽  
Daniel P. Ames
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Droplet Diameter ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Radial Distance ◽  
Sprinkler Irrigation ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Horizontal Component ◽  
Natural Rainfall ◽  
Actual Field

<p>An indoor experiment was conducted to analyze the movement characteristics of different sized droplets and their influence on water application rate distribution and kinetic energy distribution. Radial droplets emitted from a Nelson D3000 sprinkler nozzle under 66.3, 84.8, and 103.3 kPa were measured in terms of droplet velocity, landing angle, and droplet kinetic energy and results were compared to natural rainfall characteristics. Results indicate that sprinkler irrigation droplet landing velocity for all sizes of droplets is not related to nozzle pressure and the values of landing velocity are very close to that of natural rainfall. The velocity horizontal component increases with radial distance while the velocity vertical component decreases with radial distance. Additionally, landing angle of all droplet sizes decreases with radial distance. The kinetic energy is decomposed into vertical component and horizontal component due to the oblique angles of droplet impact on the surface soil, and this may aggravate soil erosion. Therefore the actual oblique angle of impact should be considered in actual field conditions and measures should be taken for remediation of soil erosion if necessary.</p>

The benefic effect induced by biochar on soil erosion and nutrient loss of slopping land under natural rainfall conditions in central China

2017 ◽  
Vol 185 ◽  
pp. 145-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi-guo Li ◽  
Chi-ming Gu ◽  
Run-hua Zhang ◽  
Mohamed Ibrahim ◽  
Guo-shi Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Nutrient Loss ◽  
Central China ◽  
Natural Rainfall

Effects of biocrust on soil erosion and organic carbon losses under natural rainfall

CATENA ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
pp. 117-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Chamizo ◽  
Emilio Rodríguez-Caballero ◽  
José Raúl Román ◽  
Yolanda Cantón
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Natural Rainfall ◽  
Carbon Losses

scholarly journals Rainfall Erosivity in Soil Erosion Processes

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 722
Author(s):  
Gianni Bellocchi ◽  
Nazzareno Diodato
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Rainfall Erosivity ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Natural Rainfall ◽  
Raindrop Energy

Regional studies on the erosive power of rainfall patterns are still limited and the actual impacts that may follow on erosional and sedimentation processes are poorly understood. Given the several interrelated challenges of environmental management, it is also not always unclear what is relevant for the development of adaptive and integrated approaches facilitating sustainable water resource management. This editorial introduces the Special Issue entitled “Rainfall Erosivity in Soil Erosion Processes”, which offers options to fill some of these gaps. Three studies performed in China and Central Asia (by Duulatov et al., Water 2019, 11, 897, Xu et al., 2019, 11, 2429, Gu et al. 2020, 12, 200) show that the erosion potential of rainfall is increasing in this region, driving social, economic, and environmental consequences. In the same region (the Weibei Plateau in China), Fu et al. (Water 2019, 11, 1514) assessed the effect of raindrop energy on the splash distance and particle size distribution of aggregate splash erosion. In the Mediterranean, updated estimates of current and future rainfall erosivity for Greece are provided by Vantas et al. (Water 2020, 12, 687), while Diodato and Bellocchi (Water 2019, 11, 2306) reconstructed and investigated seasonal net erosion in an Italian catchment using parsimonious modelling. Then, this Special Issue includes two technologically oriented articles by Ricks at al. The first (Water 2019, 11, 2386) evaluated a large-scale rainfall simulator design to simulate rainfall with characteristics similar to natural rainfall. The data provided contribute to the information that may be useful for the government’s decision making when considering landscape changes caused by variations in the intensity of a rainfall event. The second article (Water 2020, 12, 515) illustrated a laboratory-scale test of mulching methods to protect against the discharge of sediment-laden stormwater from active construction sites (e.g., highway construction projects).

Drought legacy effects on post-fire vegetation dynamics in a Mediterranean shrubland of Central Spain

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Parra ◽  
María Belén Hinojosa ◽  
Iván Torres ◽  
José Manuel Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Plant Density ◽  
Rainfall Regime ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
Central Spain ◽  
Fire Cycle ◽  
Natural Rainfall ◽  
Legacy Effect ◽  
Mediterranean Shrubland ◽  
Rainfall Reduction

&lt;p&gt;Post-fire regeneration often occurs under water scarcity conditions in Mediterranean ecosystems. This fact is likely to be more frequent in the future, as climate change projections for the Mediterranean show increased temperature and decreased rainfall, as well as higher fire weather danger. Therefore, studying how vegetation responds to fire and drought is critical for anticipating vegetation vulnerability to global warming. Here, we present the results of a manipulative field study in a Mediterranean shrubland of Central Spain in which 4 drought treatments were imposed before and after carrying out an experimental burning of the treated plots: natural rainfall, historical rainfall regime (2 months summer drought per year), moderate drought (ca. 25% rainfall reduction from historical records, 5 months drought), and severe drought (ca. 50% rainfall reduction, 7 months drought). We monitored the plant community during the first 4 years after fire under the drought treatments followed by additional 6 years once such treatments had ceased. We found that drought significantly reduced density, cover, and size of seeder species during the first post-fire years under treatment. In contrast, resprouter species were virtually unaffected. As a whole, the changes in woody species dynamics resulted in a community &amp;#8216;herbalization&amp;#8217;, which was richer and more diverse, but probably more prone to a new fire. Moreover, we found that the drought effects on the community, and especially on the seeders, were maintained various years after all plots started receiving natural rainfall. 10 years after the fire, the legacy effect of the drought had been diluted, although some effects on plant density or cover in certain seeder species were still present. Overall, this means that what happens during the first few years after fire is extremely important for vegetation recovery, and that the effects of a long drought can persist over various years, and likely over a whole fire cycle.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Mineral-leaching chemical transport with runoff and sediment from severely eroded rare-earth tailings in southern China

Solid Earth ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 845-855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huizhong Lu ◽  
Longxi Cao ◽  
Yin Liang ◽  
Jiuqin Yuan ◽  
Yayun Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rare Earth ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Clear Trend ◽  
Natural Rainfall ◽  
Transport Distance ◽  
Sediment Deposits ◽  
Rare Earth Tailings ◽  
Mineral Leaching

Abstract. Rare-earth mining has led to severe soil erosion in southern China. Furthermore, the presence of the mineral-leaching chemical ammonium sulfate in runoff and sediment poses a serious environmental threat to downstream water bodies. In this paper, the characteristics of mineral-leaching chemicals in surface soil samples collected in the field were studied. In addition, NH4+ and SO42− transport via soil erosion was monitored using runoff and sediment samples collected during natural rainfall processes. The results demonstrated that the NH4+ contents in the surface sediment deposits increased from the top of the heap (6.56 mg kg−1) to the gully (8.23 mg kg−1) and outside the tailing heap (13.03 mg kg−1). The contents of SO42− in the different locations of the tailing heaps ranged from 27.71 to 40.33 mg kg−1. During typical rainfall events, the absorbed NH4+ concentrations (2.05, 1.26 mg L−1) in runoff were significantly higher than the dissolved concentrations (0.93, 1.04 mg L−1), while the absorbed SO42− concentrations (2.87, 1.92 mg L−1) were significantly lower than the dissolved concentrations (6.55, 7.51 mg L−1). The dissolved NH4+ and SO42− concentrations in runoff displayed an exponentially decreasing tendency with increasing transport distance (Y = 1. 02 ⋅ exp( − 0. 00312X); Y = 3. 34 ⋅ exp( − 0. 0185X)). No clear trend with increasing distance was observed for the absorbed NH4+ and SO42− contents in transported sediment. The NH4+ and SO42− contents had positive correlations with the silt and clay ratio in transported sediment but negative correlations with the sand ratio. These results provide a better understanding of the transport processes and can be used to develop equations to predict the transport of mineral-leaching chemicals in rare-earth tailings, which can provide a scientific foundation for erosion control and soil management in rare-earth tailing regions in southern China.

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