Methods to describe and predict soil erosion in mountain regions

Alewell, Christine; Meusburger, Katrin; Brodbeck, Monika; Bänninger, D.

doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2008.08.007

Cited by 73 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…A collinearity diagnosis of the quasi-static factors identified several cross-correlations. As was shown by Meusburger and Alewell (2008) 2 . Geology, slope and avalanche density were distinguished as independent factors with variance inflation factors (VIF) <2.…”

Section: Relation Of Landslides To Natural Quasi-static Factorsmentioning

confidence: 54%

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Impacts of anthropogenic and environmental factors on the occurrence of shallow landslides in an alpine catchment (Urseren Valley, Switzerland)

Meusburger

Alewell

2008

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

126

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Abstract.Changes in climate and land use pose a risk to stability of alpine soils, but the direction and magnitude of the impact is still discussed controversially with respect to the various alpine regions. In this study, we explicitly consider the influence of dynamic human-induced changes on the occurrence of landslides in addition to natural factors. Our hypothesis was that if changes in land use and climate have a significant influence on the occurrence of landslides we would see a trend in the incidence of landslides over time. We chose the Urseren Valley in the Central Swiss Alps as investigation site because the valley is dramatically affected by landslides and the land use history is well documented. Maps of several environmental factors were used to analyse the spatial landslide pattern. In order to explain the causation of the temporal variation, time-series (45 years) of precipitation characteristics, cattle stocking and pasture maps were compared to a series of seven landslide investigation maps between 1959 and 2004. We found that the area affected by landslides increased by 92% from 1959 to 2004. Even though catchment characteristics like geology and slope largely explain the spatial variation in landslide susceptibility (68%), this cannot explain the temporal trend in landslide activity. The increase in stocking numbers and the increased intensity of torrential rain events had most likely an influence on landslide incidence. In addition, our data and interviews with farmers pointed to the importance of management practice.

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Section: Relation Of Landslides To Natural Quasi-static Factorsmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…The valley slopes are also affected by sheet erosion, which is addressed and evaluated in other ongoing studies. (Alewell et al, 2008;Brodbeck and Alewell, 2008 1 ). Here, we explicitly focus on landslides in consequence of soil instability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of anthropogenic and environmental factors on the occurrence of shallow landslides in an alpine catchment (Urseren Valley, Switzerland)

Meusburger

Alewell

2008

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

126

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“…Most soil erosion models treated soil characteristics as important factors, but ignored soil carbon concentration (Alewell et al 2008;Ozcan et al 2008;Conforti et al 2011). The soil carbon concentration was found to be a very important driving factor for the SCR index, since the initial soil carbon concentration is the source used to supply carbon for redistribution; the amount of soil carbon exposed to erosion certainly affects soil carbon redistribution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the redistribution of soil carbon using a new index—a case study in the Haihe River Basin, North China

Chen

Zhou

et al. 2014

Environ Monit Assess

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“…These high values are attributable to an acceleration of soil N loss through enhanced decomposition rates because of cultivation (Amundson et al, 2003). Additionally, manure is commonly enriched in 15 N (Amundson et al, 2003;Alewell et al, 2008). The manure samples, which were collected on arable land at site B and C, had a mean δ 15 N of 8.9 ‰ (Table 2).…”

Section: Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes For Tracing Suspended Sediment mentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic matter dynamics and stable isotope signature as tracers of the sources of suspended sediment

Wildhaber¹,

Liechti²,

Alewell³

2012

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. Suspended sediment (SS) and organic matter in rivers can harm brown trout Salmo trutta by affecting the health and fitness of free swimming fish and by causing siltation of the riverbed. The temporal and spatial dynamics of sediment, carbon (C), and nitrogen (N) during the brown trout spawning season in a small river of the Swiss Plateau were assessed and C isotopes as well as the C/N atomic ratio were used to distinguish autochthonous and allochthonous sources of organic matter in SS loads. The visual basic program IsoSource with 13 C tot and 15 N as input isotopes was used to quantify the temporal and spatial sources of SS. Organic matter concentrations in the infiltrated and suspended sediment were highest during low flow periods with small sediment loads and lowest during high flow periods with high sediment loads. Peak values in nitrate and dissolved organic C were measured during high flow and high rainfall, probably due to leaching from pasture and arable land. The organic matter was of allochthonous sources as indicated by the C/N atomic ratio and δ 13 C org . Organic matter in SS increased from up-to downstream due to an increase of pasture and arable land downstream of the river. The mean fraction of SS originating from upper watershed riverbed sediment decreased from up to downstream and increased during high flow at all measuring sites along the course of the river. During base flow conditions, the major sources of SS are pasture, forest and arable land. The latter increased during rainy and warmer winter periods, most likely because both triggered snow melt and thus erosion. The measured increase in DOC and nitrate concentrations during high flow support these modeling results. Enhanced soil erosion processes on pasture and arable land are expected with increasing heavy rain events and less snow during winter seasons due to climate change. Consequently, SS and organic matter in the river will increase, which will possibly affect brown trout negatively.

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Methods to describe and predict soil erosion in mountain regions

Cited by 73 publications

References 44 publications

Impacts of anthropogenic and environmental factors on the occurrence of shallow landslides in an alpine catchment (Urseren Valley, Switzerland)

Impacts of anthropogenic and environmental factors on the occurrence of shallow landslides in an alpine catchment (Urseren Valley, Switzerland)

Assessment of the redistribution of soil carbon using a new index—a case study in the Haihe River Basin, North China

Organic matter dynamics and stable isotope signature as tracers of the sources of suspended sediment

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