Relevance and application of the EU Water Directive in terms of Spain's National Hydrological Plan

Embid, Antonio; Gurrea, F.

doi:10.2166/wst.2004.0430

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Precipitation variability has caused serious problems over the last few decades in Spain and this has generated a social and political debate that has not reached a general consensus in establishing an accepted basis for water planning and future management of the most essential of natural resources (Barreira, 2003;Pulido-Calvo et al, 2003;Embid and Gurrea, 2004). At the beginning of the 1990s, a long, persistent drought period caused high stress to agricultural and forest areas (Peñuelas et al, 2001;García-Herrera et al, 2007;Vicente and Cuadrat, 2007), while at the end of the 1990s and beginning of 2000s, heavy rainfall caused floods and human and financial losses (Llasat et al, 2003;Barrera et al, 2007;Barnolas et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precipitation concentration changes in Spain 1946–2005

Luis

Gonzalez‐Hidalgo

Brunetti

et al. 2011

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

243

110

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Abstract. An analysis was made of the Precipitation Concentration Index using the new MOPREDAS database of monthly precipitation in Spain (Monthly Precipitation Data base of Spain). The database was compiled after exhaustive quality control of the complete digitalized Spanish Meterological Agency (AEMet) archives and contains a total set of 2670 complete and homogeneous monthly precipitation series from 1946 to 2005. Thus, MOPREDAS currently holds the densest information available for the 1946-2005 period for Spain and ensures a high resolution of results. The Precipitation Concentration Index (PCI) is a powerful indicator of the temporal distribution of precipitation, traditionally applied at annual scales; as the value increases, the more concentrated the precipitation. Furthermore PCI is a part of the well-known Fournier index, with a long tradition on natural system analyses, as for example soil erosion. In this paper, the mean values of annual, seasonal and wet and dry periods of PCI in the conterminous Spain and for two normal periods (1946-1975 and 1976-2005) were studied.Precipitation in Spain follows a general NW-SE spatial pattern during the wet (months) period due to the Atlantic storm track, while during the dry (months) period, it follows a predominantly N-S spatial pattern. As a result, the annual values of PCI combine the two patterns and show a SW-NE PCI gradient.The analyses of the two sub-periods show significant changes in the precipitation occurred in conterminous Spain from 1946 to 2005, and precipitation concentration increased across most of the IP. At an annual scale, PCI increases mostly due to an increase in precipitation concentration during the wet season. At a seasonal scale significant changes were detected between 1945 -1975 and 1976, while changes in Correspondence to: J. C. González-Hidalgo (jcgh@posta.unizar.es) winter, spring and summer were mostly localized and not generalized (both increase and decrease). Changes in PCI seem to be complex and appear to be related to global atmospheric features and synoptic and local factors affecting precipitation trends. We discuss the possible explanation linked to the atmospheric pattern and monthly trends and their implications.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precipitation concentration changes in Spain 1946–2005

Luis

Gonzalez‐Hidalgo

Brunetti

et al. 2011

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

243

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Precipitation variability has caused severe problems over the last few decades in Spain, generating a social and political debate that did not achieve a general consensus for establishing an accepted basis for water planning and future management of the most essential natural resources (Barreira 2003, Pulido-Calvo et al 2003, Embid & Gurrea 2004. At the beginning of the 1990s, a long, persistent drought period caused high stress to agricultural and forest areas (Peñuelas et al 2001, Vicente 2006, García-Herrera et al 2007, Vicente-Serrano & Cuadrat-Prats 2007, while at the end of the 1990s and beginning of the 2000s, heavy rainfall caused floods with human and financial losses (Llasat et al 2003, Barrera et al 2007, Barnolas et al 2008.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precipitation trends in Spanish hydrological divisions, 1946–2005

González‐Hidalgo¹,

Brunetti²,

Luis³

2010

Clim. Res.

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This paper presents an analysis of precipitation changes in the main Hydrological Divisions (HDs; 'Cuencas Hidrográficas', Water Planning Divisions) in Spain from . Trend analysis revealed several monthly long-term variations and important spatial differences that should be taken into account for any national water-planning scheme. The most spatially coherent signals were a negative trend observed in March and June, affecting all catchments (HDs), and a positive trend in October, which was particularly evident in the northwestern catchments. These caused a redistribution of precipitation throughout the year, with a reduction in the length of the wet season (due to the negative trend in March) and a concentration of precipitation at the beginning of the wet season in October. A running trend analysis revealed variability in the long-term tendency which, although quite persistent, changed in strength between sub-periods.

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“…The impact of rain on agriculture and forestry (Nippert et al, 2006;Pérez-Camacho et al, 2012;Sardans and Peñuelas, 2013), on erosion and desertification (Briggs et al, 1992;De Vente et al, 2008;Diodato et al, 2011;VicenteSerrano, 2006) and on hydrology (Do Ó, 2010;Embid and Gurrea, 2004;Sousa et al, 2013) have also been widely studied from different perspectives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%