Some hydrologic effects of urbanization in Catalan rivers

Sala, María; Inbar, Moshe

doi:10.1016/0341-8162(92)90009-z

Cited by 32 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…In particular, coastal areas of Spain, Italy and southern France have been subject to the growth of cities and villages, and the development of urbanization related to tourism, in a process the intensity of which has few rivals worldwide. In north-east Spain, Sala and Inbar (1992) confirmed the occurrence of more frequent and larger floods because of the enlargement of impervious areas since the 1960s. Flash floods in the City of Genova, Italy, have been attributed to urban development on the hillslopes rising from the coast behind the City (Conacher and Sala, 1998b).…”

Section: Land-use Intensification and Extensificationmentioning

confidence: 61%

Erosion in Mediterranean landscapes: Changes and future challenges

et al. 2013

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Intense erosion processes are widespread in the Mediterranean region, and include sheet wash erosion, rilling, gullying, shallow landsliding, and the development of large and active badlands in both subhumid and semi-arid areas. This review analyses the main environmental and human features related to soil erosion processes, and the main factors that explain the extreme variability of factors influencing soil erosion, particularly recent land use changes. The importance of erosion in the Mediterranean is related to the long history of human activity in a region characterized by low levels of annual precipitation, the occurrence of intense rainstorms and long-lasting droughts, high evapotranspiration, the presence of steep slopes and the occurrence of recent tectonic activity, together with the recurrent use of fire, overgrazing and farming. These factors have resulted in a complex landscape in which intensification and abandonment, wealth and poverty can co-exist. The changing conditions of national and international markets and the evolution of population pressure are now the main drivers explaining land use changes, including farmland abandonment in mountain areas, the expansion of some subsidized crops to marginal lands, and the development of new terraces affected by landslides and intense soil erosion during extreme rainstorm events. The occurrence of human-related forest fires affecting thousands of hectares each year is an increasing problem in both the northern and southern areas of the Mediterranean basin. Here, we highlight the rise of new scientific challenges in controlling the negative consequences of soil erosion in the Mediterranean region: (i) to reduce the effects and extent of forest fires, and restructure the spatial organization of abandoned landscapes; (ii) to provide guidance for making EU agricultural policy more adapted to the complexity and fragility of Mediterranean environments; (iii) to develop field methods and models to improve the identification of runoff and sediment contributing areas; (iv) to contribute to the conservation of landscapes (i.e. bench-terraced fields) having high cultural and productivity values; (v) to improve knowledge of the hydrological and geomorphological functioning of badlands, with the aim of reducing sediment yield and accessibility; (vi) to better understand the effect of climate change on soil erosion in the Mediterranean region; and (vii) to improve quantitative information on long-term soil erosion. COVER LETTER

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Section: Land-use Intensification and Extensificationmentioning

confidence: 61%

Erosion in Mediterranean landscapes: Changes and future challenges

et al. 2013

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“…People mainly dwell in the downstream area of a basin, and tribal societies or cities often develop according to the living quality of the environment. The development of an urban area within a watershed causes a drastic change of land use and has major effects on the functioning of the hydrological status of that area during flood conditions (Simmons and Reynolds, 1982;Ferguson and Suckling, 1990;Leopold, 1991;Sala and Inbar, 1992;Singh, 1998;Gremillion et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of growing watershed imperviousness on hydrograph parameters and peak discharge

Huang

Cheng

Wen

et al. 2007

Hydrological Processes

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Abstract:An increasing impervious area is quickly extending over the Wu-Tu watershed due to the endless demands of the people. Generally, impervious paving is a major result of urbanization and more recently has had the potential to produce more enormous flood disasters than those of the past. In this study, 40 available rainfall-runoff events were chosen to calibrate the applicable parameters of the models and to determine the relationships between the impervious surfaces and the calibrated parameters. Model inputs came from the outcomes of the block kriging method and the non-linear programming method. In the optimal process, the shuffled complex evolution method and three criteria were applied to compare the observed and simulated hydrographs. The tendencies of the variations of the parameters with their corresponding imperviousness were established through regression analysis. Ten cases were used to examine the established equations of the parameters and impervious covers. Finally, the design flood routines of various return periods were furnished through use of approaches containing a design storm, block kriging, the SCS model, and a rainfall-runoff model with established functional relationships. These simulated flood hydrographs were used to compare and understand the past, present, and future hydrological conditions of the watershed studied. In the research results, the time to peak of flood hydrographs for various storms was diminished approximately from 11 h to 6 h in different decrements, whereas peak flow increased respectively from 127 m 3 s 1 to 629 m 3 s 1 for different storm intensities. In addition, this study provides a design diagram for the peak flow ratio to help engineers and designers to construct hydraulic structures efficiently and prevent possible damage to human life and property.

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“…This hydrological variability of Mediterranean-type regions profoundly determines the life forms and life cycles of aquatic organisms, as well as ecological processes [20]. Besides these natural factors, the water resources of the Mediterranean basin suffer a high human pressure because it is a highly populated area with urban and industrial growths, especially in the last 50 years [57][58][59]. Apart from the direct pressure on the water resources, Catalan rivers, and other rivers in the Mediterranean basin, also suffer from alterations in natural hydromorphology and riparian vegetation [60,61].…”

Section: Features Of Fish In Cataloniamentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish as Ecological Indicators in Mediterranean Streams: The Catalan Experience

Benejam

Ordeix

Casals

et al. 2015

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

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The Water Framework Directive includes fish fauna as one of the biological elements, jointly with aquatic flora and benthic invertebrates, to assess and monitor water and habitat quality. Successful implementation of the Directive depends in part on the development of reliable, science-based tools to directly assess biological conditions. Although fish have been used as ecological indicators for more than 30 years around the world, mainly in North America and more recently in Europe, few studies have been done in Mediterranean streams. of endemisms with a wide range of tolerance to environmental variations and many exotic species. This chapter summarizes our experience in developing fish-based tools in Catalonia. We discuss the challenges and difficulties to develop these approaches in Mediterranean streams. We show the IBICAT2010 as a fish-based assessment method suitable for the evaluation of the ecological status of Catalan rivers. Moreover, we assess size-related variables as a bioassessment tool because population size structure can provide insights into species-specific applications and management. Finally, we analyse the longitudinal connectivity throughout Catalan rivers and fish passes by using the index of river connectivity (ICF) specially designed to Catalan rivers.

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Some hydrologic effects of urbanization in Catalan rivers

Cited by 32 publications

References 4 publications

Erosion in Mediterranean landscapes: Changes and future challenges

Erosion in Mediterranean landscapes: Changes and future challenges

Effect of growing watershed imperviousness on hydrograph parameters and peak discharge

Fish as Ecological Indicators in Mediterranean Streams: The Catalan Experience

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