Valoración de los diferentes métodos empleados en Galicia para la medida de la erosión de los suelos, con especial referencia a los suelos afectados por incendios forestales

Abstract

Several methods for assesing soil erosion that are being applied in Galicia are critically reviewed: theoretical methods of calculation of the Climatic Erosivity, experimental methods of estima te the suspended material carried by streams, measurement of soil loss in experimental micro-basins or according to the cover of buried stakes and microtopographic measurements of soil level. Erosion in Galicia for the Historical Period is also analyzed, according to pollinic diagrams of sediments and to historical documentation.

Temporal changes in suspended sediment transport in an Atlantic catchment, NW Spain

“…In contrast, in Galicia (NW Spain) with a temperate humid climate, the sediment transport in rivers has been poorly investigated until now and there is only a limited amount of quantitative data on the hydrological response and sediment dynamics (Pérez-Arlucea et al, 2000Rial, 2007;Rodríguez-Blanco et al, 2010a). Erosion rates are relatively low in Galicia (Díaz-Fierros and Pérez-Moreira, 1984;Valcárcel et al, 2003) compared to Mediterranean areas, mainly due to the permanent dense vegetation cover that protects soils against erosion in over 70% of the Galician region, and to the rainfall characteristics including long duration and low intensity. However, sediments play an important role in the transfer of much of the nutrients and contaminants that reach streams and coastal areas in this region, especially during runoff episodes, with implications for eutrophication and degradation of aquatic habitats (Prego and Vergara, 1997;Alfaro, 2004;Devesa-Rey et al, 2009;Rodríguez-Blanco et al, 2010b).…”

The geomorphic impact of afforestations on soil erosion in Southeast Spain

“…Topographical profiles have been used by several authors to determine erosion rates and slope evolution (Díaz-Fierros and Pérez-Moreira, 1984;La Roca, 1984;García-Ruiz et al, 1989;Ortigosa-Izquierdo, 1991;Chaparro-Fuster and Esteve-Selma, 1995), and are developed by fixing a rope above the ground in the direction of the slope, and covering at least two consecutive terraces (Figure 3). The rope must be tightened to form a straight line between two metal posts at the ends and a tape measure is placed over it.…”