Water availability in almond orchards on marl soils in southeast Spain: The role of evaporation and runoff

Meerkerk, A.; Wesemael, Bas van; Cammeraat, Erik

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2008.06.017

Cited by 15 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The cereal fields were fallow in 2006 so that the class cropland consists of perennial crops. These crops all feature a low vegetation cover (typically less than 10%) and regular tillage (Meerkerk et al, 2008). A digital elevation model (DEM) was interpolated from the 1 : 5000 topographical map using the topogrid interpolation technique (Hutchinson, 1989).…”

Section: Survey and Analysis Of Concentrated Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The initial abstraction was set at 3Ð8 mm for fallow and 6Ð5 mm for cropland. These are average values obtained from rainfall simulations in the catchment (Meerkerk et al, 2008). The same figures were used for all events so that the runoff estimates do not account for differences in initial soil moisture.…”

Section: Estimation Of Runoff and Dischargementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In any case, it appears that without terraces, the overland flow from the agricultural area increases an order of magnitude and forms a significant contribution to the peak discharge of the river (S2 , Table II). Although the discharge from the agricultural land is quite low (Table II), this is not uncommon in semi-arid catchments (Rockström and Valentin, 1997;Nasri et al, 2004;Meerkerk et al, 2008). For example Nasri et al (2004) showed that water-harvesting structures can store essentially all runoff within the cropland so that it remains disconnected from the river.…”

Section: Effects Of Connectivity On Dischargementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The difference is probably due to microtopography and soil properties. Due to regular tillage, the cropland has a higher infiltration rate and a greater surface roughness (Fleskens and Stroosnijder, 2007;Meerkerk et al, 2008). The infiltration rate on fallow is lower due to crusting.…”

Section: Concentrated Flow In Relation To Rainfall and Landscape Propmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, our results point out that the assumption of catchment-wide runoff and a constant runoff coefficient is not valid in semi-arid areas. Therefore, simple models that are based on a fixed contributing area and a constant runoff coefficient, like the curve number method (Soil Conservation Service, 1985), or that use area weighted infiltration properties produce rather poor predictions, especially for individual events (Mueller et al, 2007;Meerkerk et al, 2008).…”

Section: The Use Of Connectivity Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of connectivity theory to model the impact of terrace failure on runoff in semi‐arid catchments

Meerkerk

Wesemael

Bellin

2009

Hydrological Processes

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Abstract:Terraces are a common feature of Mediterranean landscapes. In many places they are no longer maintained so that the number of intact terraces is in prolonged decline. The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of terrace removal and failure on hydrological connectivity and peak discharge in an agricultural catchment (475 ha) in south-east Spain. The situation of 2006 is compared to that in 1956 and to a scenario without terraces (S2). The spatial distribution of concentrated flow was mapped after four storms in 2006. The degree of connectivity was quantified by means of connectivity functions and related to storm characteristics, land use and topography. For 1956 and scenario S2, connectivity functions and peak discharge to the river were determined for a storm with a return period of 8Ð2 years. The results show that the decrease in intact terraces has led to a strong increase in connectivity and discharge. The contributing area to the river system has increased by a factor 3Ð2 between 1956 and 2006. If all terraces were to be removed (scenario S2), the contributing area may further increase by a factor 6Ð0 compared to 2006. The spatial extent of concentrated flow and the degree of connectivity are related to storm magnitude as expressed by the erosivity index (EI 30 ). Although a large part of the concentrated flow (25-50%) occurs on dirt roads, it appears that croplands become a major source of runoff with increasing rainfall. The results suggest that connectivity theory can be used to improve rainfall-runoff models in semi-arid areas.

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Section: Survey and Analysis Of Concentrated Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Estimation Of Runoff and Dischargementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Effects Of Connectivity On Dischargementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Concentrated Flow In Relation To Rainfall and Landscape Propmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Use Of Connectivity Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of connectivity theory to model the impact of terrace failure on runoff in semi‐arid catchments

Meerkerk

Wesemael

Bellin

2009

Hydrological Processes

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Topographic thresholds for gully head formation in badlands

Rossi

Torri

Geeter

et al. 2022

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Gully erosion is a particularly damaging process which is not yet sufficiently understood and parameterized. Gully head topographic threshold relative to Hortonian runoff have been studied in cropland, rangeland and forest. This study extends such modelling approach to badlands. Different badlands (eight sites) have been studied in the Mediterranean environment in Italy and Spain, characterized by diversified climatic, lithological, and geological settings under different anthropogenic conditioning. Many badlands have been characterized by their specific human history in addition to their geomorphological properties. Land use, as part of the human history, strongly affected many badland formation and development, through extremely impacting land exploitation (usually overgrazing). The effect of geological and geomorphological processes are usually particularly well visible. While the weakening effect of joints is confirmed, the different geological layer bedding orientation with respect to the slope aspect generates a different development of badland morphologies and different values of gully head thresholds values (as shown in two badlands sites on the same geological material and climate.The selection of Curve Number values, at the base of the introduction of land use into the gully head thresholds, has been more objectively defined in order to reduce arbitrariness in threshold application. The study additionally revises some of the physical basics behind the gully head threshold concept, requiring a description of the soil resistance in terms of frictional and cohesive components. This implies the explicit inclusion of rock fragment into the grain size distribution, which cannot be limited to fine grains. It results into an enriched threshold formulation that allows to describe the condition for gully head initiation and retreat as the result of the tradeoff between the frictional and cohesive components of the soil resistance forces.Eventually, the gully head threshold concept is confirmed and extended to include badlands.

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Effectiveness of Plants and Vegetation in Erosion Control and Restoration

Sandercock¹,

Hooke

Baets

et al. 2017

SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science

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In this chapter the approaches and methods used to measure plant effectiveness in reducing runoff and erosion are explained and results presented for each of the major land units, hillslopes and channels. Evaluations of the properties of plants required are made to inform plant selection for different sites. For use of cover crops in orchards it is important to assess whether the cover crops would have an effect on orchard tree productivity, whilst also reducing soil erosion. A climatic threshold for their use was identified. Soil moisture measurements from different treatment areas and water balance and runoff modelling exercises showed where use of such crops could be beneficial. Extent of vegetation growth on abandoned lands was shown to have a marked effect on runoff, water repellency and soil crusts. Various root parameters were measured on a range of plants and their relation to soil detachment calculated. Differences in root architecture and in orientation of rows of plants were tested. Plant stem density, stem bending and trapping efficiency effects P. Sandercock (*

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Water availability in almond orchards on marl soils in southeast Spain: The role of evaporation and runoff

Cited by 15 publications

References 31 publications

Application of connectivity theory to model the impact of terrace failure on runoff in semi‐arid catchments

Application of connectivity theory to model the impact of terrace failure on runoff in semi‐arid catchments

Topographic thresholds for gully head formation in badlands

Effectiveness of Plants and Vegetation in Erosion Control and Restoration

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