Noemí Lana-Renault

Fluvial adjustments to soil erosion and plant cover changes in the Central Spanish Pyrenees

ABSTRACT. Until the middle of the 20th century, Pyrenean rivers were characterized by braided channels, unstable sedimentary structures and an almost complete lack of plant cover in the alluvial plain, due to the high sediment yield in hillslopes and the occurrence of frequent and intense flooding. This was probably related to strong demographic pressures, including the cultivation of steep slopes, frequent fires, deforestation and overgrazing. Depopulation and farmland abandonment resulted in plant recolonization in formerly cultivated areas, causing a decrease in runoff and sediment yield. As a consequence, most Pyrenean rivers tend to reduce the width of the alluvial plain and to replace the braided pattern with an incised, somewhat meandering pattern, involving the construction of new terrace levels and the stabilization of fluvial bars.

Forests and Their Hydrological Effects in Mediterranean Mountains - The Case of the Central Spanish Pyrenees

Abstract This article considers the effects of forests on the hydrology of a Mediterranean mountain area. Variations of climate factors, discharge, interception, and water table depth in the San Salvador forested experimental catchment in the Central Spanish Pyrenees were studied and the results compared with those from two deforested catchments. The hydrological response of the San Salvador catchment had the following properties: 1) it had both smaller peak flows and smaller low flows than the deforested catchments; 2) most rainstorm events produced almost no discharge response; 3) the intensity of precipitation had no influence on the magnitude of peak flows; and 4) depth to the water table was the most important factor in the relationship between precipitation and discharge. These results confirm that forest conservation reduces floods and soil erosion, particularly on steep slopes.

Runoff and Sediment Transport during the Snowmelt Period in a Mediterranean High-Mountain Catchment

Abstract The hydrological and geomorphic functioning of high-mountain catchments is heavily influenced by snow accumulation and melt processes, which condition the timing and characteristics of discharges, solute outputs, and suspended sediment and bedload transport. We report here the transport of suspended sediment and solutes during the snowmelt period in a small experimental catchment in the subalpine belt of the Central Spanish Pyrenees. The seasonality of hydrological and sediment responses throughout the year was investigated using daily data of discharge, suspended sediment transport and solute outputs of the hydrological years 2003/2004 and 2005/2006. The study demonstrated the importance of the snowmelt period in terms of runoff production, and solute and suspended sediment yield: whereas precipitation during the snowmelt period (2–2.5 months) represented 10–13% of annual precipitation, discharge and suspended sediment transport accounted for up to 50% and 60%, respectively, and solute output approximately 40–50%. Solute transport dominated throughout the snowmelt period, whereas suspended sediment transport mostly occurred during the second phase of the snowmelt period (June), when an expanding area of the catchment was free from snow. The moderate daily increases in discharge, which were related to day–night temperature fluctuations, were insufficient to transport bedload material. Hourly data were used for preliminary assessment of the relationships among discharge, suspended sediment, and solute concentration, which provided insights into sediment sources and delivery mechanisms. Thus, during snowmelt-related events, the sediment mobilized was most probably derived from areas near or within the channel. In contrast, during events involving both snowmelt and rainfall, the gully system near the divide contributed to sediment load. The solute concentration was inversely related to water discharge, with higher concentrations during the first half of the snowmelt period (May) than during the second half (June). The results of this study demonstrate the key role of snow accumulation and melting processes in controlling the hydrological dynamics and patterns of particulate and solute mobilization in high-mountain environments. Future changes in snow volume and duration will affect the timing of snowmelt-related spring high flows, as well as soil erosion and transport.

Temporal variability in hydrological response within a small catchment with badland areas, central Pyrenees

Abstract The lower Araguás catchment, central Pyrenees, is characterized by extensive badlands (25% of the total catchment), whereas the upper catchment is covered by dense plantation forest. The catchment (45 ha) has been monitored since October 2005 with the aim of studying its hydrological response. The 44 floods recorded over this period were analysed to identify the factors that control the rainfall—runoff relationship. The first relevant feature of the catchment was its responsiveness. The catchment reacted to all rainfall events, but the irregular nature of the hydrological response was the most characteristic feature of the response. No single variable could explain the response of the Araguás catchment. It was found that stormflow coefficients mainly depend on the combination of rainfall volume and antecedent baseflow. A significant correlation was observed between maximum rainfall intensity and peak flow values. The shapes of the different hydrographs are very similar, regardless of the peak flow magnitude; they show a short time lag, relatively narrow peak flow, and steep recession limb. This indicates a large contribution by overland flow, resulting mainly from the generation of infiltration excess runoff in badland areas.

Mid and late Holocene forest fires and deforestation in the subalpine belt of the Iberian range, northern Spain

The conversion of subalpine forests into grasslands for pastoral use is a well-known phenomenon, although for most mountain areas the timing of deforestation has not been determined. The presence of charcoal fragments in soil profiles affected by shallow landsliding enabled us to date the occurrence of fires and the periods of conversion of subalpine forest into grasslands in the Urbión Mountains, Iberian Range, Spain. We found that the treeline in the highest parts of the northwestern massifs of the Iberian Range (the Urbión, Demanda, Neila, and Cebollera massifs) is currently between 1500 and 1600 m a.s.l., probably because of pastoral use of the subalpine belt, whereas in the past it would have reached almost the highest divides (at approximately 2100–2200 m a.s.l.). The radiocarbon dates obtained indicate that the transformation of the subalpine belt occurred during the Late Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Middle Ages. Forest clearing was probably moderate during fires prior to the Middle Ages, as the small size of the sheep herds and the local character of the markets only required small clearings, and therefore more limited fires. Thus, it is likely that the forest recovered burnt areas in a few decades; this suggests the management of the forest and grasslands following a slash-and-burn system. During the Middle and Modern Ages deforestation and grassland expansion affected most of the subalpine belt and coincided with the increasing prevalence of transhumance, as occurred in other mountains in the Iberian Peninsula (particularly the Pyrenees). Although the occurrence of shallow landslides following deforestation between the Neolithic and the Roman Period cannot be ruled out, the most extensive shallow landsliding processes would have occurred from the Middle Ages until recent times.

Effects of wheel traffic on runoff and soil erosion in slopes cultivated with vineyards

Mechanization characterizes the vineyards of La Rioja, one of the most important wine regions in Spain. Farming operations (plowing, soil removal, herbicide and pesticide application, harvesting of grapes and its transportation, 115 No 38 (1) pp. 115-130 ISSN 0211-6820 Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica 2012

Hydrological functions of a small mountain cathment with badland morphologies in the Central Pyrenees

The Araguas catchment has been monitored since 2004 to study weathering, erosion and the hydrological and sediment response in order to understand the dynamics of a badland area in a relatively humid environment. This paper studies the main hydrological characteristics of the Araguas catchment, a representative badland area in a subhumid mountain environment. 79 floods have been recorded between October 2005 and April 2007. The results 119 Cuadernos de Investigacion Geografica 2009 No 35 (1) pp. 119-139 ISSN 0211-6820

Hydrological response in a forested cathment of the Pyrenees : the case of San Salvador

This paper studies the main hydrological characteristics of the San Salvador experimental catchment, a representative area in the middle mountain of the Pyrenees, scarcely affected by human activities. The basin is characterized by the presence of a dense forest cover that conditions the hydrological response against any rainstorm event. The San Salvador catch- ment has been monitored since 1999 by means of a gauging station and a weather station, to quantify the runoff and sediment yield. 40 floods have been considered for the study, between September, 1999 and June, 2005. They have been used to analyse the principal hydrological patterns of the catch- ment and to rank the factors that better explain the hydrological response. The results show the existence of differences in comparison with environments much more affected by human disturbances, especially due to the importance of antecedent wetness conditions. The intensity and volume of rainfalls have a no relevant role to explain the characteristics of the hydrological response.

Soil Erosion and Runoff Generation Related to Land Use Changes in the Pyrenees

Many scientific papers and books demonstrate the direct and indirect effects of human activities on the intensification of soil erosion processes and changes in both sediment and runoff sources (Ives and Messerli 1989). It is well known that deforestation and hillslope farming cause distinct changes in soil properties and infiltration rates, which ultimately affect soil erosion processes and the hydrological cycle at a basin and hillslope scale (Goudie 1986).

Spatial distributed modelling of erosion and sediment transport in mountain catchments in the Pyrenees: challenges for calibration and validation

espanolUna gran parte de los modelos de erosion aplicados a escala de cuenca se basan en una representacion espacialmente agregada, es decir en la subdivision del espacio en superficies a las que se supone un comportamiento homogeneo (subcuencas, unidades hidrologicas, etc.). Esta aproximacion conlleva una deseable simplificacion de los calculos, pero presenta dificultades para abordar problemas relacionados con el transporte de sedimentos y la identificacion de areas fuente de sedimento, que deben tratarse mediante una representacion espacial continua. Los modelos espacialmente distribuidos, en cambio, permiten una aproximacion mas precisa a este problema, a costa de una mayor complejidad de calculo. El objetivo de este trabajo es la calibracion y validacion del modelo WATEM/SEDEM, un modelo empirico-conceptual espacialmente distribuido, para predecir erosion y la produccion de sedimentos en dos cuencas del Pirineo aragones: i) la cuenca del embalse de Barasona (1504 km2), drenada por los rios Esera e Isabena, donde la base de datos para el proceso de calibracion fue el registro de 3 anos de sedimentos en suspension (mayo 2005-mayo 2008) a la salida de la subcuenca del Rio Isabena y para la validacion se utilizo el registro historico de sedimentacion del embalse de Barasona; y, ii) la cuenca experimental de Arnas (2.84 km2), donde se conto para la calibracion con datos espacialmente distribuidos de tasas de erosion y sedimentacion derivadas de inventarios de Cs137, mas el registro de seis anos de sedimento en suspension a la salida de la cuenca de Arnas para el proceso de validacion. El proceso de calibracion para el embalse de Barasona mostro el problema que se tiene al intentar calibrar los parametros de capacidad de transporte con una sola variable (la exportacion de sedimento a la salida de la cuenca), haciendo imposible encontrar un solo conjunto de parametros que optimicen la funcion de error y obligando a adoptar una solucion de compromiso. En la cuenca de Arnas el uso de datos espacialmente distribuidos de produccion de sedimentos derivados de inventarios de Cs137 permitio calibrar los parametros empiricos de capacidad de transporte de una forma satisfactoria, encontrando una sola combinacion de valores que optimiza la funcion de error. Con los resultados obtenidos se demuestra que la calibracion de los parametros de capacidad de transporte es un aspecto fundamental de WATEM/SEDEM y de otros modelos similares. Para obtener una estimacion fiable de la distribucion espacial de los procesos de erosion y transporte de sedimento se requiere de una calibracion y validacion con datos espacialmente distribuidos de perdida o ganancia de suelo que permita a su vez realizar una calibracion espacialmente distribuida de los parametros relativos a la capacidad de transporte. EnglishMost erosion models applied at basin scale are based on spatially aggregated representation, for example, in a space subdivision of the surfaces to which behavior is assumed homogeneous (sub-basins, hydrological units, etc.). This approach leads to a desirable simplification of the calculations, but presents difficulties in addressing problems related to sediment transport and identification of sediment source areas, which should be treated by a continuous spatial representation. Spatially distributed models, however, allow a more accurate approach to this problem, at the cost of an increased computational complexity. The objective of this work is the calibration and validation of the model WATEM/SEDEM, an empirical-conceptual spatially distributed model, to predict erosion and sediment yield in two watersheds in the Central Spanish Pyrenees: i) the watershed of the Barasona Reservoir (1504 km2), which is drained by the Esera and Isabena Rivers, the model calibration and validation was based on the depositional history of the Barasona Reservoir and suspended sediment records over 3 years (May 2005-May 2008) at the outlet of the Isabena River; ii) the experimental Arnas catchment (2.84 km2), the model calibration was performed based on a dataset of soil redistribution rates derived from point 137Cs inventories, allowing capture differences per land use in the main model parameters. The validation process was carried with the registration of six years of suspended sediment at the outlet of the Arnas catchment. The calibration process for watershed of the Barasona Reservoir showed the problem you have when trying to calibrate the parameters of transport capacity with a single variable (the export of sediment to the basin outlet), making impossible to find a single set of parameters that optimize the error function, making it necessary to adopt a compromise solution. For the experimental Arnas catchment the model calibration processes using spatially distributed sediment yield derived from 137Cs inventories allowed calibrating the empirical parameters of transport capacity in a satisfactory way, finding a single combination of values that optimizes the error function. These results show that the calibration parameters of transport capacity are a fundamental aspect of the model WATEM/SEDEM and other similar models. To obtain a reliable estimate of the spatial distribution of erosion and sediment transport requires a calibration and validation by means of spatially distributed data of soil loss, which in turn allows a calibration of spatially distributed parameters concerning transport capacity.