Abandonment of soil and water conservation structures in Mediterranean ecosystems. A case study from south east Spain

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

BELLIN, N.

Dept. of Geography, Univ. of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique

VAN WESEMAEL, B.

Dept. of Geography, Univ. of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique

MEERKERK, A.

Dept. of Geography, Univ. of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique

VANACKER, V.

Dept. of Geography, Univ. of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique

BARBERA, G.G.

Dept. of Soil and Water Conservation, Univ. Murcia, Espinardo, Espagne

Description :
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the degradation of soil and water conservation (SWC) structures and the relative importance of the driving forces. It describes a case study of the headwaters of a marl catchment (Cárcavo) in Murcia region where a continuous area of cropland has been treated with SWC structures since at least 1956. Their extent is evaluated from orthophotographs in 1956 and their extent as well as their condition from a field survey in 2005. Furthermore, the thresholds for the collapse of the dams are evaluated based on a suvey after a storm with a return period of 8.2 years.

Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Catena (Giessen), issn : 0341-8162, 2009, vol. 76, n°. 2, p. 114-121, nombre de pages : 8, Références bibliographiques : 26 ref.

Date :
2009

Editeur :
Pays édition : Allemagne, Cremlingen-Destedt, Catena

Langue :
Anglais