Linking the field to the stream : Soil erosion and sediment yield in a rural catchment, NW Spain

Scales in soil erosion

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)



Description :
This paper presents the results of an integrated study that considered the relationship between erosion and stream sediment yield in an agroforestry catchment (16 km2) in NW Spain. The study combined measurements of soil erosion by concentrated flow at field scale with sediment yield measured at the catchment outlet during winter 2007/08. The results indicate that concentrated flow erosion, i.e., rills and ephemeral gullies, occurred on unprotected crop fields. Erosion by concentrated flow was highly discontinuous within the catchment, both spatially and temporally. Soil loss differed significantly from event to event. Sediment delivery to the catchment outlet was determined to a great extent by the spatial distribution of land use, as well as by the poor connectivity between erosion areas and the stream. The results of this study suggest that in the Corbeira catchment soil loss cannot be estimated from the sum of individual field soil losses. The observations reveal that soil erosion rates measured at one scale are not representative of sediment yield at another scale level.


Type de document :
Article de monographie

Source :
Catena (Giessen), issn : 0341-8162, 2013, vol. 102, p. 74-81, nombre de pages : 8, Références bibliographiques : 54 ref.

Date :
2013

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