Soil and water losses from new citrus orchards growing on sloped soils in the western Mediterranean basin Export

@article{citeulike:6069466, abstract = {Ten representative research sites were selected in eastern Spain to assess soil erosion rates and processes in new citrus orchards on sloping soils. The experimental plots were located at representatives sites on limestone, in areas with 498 to 715 mm year-1 mean annual rainfall, north-facing slopes, herbicide treated, and new (less than 3 years old) plantations. Ten rainfall simulation experiments (1 h at 55 mm h-1 on 0·25 m2 plots) were carried out at each of the 10 selected study sites to determine the interill soil erosion and runoff rates. The 100 rainfall simulation tests (10 × 10 m) showed that ponding and runoff occurred in all the plots, and quickly: 121 and 195 s, respectively, following rainfall initiation. Runoff discharge was one third of the rainfall, and sediment concentration reached 10·4 g L-1. The soil erosion rates were 2·4 Mg ha-1 h-1 under 5-year return period rainfall thunderstorms. These are among the highest soil erosion rates measured in the western Mediterranean basin, similar to badland, mine spoil and road embankment land surfaces. The positive relationship between runoff discharge and sediment concentration (r2 = 0·83) shows that the sediment availability is very high. Soil erosion rates on new citrus orchards growing on sloped soils are neither tolerable nor sustainable. Copyright {\copyright} 2009 John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd.}, address = {Department de Geografia. Universitat de Val\`{e}ncia. Blasco Ib\'{a}\~{n}ez, 28, 46010-Valencia, Spain; Departamento de Econom\'{\i}a y Ciencias Sociales. Universidad Polit\'{e}cnica de Valencia EPSA Alcoy, Plaza de Ferr\'{a}ndiz y Carbonell, 03801-Alcoy, Alicante, Spain; GEA (Grupo de Edafolog\'{\i}a Ambiental), Departamento de Agroqu\'{\i}mica y Medio Ambiente, Universidad Miguel Hern\'{a}ndez, Avenida de la Universidad s/n, 03202- Elche, Spain; School of the Environment and Society, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8P, UK}, author = {Cerd\`{a}, Artemi and Morera, Antonio G. and Bod\'{\i}, Merche B.}, citeulike-article-id = {6069466}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.1889}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/122662221/ABSTRACT}, doi = {10.1002/esp.1889}, issn = {1096-9837}, journal = {Earth Surface Processes and Landforms}, keywords = {overland-flow, rainfall, soil-erosion}, number = {13}, pages = {1822--1830}, posted-at = {2009-11-04 14:58:07}, priority = {3}, title = {Soil and water losses from new citrus orchards growing on sloped soils in the western Mediterranean basin}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.1889}, volume = {34}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:6069466 L3 - citeulike-article-id:6069466 N2 - Ten representative research sites were selected in eastern Spain to assess soil erosion rates and processes in new citrus orchards on sloping soils. The experimental plots were located at representatives sites on limestone, in areas with 498 to 715 mm year-1 mean annual rainfall, north-facing slopes, herbicide treated, and new (less than 3 years old) plantations. Ten rainfall simulation experiments (1 h at 55 mm h-1 on 0·25 m2 plots) were carried out at each of the 10 selected study sites to determine the interill soil erosion and runoff rates. The 100 rainfall simulation tests (10 × 10 m) showed that ponding and runoff occurred in all the plots, and quickly: 121 and 195 s, respectively, following rainfall initiation. Runoff discharge was one third of the rainfall, and sediment concentration reached 10·4 g L-1. The soil erosion rates were 2·4 Mg ha-1 h-1 under 5-year return period rainfall thunderstorms. These are among the highest soil erosion rates measured in the western Mediterranean basin, similar to badland, mine spoil and road embankment land surfaces. The positive relationship between runoff discharge and sediment concentration (r2 = 0·83) shows that the sediment availability is very high. Soil erosion rates on new citrus orchards growing on sloped soils are neither tolerable nor sustainable. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. IS - 13 JF - Earth Surface Processes and Landforms SN - 1096-9837 AD - Department de Geografia. Universitat de València. Blasco Ibáñez, 28, 46010-Valencia, Spain; Departamento de Economía y Ciencias Sociales. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia EPSA Alcoy, Plaza de Ferrándiz y Carbonell, 03801-Alcoy, Alicante, Spain; GEA (Grupo de Edafología Ambiental), Departamento de Agroquímica y Medio Ambiente, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Avenida de la Universidad s/n, 03202- Elche, Spain; School of the Environment and Society, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8P, UK EP - 1830 TI - Soil and water losses from new citrus orchards growing on sloped soils in the western Mediterranean basin VL - 34 SP - 1822 KW - overland-flow KW - rainfall KW - soil-erosion AU - Cerdà, Artemi AU - Morera, Antonio AU - Bodí, Merche PY - 2009/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.1889 ER -