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Soil Erosion in Extensive versus Intensive Land Uses in Areas Sensitive to Desertification: A Case Study in Beira Baixa, Portugal

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  • Adélia N. Nunes

    (Department of Geography and Tourism, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, Portugal
    CEGOT—Centre of Studies of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, Portugal)

  • João Pedro Gonçalves

    (Department of Geography and Tourism, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, Portugal)

  • Albano Figueiredo

    (Department of Geography and Tourism, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, Portugal
    CEGOT—Centre of Studies of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, Portugal)

Abstract

The occurrence of long periods of drought followed by extreme episodes of rainfall and ineffective soil conservation practices are the main causes of soil erosion in the Mediterranean region. The objective of this paper is to assess and compare the hydrological and erosional responses related to land use changes in agricultural landscapes that are sensitive to erosion and that are a result of the significant replacement of traditional land uses. Such changes are characterized by the replacement of extensive olive groves associated with pastureland by intensive almond production, where deep plowing and heavy machinery are required. In each sampling site, runoff initiation, runoff coefficient, and soil loss were evaluated under simulated rainfall (55 mm h −1 ), at plot scale (0.25 m 2 ), at the end of the hot and dry summer period. Slope gradient, soil texture, bulk density, soil organic matter content, soil water content, and plant cover were also determined. The results showed the impact of recently planted intensive almond orchards (IAOs) on accelerating soil erosion risk compared with the extensive traditional olive groves (EOGs), although runoff initiation and discharge are very similar between the studied land uses. The mean values recorded for soil loss and sediment concentration were 118 g m −2 h −1 and 12 g m −2 h −1 and 3.1 g L −1 and 0.7 g L −1 , respectively, for IAOs and EOGs. Our results also demonstrated that maintaining a vegetation cover is a determining factor for the prevention and control of soil erosion, especially in IAOs, where retaining high percentages of natural plant-residue mulch layers (>70%) reduced soil loss by about 70% in this study.

Suggested Citation

  • Adélia N. Nunes & João Pedro Gonçalves & Albano Figueiredo, 2023. "Soil Erosion in Extensive versus Intensive Land Uses in Areas Sensitive to Desertification: A Case Study in Beira Baixa, Portugal," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-15, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:8:p:1591-:d:1215840
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Helen Briassoulis, 2019. "Combating Land Degradation and Desertification: The Land-Use Planning Quandary," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-26, February.
    3. Carlos Bautista-Capetillo & Hugo Márquez-Villagrana & Anuard Pacheco-Guerrero & Julián González-Trinidad & Hugo Júnez-Ferreira & Manuel Zavala-Trejo, 2018. "Cropping System Diversification: Water Consumption against Crop Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-11, June.
    4. José A. Gómez & Juan Infante-Amate & Manuel González De Molina & Tom Vanwalleghem & Encarnación V. Taguas & Ignacio Lorite, 2014. "Olive Cultivation, its Impact on Soil Erosion and its Progression into Yield Impacts in Southern Spain in the Past as a Key to a Future of Increasing Climate Uncertainty," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 4(2), pages 1-29, June.
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