Analysing the effect of land use and vegetation cover on soil infiltration in three contrasting environments in Northeast Spain

Regüés, D. ; Badía, D. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Echeverría, M.T. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Gispert, M. ; Lana-Renault, N. ; León, J. ; Nadal-Romero, E. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Pardini, G. ; Serrano-Muela, P.

Resumen: This study presents a joint analysis of the information from 195 field infiltration experiments, using double ring devices. The experiments were carried out in 20 contrasting types of land use, distributed across three geographic contexts (coast of NE Catalonia, an area of gentle relief in the central Ebro Valley and mid-height mountains from the southern range of the Central Pyrenees). The objective of this research was to determine the most important factors explaining infiltration variability: land use, type of vegetation cover, soil and bedrock characteristics, soil moisture and altitude. Data analysis was performed by comparing variables using statistical methods: bivariate lineal correlation, ANOVA and Bonferroni multiple comparison tests. Results show that infiltration variability is the most important factor and is mainly linked to land use, followed by vegetation type. In contrast, soil moisture did not show any relation with infiltration. The interpretation of these results suggests that the characteristics of the study areas are more decisive than temporal variations of soil water content, although humidity can influence land use to a greater or lesser degree. The validity of the results obtained in this study is supported by the wide range of land use and land cover analysed, located in areas with different geographical and geological characteristics.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.18172/cig.3164

Año: 2017

Publicado en: Geographical Research Letters 43, 1 (2017), 141-169
ISSN: 0211-6820

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.865 - Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Geography, Planning and Development (Q1) - Environmental Science (miscellaneous) (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICYT/CGL2007-66644-C04-01-HID
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/CGL2015-65569-R

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Geografía Física (Dpto. Geograf. Ordenac.Territ.)
Área (Departamento): Área Edafología y Quím.Agríco. (Dpto. CC.Agrar.y Medio Natural)