Hydrological response of abandoned agricultural soils along a climatological gradient on metamorphic parent material in southern Spain

Abstract

AbstractThe hydrological and erosive response of the Mediterranean eco‐geomorphologic system has showed a very variable and complex behaviour depending on several factors: topography, geology, vegetation pattern, soil properties, land use management, etc. Climate is a key factor due to the great spatial and temporal variability. This research was carried out over different micro‐environments representative from five hillslopes localized in the Littoral Bethic Mountains in the south of Spain. The results of 20 experiments with rainfall simulations on micro‐plots (0.24 m2) and the differences of the incidence of some biotic and abiotic factors in the eco‐geomorphologic system from semi‐arid, dry‐Mediterranean and sub‐humid sites are exposed. Runoff, soil moisture and sediment were measured before, during and after the experiments. The results have shown rock fragments disposition on soil surface and vegetation seem to be the main factors that control the hydrological and erosive response at the micro‐plot‐scale of the experiments. Embedded rock fragments are the most important soil surface property because they reduce the infiltration. Whilst vegetation increases it what is more influential on the hydrological and erosive response of micro‐environments at more arid sites. We have also observed that there are micro‐environment particularities which play a more important role than the localization in the climatic gradient at micro‐plot scale. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.