TY - JOUR
T1 - The interplay between man and the environment: modelling land use and evolving hydrological response in a Mediterranean catchment
AU - van Beek, Rens
AU - (Rik) Feiken, H.
AU - Middelkoop, Hans
AU - Bierkens, Marc F. P.
N1 - EGU2014-11077, 2014. EGU General Assembly 2014
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Increasingly, man plays an active role in the hydrological cycle thus
modifying the storage and transport of water near the topographic
surface and the resulting geomorphic work. This influence cannot be
simply neglected when looking at the internal organization of catchments
or at long-term changes in their response. It can be postulated that in
medium-sized catchments (1-1000 km2) prolonged human activity, such as
agriculture, may alter hydrological functioning and leave a persistent
anthropogenic imprint. Whether this human imprint can be observed
depends on the intensity of the human activities and the activity of
natural processes. For a 15-km2 large Mediterranean catchment, a
comparison between pristine and human-impacted conditions for a
6000-year period from simulations with the meso-scale landscape dynamics
model CALEROS revealed marked changes in its internal organization
(e.g., soil properties, sediment transport) but little difference in
annual water and sediment output at its outlet, even under intensifying
agricultural practices. The question, therefore, arises whether the
human impact can be inferred at the hillslope and catchment scale at all
and if so, whether it is persistent over time. To answer this question,
two numerical experiments were performed to detect the human signal in
the dynamics of water and sediment output at the catchment scale. Using
the existing experiment, water and sediment output were contrasted
against their natural variability and the moment determined at which the
human impact is positively identified. In a second, follow-up
experiment, human activity is ceased completely at different stages of
its development and its declining influence evaluated in order to
determine when -if at all- the human imprint is obscured. Although the
results of this study are evidently conditioned by the physiographic
setting of the study area and by the interactions simulated by the
model, they can help us to understand the organization of medium-sized
catchments and their resilience in light of ongoing changes.
AB - Increasingly, man plays an active role in the hydrological cycle thus
modifying the storage and transport of water near the topographic
surface and the resulting geomorphic work. This influence cannot be
simply neglected when looking at the internal organization of catchments
or at long-term changes in their response. It can be postulated that in
medium-sized catchments (1-1000 km2) prolonged human activity, such as
agriculture, may alter hydrological functioning and leave a persistent
anthropogenic imprint. Whether this human imprint can be observed
depends on the intensity of the human activities and the activity of
natural processes. For a 15-km2 large Mediterranean catchment, a
comparison between pristine and human-impacted conditions for a
6000-year period from simulations with the meso-scale landscape dynamics
model CALEROS revealed marked changes in its internal organization
(e.g., soil properties, sediment transport) but little difference in
annual water and sediment output at its outlet, even under intensifying
agricultural practices. The question, therefore, arises whether the
human impact can be inferred at the hillslope and catchment scale at all
and if so, whether it is persistent over time. To answer this question,
two numerical experiments were performed to detect the human signal in
the dynamics of water and sediment output at the catchment scale. Using
the existing experiment, water and sediment output were contrasted
against their natural variability and the moment determined at which the
human impact is positively identified. In a second, follow-up
experiment, human activity is ceased completely at different stages of
its development and its declining influence evaluated in order to
determine when -if at all- the human imprint is obscured. Although the
results of this study are evidently conditioned by the physiographic
setting of the study area and by the interactions simulated by the
model, they can help us to understand the organization of medium-sized
catchments and their resilience in light of ongoing changes.
M3 - Meeting Abstract
SN - 1029-7006
VL - 16
SP - 11077
JO - Geophysical Research Abstracts
JF - Geophysical Research Abstracts
M1 - EGU2014-11077
T2 - EGU General Assembly
Y2 - 1 January 2012
ER -