Search results for " Erosion"

Coastal erosion in the archaeological area of Selinunte

2010

Coast erosion is a widespread phenomenon and is a considerable issue for the dwellers of coastal areas today. Our study is based on the archaeological area of Selinunte in which we have noticed a process of erosion in progress. In this area we have considered a particular portion of the coast, around 8 km long, since our purpose is the individuation of anthropic elements such as ports, and natural elements, such as rivers. In this area we have set some point of reference using historical and recent cartography in a 1:25.000 scale dating back to 1971, a regional technical paper in a 1: 10.000 scale from 1994, and aerial pictures from 2000 and 2008, all of which we have geo-related starting f…

COMPARISON OF TWO SIMPLIFICATION METHODS FOR SHORELINE EXTRACTION FROM DIGITAL ORTHOPHOTO IMAGES

2018

Abstract. The coastal ecosystems are very sensitive to external influences. Coastal resources such as sand dunes, coral reefs and mangroves has vital importance to prevent coastal erosion. Human based effects also threats the coastal areas. Therefore, the change of coastal areas should be monitored. Up-to-date, accurate shoreline information is indispensable for coastal managers and decision makers. Remote sensing and image processing techniques give a big opportunity to obtain reliable shoreline information. In the presented study, NIR bands of seven 1:5000 scaled digital orthophoto images of Riga Bay-Latvia have been used. The Object-oriented Simple Linear Clustering method has been utili…

An Approach for the Validation of a Coastal Erosion Vulnerability Index: An Application in Sicily

2022

In recent decades, coastal erosion phenomena have increased due to climate change. The increased frequency and intensity of extreme events and the poor sediment supply by anthropized river basins (dams, river weirs, culverts, etc.) have a crucial role in coastal erosion. Therefore, an integrated analysis of coastal erosion is crucial to produce detailed and accurate coastal erosion vulnerability information to support mitigation strategies. This research aimed to assess the erosion vulnerability of the Sicilian coast, also including a validation procedure of the obtained scenario. The coastal vulnerability was computed by means of the CeVI (Coastal Erosion Vulnerability Index) approach, whi…

The “Soil Genetic Erosion”: a new threat for soils?

2015

During the 1990’s the concept of pedodiversity started to be diffused in the scientific literature and the decrement of the soil diversity in space and time - particularly due to human activity - has been seen as a sort of underhand problem affecting soil ecosystems, considering that different soil types face gradual or drastic reduction or complete loss of their unique “genetic features”. Pedodiversity has received considerable recent interest, especially as peculiar aspect of biodiversity and has been assessed by several authors by applying diversity indices used in ecology. This paper takes into consideration the influence of human activities on the loss of pedodiversity in a Mediterrane…

Testing assumptions and procedures to empirically predict bare plot soil loss in a Mediterranean environment

2014

Empirical prediction of soil erosion has both scientific and practical importance. This investigation tested USLE and USLE-based procedures to predict bare plot soil loss at the Sparacia area, in Sicily. Event soil loss per unit area, Ae, did not vary appreciably with plot length, λ, because the decrease in runoff with λ was offset by an increase in sediment concentration. Slope steepness, s, had a positive effective on Ae, and this result was associated with a runoff coefficient that did not vary appreciably with s and a sediment concentration generally increasing with s. Plot steepness did not have a statistically detectable effect on the calculations of the soil erodibility factor of bot…

Water erosion assessment and modeling in two calanchi areas in Sicily, Italy

I badlands sono forme di erosione localizzate principalmente nelle regioni aride e semi-aride e sono formati da una complessa combinazione di processi morfogenetici. La loro origine coinvolge processi di erosione idrica ma anche tunnel erosion e movimenti di massa. Inoltre, tali forme possono anche essere correlate a fenomeni di erosione accelerata che hanno luogo laddove le azioni antropiche disturbano l'equilibrio naturale tra processi morfogenetici e suolo. I badlands, con i loro versanti ripidi, sono spesso inseriti all’interno di paesaggi più dolci, in mezzo a colture o bosco, localizzati in aree dove i processi responsabili del loro modellamento sono di solito piuttosto attivi determi…

Quantifying interrill and ephemeral gully erosion in a small Sicilian basin

2012

The contribution of mulches to control high soil erosion rates in vineyards in Eastern Spain

2014

Soil erosion take place in degraded ecosystem where the lack of vegetation, drought, erodible parent material and deforestation take place (Borelli et al., 2013; Haregeweyn et al., 2013; Zhao et al., 2013). Agriculture management developed new landscapes (Ore and Bruins, 2012) and use to trigger non-sustainable soil erosion rates (Zema et al., 2012). High erosion rates were measured in agriculture land (Cerdà et al., 2009), but it is also possible to develop managements that will control the soil and water losses, such as organic amendments (Marqués et al., 2005), plant cover (Marqués et al., 2007) and geotextiles (Giménez Morera et al., 2010). The most successful management to restore the …

Establishing soil loss tolerance: an overview

2016

Soil loss tolerance is a criterion for establishing if a soil is potentially subjected to erosion risk, productivity loss and if a river presents downstream over-sedimentation or other off-site effects are present at basin scale. At first this paper reviews the concept of tolerable soil loss and summarises the available definitions and the knowledge on the recommended values and evaluating criteria. Then a threshold soil loss value, at the annual temporal scale, established for limiting riling was used for defining the classical soil loss tolerance. Finally, some research needs on tolerable soil loss are listed.

Modelling soil carbon fate under erosion process in vineyard

2017

Soil erosion processes in vineyards beyond water runoff and sediment transport have a strong effect on soil organic carbon loss (SOC) and redistribution along the slope. The variation of SOC across the landscape determines a difference in soil fertility and vine productivity. The aim of this research was to study erosion of a Mediterranean vineyard, develop an approach to estimate the SOC loss, correlate the vines vigor with sediment and carbon erosion. The study was carried out in a Sicilian (Italy) vineyard, planted in 2011. Along the slope, six pedons were studied by digging 6 pits up to 60cm depth. Soil was sampled in each pedon every 10cm and SOC was analyzed. Soil erosion, detachment …