Search results for " runoff"
showing 10 items of 262 documents
Predicting maximum annual values of event soil loss by USLE-type models
2017
Abstract Previous experimental investigations showed that a large proportion of total plot soil erosion over a long time period is generally due to relatively few, large storms. Consequently, erosion models able to accurately predict the highest plot soil loss values have practical importance since they could allow to improve the design of soil conservation practices in an area of interest. At present USLE-based models are attractive from a practical point of view, since the input data are generally easy to obtain. The USLE was developed with specific reference to the mean annual temporal scale but it was also applied at the event scale. Other models, such as the USLE-M and the USLE-MM, app…
Exploring the use of multi-gene genetic programming in regional models for the simulation of monthly river runoff series
2023
The use of new data-driven approaches based on the so-called expert systems to simulate runoff generation processes is a promising frontier that may allow for overcoming some modeling difficulties related to more complex traditional approaches. The present study highlights the potential of expert systems in creating regional hydrological models, for which they can benefit from the availability of large database. Different soft computing models for the reconstruction of the monthly natural runoff in river basins are explored, focusing on a new class of heuristic models, which is the Multi-Gene Genetic Programming (MGGP). The region under study is Sicily (Italy), where a regression based rain…
Influence of the Laurentian Great Lakes on Regional Climate*
2013
Abstract The influence of the Laurentian Great Lakes on climate is assessed by comparing two decade-long simulations, with the lakes either included or excluded, using the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics Regional Climate Model, version 4. The Great Lakes dampen the variability in near-surface air temperature across the surrounding region while reducing the amplitude of the diurnal cycle and annual cycle of air temperature. The impacts of the Great Lakes on the regional surface energy budget include an increase (decrease) in turbulent fluxes during the cold (warm) season and an increase in surface downward shortwave radiation flux during summer due to diminished atmo…
Predicting soil loss in central and south Italy with a single USLE-MM model
2018
Purpose: The USLE-MM estimates event normalized plot soil loss, Ae,N, by an erosivity term given by the runoff coefficient, QR, times the single-storm erosion index, EI30, raised to an exponent b1> 1. This modeling scheme is based on an expected power relationship, with an exponent greater than one, between event sediment concentration, Ce, and the EI30/Pe(Pe= rainfall depth) term. In this investigation, carried out at the three experimental sites of Bagnara, Masse, and Sparacia, in Italy; the soundness of the USLE-MM scheme was tested. Materials and methods: A total of 1192 (Ae,N, QREI30) data pairs were used to parameterize the model both locally and considering all sites simultaneously. …
Annual runoff assessment in arid Mediterranean watersheds under the Budyko framework
2016
The solution of many practical water problems is strictly connected to the availability of reliable and widespread information about runoff. The estimation of mean annual runoff and its interannual variability for any basin over a wide region, even if ungauged, would be fundamental for both water resources assessment and planning and for water quality analysis. Starting from these premises, the main aim of this work is to show how using the Budyko framework is possible to map the mean annual surface runoff and derive the pdf of the same variable in arid watersheds. As a case study, the entire island of Sicily, Italy, is here proposed. First, time series data of annual rainfall, runoff and r…
Brevi considerazioni su piogge intense e potenzialità di produzione del deflusso superficiale in Sicilia
2013
Vengono presentati i metodi aggiornati per la stima delle precipitazioni intense massime annue di fissato tempo di ritorno in Sicilia. Dall‟osservazione della distribuzione spaziale dei parametri assunti nei modelli di stima emergono aree a maggior rischio riguardo l‟intensità di pioggia, qui commentate. Il richiamo a recenti studi che riguardano la produzione del deflusso superficiale a scala media annua o a scala di evento, consente di avanzare alcune considerazioni di tipo spaziale, con particolare attenzione all‟area del messinese, su questa importante propensione idrologica notoriamente fonte di dissesto idrogeologico e di pericolo alluvionale. The updated methods for the estimation of…
Spatial Gradients of Intensity and Persistence of Soil Water Repellency Under Different Forest Types in Central Mexico
2016
Organic residues release hydrophobic compounds to the soil that may induce soil water repellency (WR), which may inhibit infiltration and increase runoff and soil loss rates. Although there are many studies on soil WR through the world, very few investigations have been conducted in Mexican areas. This paper studies the natural background of soil WR in soils from central Mexico under representative forest types, analyzing the spatial distribution of soil WR in relation with tree canopy, vegetation cover and main soil chemical (pH, CaCO3, organic C content and exchangeable cations) and physical properties (texture). The water drop penetration time and the ethanol tests were used to assess pe…
Policies can help to apply successful strategies to control soil and water losses. The case of chipped pruned branches (CPB) in Mediterranean citrus …
2018
[EN] There is a need to devise management strategies that control soil and water losses in agriculture land to allow the design of proper policies to achieve sustainability. It is the responsibility of scientists to work with other actors to co-construct strategies that will lead to sustainable land-use policies. Using chipped pruned branches (CPB) as mulch can be a viable option because they represent local (in situ) organic material that can restore soil nutrient and organic matter. This research assesses: i) the perception of farmers towards different types of management strategies and CPB's costs; ii) the biomass yield of citrus branches and the impact of CPB on soil properties; iii) ho…
Seed population dynamics on badland slopes in southeastern Spain
1995
6 páginas, figuras, tablas.
The superior effect of nature based solutions in land management for enhancing ecosystem services
2017
The rehabilitation and restoration of land is a key strategy to recover services -goods and resources- ecosystems offer to the humankind. This paper reviews key examples to understand the superior effect of nature based solutions to enhance the sustainabilit y of catchment systems by promoting desirable soil and landscape functions. The use of concepts such as connectivity and the theory of system thinking framework allowed to review coastal and river management as a guide to evaluate other strategies to achieve sustainability. In land management NBSs are not mainstream management. Through a set of case studies: organic farming in Spain; rewilding in Slovenia; land restoration in Iceland, s…