EDAFOLOGÍA, Vol. 10 (3), pp. 39-48, 2003
EFECTO DE DIFERENTES TIPOS DE CUBIERTA VEGETAL EN EL CONTROL DE LA EROSIÓN EN CLIMA SEMIÁRIDO. SE – ESPAÑA
E. CHIRINO1, J. BELLOT2, A. BONET2, J.M. ANDREU3
1 Fundación Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo. e-mail: esteban.chirino@ua.es.
2 Departamento de Ecología. Universidad de Alicante. Apdo. 99, 03080 – Alicante. España. 3 Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra. Universidad de Alicante.
We present the results about the study of 18 hydrology plots (16 m2) in the Experimental Station The Ventós (Alicante) during 4 years (1996 – 1999). We studied the runoff generation and the sediment yield in several vegetation cover types following a land cover gradient and vegetation structure, from pine afforestation over thorn shrubland, pine afforestation over dry grassland, thorn shrubland, dry grassland and alpha grass steppe to open land. Overall runoff coefficient of vegetation plots was lesser than 1,0% of the rainfall and soil erosion was lesser than 0,05 Mg.ha-1.year-1, exceeded only by alpha grass steppe and open land. These results are explained by the high percentage of land cover of the analysed types and the Mediterranean semiarid rainfall characteristics. Vegetation formations covering more than 70% of land and derived from the natural succession (shrublands, dry grassland), could be adequate alternatives as pine afforestation to reduce the runoff and soil erosion.
Key word: erosion, runoff, soil loss, vegetation cover, model.