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Water Soil Erosion Evaluation in a Small Alpine Catchment Located in Northern Italy: Potential Effects of Climate Change
No full textWater erosion and evaluation of the average annual soil loss considering the potential effects of climate change are the focus of this study, based on the application of two empirical models, the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) and the EPM (Erosion Potential Method), to an Italian case study. A small mountain basin, the Guerna creek watershed, is located in the Central Southern Alps (Lombardy, Southern Alps, Bergamo), and it has been affected in the past by flooding and erosion events, which stressed the hydraulic weaknesses of the study area. Three different future climate scenarios were built for the middle of this century (from 2041 to 2060) on the basis of CORDEX data and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) set by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) future scenarios: RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5. As concerns climate, precipitation and air temperature are the variables used in the empirical models. On the other hand, potential effects on land use were also considered. Computed soil loss of 87 t/ha/year and 29.3 t/ha/year was achieved using the RUSLE equation and EPM method respectively, without considering the potential effects of climate change. The results achieved showed that climate change impacts on water erosion may not be negligible even by the middle of the current century (the annual average soil loss could change by 6–10% on a basin scale), and a major role is being played by seasonality in rainfall peak intensity
Evaluating soil erosion by water in a small alpine catchment in Northern Italy: comparison of empirical models
No full textTo quantify water erosion rates and annual soil loss in mountainous areas, two different empirical models were used to estimate the effects of soil erosion in a small mountain basin, the Guerna Creek watershed, located in the Central Southern Alps (Northern Italy). These two models, Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and Erosion Potential Model (EPM), were implemented in a Geographical Information System, accounting for the geographical, geomorphological, and weather-climate parameters, which are fundamental to evaluating the intensity and variability of the erosive processes. Soil characterization was supported by laboratory analysis. The results (computed soil loss of 87 t/ha/year and 11.1 m3/ha/year, using RUSLE equation and EPM method, respectively, and sediment yield of 7.5 m3/ha/year using EPM method) were compared to other studies reported in the literature for different case studies with similar topographic and climatic features, as well as to those provided by the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC). In both cases, the agreement was satisfactory, showing consistency of the adopted procedures to the parametrization of the physical processes
Application of the MUSLE Model and Potential Effects of Climate Change in a Small Alpine Catchment in Northern Italy
Get PDFThe evaluation of sediment yield by water erosion taking into consideration the possible impact of climate change is the object of this work, concerning the use of the Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE) in an Italian case study. This empirical model was implemented in a Geographical Information System, taking into account Alpine hydrology and geomorphological and climate parameters, which are crucial in the analysis of the intensity and variability of sediment yield production processes. The case study is the Guerna Creek basin, a small-sized mountain watershed placed in Lombardy, in the South-Central Alps (Northern Italy). In recent decades it has been hit at the same time by floods and erosive phenomena, showing its hydraulic-hydrological weakness. Three future climate change scenarios from 2041 to 2060, around the middle of this century, were built according to CORDEX data referring to three different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 8.5). The findings showed that in the future climate, the sediment yield at the basin scale might change by 24–44% for a single heavy storm in the middle of the current century
Water Sensitive Cities: An Integrated Approach to Enhance Urban Flood Resilience in Parma (Northern Italy)
Get PDFClimate change is globally causing more intense meteorological phenomena. Our cities experience increased rainfall intensity, more intense heat waves, and prolonged droughts providing economic, social, health and environmental challenges. Combined with population growth and rapid urbanization, the increasing impact of climate change will make our cities more and more vulnerable, especially to urban flooding. In order to adapt our urban water systems to these challenges, the adoption of newly emerging water management strategies is required. The complexity and scale of this challenge calls for the integration of knowledge from different disciplines and collaborative approaches. The water sensitive cities principles provide guidance for developing new techniques, strategies, policies, and tools to improve the livability, sustainability, and resilience of cities. In this study, the DAnCE4Water modeling approach promoting the development of water sensitive cities was applied to Parma, an Italian town that has faced serious water issues in the last few years. The city, indeed, had to face the consequences of flooding several times, caused by the inadequacy of both the network of open channels and the sewerage network due to the urban expansion and climate change of the last 30 years. Through the model, the efficiency of decentralized technologies, such as green roofs and porous pavement, and their integration with the existing centralized combined sewer system was assessed under a range of urban development scenarios. The obtained results show that the adoption of an integrated approach, including soft engineering hydraulic strategies, consisting in the use of natural and sustainable solutions, can increase resilience to urban flooding. Further, the study shows that there is a critical need for strategic investment in solutions that will deliver long-term sustainable outcomes
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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