Gully evolution and geomorphic adjustments of badlands to reforestation.

ABSTRACT: Badlands and gullied areas are among those geomorphic environments with the highest erosion rates worldwide. Nevertheless, records of their evolution and their relations with anthropogenic land transformation are scarcer. Here we combine historical data with aerial photographs and tree-ring records to reconstruct the evolution of a badland in a Mediterranean environment of Central Spain. Historical sources suggest an anthropogenic origin of this badland landscape, caused by intense quarrying activities during the 18^th century. Aerial photographs allowed detection of dramatic geomorphic changes and the evolution of an emerging vegetation cover since the 1960s, due to widespread reforestation. Finally, tree-ring analyses of exposed roots allowed quantification of recent channel in

SUBMITTER: Ballesteros Canovas JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5361202 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature