(Erosion Prediction in Ungauged Basins: Integrating Methods and Techniques (Proceedings of Symposium HS01 held during IUGG2003 at Sapporo, July 2003), IAHS Publication No. 279, 2003, pp. 51–58).
The carbonate massif of the Sierra de Gador (southern Spain) constitutes the natural recharge area of the Campo de Dalias aquifer system. The Campo de Dalias is a semiarid area covered by 20,000 ha of greenhouses yielding significant economic returns. The uncontrolled development of this agricultural activity has produced an increase in the risk of flooding. In 1977 the Spanish authorities carried out a soil and vegetation restoration programme that included the construction of 107 check dams. The effectiveness of the check dams in trapping sediment has been evaluated in the present study. The calculated sediment yield is 50 m3 km–2 year–1, although in some basins values of nearly 2100 m3 km–2 year–1 have been estimated. These results show the usefulness of check dams, which are numerous in the Mediterranean region, as a tool for quantifying water erosion in small, ungauged basins.
Check dams, Sediment yield, Southern Spain
