Runoff generated under different historical scenarios of vegetation cover and soil uses (1956-2007)

Runoff generated under different historical scenarios of vegetation cover and soil uses (1956-2007)

grain dominated catchment located in the south-eastern part of Norway, monitored by The Norwegian Agricultural Environmental Monitoring Programme (JOVA)

The Chalk Karst observatory groups different karst sites on the Cretaceous Chalk located at the Paris Basin (Norville, Radicatel, Yport, Saint-Martin-Le-Nœud). These karst watersheds range from 10 to 200 km2 and the land use consists of agriculture and grazing under oceanic climate. There are characterized by chalk plateaus covered with clay-with-flints owing to chalk weathering constituting a fairly impervious layer and with quaternary silts. These surficial formations range from 3 to 20 meters depth and are highly susceptible to crusting, compaction, and erosion, particularly during autumn and winter. A numerous swallow holes locally penetrates the chalk through the above-mentioned impervious layer, resulting in a strong connection of the surface with the aquifer inducing infiltration of turbidity releases at spring and well used to drinking water (up to 500 NTU). These Chalk karst sites are one the sites of the French SO-KARST labellised by INSU-CNRS and are a part of the French RBV-Network and ZA Seine.

studying runoff water harvesting and its affect on the ecosystem and agroforestry

Uhlířská (Jizerské Mts.) is a typical mountain catchment underlain by acidic bedrock and strongly acidified during the second half of the 20th century. Two thirds of the catchment were deforested in 1980s and subsequently reforested by Norway spruce (Picela abies) monoculture. Research here has been mostly focused on fluxes of ecologically important elements and water. The monitored characteristics include bulk and throughfall precipitation amount and chemistry, runoff amount and chemistry as well as soil chemistry, forest biomass and element pools but also plant community composition. Biogeochemical (MAGIC) and hydrological models (BROOK90) have been applied to predict future chemistry and hydrology under different scenarios of atmospheric deposition, forest growth and climate change. Hydrological processes of surface and subsurface runoff formation are studied in the catchment as a whole and in detail at the experimental hillslope Tomšovka using standard hydrologic and isotopic methods, incl. water transit time evaluation and groundwater age dating. Hydrology research focuses on water and heat flux in soil profile as well as on processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. Geophysical methods are used to reveal subsurface structures.

grain dominated catchment located in the south-eastern part of Norway, monitored by The Norwegian Agricultural Environmental Monitoring Programme

The Galabre site is part of Draix-Bleone observatory, located in the French South Alps, upstream of Digne, on the right side of the Bleone river. The hydrosedimentary station of La Robine-sur-Galabre was created in 2008 to measure water of sediment fluxes from the Galabre catchment, 20 km2. This catchment integrates a diversity of lithologies and land use that are characteristic of the Pre-Alps. The climate is mountainous and Mediterranean. The site is characterized by intense erosion and intermittent sediment fluxes. The variables that are monitored on the long-term include rainfall and meteorology, high-frequency water discharge and suspended sediment concentration (10 minutes), some physico-chemical properties of stream water and sediments.

The Gourma mesoscale site (Mali) is part of the AMMA-CATCH observation network. Its characteristics are as follows :a 30000 km² endoreic area in semi arid climate. The studies are dedicated to vegetation monitoring in a pastoral environment.

The Oueme mesoscale site (Benin) is part of the AMMA-CATCH observation network. Its characteristics are as follows a 14000 km² basin in sudanian climate on a crystaline basement. The studies focus on the hydrological cycle, the water budget and the hydrological processes.