We land Loss by E osion in Odiel Ma shes (SW Spain)
Au ho s: Cas illo, J.M., Rubio-Casal, A.E., Luque, C.J., Nie a, F.J., and
Figue oa, M.E.
Sou ce: Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, 36(sp1) : 134-138
Published By: Coas al Educa ion and Resea ch Founda ion
URL: h ps://doi.o g/10.2112/1551-5036-36.sp1.134
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Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, Special Issue 36, 2002
INTRODUCTION
We land losses ha e been de ec ed in many es ua ies
a ound he wo ld (CHUNG, 1982; DELAUNE e al., 1983;
BARROS, 1996; BRIVIO, 1996; PSUTNY a n d
MOREIRA, 2000), a ibu ing hei main mechanism o
e osion. Thus, e osi e p ocesses such as unde mining o he
d ainage channel banks ha e been cha ac e ised
(PHILLIPS, 1986; KEARNEY and STEVENSON, 1991;
GABET, 1998), which esul in s eeped slopes be ween
ege a ed ma shes and ba e in e idal sedimen s (NYMAN
e al., 1994). In e idal sedimen dynamics a e a key p ocess
in he e olu ion o e oded ma shes, since hey de e mine he
heigh o e osi e banks and a ec hei coloniza ion by
ege a ion. In addi ion, he iden i ica ion o he causes o
e osion and i s quan i ica ion a e necessa y in de eloping
managemen s a egies o e oded we lands.
This s udy was ca ied ou in he Odiel idal ma shes (SW
Spain), whe e high bank e osion a es ha e been quan i ied
in a sho e m s udy (CASTILLO e al., 2000a). He e, we
aim o quan i y bank e osion and wi h e ical e osion /
acc e ion a es on in e idal a eas o e a ou yea pe iod.
STUDYAREA
This s udy was ca ied ou in he Odiel idal sal ma shes
in he join es ua y o Odiel and Tin o i e s (37º15’ -
37º37’N, 6º57’ - 6º58’W; SW Spain) (Fig. 1). T h i s
Holocene es ua y is loca ed in a coas al a ea wi h a
meso idal semidiu nal cha ac e . Mean idal ange is 2.10 m
and mean sp ing idal ange is 2.97 m. Wa e le els ange
be ween 0.40 and 3.37 m abo e Spanish Hyd og aphic Ze o
(SHZ) (CASTELLANOS e al., 1994). The es ua y
occupies a 25 km long s e ch o an incised i e alley and
is unde lain by Neogene sandy-sil y sedimen s. The oldes
es ua ine sedimen s ha e been da ed a 6.715 ± 115 y BP.
Sedimen acc e ion a es (app oxima ely 5 mm yea -1)
indica e as in illing o he es ua y du ing he wo las
millennia (LARIO, 1996). In as uc u es such as dykes,
b eakwa e s, ha bou s and wa e ese oi s ha e modi ied
he hyd odynamic and he sedimen supply in he es ua y o
Odiel and Tin o i e s (OJEDA e al. 1995). On he o he
hand, he main channel o he es ua y is d edged
con inuously o allow essel a ic. The Odiel ma shes,
wi h an a ea o 7158 hec a es, we e decla ed a Biosphe e
Rese e by UNESCO in 1983, and hey a e loca ed in a
Medi e anean clima e (NIEVA and LUQUE, 1995).
We land Loss by E osion in Odiel Ma shes (SW Spain)
J.M. Cas illo†, A.E. Rubio-Casal †, C.J. Luque‡, F.J. Nie a‡ and M.E. Figue oa†
†Depa amen o de Biología Vege al y Ecología,
Facul ad de Biología, Uni e sidad de Se illa.
Apa ado 1095, 41080-Se illa, Spain, [email p o ec ed]
‡Depa amen o de Ciencias Ag o o es ales. Uni e sidad de Huel a.
ABSTRACT
We land loss in many es ua ies a ound he wo ld, has been a ibu ed mainly o unde mining and collapse o
channel banks. This s udy aims o quan i y bank e osion and e ical e osion/acc e ion a es on in e idal sedimen s
in he Odiel idal ma shes (SW Spain). Bi-mon hly e osion/acc e ion measu emen s we e aken on eigh channels
o e a ou yea pe iod, using ma ke s (i on s akes) loca ed on in e idal a eas and on e oding banks. The in ensi y
o e osion di ides he Odiel ma shes in o wo zones. The no he n zone has low e osion a es (ho izon al e osion
c. -20 cm yea -1 and e ical e osion / acc e ion be ween 0 and –1 cm yea -1), and coincides wi h low le els o
human ac i i ies. The sou he n zone has highe e osion a es (ho izon al e osion c. -25 cm yea -1 and e ical
e osion / acc e ion be ween 0 and –5 cm yea -1) and exhibi s highe le els o an h opogenic p essu e. The highes
ho izon al and e ical e osion a es (c. -80 cm yea -1) we e eco ded on na iga ion channels. Ho izon al and
e ical e osion showed a posi i e linea ela ionship ( 2= 0.66; P< 0.01), indica ing ha sedimen s mobilized by
bank e osion a e no deposi ed on adjacen in e idal a eas. E osion led o ma u e ma sh habi a loss o c. 17000
m2 yea -1 and a sedimen mobiliza ion o c. 16500 m3 yea -1.
ADDITIONALINDEXWORDS: acc e ion, an h opogenic p essu e, bank e osion, in e idal plain, Spa ina ma i ima.
Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch SI 36 134-138 (ICS 2002 P oceedings) No he n I eland ISSN 0749-0208
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Ma sh E osion, Spain 135
Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, Special Issue 36, 2002
METHODS
Bank e osion by unde mining and e ical e osion /
acc e ion a es on in e idal sedimen s we e measu ed on he
eigh main channels o he Odiel Ma shes, bi-mon hly om
May - Augus 1996 o July 2000 (Fig. 1). A ne wo k o 298
ma ke s was se up (Table 1). These consis ed o i on s akes
app oxima ely 1.5 m all and 1 cm in diame e (Fig.2).
Ma ke s we e inse ed o a dep h o 1 m, be ween +1.0 m
and +2.5 m o e SHZ on in e idal plains and o e e osi e
banks. The dis ance om he sedimen su ace o he op o
he ma ke s was measu ed o quan i y e ical e osion /
acc e ion dynamic; he dis ance om he edge o he bank
o he ma ke base was measu ed o quan i y bank
ho izon al e osion (Fig. 2). This me hod has been used by
many au ho s (WOLMAN, 1959; RANWELL, 1964;
HUBBARD and STEBBINGS, 1968; RANWELL, 1972;
KING, 1975), since i allows epea ed measu emen s o
e osion and acc e ion a he same loca ion. Nega i e alues
indica e e osion and posi i e alues co espond o acc e ion.
Mean bank heigh (n = 6) was measu ed a e e y channel o
quan i y he olume o mobilized sedimen by ho izon al
e osion.
Analysis was ca ied ou using ‘S a is ica’ 5.1 (S a so
Inc.). Pea son co ela ion coe icien s we e calcula ed
be ween e osion / acc e ion a es. Ra es o e osion /
acc e ion on di e en channels we e compa ed using one-
way analysis o a iance. Leas signi ican di e ences
(LSD) be ween means we e calcula ed only i he F- es was
signi ican a he 0.05 le el o p obabili y. Da a we e es ed
o homogenei y o a iance wi h he Le ene es (P> 0.05).
Figu e 1. Loca ion o Odiel es ua y in The Ibe ian Peninsula and
map o Odiel Ma shes. S udied channels a e numbe ed
om 1 o 8.
Table 1. Mean ± SEM bank ho izon al e osion and in e idal
plain e ical e osion / acc e ion (cm yea -1) du ing
ou yea s in he main channels o Odiel sal ma shes
(SW Spain).
1 -8 ± 2 -0.5 ± 0.5
2 -15 ± 3 -1.1 ± 1.3
3 -47 ± 12 -1.6 ± 0.3
4 -37 ± 6 -1.3 ± 0.5
5 -34 ± 7 -1.6 ± 0.7
6 -76 ± 9 -4.7 ± 0.7
7 -40 ± 6 -0.3 ± 1.0
8 -64 ± 9 -2.4 ± 0.4
Bank ho izon al
e osion
Channels in e idal plain e ical
e osion / acc e ion
Figu e 2. Diag am showing he placemen o ma ke s o e a
bank, o measu e ho izon al e osion, and on an
in e idal plain, o measu e e osion / acc e ion
dynamic.
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Cas illo, Rubio-Casal, Luque, Nie a and Figue oa 136
Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, Special Issue 36, 2002
RESULTS
The in ensi y o bank ho izon al e osion and in e idal
plain e ical e osion / acc e ion a ied signi ican ly
be ween channels (F = 14.66, P < 0.0001; F = 4.44, P <
0.0001, espec i ely) (Table 1). E osion / acc e ion a es
di ided he Odiel ma shes in o wo zones. In he No he n
zone (channels 1 and 2) mean ho izon al e osion was less
han -20 cm yea -1 and he mean e ical e osion / acc e ion
a e was be ween 0 and -1 cm yea -1. In he Sou he n zone
(channels 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8) mean ho izon al e osion was
o e -25 cm yea -1, wi h a maximum close o -80 cm
yea -1, and he e ical e osion / acc e ion a e was be ween
0 and –5 cm yea -1 (Fig. 1).
The highes ho izon al and e ical e osion a es we e
eco ded on na iga ion channels –(channels 6 and 8). Bo h
channels we e loca ed close o he es ua y inle and channel
8 was he wides channel. Ho izon al and e ical e osion
showed a posi i e and linea ela ionship ( 2= 0.66;
P< 0.01) a all si es (Fig. 3).
E osion in he Odiel idal ma shes has led o a loss o
ma u e high ma sh o c. 17000 m2yea -1, p o oked by bank
e osion, and a sedimen mobiliza ion by bank and in e idal
e osion o c. 16500 m3yea -1 (Table 2). This e osion hinde s
he de elopmen o ma shes by successional p ocesses and
limi s he success o p ima y colonize s.
Figu e 3 Co ela ion be ween ho izon al and e ical e osion in
eigh channels in Odiel Ma shes (SW, Spain).
( 2 = 0.66; P< 0.01).
Table 1. Table 2. Numbe o ma ke s, leng h (m), heigh o
bank (cm), e oded a ea (m2yea -1) and mobilized
sedimen s (m3yea -1) – conside ing a mean in e idal
plain wid h o 10 m- in eigh channels o Odiel Sal
Ma shes.
1 25 11167 37 893 892
2 19 16393 40 2459 2793
3 23 8374 51 3936 3359
4 25 5643 58 2088 1949
5 35 6351 64 2159 2403
6 53 1981 93 1506 2325
7 20 9140 59 3656 2407
8 98 600 52 384 382
∑298 59649 - 17081 16510
Channel Nº o
ma ke s Leng h
(m) Heigh
(cm) E oded
a ea (m2
yea -1)
Mobilized
sedimen s
(m3 yea -1)
DISCUSSION
E osion / acc e ion dynamic di ides he Odiel idal
ma shes in o wo zones: a no he n zone wi h low e osion
a es, coinciding wi h low le els o human ac i i ies; and a
sou he n zone wi h highe e osion a es and highe le els o
an h opogenic p essu es ( ec ea ional, po and indus ial
ac i i ies, in as uc u e ins alla ion, e c.). The highes
e osion a es we e eco ded on na igable channels,
sugges ing ha essel a ic may con ibu e o inc eased
e osion (PEZESHKI and DELAUNE, 1996). Howe e ,
human ac i i ies causing e osion a e di icul o iden i y
and quan i y in his s udy, since mo e han one ac o could
be ac ing a he same ime. Many in as uc u es ha e been
cons uc ed closed o Odiel ma shes ha may educe
sedimen supply o he es ua y a ou ing ma sh e osion,
such as b eakwa e s, ha bou s and wa e ese oi s.
OJEDAe al. (1995) iden i ied an h opogenic al e a ions o
he hyd odynamic condi ions o he Odiel ma shes, which
may a ec e osion / acc e ion p ocesses h ough he
modi ica ion o cu en s and sedimen supply (CHMURA
e al., 2001). The lowe a es o e osion in he uppe es ua y
migh also e lec lowe wa e ene gy, a sugges ion ha is
also consis en wi h he obse a ion o highe e osion a es
adjacen o he la ge na iga ion channels. On he o he
hand, accele a ed sea le el ise could accele a e he loss o
coas al we lands by e osion (ROGERS and MCCARTY,
2000).
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Ma sh E osion, Spain 137
Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, Special Issue 36, 2002
I is in e es ing o no e, he posi i e and linea ela ionship
be ween ho izon al and e ical e osion which indica es ha
sedimen s mobilized by bank e osion a e no deposi ed on
adjacen in e idal a ea. E osion on he Odiel ma shes has
led o sedimen mobiliza ion o c. 16500 m3yea -1. Ou
esul s sugges ha some o hese sedimen s, which a e
dispe sed by cu en s and ides, could con ibu e o he
sil ing o he channels o he es ua y. Conside able
economic expense is incu ed in d edging na igable
channels o enable he en ance o la ge ships in o de Po o
Huel a. Fu he mo e, e osion is leading o he loss o c.
17000 m2o ma sh pe yea .
Al hough low ma shes a e p esen ly o ming in he
sou he n pa o he es ua y, mos o he los ma shes we e
ma u e ones ha had aken a long ime o o m and we e
ac ing as expo e s o o ganic ma e (HAZELDEN and
BOORMAN, 1999). The loss o hese middle and high
ma shes educes he habi a o ce ain communi ies,
con ibu ing o a dec ease in species and habi a di e si y,
since hey a e eplaced by ba e in e idal a eas.
Ou esul s may con ibu e o he managemen o e oded
ma shes, in o de o assis hei es o a ion by adminis a i e
and cons uc i e geo-ecological me hods (CASTILLO e
al., 2000a). These include he in oduc ion o ma sh plan
species adap ed o high looding pe iods, such as Spa ina
ma i ima (CASTILLO e al., 2000b), which enhance a es
o low ma sh de elopmen by apping sedimen s
(MOELLER e al., 1996).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This s udy was ca ied ou h ough an in es iga ion
ag eemen wi h he Po Au ho i y o Huel a and he
Gene al Di ec o a e o En i onmen al P o ec ion o he
Jun a de Andalusia. We also hank he Di ec o a e o he
Odiel Ma shes Na u al Pa k o collabo a ion, and he Jun a
o Andalusia o he awa d o an FPI schola ship.
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Cas illo, Rubio-Casal, Luque, Nie a and Figue oa 138
Jou nal o Coas al Resea ch, Special Issue 36, 2002
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