{rfName}
Hy

Indexed in

License and use

Icono OpenAccess

Citations

39

Altmetrics

Grant support

This work was supported by the Universidad de Alcala, the project CGL2010-21754-C02-02 from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion of the Spanish government and the project REMEDINAL (S2009AMB-1783), funded by the Regional Government of Madrid. We are grateful to the Utrillas Council for their active collaboration. We are also grateful to Oscar Godoy and Sara Godoy for their fieldwork help and Lucia Galvez and Patricia Tabernero for language editing and Mariola Merino Martin for her help editing the figures. We are very grateful to Jose Antonio Merino Martin for his fieldwork help and his help with the spatial data. We are very grateful for the comments given by C. Boix-Fayos, L. Bracken and an anonymous referee that helped us to improve the final manuscript.

Analysis of institutional authors

Merino-Martin, LCorresponding Author

Share

October 18, 2022
Publications
>
Article
Sí

Hydrological heterogeneity in Mediterranean reclaimed slopes: runoff and sediment yield at the patch and slope scales along a gradient of overland flow

Publicated to:Hydrology And Earth System Sciences. 16 (5): 1305-1320 - 2012-01-01 16(5), DOI: 10.5194/hess-16-1305-2012

Authors: Merino-Martin, L; Moreno-de las Heras, M; Perez-Domingo, S; Espigares, T; Nicolau, J M

Affiliations

Univ Alcala, Dept Ecol, Madrid 28871, Spain - Author
Univ Newcastle, Fac Engn & Built Environm, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia - Author
Univ Zaragoza, Dept Agr & Econ Agr, Escuela Politecn Super, Huesca, Spain - Author

Abstract

Hydrological heterogeneity is recognized as a fundamental ecosystem attribute in drylands controlling the flux of water and energy through landscapes. Therefore, mosaics of runoff and sediment source patches and sinks are frequently identified in these dry environments. There is a remarkable scarcity of studies about hydrological spatial heterogeneity in restored slopes, where ecological succession and overland flow are interacting. We conducted field research to study the hydrological role of patches and slopes along an 'overland flow gradient' (gradient of overland flow routing through the slopes caused by different amounts of run-on coming from upslope) in three reclaimed mining slopes of Mediterranean-continental climate. We found that runoff generation and routing in non-rilled slopes showed a pattern of source and sink areas of runoff. Such hydrological microenvironments were associated with seven vegetation patches (characterized by plant community types and cover). Two types of sink patches were identified: shrub Genista scorpius patches could be considered as 'deep sinks', while patches where the graminoids Brachypodium retusum and Lolium perenne dominate were classified as 'surface sinks' or 'runoff splays'. A variety of source patches were also identified spanning from 'extreme sources' (Medicago sativa patches; equivalent to bare soil) to 'poor sources' (areas scattered by dwarf-shrubs of Thymus vulgaris or herbaceous tussocks of Dactylis glomerata). Finally, we identified the volume of overland flow routing along the slope as a major controlling factor of 'hydrological diversity' (heterogeneity of hydrological behaviours quantified as Shannon diversity index): when overland flow increases at the slope scale hydrological diversity diminishes.

Keywords

EcosystemsEnvironmentGrowthLandscapesMovementPerformanceRedistributionSoil-erosionVegetationWater

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Hydrology And Earth System Sciences due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2012, it was in position 2/80, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Water Resources.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 2.07, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-17, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 19
  • Scopus: 20

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-17:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 50 (PlumX).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Australia.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Merino Martín, Luis) .

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Merino Martín, Luis.