How to Make a Barranco: Modeling Erosion and Land-Use in Mediterranean Landscapes

C. Michael Barton, Isaac Ullah and Arjun Heimsath
Additional contact information
C. Michael Barton: School of Human Evolution & Social Change and Center for Social Dynamics & Complexity, PO Box 872402 SHESC, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
Isaac Ullah: School of Human Evolution & Social Change and Center for Social Dynamics & Complexity, PO Box 872402 SHESC, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
Arjun Heimsath: School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE), Arizona State University, PO Box 876004, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA

Land, 2015, vol. 4, issue 3, 1-29

Abstract: We use the hybrid modeling laboratory of the Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics (MedLanD) Project to simulate barranco incision in eastern Spain under different scenarios of natural and human environmental change. We carry out a series of modeling experiments set in the Rio Penaguila valley of northern Alicante Province. The MedLanD Modeling Laboratory (MML) is able to realistically simulate gullying and incision in a multi-dimensional, spatially explicit virtual landscape. We first compare erosion modeled in wooded and denuded landscapes in the absence of human land-use. We then introduce simulated small-holder (e.g., prehistoric Neolithic) farmer/herders in six experiments, by varying community size (small, medium, large) and land management strategy (satisficing and maximizing). We compare the amount and location of erosion under natural and anthropogenic conditions. Natural (e.g., climatically induced) land-cover change produces a distinctly different signature of landscape evolution than does land-cover change produced by agropastoral land-use. Human land-use induces increased coupling between hillslopes and channels, resulting in increased downstream incision.

Keywords: landscape; land-use; modeling; Spain; erosion; surface process; archaeology; social-ecological system; Mediterranean (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/4/3/578/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/4/3/578/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:4:y:2015:i:3:p:578-606:d:52581

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().