La thèse pose l’hypothèse que la construction des barrages hydroélectriques pourrait être un moteur de développement harmonieux entre montagnes et plaines. L’objectif serait de relier politiques de développement des barrages hydroélectriques et politiques agricoles en fonction des stratégies individuelles et des contraintes physiques et socio-économiques. Depuis les années 2000, dans toute l’Asie du Sud-Est, de nombreux projets de grands barrages hydroélectriques sont construits ou en construction pour répondre à la forte croissance de la demande en énergie, entraînant de grandes menaces sur la gestion de l’eau et l’environnement d’une part, et imposant d’importants déplacements de population d’autre part. Dans ces régions de montagne, les processus d’érosion représentent un risque majeur à la fois pour le comblement des lacs de barrage et pour la productivité agricole. Aussi grands investisseurs, pour la durée de vie des barrages hydroélectriques, et petits exploitants, pour leurs moyens de subsistance, se retrouvent également impactés. Le défi est de reformuler la relation entre la planification et la gestion des barrages hydroélectriques, et la planification et la gestion des terres agricoles des zones amont des barrages. Même si l’accompagnement socio-économique a été très largement amélioré de la part de l’Etat vietnamien, les agriculteurs déplacés et non-déplacés sont encore largement à subir les mutations sociospatiales régionales en cours. En effet, malgré des bonnes intentions gouvernementales et internationales, le manque de concertation au niveau local et le manque de connaissance en hydro-écologie restent les contraintes majeures pour le succès de la protection environnementale et l’équité entre les populations concernées, deux conditions obligatoires à la durabilité des projets de barrages hydroélectriques. Pour conclure, il semble que le succès d’implantation d’un grand barrage hydroélectrique soit lié à la capacité des décideurs à comprendre les interactions complexes entre systèmes écologiques et systèmes socio-économiques. / The thesis project assumes that the construction of hydropower dams could be a driven force for a harmonious economic development between mountains and plains. The aim would be to link policies for hydropower dam development, and policies for agriculture in mountains, within individual strategies, in relationship with physical and socio-economic constraints. Since 2000’s, throughout Southeast Asia, many projects of large hydropower dams are built or being built to meet the strong growth in demand for energy, causing great threats to water management and the environment on the one hand, and imposing important population displacement on the other hand. In these mountainous regions, the erosion process is a major risk for both the filling of reservoirs and agricultural soil productivity. Then major investors, for the lifespan of hydropower dams, and small farmers, for their livelihoods, are equally impacted. The challenge is to reformulate the relationship between planning and management of hydropower dams, and planning and management of agricultural uplands in upstream areas of dams. Although the socio-economic support has been very much improved from the Vietnamese State, displaced and non-displaced farmers are still largely undergoing regional socio-spatial changes on-going. In spite of good government and international intentions, the lack of consultation at local level and the lack of knowledge in hydro-ecology remain major constraints to the success of environmental protection and equity between the concerned populations, two mandatory conditions for sustainability of hydroelectric dam projects. In conclusion, it appears that the successful implantation of a large hydroelectric dam is related to the ability of policymakers to understand the complex interactions between ecological and socio-economic systems.

Enhanced soil loss from the watershed is a major environmental issue. Increased soil loss from a watershed can potentially increase sediment delivery and loading to aquatic ecosystems such as rivers and estuaries. An increase in sediment delivery and loading to freshwater and transitional marine ecosystems can impact water quality and supply specifically by: (1) reducing water clarity, (2) transporting nutrient and pollutant laden sediments and (3) reducing the storage capacity of reservoirs. To address these broader environmental impacts of increased sediment delivery and loading to aquatic ecosystems it is imperative that potential source areas of sediments available for transport are identified in the watershed. It is also important that sediment source areas are linked to sediment transport and delivery to aquatic ecosystems. This study attempted to establish a link between soil loss from watersheds and sediment delivery in two estuaries on the island of Puerto Rico. The two estuarine systems used in this investigation were the Rio Espiritu Santo (RES) riverine-estuarine system and the Jobos Bay (JB) Estuary. Soil loss from both study watersheds was estimated using RUSLE. Sediment cores and surface grab samples were collected from both estuaries. In addition, soil samples were collected from the two watersheds. Gamma analyses were performed in order to measure activity concentrations of 137Cs and excess 210Pb in sediment cores, surface and soil samples. 137Cs inventories were computed for each core collected from both watersheds. Also, grain-size and LOI were performed on the sediments to describe the sedimentological characteristics of collected sediment cores, surface samples and soil samples. A conceptual framework was developed and implemented for linking sediment production, availability (supply), transport and delivery to study estuaries. Results from the RUSLE model indicated that soil loss within both watersheds were low with patchy instances of erosional hotspots. These results did not provide any information on sediment supply or insights into the hydrologic connectivity of the study watersheds. 137Cs inventories computed from the RES watershed indicated that sediment cores located further upstream had the highest inventories. With reference to the JB Estuary, statistical analysis showed that location had an effect on distribution of Cs in surface samples within the bay. Sedimentological characteristics varied between cores. The implementation of the conceptual model in both study watersheds allowed for the identification of potential source areas of sediments that were available for transport and delivery to adjacent aquatic systems. This investigation revealed that to link soil loss to sediment delivery it is essential that key processes and variables (rainfall, soils, LULC and geomorphology) must be included in the analysis. This conceptual model may be a valuable tool for monitoring and managing soil loss within the watershed and consequently, addressing problems of increased sediment delivery to aquatic and transitional marine ecosystems such as estuaries.

Since the Dust Bowl, conservation agriculture has become a common practice globally. Because of the rising interest in the use of corn biomass as a feedstock for biofuel production, the effects of corn stover removal on soil erosion were explored. It was hypothesized that selective harvesting strategies would impact soil erosion differently across a variety of slopes. Soil erosion boxes were constructed, and a rainfall simulator with an intensity of 30 mm hr-1 for 46 min was used to create runoff from slopes of 1, 5, and 10% and three cover factor treatments (no removal and two simulated corn stover removal strategies). Due to research time constraints, simulated corn roots were constructed to emulate actual corn roots in all experiments. The corn stover harvest strategies change the distribution of cobs, husks, leaves, and stalks in field; these changes were represented as the cover factor treatments. Changing the type of plant material on the soil surface impacted the predicted soil erosion from the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). Based on the results from this study, the effect of corn stover cover percentages had a significant impact on the predicted and observed soil loss.

The thesis deals with the question of using available sources of elevation data for the evaluation of topographic factor in estimating the amount of water erosion in the area. Work compares the results with consideration to the origin of the data, the accuracy and resolution of the digital terrain model, which is interpolated from the source data. The calculation of topographic factor in ArcGIS will be confronted with the results of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The frequency of compliance will tell us which data source and digital terrain model resolution is the most suitable for determining the topographic factor.

In the Czech Republic, about 50 per cent of agricultural land is affected by water erosion that adversely influences soil productivity and the environment. That´s why the goal of this work was an evaluation of soil erosion danger in an arbitrary area. And secondly, if high erosion danger found, there was a task to make a proposal of suitable erosion control measures. The chosen area is called Hosín, located northly close to České Budějovice. There were fifteen profiles found in the area which are most likely to be in a danger of increased water erosion. These fifteen profiles were proved by two different methods of soil erosion evaluation. The RUSLE method - revised universal soil loss equation, and SMODERP {--} a simulation model of overland flow and erosion processes. SMODERP method showed all the proved profiles beeing not in a high erosion danger. Which means no erosion control measures are needed. The result gained by the RUSLE method was: by more than one third of examined slopes the estimate average annual soil loss raises above the limits. In this case the erosion control measures are necessary. Four different possibilities were proposed, the final one was combination of two erosion control measures {--} mulching and using a vegetative stabilization while the soil is uncovered. This kind of control measure was found to be the best one because of its low financial costs and easy implementation. On the other hand this control measure doesn´t restrict the farmer´s choise of the crops kind to grow. An objective comparison of the different results gained of the two methods wasn´t possible because of different enter data.

No description available.

Cette thèse met en évidence les dynamiques spatiales en cours à l'échelle des paysages sur deux bassins versants du SOOI, en se focalisant sur les dynamiques d'occupation du sol qui affectent les processus érosifs. Cette thèse s'interroge sur les processus de dégradation affectant les bassins versants et sur les données spatiales à mobiliser dans des contextes très différents tels les territoires de La Réunion et de Madagascar. Les données de télédétection constituent dans ces contextes un atout. Elles permettent d'observer de façon régulière et à différentes échelles les territoires. Deux bassins versants sont suivis, le Fiherenana (Madagascar) et la Rivière des Pluies (La Réunion). Sur le Fiherenana, l'étude de l’érosion est abordée en considérant les dynamiques d'occupation du sol entre 2001 et 2013. Les informations, extraites du traitement d'images satellite SPOT 4 et 5, montrent une dégradation importante de la couverture forestière, particulièrement dans le secteur de Ranobé (section avale). Une perte de plus de 230 km² de forêt sèche est notée en 12 ans. Les pertes de sols estimées sur la même période, selon le modèle RUSLE, montrent une augmentation de l'érodabilité en raison de l'altération du couvert végétal. Sur la Rivière des Pluies, l'étude se focalise sur l'empreinte spatiale de deux processus, l'anthropisation des planèzes et son impact sur l'imperméabilisation des sols, ainsi que celle des mouvements de masse sur les fortes pentes. Ces phénomènes sont suivis à partir d'orthophotographies de l'IGN, entre 1997 et 2012. Ces travaux apportent une réponse spatialisée et quantitative des dynamiques de dégradation en cours sur les bassins versants du SOOI. / Since the 20th centuries, the Southwest of Indian Ocean is particularly affected by anthropogenic degradations. This study aims to analyze degradations on drainage basin scale, which allows a suitable monitoring of critical areas, in the southwest of Indian Ocean. It focus on the assessment of land degradation and its causes, land cover change and erosion.The main difficulty stands in the implementation of reproducible methods and proceeds for developed and developing countries. In light of this, remote sensing data are relevant. Those data enable a regular observation of phenomena, allowing a full description of isolated lands and at different scale. This study combined, remote sensing data processing, spatial analysis and modeling to analyze degradations. Approaches include, data collection, their formatting or their preprocessing. Land cover information provided from Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) methodologies and Geographical Information System (GIS) authorized data conditioning and modeling. On the Fiherenana catchment, soil loss has been computed taking into account land cover changes. Those information were provided from SPOT 4 and 5 images from 2001 to 2013. Results confirmed the forest degradation especially in Ranobé, where we recorded a loss of more than 230 km² over 12 years. Lands affected by erosion process, spatialized and quantified by RUSLE model, also increased over this period. On La Rivière des Pluies, IGN’s orthophotographies, from 1997 until 2012, permitted urbans imprint analyzing. On Grand Éboulis site, vegetation monitoring revealed slumps. The study exposed spatial and quantitative results highlighting degradations dynamics on catchm

Functions and services provided by soils play an important role for numerous sustainable development goals involving mainly food supply and environmental health. In many regions of the Earth, water erosion is a major threat to soil functions and is mostly related to land-use change or poor agricultural management. Selecting proper soil management practices requires site-specific indicators such as water erosion, which follow a spatio-temporal variation. The aim of this study was to develop monthly soil erosion risk maps for the data-scarce catchment of Ruiru drinking water reservoir located in Kenya. Therefore, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation complemented with the cubist–kriging interpolation method was applied. The erodibility map created with digital soil mapping methods (R2 = 0.63) revealed that 46% of the soils in the catchment have medium to high erodibility. The monthly erosion rates showed two distinct potential peaks of soil loss over the course of the year, which are consistent with the bimodal rainy season experienced in central Kenya. A higher soil loss of 2.24 t/ha was estimated for long rains (March–May) as compared to 1.68 t/ha for short rains (October–December). Bare land and cropland are the major contributors to soil loss. Furthermore, spatial maps reveal that areas around the indigenous forest on the western and southern parts of the catchment have the highest erosion risk. These detected erosion risks give the potential to develop efficient and timely soil management strategies, thus allowing continued multi-functional use of land within the soil–food–water nexus.

A erosão hídrica constitui um dos principais processos de degradação do solo, com impactos que vão desde a redução da produtividade até a diminuição dos recursos naturais existentes. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho objetivou avaliar o efeito das alterações no uso do solo, de 1990 a 2007, aplicando o modelo RUSLE para estimar espacialmente o comportamento da erosão do solo para as bacias hidrográficas dos rios Lontra e Manuel Alves Pequeno-TO. A erosão hídrica na bacia do rio Lontra, no ano de 2007, variou de “suave” (51,3%), na região central da bacia, onde o relevo é plano e o uso do solo predominante é mata nativa, a “extremamente alta” (24,6%), na faixa que vai do norte ao oeste, com uso do solo predominante pela pecuária e relevo mais declivoso. Na bacia do rio Manuel Alves pequeno, no mesmo período, a classe de erosão denominada suave” (52%) está distribuída ao longo da bacia, devido à maior parte dos solos apresentar baixa erodibilidade e com a maior parte da área cobertas pelo cerrado, já a classe “extremamente alta” (6,7%), nas porções norte e oeste ocorreu devido ao uso do solo pela pecuária, e na porção leste devido à maior declividade. A avaliação temporal da perda de solo evidenciou que não houve variações significativas no período estudado, contudo, na bacia do rio Lontra, de 2000 a 2007, ocorreu uma redução 0,3% da classe “extremamente alta”, devido ao avanço do cerrado sobre a pecuária, enquanto que na bacia do rio Manuel Alves Pequeno, de 1990 a 2007, houve o aumento gradual da taxa de erosão, com a soma das classes “alta”, “muito alta” e “extremamente alta” passando de 25% para 26,4%, justificado pelo crescimento das atividades pastoris nessa bacia. Os pontos críticos de maior susceptibilidades à erosão, encontrados nesse trabalho, constituem-se ferramentas fundamentais para a tomada de decisões associadas ao manejo, conservação e planejamento do uso do solo. / The hydraulic erosion is one of the main processes of soil degradation. It brings about impacts which range from productivity reduction to existing natural resources decrease. This way, the present work had the objective to evaluate the effects of the alternations in soil use from 1990 to 2007, applying RUSLE model to estimate the soil erosion behavior in space to the hydrographic basins of the Lontra River and Manuel Alves Pequeno River – TO. The hydraulic erosion of the Lontra River basin in 2007 ranged from “light” (51,3%), in the basin central region, where the land is flat and the predominant soil is native wood, to “extremely high” (24,6%) from north to west with land use predominantly by livestock and bending soil surface. In the Manuel Alves Pequeno River basin, in the same period, the erosion classified as “light” (52%) is distributed along the basin, due to most of the soil presents low erosion properties and most of the land is covered by cerrado. As for the “extremely high” (6,7%) in the north and west, it occurred due to the land being used by livestock and in the east, due to being more bending. The seasonal evaluation of the soil loss evidenced that there were no significant variations while carrying out these studies. However, in the Lontra River basin, from 2000 to 2007, there was a reduction of 0,3% in the “extremely high” class due to the advance of the cerrado over the cattle ranch, while in the Manuel Alves Pequeno River basin, from 1990 to 2007, there was a gradual increase on the erosion level, with the addition of the “high”, “very high” and “extremely high” classes, ranging from 25% to 26,4%, explained by the growth of pastoral activities in this basin. The critical points with higher soil susceptibility to erosion, found in this work, become fundamental tools to make decisions associated to the management preservation and planning the soil use.

The implementation and application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analyses have become standard practice in many archaeological projects. In this study, we demonstrate how GIS can play a crucial role in the study of taphonomy, i.e., understanding the processes that underpinned the creation of archaeological deposits, in this case the distribution of artifacts across an archeological site. The Stelida Naxos Archeological Project (SNAP) is focused on the exploration of a Paleolithic-Mesolithic stone tool quarry site located on the island of Naxos, Greece. An extensive pedestrian survey was conducted during the 2013 and 2014 archeological field seasons. An abundance of lithic material was collected across the surface, with some diagnostic pieces dating to more than 250 Kya. Spatial statistical analysis (Empirical Bayesian Kriging) was conducted on the survey data to generate predictive distribution maps for the site. This study then determined the contextual integrity of the surface artifact distributions through a study of geomorphic processes. A digital surface model (DSM) of the site was produced using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) aerial photography and Structure from Motion (SfM) terrain modeling. The DSM employed to develop a Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model and hydrological flow models. The model results provide important insights into the site geomorphological processes and allow categorization of the diagnostic surface material locations based on their contextual integrity. The GIS analysis demonstrates that the surface artifact distribution has been significantly altered by post-depositional geomorphic processes, resulting in an overall low contextual integrity of surface artifacts. Conversely, the study identified a few areas with high contextual integrity, loci that represent prime locations for excavation. The results from this study will not only be used to inform and guide further development of the archeological project (as well as representing significant new data in its own right), but also contributes to current debates in survey archaeology, and in mapping and prospection more generally. This project demonstrates the benefit of using spatial analysis as a tool for planning of pedestrian surveys and for predictive mapping of artifact distributions prior to archaeological excavations. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)