Ardennes; Belgium; fluvial; land use change; sediment budget
Abstract :
[en] This study quantifies Holocene alluvial sediment deposition in the Belgian Amblève catchment (1080 km2), situated in the Ardennes uplands. An extended coring data set is used for a quantitative description and a quantification of the alluvial depositions. The floodplains fall into three main types: the upper and lower floodplains and the steep reaches. Total Holocene alluvial sediment deposition amounts to 32 Tg, or 0.029 Tg/km2. Dating of sediments using iron slag as tracer shows that on average 42% of contemporary storage was accumulated during the last 600 years. Radiocarbon dating of fluvial deposits at eight sites in the catchment confirms that the majority of the sediment is relatively recent. The increased sedimentation rates for this period are related to anthropogenic land use, possibly enhanced by climatic variations. A fluvial sediment budget was constructed for this 600 yr time period and shows that export from the catchment has about the same importance as storage in the floodplains, while lateral reworking of existing floodplain deposits only affects half the quantity of sediments. Overall, floodplain sediment storage in the Amblève catchment, comparable with other upland catchments, is of lesser importance compared with catchments dominated by loess. This can mainly be explained by lower sediment supply resulting from less intense anthropogenic land use, despite the higher sediment transport efficiency through the fluvial system. Floodplain sediment storage is scale-dependent, with initially a sharp increase in catchment area-specific sediment deposition, followed by a steady decrease with increasing catchment area.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Notebaert, Bastiaan; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - KUL
Verstraeten, Gert; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - KUL
Houbrechts, Geoffrey ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Département de géographie
Petit, François ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Hydrographie et géomorphologie fluviatile
Language :
English
Title :
Holocene floodplain deposition and scale effects in a typical European upland catchment : A case study from the Amblève catchment, Ardennes (Belgium)
Aqualim (2013) Réseau de surveillance hydrométrique: Aqualim. Available at: http://aqualim.environnement.wallonie.be.
Bronk Ramsey C.Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates.Radiocarbon. 2009;51:337-360.
Chiverrell RC,Thorndycraft VR,Hoffmann TO.Cumulative probability functions and their role in evaluating the chronology of geomorphological events during the Holocene.Journal of Quaternary Science. 2011;26:76-85.
Damblon F.Etude palynologique comparée de deux tourbières du plateau des Hautes Fagnes de Belgique: La Fagne Wallonne et la Fagne de Clefay.Bulletin du Jardin botanique national de Belgique/Bulletin van de National Plantentuin van België. 1969;39:17-45.
Damblon FEtudes paléo-écologiques de tourbières en haute Ardenne. Laboratoire de Palnyologie et de Phytosociologie; 1978:.
de Moor JJW,Verstraeten G.Alluvial and colluvial sediment storage in the Geul River catchment (The Netherlands) - Combining field and modelling data to construct a late Holocene sediment budget.Geomorphology. 2008;95:487-503.
de Moor JJW,Kasse C,van Balen R, et al.Human and climate impact on catchment development during the Holocene - Geul River, the Netherlands.Geomorphology. 2008;98:316-339.
Demoulin A,Hallot E.Shape and amount of the Quaternary uplift of the western Rhenish shield and the Ardennes (western Europe).Tectonophysics. 2009;474:696-708.
Demoulin A,Beckers A,Rixhon G, et al.Valley downcutting in the Ardennes (W Europe): Interplay between tectonically triggered regressive erosion and climatic cyclicity.Netherlands Journal of Geosciences-Geologie En Mijnbouw. 2012;91:79-90.
Dotterweich M.The history of soil erosion and fluvial deposits in small catchments of central Europe: Deciphering the long-term interaction between humans and the environment - A review.Geomorphology. 2008;101:192-208.
World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2006: A Framework for International Classification, Correlation and Communication. Rome: World Soil Resource Reports; 2006:.
Förster H,Wunderlich J.Holocene sediment budgets for upland catchments: The problem of soilscape model and data availability.Catena. 2009;77:143-149.
Fuchs M,Will M,Kunert E, et al.The temporal and spatial quantification of Holocene sediment dynamics in a meso-scale catchment in northern Bavaria, Germany.The Holocene. 2011;21:1093-1104.
Gullentops F,Mullenders W,Schaillee L, et al.Observations géologiques et palynologiques dans la vallée de la Lienne.Acta Geographica Lovaniensia. 1966;4:192-204.
Hoffmann T,Erkens G,Cohen KM, et al.Holocene floodplain sediment storage and hillslope erosion within the Rhine catchment.The Holocene. 2007;17:105-118.
Hoffmann T,Erkens G,Gerlach R, et al.Trends and controls of Holocene floodplain sedimentation in the Rhine catchment.Catena. 2009;77:96-106.
Houbrechts G,Petit F.Utilisation des scories métallurgiques en dynamique fluviale: Détermination de la compétence effective des rivières et estimation des vitesses de progression de leur charge de fond.Géomorphologie: relief, processus, environnement. 2003;9:3-12.
Houbrechts G,Petit F.Etude de la dynamique fluviale des rivières ardennaises grâce aux scories métallurgiques.De la Meuse à l'Ardenne. 2004;36:57-67.
Houbrechts G,Petit F.Utilisation des microscories métallurgiques comme traceur de la sédimentation dans les plaines alluviales des rivières ardennaises.L'érosion entre société, climat et paléoenvironnement-Table ronde en l'honneur du Professeur René Neboit-Guilhot, Presses Universitaires Blaise Pascal, Collection Nature et Société. 2006;:91-96.
Houbrechts G,Weber JP.La sidérurgie proto-industrielle dans le bassin de la Lienne.De la Meuse à l'Ardenne. 2007;39:35-63.
Houbrechts G,Levecq Y,Vanderheyden V, et al.Long-term bedload mobility in gravel-bed rivers using iron slag as a tracer.Geomorphology. 2011;126:233-244.
Juvigne E.L'encaissement des rivières ardennaises depuis le début de la dernière glaciation.Zeitschrift Fur Geomorphologie. 1979;23:291-300.
Lane EW.Design of stable channels.Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers. 1955;120:1234-1260.
Leenaers HThe Dispersal of Metal Mining Wastes in the Catchments of the River Geul (Belgium - The Netherlands). Netherlands Geographical Studies; 1989:200.
Macaire J-J,Bellemlih S,Di-Giovanni C, et al.Sediment yield and storage variations in the Négron River catchment (south western Parisian Basin, France) during the Holocene period.Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 2002;27:991-1009.
Macklin MG,Lewin J.River sediments, great floods and centennial-scale Holocene climate change.Journal of Quaternary Science. 2003;18:101-105.
Mols J.Dynamique fluviale en réponse aux changements d'affectation du sol des bassins versants de l'Euregio Meuse-Rhin.Mémoire de diplôme d'études approfondies, Université de Liège. 2004;:55.
Notebaert B,Verstraeten G.Sensitivity of West and Central European river systems to environmental changes during the Holocene A review.Earth-Science Reviews. 2010;103:163-182.
Notebaert B,Houbrechts G,Verstraeten G, et al.Fluvial architecture of Belgian river systems in contrasting environments: Implications for reconstructing the sedimentation history.Netherlands Journal of Geosciences-Geologie En Mijnbouw. 2011a;90:31-50.
Notebaert B,Verstraeten G,Govers G, et al.Quantification of alluvial sediment storage in contrasting environments: Methodology and error estimation.Catena. 2010;82:169-182.
Notebaert B,Verstraeten G,Rommens T, et al.Establishing a Holocene sediment budget for the river Dijle.Catena. 2009;77:150-163.
Notebaert B,Verstraeten G,Vandenberghe D, et al.Changing hillslope and fluvial Holocene sediment dynamics in a Belgian loess catchment.Journal of Quaternary Science. 2011b;26:44-58.
Notebaert B,Verstraeten G,Ward P, et al.Modeling the sensitivity of sediment and water runoff dynamics to Holocene climate and land use changes at the catchment scale.Geomorphology. 2011c;126:18-31.
Petit C,Lambin E.Long-term land-cover changes in the Belgian Ardennes (1775-1929): Model-based reconstruction vs. historical maps.Global Change Biology. 2002;8:616-630.
Petit FL'Ardenne: Essai de Géographie Physique. Livre en hommage au Professeur A. Pissart. Demoulin A, ed. Université de Liège; 1995:194-223.
Petit F,Pauquet A.Bankfull discharge recurrence interval in gravel-bed rivers.Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 1997;22:685-693.
Petit F,Gob F,Houbrechts G, et al.Critical specific stream power in gravel-bed rivers.Geomorphology. 2005;69:92-101.
Petit F,Hallot E,Houbrechts G, et alBilan d'une décennie d'ingénierie écologique. Service Public de Wallonie; 2008:7-16.
Reimer PJ,Baillie MGL,Bard E, et al.IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0-50,000 years cal BP.Radiocarbon. 2009;51:1111-1150.
Rixhon G,Demoulin A.Fluvial terraces of the Amblève: A marker of the Quaternary river incision in the NE Ardennes massif (Western Europe).Zeitschrift Fur Geomorphologie. 2010;54:161-180.
Rommens T,Verstraeten G,Bogman P, et al.Holocene alluvial sediment storage in a small river catchment in the loess area of central Belgium.Geomorphology. 2006;77:187-201.
Seidel J,Mackel R.Holocene sediment budgets in two river catchments in the Southern Upper Rhine Valley, Germany.Geomorphology. 2007;92:198-207.
Snijders JP,Hallot E,Houbrechts G, et al.Approche méthodologique pour la délimitation des espaces de liberté des rivières du massif ardennais.Bulletin de la Société géographique de Liège. 2006;48:7-17.
Stam M.The dating of fluvial deposits with heavy metals, 210Pb and 137Cs in the geul catchment (The Netherlands).Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Part B: Hydrology, Oceans and Atmosphere. 1999;24:155-160.
SteegenA (2001) Sediment deposition in and export from small agricultural catchments. Unpublished PhD Geography Thesis, KU Leuven, Faculty of Sciences, 220 pp.
Stolz C.Budgeting soil erosion from floodplain sediments of the central Rhenish Slate Mountains (Westerwald), Germany.The Holocene. 2011;21:499-510.
Stolz C,Grunert J.Floodplain sediments of some streams in the Taunus and Westerwald Mts., western Germany, as evidence of historical land use.Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie. 2008;52:349-373.
Stolz C,Grunert J,Fulling A.The formation of alluvial fans and young floodplain deposits in the Lieser catchment, Eifel Mountains, western German Uplands: A study of soil erosion budgeting.The Holocene. 2012;22:267-280.
Trimble SW.Decreased rates of alluvial sediment storage in the Coon Creek basin, Wisconsin, 1975-93.Science. 1999;285:1244-1246.
Trimble SW.Fluvial processes, morphology and sediment budgets in the Coon Creek Basin, WI, USA, 1975-1993.Geomorphology. 2009;108:8-23.
Van Asselen S.The contribution of peat compaction to total basin subsidence: Implications for the provision of accommodation space in organic-rich deltas.Basin Research. 2011;23:239-255.
Van Oost K,Verstraeten G,Doetterl S, et al.Legacy of human-induced C erosion and burial on soil-atmosphere C exchange.Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA. 2012;109:19,492-19,497.
Verstraeten G,Poesen J.Variability of dry sediment bulk density between and within retention ponds and its impact on the calculation of sediment yields.Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 2001;26:375-394.
Verstraeten G,Poesen J,Goossens D, et alSoil Erosion in Europe. Boardman JPoesen J, ed. John Wiley & Sons; 2006:385-411.
Voies Hydrauliques (2013) Voies hydrauliques. Station Martinrive. Available at: http://voies-hydrauliques.wallonie.be.