Soil erosion triggered by the archeological excavation and conservation of trenches. The case of “Cerro de las Trincheras” in Bailén (Jaén, Spain)An open discussion

  1. Rodrigo Comino, Jesús 1
  2. Padilla Fernández, Juan Jesús 2
  3. Cerdà, Artemi 3
  1. 1 Universidad de Granada
    info

    Universidad de Granada

    Granada, España

    ROR https://ror.org/04njjy449

  2. 2 Universidad de Salamanca
    info

    Universidad de Salamanca

    Salamanca, España

    ROR https://ror.org/02f40zc51

  3. 3 Universitat de València
    info

    Universitat de València

    Valencia, España

    ROR https://ror.org/043nxc105

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Journal:
Cuadernos de investigación geográfica: Geographical Research Letters
  1. Rodrigo Comino, Jesús (ed. lit.)
  2. Muñoz Gómez, Casandra (ed. lit.)
  3. Rahdari, Mohammad Reza (ed. lit.)
  4. Salvati, Luca (ed. lit.)

ISSN: 0211-6820,  1697-9540

Year of publication: 2023

Issue Title: Land Degradation Risks: Key Topics to be faced over the world

Volume: 49

Issue: 2

Pages: 163-171

Type: Article

DOI: 10.18172/CIG.5746 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openDialnet editor

More publications in: Cuadernos de investigación geográfica: Geographical Research Letters

Abstract

Gully erosion is a landform developed due to accelerated soil erosion rates. Gullies can be identified by human impacts on geomorphological processes, as well as hydrological and erosional systems. In Spain, the trenches or "trincheras" from the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) are considered of archaeological interest for several reasons. At Cerro de las Trincheras in Bailén (Jaén, Spain), a trench was built during the Spanish Civil War. In 2020, an archaeological excavation took place to restore the ruins, triggering the development of gullies and rills and a decrease in vegetation quality. We present a first approximation of the variations in vegetation cover and the decrease in quality (using NDVI, the normalized difference vegetation index) due to the trench acting as a gully (1956, 2005-2020) and the increase in rills and gullies after the excavation. We strongly advocate for future archaeological excavations to include a protocol (soil mapping, vegetation survey, and hydrological connectivity index) to reduce soil degradation and prevent damage to vegetation and associated ecosystems, thereby curbing the increase in soil erosion rates.

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Data source: Dialnet