Fortin Guillaume, LeBlanc Mélanie, Schiavone Sophie, Chouinard Omer, Utzschneider Anouk
History and Geography Department, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, E1A 3E9, Canada,
Environ Manage. 2015 Jan;55(1):113-27. doi: 10.1007/s00267-014-0399-3. Epub 2014 Nov 13.
Erosion and sedimentation in water courses represent a major and costly problem everywhere on the planet. Perception of local actors of the state of the river can be a useful source of information to document the river's changes. The main objective of this study consists of understanding how multiple data sources can be used for identifying the most sensitive areas subject to erosion and sedimentation in a watershed. To achieve our objective we combined three complementary methods: conducting interviews, estimating the most sensitive soil loss areas using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation for Application in Canada (RUSLEFAC) and taking measurements of environmental variables (turbidity, deposition rate, particle size, water quality, rainfall). The information gathered from the interviews allowed us to determine which areas were the most affected (e.g., either erosion or deposition). However, we observed that there were some differences between the areas identified by the participants and those obtained from the RUSLEFAC and in situ measurements. Among these differences, participants identified sites which were the results of misuse or bad practices (e.g., ATV). By contrast sensitive sites for erosion, as identified using RUSLEFAC, are instead areas of steep slopes, located near the river without forest cover. The in situ measurements were very helpful in establishing background values for turbidity but also for comparing quantitative information (e.g., particle size) with what was reported in the interviews.
河道的侵蚀和泥沙淤积是全球各地都存在的一个重大且代价高昂的问题。了解当地相关人员对河流状况的认知，可能是记录河流变化的一个有用信息来源。本研究的主要目的是了解如何利用多种数据源来识别流域内最易遭受侵蚀和泥沙淤积的敏感区域。为实现这一目标，我们结合了三种互补方法：进行访谈、使用加拿大适用的修订通用土壤流失方程（RUSLEFAC）估算最敏感的土壤流失区域以及测量环境变量（浊度、沉积速率、粒径、水质、降雨量）。从访谈中收集到的信息使我们能够确定哪些区域受影响最大（例如，是侵蚀还是淤积）。然而，我们观察到参与者所确定的区域与通过RUSLEFAC和实地测量得到的区域之间存在一些差异。在这些差异中，参与者指出了一些因滥用或不良做法（如全地形车）导致的区域。相比之下，使用RUSLEFAC确定的侵蚀敏感区域则是陡坡区域，位于河流附近且没有森林覆盖。实地测量对于确定浊度的背景值非常有帮助，同时也有助于将定量信息（如粒径）与访谈中报告的内容进行比较。
