Check dams are a potentially effective instrument for planning of hydrological risks and soil conservation. Cross structure sequences have been used in numerous areas in the world to control flooding, recharge aquifers and stabilise mountain streams, gullies and high-gradient ephemeral channels. Nevertheless, it is little known of the effectiveness of check dams and their morphological effects. This book is an attempt to compile different based-field and laboratory research works in torrential head water areas. Bed stability variations will be investigated according to check dams types, bedrock control, bed slope, channel roughness, lateral sediment input, and highly variable sediment transport capacity. Though the main purpose of check dams is to stabilise the channel bed and diminish the boundary sheer stress reaching a minor longitudinal slope, they can reduce the volume of channel-stored material favouring local scour processes downstream and occasionally destabilise the hill slopes upstream.

Check dams are a potentially effective instrument for planning of hydrological risks and soil conservation. Cross structure sequences have been used in numerous areas in the world to control flooding, recharge aquifers and stabilize mountain streams, gullies and high-gradient ephemeral channels. Nevertheless, it is little known of the effectiveness of check dams and their morphological effects. This book is an attempt to compile different based-field and laboratory research works in torrential head water areas. Bed stability variations will be investigated according to check dams types, bedrock control, bed slope, channel roughness, lateral sediment input, and highly variable sediment transport capacity. Though the main purpose of check dams is to stabilize the channel bed and diminish the boundary sheer stress reaching a minor longitudinal slope, they can reduce the volume of channel-stored material favouring local scour processes downstream and occasionally destabilize the hill slopes upstream.

This book focuses on soil and water conservation at global scale. It is a serious environmental problem that will threaten the socio-economic well-being of the majority of global population in future. The book examines the current situation of land degradation in multiple regions of the world and offers alternative approaches to solve the problems through sharing advanced technologies and lessons learned. It provides comprehensive assessment on characteristics, level and effect of degradation in different regions. It’s a highly informative reference both for researchers and graduate students.

This book provides a detailed overview on methods used for the dating of past torrential activity on fans and cones and fosters the discussion on the impact of past and potential future climate change on torrential processes. The book has a clear focus on the practical applications of these methods, complemented by case studies. The limits of each dating method in case of excessive natural and human interventions on fans and cones are shown.

The book contains papers presented at the fourth in a series of biennial International Conferences dealing with the Monitoring, Simulation, Prevention and Remediation of Dense and Debris Flow. The papers deal with erosion and slope instability, sediment transport, debris flow and debris flood data acquisition, debris flow phenomenology and laboratory tests, using the most advanced, state-of-the-art methodologies in monitoring, modelling, mechanics, hazard prediction and risk assessment of debris flow phenomena.

Rivers are the great shapers of terrestrial landscapes. Very few points on Earth above sea level do not lie within a drainage basin. Even points distant from the nearest channel are likely to be influenced by that channel. Tectonic uplift raises rock thousands of meters above sea level. Precipitation falling on the uplifted terrain concentrates into channels that carry sediment downward to the oceans and influence the steepness of adjacent hill slopes by governing the rate at which the landscape incises. Rivers migrate laterally across lowlands, creating a complex topography of terraces, floodplain wetlands and channels. Subtle differences in elevation, grain size, and soil moisture across this topography control the movement of ground water and the distribution of plants and animals. Rivers in the Landscape, Second Edition, emphasizes general principles and conceptual models, as well as concrete examples of each topic drawn from the extensive literature on river process and form. The book is suitable for use as a course text or a general reference on rivers. Aimed at advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals looking for a concise summary of physical aspects of rivers, Rivers in the Landscape is designed to: emphasize the connectivity between rivers and the greater landscape by explicitly considering the interactions between rivers and tectonics, climate, biota, and human activities; provide a concise summary of the current state of knowledge for physical process and form in rivers; reflect the diversity of river environments, from mountainous, headwater channels to large, lowland, floodplain rivers and from the arctic to the tropics; reflect the diverse methods that scientists use to characterize and understand river process and form, including remote sensing, field measurements, physical experiments, and numerical simulations; reflect the increasing emphasis on quantification in fluvial geomorphology and the study of Earth surfaces in general; provide both an introduction to the classic, foundational papers on each topic, and a guide to the latest, particularly insightful and integrative references.