Badlands Dynamics in a Context of Global Change

Badland Dynamics in the Context of Global Change

Editors

Estela Nadal-Romero

Juan F. Martínez-Murillo

Nikolaus J. Kuhn

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Notices

List of Contributors

Preface

Chapter 1. Perspectives on Badland Studies in the Context of Global Change

1. Introduction: Badlands Throughout the World

2. Current Studies of Badlands: Brief Background

3. Future Research Questions in the Context of Global Change

Chapter 2. The Origin of Badlands

1. Introduction

2. Climate Distribution of Badlands

3. Badland-Shaping Processes

4. Badland-Initiation Patterns and Triggering Factors

5. Concluding Remarks

Chapter 3. The Role of Lithology: Parent Material Controls on Badland Development

1. Introduction

2. Main Badland Material Characteristics

3. Influence of Climate on Material Behaviour

4. Weathering Profiles and Stabilization of Badland Materials

5. The Effect of Material Properties on Badland Slope Denudation Processes

6. Conclusions

Chapter 4. Badlands and the Dynamics of Human History, Land Use, and Vegetation Through Centuries

1. Introduction

2. The Study Site

3. Materials and Methods

4. Results and Discussion

5. Conclusions

Chapter 5. Runoff Generation in Badlands

1. Introduction

2. Field Observations of Runoff Rates at Different Scales Under Contrasted Climates and Lithology Conditions

3. Mechanisms of Runoff Generation and Time- and Scale-dependent Drivers

4. Global Change Impacts on Badland Runoff

5. Research Gaps and Future Research

6. Conclusions

Chapter 6. The Role of Piping in the Development of Badlands

1. Introduction

2. Predisposing Factors (Table 6.2)

3. Characteristics of Badlands Prone to Piping

4. Piping, Geostabilization, Connectivity and Time in Badlands

5. Remediation of Materials Prone to Piping

6. Implications of Dispersivity for Badland Studies

Chapter 7. Rethinking Spatial and Temporal Variability of Erosion in Badlands

1. Introduction

2. Methods for Measuring Badlands

3. Factors Affecting Erosion in Badlands

4. Spatial Variability of Erosion in Dry and Humid Badlands

5. Temporal Variability of Erosion in Badlands

6. Erosion Processes in Badlands: Small-Scale Spatial Variability

7. Sediment Yield and Connectivity in Experimental Badlands Catchments

8. How Can We Limit Sediment Yield From Badlands?

9. Badlands Erosion and Global Change

10. Conclusions

Chapter 8. Assessing Badland Sediment Sources Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

1. Mapping Badlands

2. Study Site, Data Acquisition and Digital Terrain Model Generation

3. Results

4. Discussion

5. Conclusion

Chapter 9. Geotouristic Value of Badlands

1. Introduction

2. Study Areas and Their Scientific Value

3. Badlands as Touristic and Geotouristic Destinations

4. Badlands and Geotourism

5. Threats to the Geotouristic Values of Badlands

6. Conclusions

Index

Copyright

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Notices

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List of Contributors

Valerio Amici,     Terradata s.r.l. Environmetrics, Monterotondo Marittimo, Grosseto, Italy

Giovanni Bacaro,     University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

Francesco Brogi,     University of Siena, Siena, Italy

Adolfo Calvo-Cases,     University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

Yolanda Cantón,     University of Almería, Almería, Spain

Sonia Chamizo,     University of Florence, Firenze, Italy

Michael Daniels,     University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States

Maurizio Del Monte,     Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

Marta Della Seta,     Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

Hazel Faulkner,     Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom

Francesc Gallart,     Surface Hydrology and Erosion group, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain

José M. García-Ruiz,     Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IPE-CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain

Antonio J.T. Guerra,     Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Veena Joshi,     SP Pune University, Pune, India

Milica Kašanin-Grubin,     University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

Juliane Krenz,     University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

Nikolaus J. Kuhn,     University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

Caroline Le Bouteiller,     Universite Grenoble Alpes, IRSTEA, Saint Martin d’Heres, France

Simona Maccherini,     University of Siena, Siena, Italy

Michela Marignani,     University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

Juan F. Martínez-Murillo,     Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain

Mariano Moreno-de las Heras,     Surface Hydrology and Erosion group, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain

Estela Nadal-Romero

University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IPE-CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain

Garry Paterson,     Agricultural Research Council-Soil, Climate and Water, Pretoria, South Africa

Jean Poesen,     KU Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium

Emilio Rodríguez-Caballero,     University of Almería, Almería, Spain

Mauro Rossi,     CNR-IRPI, Perugia, Italy

Elisa Santi,     CNR-IRPI, Perugia, Italy

Jeffrey Shellberg,     Consultant in Fluvial Geomorphology, Cooktown, QLD, Australia

Albert Solé-Benet,     Arid Zone Experimental Station, National Research Council of Spain, Almería, Spain

Zheng’an Su,     Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, CAS, Chengdu, China

Enrico Tordoni,     University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

Dino Torri,     CNR-IRPI, Perugia, Italy

Francesco Troiani,     Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

Francesca Vergari,     Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

Wojciech Zgłobicki,     Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Lublin, Poland

Preface

This book represents a very important and novel contribution that summarizes the current knowledge about badlands on a regional and global scale, and we are honoured to be given the opportunity by the editors to write the preface of this book on badlands.

A distant precursor of the work presented here is the milestone book by Rorke Bryan and Aaron Yair entitled ‘Badland, Geomorphology and Piping’ that was published in 1982. Some of the issues that were addressed in their book reappeared here. However, the book presented here is based on recent progress made, and new findings done in the field of badland research, but which also has been put in the context of Global Change.

The ongoing research on badlands, as reported in this book, is dealt with from different points of view. As discussed in Chapter 1, the number of studies of badlands has progressively increased throughout the 20th century and continued in the 21st century. This fact is corroborated by the numerous recent review studies published on badlands, the publication of special issues in scientific journals and monographs, and as well as, by the organization of scientific meetings focusing on badlands. There are many authors, all over the world (including the authors of the presented book), who have focused their research on different topics related to badlands such as the processes, geomorphology and origin of badlands. This includes studies into piping, hydrology, erosion rates, lithology and material properties, not only their surface cover, both in terms of physical and biological crusts, and vegetation cover, methods of study, modelling and advanced measurement methodologies, but also their restoration, conservation and importance for geoheritage and geotourism.

The term badlands refers to the fact that they constitute land unsuitable for agriculture or grazing. However, they form exceptional landscapes, which have led some of them to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The importance of badlands may lie in the fact that they are landscapes that exist throughout the world and under different climates, although their presence is greater in semiarid areas.

On the other hand, many of the areas occupied by badlands cause significant erosion and subsequent (off-site) sedimentation problems. Badlands, made up of rills, gullies and piping, are important sources of sediment that silt up reservoirs, and this makes that their study is justified from different points of view.

This exciting book, structured in nine chapters, has brought together magnificent reviews of different studies on badlands in seven chapters, as well as two complete case studies. The following is a brief summary of the different aspects discussed in the successive chapters.

Chapter 1 ‘Perspectives on badland studies in the context of global change’, whose authors are Juan Francisco Martínez-Murillo and Estela Nadal-Romero, introduces us to the topic, showing us firstly an overview of badlands throughout the world, and then giving an overview of recent research and a brief background on current studies of badlands, grouped by theme, also indicating the objectives pursued, and current knowledge. A very interesting aspect of this chapter is that it deals with the research questions in the context of Global Change: Why is the study of badlands relevant? What can we do to limit the sediment yield from badlands? Should badlands be reclaimed or protected? Or what is the fate of badlands in the context of Global Change? Some of the questions that Martínez-Murillo and Estela Nadal-Romero raise are answered in the following chapters.

In Chapter 2, Mariano Moreno-de las Heras and Francesc Gallart address ‘The origin of badlands’. Despite numerous existing studies of badlands, few have focused on their origins. The authors conclude that the development of badlands is modulated by the association of four critical terrain instability factors: (1) vigour of relief, (2) a rapidly weatherable soft lithology transforming into an erodible regolith, (3) an erosive climate with marked rainfall or snowmelt events and (4) additional disturbances or environmental constraints that determine the presence and development of a protective vegetation cover (e.g., high-frequency wet–dry cycles, intense freezing, bedrock salinity or human degradation). They also point out that the combined action of these four factors is necessary for badland initiation. All these four critical terrain factors may directly or indirectly change over time, leading to the initiation, stabilization or rejuvenation of badland systems.

Chapter 3 also deals with a topic of great interest. ‘The role of lithology: parent material controls to badland development’. Milica Kašanin-Grubin, Francesca Vergari, Francesco Troiani and Marta Della Seta consider that fundamental attention should be given to badland materials, which main features are grain size, clay mineralogy and physicochemical properties. Although the first studies on badlands focused on erosive processes, more recent research analyses the parent material properties, considering that these have a bigger role in understanding badland initiation and evolution. This chapter discusses in detail the main badland material characteristics and the main studies focused on badland lithological properties (physical and chemical). It is also analyzed the influence of climate on material behaviour, weathering profiles and soil stabilization and the effect of material properties to badland slope denudation processes (rill and gully development, piping initiation, calanchi and biancane and landsliding). The authors conclude that the properties of badland materials play a key role in different geomorphic processes and the related development of badland landforms.

Chapter 4 is a case study ‘Badlands and the dynamics of human history, land use, and vegetation through centuries’ whose authors are Dino Torri, Mauro Rossi, Francesco Brogi, Michela Marignani, Giovanni Bacaro, Elisa Santi, Enrico Tordoni E., Valerio Amici V. and Simona Maccherini. These authors carry out an interesting historical study to determine when the badlands emerged. They were also able to determine the average rate of denudation, which was estimated at 2  cm  yr−¹, which allows them to estimate the age of badlands. They indicate how anthropogenic action is the main cause of the development of these badlands. The results of this study make them conclude that a real and wide multidisciplinary approach can actually bring together very detailed scenarios, which clarify links between causes and effects, including the impact of socioeconomic drivers.

‘Runoff generation in Badlands’ is the title of Chapter 5, written by Yolanda Cantón, Emilio Rodriguez-Caballero, Sonia Chamizo, Caroline Le-Bouteiller, Albert Solé and Adolfo Calvo. In this chapter, the following important aspects are dealt with from a global perspective: (1) Field observations of runoff rates at different scales under contrasting climate and lithological conditions; (2) mechanisms of runoff generation; (3) time- and scale-dependent drivers (plot, hillslope and catchment), and revisiting the responses of badlands to rainfall: infiltration excess overland flow; partial area infiltration excess and finally saturation; (4) Global Change impacts on badlands runoff and (5) research gaps and future research. We would like to highlight the last section on research gaps that still exist and where future research should go.

In Chapter 6, Hazel Faulkner, with extensive experience in the study of piping processes, deals with ‘The role of piping in the development of badlands’. Piping processes have not always been considered in the studies of badlands, so we would like to highlight a final sentence from the Faulkner’s chapter: ‘if you are working in badlands in marine-sourced marl or mudrock lithologies, look for pipes. Because you are unlikely to see their full extent on first inspection it does not mean they are not there, or that they were not part of the story in the past, nor (if undercut or managed) that they will not be part of the story in the future’. She discusses in detail the processes and conditions under which piping occurs, such as the presence of dispersive materials and hydrological constraints. In this chapter, the small-, medium- and large-scale morphological characteristics found in piping-prone materials are described as well, and another aspect of great interest dealt with, the discussion of the possible options for remediation of piping in piping-prone materials.

Estela Nadal-Romero and José María García-Ruiz in Chapter 7 ‘Rethinking the spatial and temporal variability of erosion in badlands’ wrote another very interesting synthesizing chapter. The well-judged study examines different aspects of badlands, such as measurement methodology, factors affecting erosion in badlands and spatial and temporal variability of erosion processes in dry and humid badlands, and the complex spatial and temporal connections at the catchment scale. Of special interest are the sections ‘Sediment yield and connectivity in experimental badlands catchments’, ‘How can we limit sediment yield from badlands?’ and ‘Badland erosion and Global Change’. They conclude by indicating, on the one hand, that some badlands merit special consideration as extreme landforms that must be preserved as geomorphological monuments of exceptional value, and on the other hand, that more studies should be developed on efficient techniques for controlling small badlands, particularly for badlands that threaten agricultural areas, residential areas, and infrastructure.

Juliane Krenz and Nikolaus J. Kuhn are the authors of Chapter 8 entitled ‘Assessing badland sediment sources using UAVs’. The aims of this study are to investigate the use of UAVs for generating high-resolution DTMs of badland features. The study was conducted in a catchment in the Karoo rangelands and included an assessment of the badland erosion as sediment source contributing to the siltation of a small reservoir at the lower end of the studied catchment. A comparison of available low-resolution cartographic data of the catchment and the high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)–based DTM generated for this study, in combination with field visits, was used to assess the contribution of UAVs to badland erosion studies. They showed that UAV imagery is suitable for identifying, mapping and quantifying badlands. However, it should be noted that the methodology is only as good as the underlying georeferencing. As UAV technologies and capabilities are constantly improving, UAV-based badland mapping is becoming a valuable tool and offers a high flexibility regarding spatial and temporal resolution, in particular for producing high-resolution images in remote areas. There is potentially a wide range of UAV-derived data products for research and land management requiring information on badland morphologies and dynamics.

Finally, Chapter 9, in which 10 authors participated (Wojciech Zgłobicki, Jean Poesen, Michael Daniels, Maurizio Del Monte, Antonio Jose Teixeira Guerra, Veena Joshi, Garry Paterson, Jeff Shellberg, Albert Solé-Benet and Zheng’an Su), focusses on ‘Geotouristic value of badlands’. In this interesting chapter, carried out at world level, the badlands are approached from a different perspective, taking into account their aesthetic, biological, ecological, cultural or scientific values. The objective of this chapter is to investigate the geotouristic value of badlands from around the world. It also addresses the following questions: (1) What is the role of badlands as tourist destinations? (2) Why do tourists visit badlands? (3) Are badlands threatened by human activities? The countries analyzed have been: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, India, Italy, Poland, South Africa, Spain, the United States and Canada. The results of the study show that badlands do not receive a lot of attention by geotourists unless they possess natural or scientific values that is unique on a global scale, and where accessibility (distance and/or terrain) is not a problem. A few badlands are located within UNESCO World Heritage Sites and UNESCO Global Geoparks. Such sites are important destinations for tourists who may become geotourists by using prepared geoproducts. The establishment of new geoparks encompassing badlands is the best strategy for geotourism development in these areas.

As you will have seen from the forgoing, this work is an important contribution to the study of badlands. It highlights the current status of badland research and also proposes lines of future research; not only in regards to a better understanding of these landscapes and their processes but also within the context of Global Change.

Erik Cammeraat,     Associate Professor of Geomorphology and Land Degradation, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Asunción Romero Díaz,     Professor of Physical Geography, University of Murcia, Spain.

Chapter 1

Perspectives on Badland Studies in the Context of Global Change

Juan F. Martínez-Murillo¹, and Estela Nadal-Romero²,³     ¹Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain     ²University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain     ³Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IPE-CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain

Abstract

Badlands are landforms that occur all over the world. Although many recent studies have examined badlands, there have been no review books on badlands during the past 35  years. This introductory chapter has three main aims. First, we will present an overview of badlands throughout the world and present a map of the distribution of the main badlands. Second, we will provide an overview of recent research and a brief background on current studies of badlands and then examine the relationships of traditional and new research topics. This examination of badlands will include discussion of their formation, lithology, effects of human activities and land uses, vegetation, hydrology, piping processes, erosion processes and erosion rates, reclamation and restoration, geoheritage and geotourism, emerging technologies and modelling. Third, we will identify the main milestones and challenges for future investigations that are needed to increase our knowledge of badlands in the context of global environmental change. Certain unresolved problems persist, and critical future problems regarding the evolution of badlands and important global issues must be addressed.

Keywords

Badlands; Erosion; Global change; Human activities; Lithology

1. Introduction: Badlands Throughout the World

The occurrence of major environmental changes due to climate fluctuations and human activities, known as global change (Vitousek et al., 1997; Steffen et al., 2004; Dearing et al., 2006), describes the modern relationship of humans and the environment (García-Ruiz et al., 2015). Because of the environmental and socioeconomic implications of global change, it is necessary to determine how these changes affect different terrains, including badlands.

Badlands have been defined by different criteria, such as lithological conditions, weathering processes, landform features, agriculture potentiality and even by their difficulty of being crossed by humans. For instance, one definition of badlands is that they are densely dissected and severely degraded areas in which the soil has been removed or has lost most of its fertility, so that they are difficult to cross on horseback and are agriculturally unproductive (Fairbridge, 1968). Bryan and Yair (1982) defined badlands as intensely dissected natural landscapes, in which vegetation is sparse or absent, that are unsuitable for agriculture. Gallart et al. (2002) used the term ‘badlands’ to describe areas of unconsolidated sediments or poorly consolidated bedrock that are covered by little or no vegetation. Torri et al. (2013) identified badlands as terrains in which walking, as well as agriculture and grazing, is difficult. A more formal definition from the Encyclopedia of Geomorphology describes badlands as ‘deeply dissected erosional landscapes, formed in soft rock terrain, commonly but not exclusively in semi-arid regions’ that have a high drainage density of rill and gully systems and are dominated by overland flow and with sparse vegetation (Harvey, 2004). Grove and Rackham (2003) indicated that badlands appear to be ‘surrealistic’ places, because they are cut off from the ordinary world, and described them as ‘the despair of cartographers and delights of artists’. In summary, the term ‘badlands’ refers to regions that have soft and poorly consolidated material outcrops, limited vegetation, reduced or no human activity and a wide range of geomorphic processes, such as weathering, erosion, landslides and piping. These features interact at different spatial and temporal scales to shape these distinct landforms (Figs 1.1–1.4).

Figure 1.1  General view of the semiarid Tabernas badlands (Almería, southeast Spain). 

Photo: Estela Nadal-Romero.

Figure 1.2  General view of the semiarid Bardenas badlands (Navarra, northeast Spain). 

Photo: Estela Nadal-Romero.

Figure 1.3  General view of the Central Pyrenees humid badlands (Huesca, Spain). 

Photo: Estela Nadal-Romero.

Figure 1.4  Bagnoregio (Italy). 

Photo: Marta della Seta.

Badlands can develop in a wide range of climates (Fig. 1.5), particularly in territories with hot and dry summers and cool and dry summers (Csa and Csb according to Köppen’s classification) (Yair et al., 1980; Alexander, 1982; Harvey, 1982; Imeson, 1983; Sdao et al., 1984; Berndtsson, 1988; Alexander and Calvo, 1990; Howard, 1994; McCloskey et al., 2016). Badlands are more common in semiarid areas and less common in subhumid and humid regions (Bryan and Yair, 1982; Campbell, 1989; Regüés et al., 1995; Pardini et al., 1996; Torri et al., 2000; Nadal-Romero and Regüés, 2010).

Figure 1.5  Locations of badlands areas examined in previous scientific publications.

Nevertheless, badlands occur in many other climatic conditions. Gallart et al. (2002) summarized the main types of badlands that occur in different climatic conditions. This allows classification of badlands into three major types (Table 1.1): (1) arid badlands, in which annual precipitation is below 200  mm, and there is no significant geomorphic role of vegetation (Fig. 1.1); (2) semiarid badlands, in which annual precipitation is between 200 and 700  mm, and discontinuous herbaceous cover (limited mainly by water availability) has some effect on geomorphic processes (Fig. 1.2) and (3) humid badlands, in which annual precipitation exceeds 700  mm, and there is potential for full vegetation cover, but it is limited by climatological and geomorphological factors (e.g., high erosion rates, landslides, freezing–thawing cycles) rather than water availability (Fig. 1.3). Indeed, soil moisture measurements show regimes dominated by rainfall events in semiarid badlands (Cerdá, 1996; Cantón et al., 2004) but a clear seasonal pattern of soil moisture in humid badlands (Regüés et al., 1995; Regüés and Gallart, 2004; Nadal-Romero et al., 2007).

Table 1.1

Adopted from Gallart, F., Solé, A., Puigdefábregas, J., Lázaro, R., 2002. Badland systems in the Mediterranean. In: Bull, J.L., Kirkby, M.J. (Eds.), Dryland Rivers: Hydrology and Geomorphology of Semi-arid Channels, Wiley, Chichester, pp. 299–326.

Based on some of the definitions of badlands given above, they may be considered as undervalued lands because they are useless for cultivation or grazing due to low or no vegetation cover, among other reasons (e.g., difficult for humans to traverse). However, there are many important research questions regarding badlands that make them scientifically valuable. For example, badlands are natural laboratories that allow study of many different pedological and geomorphic processes, and the results of these studies have on-site and off-site implications. Thus, badlands have important implications for land management, especially from the water and soil resources point of view, in the current context of global change.

Badlands are areas with unique lithological characteristics, soil dispersivity (responsible for piping processes) and regolith profiles (Gallart et al., 2002; Faulkner et al., 2003, 2004; Summa et al., 2007; de Santis et al., 2010; Kasanin-Grubin, 2013). Thus, many researchers focused on physical weathering as a process necessary for badland development, especially cycles of wetting–drying, freezing–thawing and freeze weathering (Regüés et al., 1995; Pardini et al., 1996; Cantón et al., 2002; Descroix and Mathys, 2003; Pardini, 2003; Nadal-Romero et al., 2007). Other badland research has examined mass movements, such as slides, mudflows and creeping, which even occurs in arid badlands (Godfrey, 1997; Desir and Marín, 2007). Tectonic activity and drainage network connectivity and evolution control the long-term development of old badland areas (Harvey, 2002; Mather et al., 2002; Alexander et al., 2008; Faulkner, 2008). In these areas, the frequent abrupt changes in hillslopes, a deeply incised landscape and rapid alternations in slope orientation and exposure, lead to pronounced microclimatic variations that affect the pattern of vegetation cover (Campbell, 1989) and determine the type of ground cover (rock fragments, lichens, plants). These have important implications for soil moisture and overland flow (Cantón et al., 2004). Finally, but more widely, some studies have examined badlands from the perspective of water erosion at different spatial scales by comparing open and closed plots, hillslope sections and gauged catchments, under different climatic conditions (Cerdà and Bodí, 2009; Nadal-Romero et al., 2011, 2014a; Gallart et al., 2013b; Martínez-Murillo et al., 2013).

But badlands are not merely laboratories for geomorphological studies. These extremely harsh environments are also ideal for studies of plant colonization due to their unique ecological features. Grove and Rackham (2001) indicated that badlands ‘give a first impression of unearthly desolation, although (like other deserts) they are full of inconspicuous, strange, specialized plant-life’. Global environmental change processes may exacerbate the harshness of badlands. Thus, badlands are suitable for studies of plant colonization, adaptation and survival in extreme conditions (Fig. 1.6). Topography has a strong effect on biological processes, especially in semiarid conditions, where slope angles and aspects are particularly influential (Guàrdia et al., 1992; Chiarucci et al., 1995; Guerrero-Campo et al., 1999; Gallart et al., 2002; Cantón et al., 2004; Calvo et al., 2009). A modification of precipitation patterns by global change may stress and alter the adaptation capacity of plant communities in some badlands. This could be extremely important, given the topographic thresholds that already affect water availability for plants and limit plant establishment on the steep slopes of badlands (Bochet et al., 2009; Nadal-Romero et al., 2014b) (Fig. 1.7).

Figure 1.6  Encroachment of vegetation ( Buxus sempervirens ) in badlands. Note the exposed roots, due to weathering and erosion processes, and the survival of this plant in the extreme conditions of a humid badlands (Huesca, Central Spanish Pyrenees). 

Photo: Estela Nadal-Romero.

Vegetation and erosion processes are complex in badlands because of the scarcity or absence of vegetation cover. Thus, badlands often have enhanced overland flow and sediment transport from hillslopes to channels and transport of seeds to regions where plant establishment is more difficult (Fig. 1.6). The unique conditions of badlands affect plants directly because overland flows transport seeds, litter or entire plants (García-Fayos et al., 1995; Cerdá and García-Fayos, 1997; Aerts et al., 2006) and indirectly because changes in the key soil properties (e.g., organic matter, aggregate stability, nutrient availability) affect seed germination and seedling establishment (Bochet et al., 2009).

Badlands occur in some of the wettest and driest parts of the world (Fig. 1.5), and in all types of vegetated landscapes, from forests to near-desert areas (Figs 1.1–1.4). Consequently, badlands are terrains where different ecological, geological and geomorphological processes and human activities undergo complex interactions in space and time. In addition, some badlands are ‘relict’ territories, whose presence is due to the previous environmental conditions of a region. For these reasons, some badlands should be protected for research, education and conservation. However, protection is not always easy because human activities often create new farming areas at the expense of badlands (Phillips, 1998). Intensive agricultural practices can transform culturally important landscapes, created in the past by low-intensity farming that preserved a mosaic of significant wildlife habitats, and homogenize the landscape. This can alter soil properties, increase erosion, reduce biodiversity and disrupt water resources. Thus, this type of land use can cause soil and land degradation. Additionally, even small changes in temperature and precipitation patterns due to global change and increased land use could possibly disrupt current badlands and trigger the formation of new badlands.

Figure 1.7  Typical vegetation patterns (exposure and topographical thresholds) in a humid badland (left, Central Spanish Pyrenees, 800   mm annual precipitation) and a semiarid badland (right, Tabernas, southeast Spain, 245   mm annual precipitation). 

Photos: Estela Nadal-Romero.

2. Current Studies of Badlands: Brief Background

Research of badlands has increased progressively throughout the 20th century (Schumm, 1956; Smith, 1958; Bryan and Yair, 1982; Gallart et al., 2013a). The growth of scientific interest in badlands was particularly significant in the last 30  years (Gallart et al., 2013a), reflecting the desire to increase knowledge of processes and dynamics of badlands in the context of global change. The increasing scientific interest in badlands is reflected in the many reviews, special issues, meetings and monographs devoted to badland research during the last two decades. For example, two special issues in the journal Catena devoted to badlands (‘Badlands in changing environments’, edited by Dino Torri, Jean Poesen, Constanza Calzolari and Giuliano Rodolfi in 2000 and ‘Updating Badlands Research’, edited by Estela Nadal-Romero, Dino Torri, Aaron Yair and Ad de Roo in 2013) discussed and updated badland research in the context of changing environments.

The study of Gallart et al. (2002), although limited to Mediterranean environments, is one of the most complete available analyses of badlands. This study highlights the interactions between vegetation and soil erosion. Nadal-Romero et al. (2011, 2014b) reviewed erosion rates and sediment yields of badlands in the Mediterranean region. These authors found that the high variability of erosion rates in badlands was affected by lithology, annual precipitation, dominant erosion processes and other factors and concluded that the highest erosion rates in Mediterranean environments are in badlands. In 2013, Gallart et al. (2013a) contributed a comprehensive manuscript entitled ‘Thirty years of studies on badlands, from physical to vegetational approaches. A succinct review’ in the special issue ‘Updating Badlands Research’ in Catena. This review clearly identified a decrease in piping studies in badland areas during the last 30  years. However, there were sharp increases in the study of badland vegetation and erosion rates during recent decades. Another important publication by Torri et al. (2000) included a summary table of the main research topics of badland studies and indicated that most recent studies continued to examine the more traditional topics. Finally, Nadal-Romero and Regüés (2010) examined the main purposes of recent studies of humid badlands in Europe. However, some important topics and research questions were not included in these previous reviews. Thus, we present a new summary of the main research topics of badland studies during recent decades (Table 1.2). This table summarizes the main research topics (objectives), presents the most important outcomes of these different studies and discusses ongoing questions and new challenges that were not yet adequately addressed in the context of global change. This table thus provides a synthesis of what we know, what is missing and what we need to know.

Table 1.2 classifies the most important topics in badland research as (1) origins, (2) lithology, (3) human activities and land uses, (4) vegetation (seeds and seedlings), (5) hydrology, (6) piping, (7) erosion processes and erosion rates, (8) new emerging methodologies, (9) reclamation and restoration, (10) geoheritage and geotourism and (11) modelling.