BEGUERIA, S., LOPEZ-MORENO, J.I., LORENTE, A., SEEGER, M. & GARCIA-RUIZ,
J.M. (2003): Assessing the effects of climate oscillations and land-use changes
on streamflow in the Central Spanish Pyrenees. Ambio, 32(4): 283-286.
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Resumen / Abstract
Plans to increase the
amount of irrigated land in Mediterranean countries should consider how changes
in climate and land-use affect water resources. In this study, both precipitation
and temperature were used to analyze regional trends in discharge in the basins
of the Central Spanish Pyrenees since the mid-20th century. Annual variations
in the relationship between precipitation and discharge suggested that discharge
was relatively lower in the second half of the study period, coinciding with major
changes in land use. On a monthly scale, precipitation in-creased significantly
in October, April, and July, and de-creased in March and temperature increased
in January and February and decreased in April. Nevertheless, dis-charge has decreased
significantly in most months in the past 50 years. Land-use and plant-cover changes
are the only nonclimatic factor that can explain the loss of around 30% of the
average annual discharge.
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