%0 Journal Article
%A Martín Duque, José Francisco
%A Sanz Santos, Miguel Angel
%A Bodoque del Pozo, José María
%A Lucía Vela, Ana
%A Martín Moreno, Cristina
%T Restoring earth surface processes throughlandform design. A 13-year monitoringof a geomorphic reclamation model forquarries on slopes
%D 2010
%@ 0197-9337
%U https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/43656
%X The application of geomorphic principles to land reclamation after surface mining has been reported in the literaturesince the mid-1990s, mostly from Australia, Canada and the USA. This paper discusses the reclamation problems of contourmining and quarries on slopes, where steep gradients are prone to both mass movement and water erosion. To address theseproblems simultaneously, a geomorphic model for reclaiming surface mined slopes is described. Called the ‘highwall–trench–concave slope’ model, it was fi rst applied in the 1995 reclamation of a quarry on a slope (La Revilla) in Central Spain.The geomorphic model does not reproduce the original topography, but has two very different sectors and objectives: (i) thehighwall–trench sector allows the former quarry face to evolve naturally by erosion, accommodating fallen debris by means of atrench constructed at the toe of the highwall; (ii) the concave-slope base sector, mimicking the landforms of the surroundingundisturbed landscape, promotes soil formation and the establishment of self-sustaining, functional ecosystems in the areaprotected from sedimentation by the trench. The model improves upon simple topographic reconstruction, because it rebuildsthe surfi cial geology architecture and facilitates re-establishment of equilibrium slopes through the management and control ofgeomorphic processes.Thirteen years of monitoring of the geomorphic and edaphic evolution of La Revilla reclaimed quarry confi rms that the area isfunctioning as intended: the highwall is backwasting and material is accumulating at the trench, permitting the recovery of soilsand vegetation on the concave slope. However, the trench is fi lling faster than planned, which may lead to run-off and sedimentationon the concave slope once the trench is full. The lesson learned for other scenarios is that the model works well in a twodimensionalscheme, but requires a three-dimensional drainage management, breaking the reclaimed area into several watershedswith stream channels.
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