@article{fdi:010060852,
  title = {{F}ingerprinting sediment sources in the outlet reservoir of a hilly cultivated catchment in {T}unisia},
  author = {{B}en {S}limane, {A}. and {R}aclot, {D}amien and {E}vrard, {O}. and {S}anaa, {M}. and {L}efevre, {I}. and {A}hmadi, {M}. and {T}ounsi, {M}. and {R}umpel, {C}. and {B}en {M}ammou, {A}. and {L}e {B}issonnais, {Y}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{P}urpose {A}pproximately 74 % of agricultural soils in {T}unisia are affected by water erosion, leading to the siltation of numerous human-made reservoirs and therefore a loss of water storage capacity. {T}he objective of this study was to propose a methodology for estimating the relative contributions of gully/channel bank erosion and surface topsoil erosion to the sediment accumulated in small reservoirs. {M}aterials and methods {W}e tested an approach based on the sediment fingerprinting technique for sediments collected from a reservoir (which has been in operation since 1994) at the outlet of a catchment ({K}amech, 2.63 km(2)). {S}ampling concentrated on the soil surface (in both cropland and grassland), gullies and channel banks. {A} total of 17 sediment cores were collected along a longitudinal transect of the {K}amech reservoir to investigate the origin of the sediment throughout the reservoir. {R}adionuclides (particularly caesium-137, {C}s-137) and nutrients (total phosphorus, total nitrogen and total organic carbon ({TOC})) were analysed as potential tracers. {R}esults and discussion {T}he applications of a mixing model with {C}s-137 alone or {C}s-137 and {TOC} provided very similar results: {T}he dominant source of sediment was surface erosion, which was responsible for 80 % of the total erosion within the {K}amech catchment. {A}dditionally, we showed that the analysis of a single composite core provided information on the sediment origin that was consistent with the analysis of all sediment layers in the core. {W}e demonstrated the importance of the core sampling location within the reservoir for obtaining reliable information regarding sediment sources and the dominant erosion processes. {C}onclusions {T}he dominance of surface erosion processes indicates that conservation farming practices are required to mitigate erosion in the agricultural {K}amech catchment. {B}ased on the results from 17 sediment cores, guidelines regarding the number and location of sampling cores to be collected for sediment fingerprinting are proposed. {W}e showed that the collection of two cores limited the sediment source apportionment uncertainty due to the core sampling scheme to <10 %.},
  keywords = {{C}atchment ; {C}ore sampling strategy ; {F}ingerprinting technique ; {G}ully erosion ; {R}eservoir ; {R}ill and interrill erosion ; {S}ource sediment ; {TUNISIE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{J}ournal of {S}oils and {S}ediments},
  volume = {13},
  numero = {4},
  pages = {801--815},
  ISSN = {1439-0108},
  year = {2013},
  DOI = {10.1007/s11368-012-0642-6},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010060852},
}