@article{fdi:010044062,
  title = {{H}ydrological impact of water and soil conservation works in the {M}erguellil catchment of central {T}unisia},
  author = {{L}acombe, {G}uillaume and {C}appelaere, {B}ernard and {L}educ, {C}hristian},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he {M}erguellil catchment (1183 km(2)), whose runoff is a major water resource for the {K}airouan area in semi-arid {T}unisia, was equipped with water and soil conservation works ({WSCW}) during the 1990s, mainly to reduce soil erosion and sitting of the downstream {E}l {H}aouareb dam. {T}he spatial configuration of the hydro-meteorological station network makes it possible to characterize the catchment-scale hydrological impact of the {WSCW}. {T}he catchment is subdivided into two parts, the upper subcatchment and the tower subarea. {T}he latter covers 84% of the catchment surface area and gathers 97% of the surfaces controlled by {WSCW}. {T}he space-time variability of the rainfall-runoff relationship is first analysed, comparing the runoff responses from the two nested catchments for different rain event depth ranges. {A} non-parametric test, based on a resampling approach, is applied to the lower subarea runoff simulated with the {GR}4{J} daily lumped rainfall-runoff model, which is calibrated for several subsets of data. {R}esults indicate that from 1989 to 2005, the runoff produced by rainfall below 40 mm in the lower subarea was reduced by some 71-75%, a significant change at the 95% confidence level. {T}his drop in runoff is estimated at 41-50% when considering all rain depths and at 28-32% when including the upper subcatchment in the analysis. {N}o runoff change is found for above-40 mm rains in the lower subarea, nor for any rain depth range in the upper subcatchment. {A}n analysis of various possible sources for the runoff reduction such as climate, land use/land cover, or water exchanges with the aquifer, led to the conclusion that {WSCW}, which were developed over 32% of the tower subarea since 1989, are the most likely cause for that reduction. {T}heir sharp hydrological effects should be taken into account in order to manage the water resources at the river basin scale, especially in populated semi-arid areas where conflicts between water uses increase dramatically.},
  keywords = {{H}ydrological change ; {W}ater/soil conservation works ; {C}onceptual model ; {S}emi-arid area},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{J}ournal of {H}ydrology},
  volume = {359},
  numero = {3-4},
  pages = {210--224},
  ISSN = {0022-1694},
  year = {2008},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.07.001},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010044062},
}