Abstract
Abandoned quarries in Lebanon represent not only deteriorated scenery but also a negative element leading to landscape fragmentation and ecosystem deterioration. Between 1996 and 2005 the number of quarries increased from 711 to 1,278 with a simultaneous increase of quarried land from 2,875 to 5,283 ha. Remote sensing data from 2005 showed that 21.5% of quarries were distributed on forestland/arable land while 32.4% of quarries were detected on scrubland-grassland. Due to institutional weakness and the absence of a national policy, most Lebanese quarries have not been exploited following environmental concepts. To facilitate decision-making on rehabilitation options we propose two geospatial models based on bio and geophysical variables like precipitation, slope gradient, slope aspect, the availability of soil material, rock infiltration and soil texture to assess the probability of reclamation success. All attributes in the vegetation recovery model were assigned a weighted numeric score and separated into four classes of likely re-vegetation success. In addition to the above-mentioned parameters, water-harvesting potential was assessed based on catchment area above the quarry and rock permeability within the quarry. Therefore, deserted quarries were assessed for potential vegetation establishment and/or water harvesting. Results showed that potential re-vegetation success is strongly linked to terrain geomorphology and climatic conditions. Quarries suitable for water harvesting were spread all over the territory and can present useful additional water resources on the dry eastern mountain chain characterized with water scarcity. The good separation of the two sets of quarries suitable either for re-vegetation or water harvesting suggests the workability of the models, which need further field testing. But, limited national resources available for reclamation will be better targeted toward assessing those quarries where the likelihood of successful reclamation is most probable. The results of these models could be used to support decision-making concerning rehabilitation strategies towards restoration or possible alternative post-reclamation land uses.
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Acknowledgment
This work is a part of research supported by CNRS Lebanon and Penn State University within the frame of Fulbright Scholarship granted to the corresponding author in summer 2007.
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Darwish, T. et al. (2010). Rehabilitation of Deserted Quarires in Lebanon to Initial Land Cover or Alternative Land Uses. In: Zdruli, P., Pagliai, M., Kapur, S., Faz Cano, A. (eds) Land Degradation and Desertification: Assessment, Mitigation and Remediation. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8657-0_25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8657-0_25
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