NAIAD Case studies: Lez river basin (France)
The Lez river (29 km long) is a small coastal Mediterranean river with a watershed of 746km2. Its spring is the outlet of a large karst aquifer. It then crosses natural and agricultural areas before reaching the plain of Montpellier (with 290 000 inhabitants) and the Mediterranean Sea. The Montpellier plain is characterized by a rapid urbanization with massive land artificialisation and soil-sealing (2920ha decrease of agricultural and natural areas from 1990 to 2012).
The watershed is exposed to a typical Mediterranean weather marked by repeated...