Proyectos vigentes

Assessing the impact of climate change on soil erosion over time in Spanish Mediterranean upland agro-ecosystems using nuclear techniques

Equipo

Erosion, and Soil and Water Evaluation

Acrónimo

RA-20532-R0

IP

Leticia Gaspar (EEAD-CSIC)

Resumen

Within Europe, Spain is one of the most endangered countries of potential environmental changes leading to desertification. At present, about 40% of the Spanish territory is seriously threatened by erosion that especially affects upland areas. Increasing loss of productive soils and associated sedimentation downstream is a main concern in some regions of the Mediterranean area with very high economical costs. Anthropic pressure on the soil resource that was maintained for several centuries and changes in soil uses, such as land abandonment or cultivation on marginal lands, have been favoured soil degradation in the last decades. These changes and the potential impact of climate change have an effect on soil erosion.
Assess the impacts of changes on soil erosion using nuclear techniques in upland agro-ecosystems is the main aim in this CRP - D15017. In the frame of this project, the main challenge is exploring climate change impact and vulnerability of upland agro-ecosystems, trying to distinguish and apportion the impacts of climate variability and the impacts of agricultural management on soil erosion.
In this context, this proposal aims to use and develop nuclear techniques (137Cs, 210Pbex and 239-240Pu) as well as isotopic technique 13C for assessing and understanding of changes on soil erosion in Mediterranean upland agro-ecosystems under Climate change impact.
The experimental site is located in Spain and a valuable FRNs dataset from 2003 and a ground breaking research using FRNs (137Cs, 210Pb) developed in the frame of Spanish National research projects with several peer-reviewed publications, is the primary starting point to address and develop a novel resampling methodology that we presented in this proposal.
The general objective of this research is to use nuclear techniques and resampling methodology to quantify soil erosion and its redistribution in a transect with different land cover and different agricultural practices and in a core lake, situated in an inner lake catchment located in the south-central part of the Spanish Pyrenees, an example of Mediterranean upland agro-ecosystem.
This approach allows us for a better understanding of the impact of changes on soil erosion, and the possibility to evaluate the influence of agricultural managements and climate variability on soil erosión.

Actividades del proyecto

- Using a previous and valuable FRNs dataset from 2003 (137Cs, 210Pb) of several soil samples with different land cover type (natural/undisturbed and farmland) and different agricultural practices along a transect
- Develop a suitable resampling methodology for the application of FRNs technique in Mediterranean upland agro-ecosystems
- Using this resampling methodology to investigate patterns and changes on rates of soil erosion for different land uses, vegetation cover or agricultural practices.
- Test the resampling technique by comparing the estimated erosion rates and the accumulation rates through FRNs (137Cs, 210Pb) in 2003 and 2016 in the same location.
- Apply the resampling methodology in combination with FRNs technique in a core lake point taken in 2003 in order to date sediments and better understand of sedimentation processes-
- Explore the use of 239-240Pu and 13C in Mediterranean upland agro-ecosystems for the first time in Spain
- Assess the sources, nature and extent of erosion in the catchment in order to design strategies for rational land use and management aimed to soil conservation of fragile Mediterranean upland agro-ecosystems in Spain.
- Usin Cosmic ray neutron sensors to measure soil moisture. Validation with remote sensing products.

Fecha inicio

01/06/2016

Fecha finalización

01/06/2021

Organismo financiador

International Atomic Energy Agency, Joint Division FAO-IAEA. United Nations. Coordinated Research Projects

Cuantía

'00000€