SEDER
Soil Erosion and DEgradationResearch Group

Soil Erosion needs a broad and holistic approach to understand the process, measure the rates and monitor the mechanism. SEDER researches the process, the factors, the seasonal and spatial variability, and how to control the high erosion rates when the process is accelerated by the humans abuse of the soil resources

Agriculture

Agriculture is the main cause of soil erosion in the Earth. Soil erosion is triggered by tillage, herbicide abuse, and compaction in Mediterranean orchards.

Forest Fires

Forest fires remove the plant and litter cover, increase the ash cover  and induce high erosion rates.  But the vegetation recovers and ash disappear. The temporal and spatial changes of the soil erosion rates after the forest fires is a key scientific issue.

Road and Railway embankments

Soil Erosion Control
The highest soil erosion rates are usually found in road and railways embankments. Assessment and restoration and rehabilitation is a challenge.
There is a need to restore the soil properties and functions, and for this we need to find the right managements to avoid the non-sustainable soil erosion rates.

See Some Examples