SP 01: Analysis and regionalization of soil degradation and catchment hydrology

Objectives
To quantify and regionalise human induced soil degradation in relation to our land use types and age of forest conversion, and to analyse and simulate consequences of “climate change” and land management on the water balance in catchments.
The SP focuses on:
(1) Analysis (plot-based) and geo-data mining of physical- and biological soil parameters As related to land use types in the three regions (in coop. with SP 03, 04, 06)
(2) Regionalisation of soil parameter for GHG modelling and land use management (in cooperation with SP 02, 03)
(3) Measure impact strength using hydrological parameter, turbidity, sediment traps (for siltation), automatic water sampler and water quality analysis with soluted nutrient output
(4) Hydro-meteorological analysis and parameterization of the water balance model WASIM- ETH with a topographic nested scale approach
(5) Adapt WASIM-ETH for an integrated catchment modelling (water ESS)
(6) Analyse the impact of land cover change and climate change on the water resources at the mesoscale level (in cooperation with SP 08, 09,10, 11)
(7) Analyse with WASIM-ETH simulation the effects of buffer strips, corridors and no conventional mechanised annual crop use (e.g. no tillage) on water ecosystem services (river discharge, groundwater recharge) (in cooperation with SP 03, 06, 13)
(8) set up a long-term hydrological survey system for SEMA MT to control success of experimental farming (SP 6) and cerrado/forest buffer zones within and beyond the timeframe of the project
(9) integrate results into a land use change model (LandShift, SP 11) and contribute to trade-off assessments (effort to reach the "desirable state" vs. costs and acceptance; SP 12)
(10) set up a long-term ecological survey system in one area to control success of experimental farming (SP 6) and natural vegetation buffer zones within and beyond the timeframe of the project.

Please see also the Poster of SP 01 presented at the Kick-Off Workshop in Cuiabá, Brazil, 6-9 July 2011

Project Members:
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Gerold
PhD Student Stefan Filser
Geographical Institut - Department of Landscape Ecology - Georg-August-University Göttingen