Global rainfall erosivity assessment based on high-temporal resolution rainfall records

The exposure of the Earth’s surface to the energetic input of rainfall is one of the key factors controlling water erosion. While water erosion is identified as the most serious cause of soil degradation globally, global patterns of rainfall erosivity remain poorly quantified and estimates have large uncertainties. This hampers the implementation of effective soil degradation mitigation and restoration strategies. Quantifying rainfall erosivity is challenging as it requires high temporal resolution(<30 min) and high fidelity rainfall recordings. We present the results of an extensive global data collection effort whereby we estimated rainfall erosivity for 3,625 stations covering 63 countries. This first ever Global Rainfall Erosivity Database was used to develop a global erosivity map at 30 arc-seconds(~1 km) based on a Gaussian Process Regression(GPR). Globally, the mean rainfall erosivity was estimated to be 2,190 MJ mm ha−1 h−1 yr−1, with the highest values in South America and the Caribbean countries, Central east Africa and South east Asia. The lowest values are mainly found in Canada, the Russian Federation, Northern Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East. The tropical climate zone has the highest mean rainfall erosivity followed by the temperate whereas the lowest mean was estimated in the cold climate zone

Monthly Rainfall Erosivity: Conversion Factors for Different Time Resolutions and Regional Assessments

As a follow up and an advancement of the recently published Rainfall Erosivity Database at European Scale (REDES) and the respective mean annual R-factor map, the monthly aspect of rainfall erosivity has been added to REDES. Rainfall erosivity is crucial to be considered at a monthly resolution, for the optimization of land management (seasonal variation of vegetation cover and agricultural support practices) as well as natural hazard protection (landslides and flood prediction). We expanded REDES by 140 rainfall stations, thus covering areas where monthly R-factor values were missing (Slovakia, Poland) or former data density was not satisfactory (Austria, France, and Spain). The different time resolutions (from 5 to 60 min) of high temporal data require a conversion of monthly R-factor based on a pool of stations with available data at all time resolutions. Because the conversion factors show smaller monthly variability in winter (January: 1.54) than in summer (August: 2.13), applying conversion factors on a monthly basis is suggested. The estimated monthly conversion factors allow transferring the R-factor to the desired time resolution at a European scale. The June to September period contributes to 53% of the annual rainfall erosivity in Europe, with different spatial and temporal patterns depending on the region. The study also investigated the heterogeneous seasonal patterns in different regions of Europe: on average, the Northern and Central European countries exhibit the largest R-factor values in summer, while the Southern European countries do so from October to January. In almost all countries (excluding Ireland, United Kingdom and North France), the seasonal variability of rainfall erosivity is high. Very few areas (mainly located in Spain and France) show the largest from February to April. The average monthly erosivity density is very large in August (1.67) and July (1.63), while very small in January and February (0.37). This study addresses the need to develop monthly calibration factors for seasonal estimation of rainfall erosivity and presents the spatial patterns of monthly rainfall erosivity in European Union and Switzerland. Moreover, the study presents the regions and seasons under threat of rainfall erosivity.JRC.H.5-Land Resources Managemen

Mapping monthly rainfall erosivity in Europe

Rainfall erosivity as a dynamic factor of soil loss by water erosion is modelled intra-annually for the first time at European scale. The development of Rainfall Erosivity Database at European Scale (REDES) and its 2015 update with the extension to monthly component allowed to develop monthly and seasonal R-factor maps and assess rainfall erosivity both spatially and temporally. During winter months, significant rainfall erosivity is present only in part of the Mediterranean countries. A sudden increase of erosivity occurs in major part of European Union (except Mediterranean basin, western part of Britain and Ireland) in May and the highest values are registered during summer months. Starting from September, R-factor has a decreasing trend. The mean rainfall erosivity in summer is almost 4 times higher (315MJmmha-1h-1) compared to winter (87MJmmha-1h-1). The Cubist model has been selected among various statistical models to perform the spatial interpolation due to its excellent performance, ability to model non-linearity and interpretability. The monthly prediction is an order more difficult than the annual one as it is limited by the number of covariates and, for consistency, the sum of all months has to be close to annual erosivity. The performance of the Cubist models proved to be generally high, resulting in R2 values between 0.40 and 0.64 in cross-validation. The obtained months show an increasing trend of erosivity occurring from winter to summer starting from western to Eastern Europe. The maps also show a clear delineation of areas with different erosivity seasonal patterns, whose spatial outline was evidenced by cluster analysis. The monthly erosivity maps can be used to develop composite indicators that map both intra-annual variability and concentration of erosive events. Consequently, spatio-temporal mapping of rainfall erosivity permits to identify the months and the areas with highest risk of soil loss where conservation measures should be applied in different seasons of the year

Best management practices for optimized use of soil and water in agriculture

These BMPs have been always reviewed in the context of the SHui project, which covers different agro-climatic regions across Europe and China and these agricultural systems: 1- Rainfed tree crops. 2- Irrigated tree crops. 3- Cereal based rotations under rainfed conditions. 4- Cereal based rotations under irrigation. Regarding use of water for irrigation, this document will also cover the use of low-quality water, including wastewater, and the use of recycled water for irrigation.Spanish version available at http://dx.doi.org/10.20350/digitalCSIC/13985Chinese version available at http://hdl.handle.net/10261/253611This document provides a comprehensive review of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for optimized used soil and water in agricultural systems within the context of the SHui project. This document, which also has been translated into Spanish and Chinese could be use: 1- To provide to any reader an overview of the technical description of available options of BMPs for optimizing soil and water use. 2- To identify how BMPs are defined and requested in relation to large policy instruments, particularly the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), to provide guidance on simulated scenario as well as on recommendations for improvement to policy stakeholders. 3- To provide a common framework, within the project as well for external users, for the definition of BMPs using a standardize terminology, and an appraisal on how some of the most common hydrologic models can be used, or not, to introduce the effect of these BMPs on scenario analysis.Soil Hydrology research platform underpinning innovation to manage water scarcity in European and Chinese cropping systems. SHui. European Commission. Grant Agreement number 773903.Peer reviewe

Mejores prácticas de manejo para el uso optimizado del suelo y el agua en la agricultura

Estas MPM siempre se han revisado en el contexto del proyecto SHui, que cubre diferentes regiones agroclimáticas en Europa y China y estos sistemas agrícolas: 1- Cultivos arbóreos de secano. 2- Cultivos arbóreos de regadío. 3- Rotaciones a base de cereales en condiciones de secano. 4- Rotaciones a base de cereales bajo riego. En cuanto al uso de agua para riego, este documento también aborda el uso de agua de baja calidad, incluidas las aguas residuales, y el uso de agua reciclada para riego.Traducción y edición en español: Federico Julián Fuentes y José Alfonso Gómez, Grupo Operativo Cereal Agua.Versión en inglés disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.20350/digitalCSIC/13964Versión en chino disponible en: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/253611Este documento es la traducción al castellano de la versión original en inglés fruto de la colaboración entre el Grupo Operativo Nacional Cereal Agua (de la EIP-Agri) y el proyecto SHui (del programa H2020 de la Comisión Europea). El mismo proporciona una revisión integral de las Mejores Prácticas de Manejo (MPM) para el optimizar el uso sostenible de los recursos suelo y agua en los sistemas agrícolas dentro del contexto del proyecto SHui. Este documento, que además de la versión original inglesa ha sido traducido al español y al chino, podría utilizarse para: 1- Proporcionar a cualquier lector una visión general de la descripción técnica de las opciones disponibles de MPM para optimizar el uso sostenible de los recursos suelo y agua. 2- Identificar cómo se definen y se regulan las MPM en relación con los grandes instrumentos regulatorios, en particular la Política Agrícola Común (PAC), a fin de proporcionar orientación sobre escenarios en que se implementaran esas MPM, así como facilitar la formulación recomendaciones para su mejor implementación por diferentes agentes. 3- Proporcionar un marco común, tanto dentro del proyecto como para los usuarios externos, para la definición de MPM utilizando una terminología estandarizada, así como una evaluación de cómo algunos de los modelos hidrológicos más comunes pueden usarse, o no, para introducir el efecto de estas MPM sobre estudios de análisis de escenarios en los que se introduzcan algunas de estas prácticas.Grupo Operativo Cereal Agua. Para su constitución, al grupo le ha sido concedida una subvención del Fondo Europeo Agrícola de Desarrollo Rural en el marco del Programa Nacional de Desarrollo Rural 2014-2020 del Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación. La creación de los Grupos Operativos de ámbito nacional ha sido posible a través de la Asociación Europea para la Innovación en materia de productividad y sostenibilidad agrícola (AEI-AGRI). La creación y funcionamiento del grupo operativo supraautonómico CEREAL-AGUA está cofinanciada en un 80% con el Fondo Europeo Agrícola de Desarrollo Rural (FEADER) de la Unión Europea, y en un 20% por el Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación en el marco del Programa Nacional de Desarrollo Rural 2014-2020, siendo la inversión total de 507.930,00 €.-- Soil Hydrology research platform underpinning innovation to manage water scarcity in European and Chinese cropping systems. SHui. Comisión Europea. Identificador del acuerdo de subvención 773903.Peer reviewe

Mejores prácticas de manejo para el uso optimizado del suelo y el agua en la agricultura

Chinese translation: Yun Xie, Lixin Chen, Jie Tang, Zhaoqi Fu, Meng Zhang, Hanlin Dong.English version available at http://dx.doi.org/10.20350/digitalCSIC/13964Spanish version available at http://dx.doi.org/10.20350/digitalCSIC/13985在Shui项目框架下，综合论述了农业系统水土资源优化利用的最佳管理措施BMPs（Best Management Practices）。编写本报告的主要原因如下： （1）为与该项目有关或无关的任何读者，总结以水土资源优化利用为目标的各类最佳管理措施（BMPs）技术。 （2）确定在相关的政策计划中，尤其是共同农业政策，如何界定最佳管理措施（BMPs）及需求，以便指导政策利益相关者进行情景模拟和提出改进建议。 （3）为项目内部和外部使用者提供最佳管理措施（BMPs）的标准化术语定义及通用框架。 （4）与Shui项目课题1、2、5合作，确保选用的各类最佳管理措施（BMPs）已通过试验、田间尺度模型模拟、以及所在区域利益相关者的反馈（WP5）进行了充分的评估与分析。 全文对最佳管理措施的综述均基于Shui项目背景，包括了中欧不同的农业气候区和以下农业系统： （1）雨养经果林 （2）灌溉经果林 （3）雨养谷物轮作 （4）灌溉谷物轮作 本报告的灌溉用水涉及到低质水，包括废水利用和灌溉循环水利用。基于土壤水文学研究平台创新管理欧洲和中国种植系统的水资源短缺问题（SHUI） 欧洲委员会 项目资助号： 773903Peer reviewe

Ecosystem Service and Sustainable Watershed Management

Abstract Maintaining the productivity, the filter and buffer capacity of our soils is a major interest of our society. Heavy rainstorm producing runoff and soil loss decrease amount of organic substance, clay particles and nutrients in our soils. Transport and deposition of eroded material as well as substances dissolved in runoff and attached to soil particles lead to negative impacts on agricultural land and adjacent water bodies. Decreased fertility and increased production costs of agricultural commodities do have an impact on land values. The off site damages caused by erosion affect not only land owners but also the public at large. Without future protection measures large portions of our land used for agriculture will turn into economic and ecological burdens. We have to keep in mind that soil and water quality are inherently linked. Conserving or enhancing soil quality is a fundamental step to improve water quality