Using MicroLEIS DSS to evaluate climate change impacts on land suitability in Andalusia, Spain

Comunicación oral presentada en la Sesión: SSS9.2: Studiying soils and/or land: Approaches for sustainable management of the environment.-- Congreso, celebrado del 7-12, abril 2013, en Viena, Austria.Understanding the effects of climate change on land suitability for crop production has become an important issue with respect to food security in areas undergoing increasing population sizes. Land suitability for six common Mediterranean crops was evaluated under current conditions and future climate change scenario. This evaluation was performed using the Agro-ecological Decision Support System Micro LEIS (MicroLEIS DSS) through the application of Terraza and Cervatana models.Peer reviewe

Spatial analysis for assessing soil organic carbon stocks in southern Spain

Comunicación oral presentada al European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2012, que tuvo lugar del 22-27, abril, 2012, en Viena, Austria.The objectives of the present study were to estimate current soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks for each land use and soil type, studying relationships between SOC stocks and selected environmental variables (elevation, temperature and precipitation).Peer reviewe

Evaluation of soil contamination risks by using data management and modelling infraestructures of MicroLEIS DSS. A case study in El-Fayoum Nile province, Egypt

218 págs., 27 tablas, 45 figuras,, 37 mapas, 17 fotos, referencias págs. 187-200.-- Bibliography p 81-92. Graphs. Annexes (in CD).[EN]: In this research work contamination vulnerability of irrigated soils in the Mediterranean region was evaluated, using the province of El-Fayoum as a pilot area. El-Fayoum is one ofthe western desert regions in the Arab Republic of Egypt, with an area of 177,600 ha approximately. It offers a great potential for agriculture using water from the (Miracle) River Nile. The main objective has been to investigate and predict the risk of soil contamination by phosphorus, nitro gen, heavy metals and pesticides. The following components of the agro-ecological decision support system MicroLEIS DSS have been used: 1) SDBm, database of soil profiles, 2) CDBm, database agro-climate 3)MDBm, database of agricultural management, and 4) Pantanal model, specific assessment model for the vulnerability of soil contamination. The databases facilitate the collection and harmonization of a broad platforrn of geo-referenced digital alphanumeric data, that were taken from many previous studies of soils and available data related to climate and the main crops. The database SDBm-EIFayollm contains the physical & chemical analyses and morphological descriptions of 46 soil profiles from El-Fayoum. The database CDBm-EI-Fayollm contains monthlyaverage values of climate variables: mean temperature, maximum and minimum rainfall, number of days of rain and humidity, collected during a consecutive period of 44 years (1962-2006) from El-Fayoum thermo-pluviometric station.The database, MDBm-EIFayollm contains information on agricultural use and management of major crops, using the scientific publications guidance from Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt. In turn, the geographical information system Arc-GIS 9.3 was utilized for the production of a set of thematic maps grouped into the following topies: soil, land use, topography and lithology.[ES]: El presente trabajo de investigación se acometió como experiencia piloto en la región mediterránea para el estudio de vulnerabilidad a la degradación agrícola de los suelos regables. La provincia de El-Fayoum, es una de las zonas del desierto occidental de la República Árabe de Egipto, con una extensión de 177,600 ha, la cual ofrece un gran potencial agrícola como consecuencia del "milagro" del río Nilo. El principal objetivo ha sido investigar y predecir los riesgos de contaminación agrícola de los suelos por fósforo, nitrógeno, metales pesados y pesticidas. Para ello se hizo uso preferente de determinadas herramientas componentes del sistema agro-ecológico de ayuda a la decisión MicroLEIS DSS, como son: 1) SDBm, base de datos de perfiles de suelos, 2) CDBm, base de datos agro-climáticos, 3) MDBm, base de datos de manejo agrícola, y 4) Pantanal, modelo de evaluación de la vulnerabilidad a la contaminación específica de los suelos. Las bases de datos facilitaron la recopilación y harmonización de información a partir de una amplia plataforma digital de datos alfanuméricos georeferenciados del área de estudio, procedente de múltiples estudios previos de suelos y de datos disponibles relacionados con el clima y los principales cultivos. En la base de datos SDBm-EI-Fayoum se incluyeron datos fisicos, químicos y descripción morfológica correspondientes de 46 perfiles edafológicos representativos de los suelos del área de estudio. La base de datos CDBm-EI-Fayoum contiene información de valores medios de las variables climática: temperatura media, máxima y mínima, precipitación, número de días de lluvia y humedad relativa, recogidas durante un período consecutivo de 44 años (1962-2006) a partir de la estación termopluviométrica del Fayoum . En la base de datos MDBm-EI-Fayoum se han introducido información sobre uso y manejo agrícola para los principales cultivos de la zona proveniente de publicaciones científicas del Ministerio de Agricultura. A su vez, el sistema de información geográfica Are-GIS 9.3 se utilizópara la producción de un conjunto de mapas temáticos agrupados por los siguientesfactores: suelo, uso del suelo, topografía y litología.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of soil degradation and land capability in Mediterranean areas under climate and management change scenarios (Andalusia region, Spain, and El-Fayoum Province, Egypt)

278 páginas.-- 213 referencias.-- Aprendice con 5 tablas.-- Tesis doctoral presentada por Sameh Kotb Mohamed Abdelmabod en cumplimiento de los requisitos para optar al grado de Doctor por la Universidad con a calificación: Sobresaliente Cum Laude. presentada en Sevilla el 10 de Diciembre de 2014. de Sevilla[EN]: The world's population is 7 billion and will surpass 9 billion in 2050, which will lead to an increased demand for food. The total land area includes marginal land, such as deserts, steep mountains, swamps, and formerly arable areas that have been degraded after unsustainable land use. The present study focuses on land degradation and potential agricultural productivity in different Mediterranean areas: Andalusia (southwestern Spain) and El-Fayoum (northern Egypt). These areas were chosen to study soil contamination, erosion and suitability of different land uses, and to produce recommendations to preserve productive arable land, which is a scarce resource.[ES]: La población mundial actual es de unos siete mil millones y superará los nueve mil millones en 2050. Se espera que esto conduzca a un aumento de la demanda de alimentos. El área total de la superficie terrestre incluye tierras marginales o no aptas para el cultivo, tales como desiertos, montañas escarpadas, pantanos, al igual que zonas anteriormente cultivadas que han sido degradadas como consecuencia de un manejo inapropiado. El presente estudio se centra en el análisis de la degradación del suelo y el potencial agrícola en dos zonas del Mediterráneo: Andalucía (suroeste de España) y El-Fayoum (norte de Egipto). Estas áreas zonas fueron escogidas para estudiar los procesos de contaminación, erosión del suelo y su capacidad para diferentes usos, y, finalmente, llevar a cabo recomendaciones orientadas a la conservación de la tierra cultivable como un recurso no renovable.This PhD thesis has been funded by the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID), a public law entity under the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.Peer reviewe

Agro-Ecological soil evaluation for monitoring water quality using MicroLeis DSS.

Soil degradation has both indirect and direct effects on the quality of surface and ground waters. In this sense, agriculture is one of the key activities causing water quality degradation in many parts of Mediterranean systems. In the European Union, the purpose of the Water Framework Directive (European Commission, 2000) is to establish a framework for the protection of inland surface, transitional, coastal and ground waters too. A major source of surface and ground water pollution is the diffuse contamination caused by nitrates in agricultural lands. This specific water protection was regulated by the Nitrates Directive (ND, 1991/676/EC), which in Spain was developed by a Royal Decree (261/1996/BOE), and in Andalusia region by a Decree (36/2008/BOJA) for the designation of water quality vulnerability zones (22 zones) and an Order of the Regional Government of Andalusia (18.11.2008/BOJA) to establish the action programs (1 unique program) to be implemented by farmers. However, the Nitrates Directive considers that different action programs may be established for different vulnerable zones or parts of those areas. Also, these action programs must take into account scientific and technical information that are available on each particular soil and climatic conditions, such as rainfall erosivity, length of the growing season, slope, soil infiltration and soil denitrification capacity. Within this context, the agro-ecological decision support system MicroLEIS DSS (technology developed by CSIC-IRNAS and transferred to Evenor-Tech, www.evenor-tech.com) is considered a very appropriate tool to include the soil and climatic attributes for a better identification of vulnerable zones and formulation of action programs. In this paper, the MicroLEIS DSS modelling infrastructure to predict soil erosion and contamination risks (ImpelERO and Pantanal models, basically) is discussed, as a scientific approach to identify detailed vulnerable areas, and formulate site-specific management plans for sustainable water use and protection in Andalusia region. The high variability of the results from this agro-ecological land evaluation research in Water Quality Vulnerability Zones demonstrates the importance of using soil information in decision-making regarding the formulation of site-specific soil use and management strategies.Peer Reviewe

Evaluating soil contamination risks by using MicroLEIS DSS in El-Fayoum Nile province, Egypt.

The Agro-ecological Decision Support System, MicroLEIS DSS, was applied to investigate and predict soil degradation in the province of El-Fayoum, one of the western desert areas of the Arab Republic of Egypt, with an area of 149,300 ha approximately.Peer reviewe

Forest land suitability in a Mediterranean area under climate change scenarios

Comunicación oral presentada al citado congreso, celebrado del 7-12, abril, 2013, en Viena, Austria.-- Sesión: SSS9.2: Studiying soils and/or land: Approaches for sustainable management of the environment.As a consequence of the increasing level of atmospheric CO2 and air temperatures, global climate is changing leading to warmer and often drier conditions in many forest ecosystems. The Mediterranean area is particularly vulnerable to climate change as a result of a combination of environmental and human factors. An adequate forest management is associated to improvement of habitat suitability for soil and water quality, climate regulation and other important ecosystem services.Peer reviewe

Evaluating impact of climate change on soil quality indicators in the Mediterrnean region

More reliable quantification of the impact of climate-change on soil quality and its ecosystem services is required to adapt patterns of yield and productivity, forest management, and resource availability. In this context, the present study evaluates the effects of climate change on agriculture soil and forest capacity as well as on its vulnerability to degradation process like erosion and soil contamination, in the Mediterranean region of Andalusia (S, Spain).Peer reviewe

Evaluation of soil contamination risk under climate change scenarios using Pantanal model in a Mediterranean area

Comunicación oral presentada al citado congreso, celebrado del 7-12, abril, 2013, en Viena, Austria.-- Sesión: SSS9.2: Studiying soils and/or land: Approaches for sustainable management of the environment.In this research, contamination vulnerability of Mediterranean soils was evaluated, using Andalusia (southern Spain; 87,600 km2) as a pilot area. The following components of the agro-ecological decision support system MicroLEIS DSS have been used: 1) SDBm, soil profile database, 2) CDBm, agroclimate database 3) MDBm, database of agricultural management, and 4) Pantanal model, specific assessment model for the vulnerability of soil contamination focus on nitrogen, phosphorous, heavy metals and pesticides.Peer reviewe

Evaluating soil degradation under different scenarios of agricultural land management in Mediterranean region

14 pages, 9 figures, 7 tables, 30 references.In this research work the Agro-Ecological Decision Support System MicroLEIS DSS, was applied to evaluate land degradation under different scenarios of land management. El-Fayoum depression was selected as a pilot area, this is one of the western desert depressions in the Arab Republic of Egypt. The area offers a great potential for agriculture using water from the river Nile. The main objective is to investigate and predict the risk of soil contamination for phosphorus, nitrogen, heavy metals and pesticides under traditional and recommended management scenarios of maize cultivation. The following components of MicroLEIS DSS have been used: 1) soil database (SDBm), 2) agro-climate database (CDBm), 3) agricultural management database (MDBm), and 4) the specific assessment model for the vulnerability of soil contamination called “Pantanal”. Then, a recommended scenario based on different land management has been produced for maize crop, which aimed to reduce soil contamination vulnerability of phosphorus, nitrogen, heavy metals and pesticides. The model application results are grouped in five vulnerability classes: V1 (none), V2 (low), V3 (moderate), V4 (high) and V5 (extreme) for each specific contaminant. Results obtained for El-Fayoum area showed that 47.8% and 52.2% of total studied area were classified as V3 and V4 vulnerable land due to phosphorus contamination under the traditional management scenario, but 41.9%5.9% and 52% of total area were classified as V2, V3 and V4 because of the same contaminate under recommended management scenario. On the other hand, 98.7% and 1.3% of the total area were classified as V3 and V4 vulnerable land due to nitrogen and heavy metals under the traditional management scenario, however in the other recommended scenario 94.0% and 5.6% were classified as V1 and V2 classes due to nitrogen contaminate and 79.0%, 19.1% and 1.7% were classified as V1, V2 and V4 for heavy metals contaminates. In the same trend 2.6%, 8.1%, 17.4% and 91.7% were classified as V1, V3, V4 and V5 due to pesticides contamination in the actual management scenario, however 24.0% and 76.0% were classified as V1 and V2 respectively due to the same contaminant under the recommended management scenario. In summary, we can ensure that these innovative agro-ecological studies such as those developed by MicroLEIS DSS can be applied and adapted in the agricultural provinces of Egypt in order to achieve a national sustainable rural managementPeer reviewe