Project Type

Nacional / Público

Financial Program

PTDC - Projectos em todos os domínios científicos

IPB Funding Value

8100.00 €

Research Project

Principal Investigator

João Carlos Martins Azevedo

Start

2010-04-01

End

2013-09-30

Description

This research integrates the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) with geostatistical techniques and a Geographic Information System (GIS) to model erosion potential for soil conservation planning in Quercus suber agrosilvopastoral woodlands in the Alqueva watershed. Graphical interpretation of the RUSLE parameters will be performed using ordinary kriging. Semi-variograms will be produced for each parameter. The maps resulting from the interpolation techniques will be introduced in a GIS and their values reclassified. After that, spatial modelling will be used to develop the final overlay map from all the information of the analyzed soil properties and RUSLE parameters, simulating ‘‘a potential soil erosion map.’’ Erosion risk maps according to various vegetation management scenarios will be produced. A smaller sub-watershed of Alqueva will be studied and that will help to make conclusions for the total area. Site-specific management methods will be suggested that could improve productivity, decrease the risk of erosion and consequently increase lifetime of dam. The present research will show that geostatistics and GIS are useful tools for sustainable management of extensive agrosilvopastoral areas like the Alqueva watershed. Also it will help to predict the lifetime of the dam under various land management scenarios.

Project Team

João Carlos Martins Azevedo

Project Partners