Soil Water Conservation: Dynamics and Impact

Saskia Keesstra (Dr.) main research focus revolves around understanding how soils are part of a larger system. To enable sustainable catchment management it is needed to look at the system dynamics in a holistic way. Process knowledge enables explanation of the impact of natural and human drivers on the soil system and what consequences these drivers have for water and sediment transfer (connectivity) on the human scale, both temporally and spatially. Improved understanding of the soil and water dynamics together with the development and testing practical land management tools in agricultural and forest land is one of the key topics to empower sustainable land management and mitigate soil threats like erosion and off-site water and sediment accumulation with the help of nature’s forces. In my research, I focus on methodology development, specifically (i) focussing on upscaling, how point-scale methods can be used on larger spatial scales; and (ii) focussing on downscaling, from landscape to fine resolution, approaching plot scale. The last important step is to disseminate our science to other researchers and other disciplines and to the general public. 

Simone Di Prima (Dr.) research activities focus on soil hydrology and water resources management with specific regard to laboratory and field determination of soil hydraulic properties, infiltration processes, and simulation of water flow in the vadose zone. I developed the Automat-SRI (Automated Single Ring Infiltrometer). I also contributed to developing the BEST-2K method to estimate soil hydraulic properties on dual-permeability soils. 

Mirko Castellinin (Dr.) research activities focus on the study of soil physical and hydraulic properties. My specific research interests are i) soil physical quality; ii) soil management for sustainable agriculture; iii) land-use change impact on soil properties; iv) use of soil conditioners (e.g., amendments, composts) to improve the soil water retention; v) water fluxes in saturated and unsaturated soil conditions; vi) temporal and spatial variability of physical and hydraulic properties of the soil; vii) main factors affecting soil physical degradation processes (soil surface crusting, soil compaction, etc). 

Mario Pirastru (Dr.) research activities focus on soil hydrology, environmental monitoring, soil water dynamics modeling, and hydrological processes in a semi-arid environment.