Linking crop structure, throughfall, soil surface conditions, runoff and soil detachment: 10 land uses analyzed in Northern Laos

In montane Southeast Asia, deforestation and unsuitable combinations of crops and agricultural practices degrade soils at an unprecedented rate. Typically, smallholder farmers gain income from “available” land by replacing fallow or secondary forest by perennial crops. The aim of this study (M-TROPICS/MSEC) was to understand how these practices increase or reduce soil erosion.

The paper was published in October 2017 in Science of the Total Environment and it is available here.

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Soil erosion control in tree plantations on steep slopes: Runoff water andsediment trapping efficiency of riparian grass buffer in mountainoushumid tropics

Riparian grass buffers reduce the velocity of water flowing over the soil surface during storms, capturing surface runoff (SR) and trapping soil particles eroded from cultivated slopes. Rarely quantified under steep slope conditions (>45 %), this phenomenon probably occurs in many mountain agroecosystems in the humid tropics. In Southeast Asia, teak plantations are often established on […]

Village settlements in mountainous tropical areas, hotspots of fecal contamination as evidenced by Escherichia coli and stanol concentrations in storm water pulses

Little is known about the contribution of villages to the fecal contamination of surface water in tropical rural areas. This study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, documents E. coli and stanol concentration levels in surface runoff, and tracks the origin of the fecal contamination during flood events.

Effects of climate and anthropogenic changes on current and future variability in flows in the So’o River Basin (south of Cameroon)

Due to climate and environmental changes, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has experienced several drought and flood events in recent decades with serious consequences on the economy of the sub-region. In this context, the region needs to enhance its capacity in water resources management, based on both good knowledge of contemporary variations in river flows and reliable […]

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