Articles

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 […]

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Promotion of current research in Lao PDR through the French Embassy in Vientiane

Dr. Olivier Ribolzi, from IRD, promotes the last 15 years of research in Northern Laos, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR, within the frame of the Houay Pano CZO (M-TROPICS/MSEC). Dr. Ribolzi warns about the impacts of rapid land use changes on water and soil quality, and on water […]

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Water flow measurements training at Houay Pano CZO, Lao PDR

A water flow measurements’ training was held from October 28 to November 1, 2013, at Houay Pano CZO (M-TROPICS/MSEC) in Ban Laksip, Luang Prabang Province. The training was organized by IRD, LUSES, iEES Paris, GET and lao (DALaM), thai (NPD) and vietnamese (SFRI) partners. It involved students from universities and research institutes of these 3 […]

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Impacts of teak expansion on environment and human health

Short summary of the latest research on the Houay Pano CZO (M-TROPICS/MSEC) dealing with teak expansion, the impact of understorey management on soil surface features and water infiltration, and the consequences of increased surface runoff and soil erosion on pathogens’ transport. Video (4’39) can be watched here.

Articles

REY-Th-U solute dynamics in the critical zone

Combined influence of chemical weathering, atmospheric deposit leaching, and vegetation cycling (Mule Hole watershed, South India): the source and proportion of REY, Th, and U exported by groundwater and by the ephemeral stream along with the elemental proportions passing through vegetation have been assessed in the subhumid tropical forested CZO of Mule Hole (M-TROPICS/BVET), Southern […]

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How can we manage a resource we don’t understand?

“When John Rowell moved to India in 2012, he had a limited understanding of ‘water problems’. A chance encounter with a member of the Indo-French Cell for Water Sciences led him on a six month journey to better understand our most precious resource…” Full text can be found here.

Articles

From shifting cultivation to teak plantation: effect on overland flow and sediment yield in a montane tropical catchment

Soil erosion supplies large quantities of sediments to rivers of Southeastern Asia. It reduces soil fertility of agro-ecosystems located on hillslopes, and it degrades, downstream, water resource quality and leads to the siltation of reservoirs. An increase in the surface area covered with commercial perennial monocultures such as teak plantations is currently observed at the […]

Articles

Groundwater resource vulnerability and spatial variability of nitrate contamination

Insights from high density tubewell monitoring in a hard rock aquifer: agriculture has been increasingly relying on groundwater irrigation for the last decades, leading to severe groundwater depletion and/or nitrate contamination. Understanding the links between nitrate concentration and groundwater resource is a prerequisite for assessing the sustainability of irrigated systems. The Berambadi catchment (M-TROPICS/BVET/Kabini CZO) […]