Matthew Zustovic

Visiting MSc student University of British Columbia

Matthew Zustovic, who is completing his Masters in Forest Sciences from the University of British Columbia, will be working at our group for the next 3 Months, supervised by Nacho Querejeta.

He will be monitoring the regeneration capability under projected moisture and temperature regimes of 5 at-risk or endangered shrub species endemic to the region. Matt’s responsibilities will include monitoring emergence, growth, and survival of these species in a controlled growth chamber experiment as well as data collection in the field.

More about Matt’s experience in Spain: link

Visiting BSc student Wageningen University

Starting 18th February 2014, Dina El Filali, a bachelor student from Wageningen University, will stay at our group for a period of 3.5 months to work on her bachelor thesis project on characterization of gully systems using staitistics and fractal geometry.

During her stay she will be supervised by Joris de Vente.

PhD defense Pedro Cutillas

PhD defence Pedro Cutillas

On Friday 8th November our colleague Pedro Cutillas defended succesfully (cum laude) his PhD thesis entitled: “Modelización de propiedades físicas del suelo a escala regional. Casos de estudio en el Sureste Ibérico” (Modelling physical soil properties at a regional scale. Study cases in the Iberian SouthEast).

Congratulations Pedro!

You can access all the thesis of this research group through the links in the dissertations section.

@CEBAS_SWC

New twitter account!

The Soil Erosion and Conservation Group has a new twitter account @CEBAS_SWC

(CEBAS_SWC = Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura_Soil Water Conservation).

We started tweeting yesterday and our community managers are Lupe León and Joris de Vente. Follow us!

La cantera de la ciencia

Introduction to research for High Schools

Our group together with other research groups at CEBAS has iniated an educational research project with several High Schools of the Region of Murcia.

Three students 16 years-old will develop a research project within our group during 8 months, they will study the changes in soil properties and their capacity for carbon sequestration under different conservation practices applied in one of our experimental farms in dryland agricultural systems of the Region of Murcia. We will work together from the field to the laboratory and they will present their results in a small Congress that will celebrate in CEBAS at the end of May 2014. This project represents a new way to introduce science in educational programs and an interesting opportunity to bring closer the value of local agro-ecosystems to younger generations.

link

Modelling physical soil properties at a regional scale. Study cases in the Iberian SouthEast

PhD defence Pedro Pérez Cutillas

Next Friday 8th November at 11:00h, our colleague Pedro Pérez Cutillas will defend his PhD in the room “Sala Jorge Guillen”, Facultad de Letras (Campus de la Merced), Murcia.

Pedro is a geographer specialized in developing applications based on GIS and modelling, his PhD thesis is entitled:

“Modelización de propiedades físicas del suelo a escala regional. Casos de estudio en el Sureste Ibérico” (Modelling physical soil properties at a regional scale. Study cases in the Iberian SouthEast).

We wish you good luck with your PhD defense!

Soil erosion documentary

Soil erosion documentary for Hong Kong television

Hong Kong journalists visited us during October to film in our experimental station farm of “Alhagüeces”. They are working in a documentary on soil erosion that will explain soil erosion processes and its drivers in the loess belt of China, Southeast Spainand CapeVerde islands. In Spain they were filming in Almeria under the guidance of Albert Solé of the EEZA-CSIC and in Murcia we visited our experimental farm of “Alhagüeces”.There they made several interviews to scientists and farmers explaining thesoil erosion situation in the Murcia region and the work that we are doing together with the farmers on soil conservation measures. The documentary will be shown in December in a popular chinese television channel.

Visiting MSc student

Starting 7th october 2013, Cecilia Zagaria, an MSc student from Wageningen University, will stay at our group for a period of 5 months to work on her MSc thesis project entitled:

‘Adaptation to climate change through sustainable land management: protecting ecosystem service provision in Mediterranean agro-ecosystems’

During her stay she will be supervised by Joris de Vente.

Summer course: adaptation to climate change

Between 10-12 of July, members of our group will participate in the organization and teaching of a summer course on climate change and hydrology: from science to practice in management of soil and water resources. The course is coordinated by Dr. Sandra Garcia from the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT). Besides two days of lectures the course includes a 1 day field visit. For more details on the programme and inscription (until 28th June) click here.

PhD defence Elisabet Nadeu

PhD defence Elisabet Nadeu

On Thursday 18th of April Elisabet Nadeu succesfully (cum laude) defended her PhD thesis entitled:

Soil erosion and organic carbon mobilization at the catchment scale: factors, processes and impact on the carbon balance.

Congratulations Elisabet!

You can access all the thesis of this research group through the links in the dissertations section.