Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "Plant root effects on erosion of sandy soils in a temperate climate. A trait-based methodology to select native plants for biological soil conservation measures" "Jean Poesen" "Division of Geography and Tourism, Geography and Tourism" "Soil erosion is a major problem leading to severe land degradation problems. To control these soil erosion processes, plant species can be used. Both above- and below-ground biomass can help to protect the soil. Plant roots can be very effective in stabilizing the soil against concentrated flow erosion and shallow mass movements. Most research on the erosion-reducing potential of plant roots was conducted on loamy soils and at present, almost no research exists on the effectiveness of plant roots in reducing concentrated flow erosion rates in sandy soils while they can ve verry susceptible to incisive erosion processes. Therefore, the prime objective of this study was to assess the erosion-reducing potential of both fibrous and tap roots in sandy soils.When using plant species to control soil erosion-processes, species have to be selected. In the last decades, many research was conducted on identifying benificial plant traits to control soil erosion processes. Using this information, suitable plant species can be selected based on these plant traits. In this study a trait-based methodology will be used to select most suitable native plant species growing on sandy soils." "Sabbatical Karen Vancampenhout: Effects of soil degradation on soil carbon storage and persistence in conservation areas" "Karen Vancampenhout" "Forest, Nature and Landscape" "Europe’s ambition to become climate-neutral by 2050 demands persistant storage of C in soils. Several European and Flemish policy documents have highlighted the potential role of soils in nature conservation areas in carbon storage, expanding their role from protecting biodiversity to sequestering C. Nevertheless, ecosystems differ significantly in their capacity to act as C sinks and soil degradation in the form of eutrophication, acidification or drainage can turn natural habitats from carbon sinks into carbon sources. Management efforts to increase C sequestration in natural ecosystems have so far been focused on increasing total C stocks, but have largely ignored how the proposed measures would alter the dynamics of soil C cycles and soil C persistence in the long run. With this sabbatical period, I aim to finish several research papers on my current observational and experimental studies in natural habitats in Europe. Furthermore, I am develop a complex adaptive system approach (CAS) to soil carbon dynamics, as a powerful lens to understand how tipping points in biogeochemical cycli can affect sequestration of greenhouse gasses in soils. I am to write a review on how soil acidification cascades through the soil’s C, N, P and Si cycles, and how it ultimately affects the way carbon is processed and stored in soils. I aim to integrate those findings into a decision support framework for spatially-explicit climate-smart management of natural areas for policy makers and managers. Moreover, I have published several pilot papers on acidification and carbon storage on our experimental site in the Gaume Forest, and I aim to lay out a new design to study edaphic inertia and knock-on effects in biogeochemical cycles, as well as hysteresis. Finally, I want to expand my international research network on soil carbon cycling and storage and explore possibilities towards European funding." "Multi-tracer methods to assess soil redistribution for soil conservation, sustainable production and environmental protection" "Ann Verdoodt" "Department of Environment, Department of Soil Management" "The project aims to develop validated fallout radio nuclide (137Cs, 210Pbex, 7Be) sampling, measurement and interpretation protocols to measure spatial distribution of siol erosion and sedimentation, improve soil erosion modeling, and evaluate its impact on soil functioning at field and watershed scales. its experimental set-up comprises laboratiory and field experiments, soil erosion modeling and soil quality assessments." "An Archaeometric Study of Soil and Glass from the High Medieval Castle of Cucagna, Northern Italy. Interdisciplinary interpretations regarding glass technology, geochemistry of the soil burial environment, conservation and cultural history" "Patrick Degryse" Geology "This research is based on archaeological glass with corresponding soil samples, excavated on the site of the high medieval castle Cucagna in Friuli/Northern Italy. The glass fragments can be dated between the 13th and the 15th century AD.The core hypothesis of this work is that the glass used at Cucagna Castle were brought in from the Northern Italian glass factories under Venetian patronage, as the impressive glass qualities displayed presumably only existed in Venice at that time.To collect the necessary information on the glass’ composition, electron optical scans and microprobe analysis are conducted on representative samples that are typologically interesting. Three research goals are put forward:To present a comprehensible system based on scientific analysis to classify the preservation grade of archaeological glass finds;To contribute to the current discourse on glass corrosion in soil, by comparing the elemental composition of the glass to chemical and physical analyses of the corresponding soil (e.g. by LC/MS, XRD, pH measurement);To interpret the results of the elemental analysis of the glass in the context of the cultural history of Northern Italy and the development of glass technology during that time. For that reason, one key aspect is the attempt to localize the place of glass production, also in the context of similar glass finds at the numerous castles with German roots at the southern mountain side of the Alps." "Soil conservation and policy measures: the case studies" "Guido Van Huylenbroeck" "Department of Agricultural economics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin" "There is a lack of knowledge about soil conservation practices in agriculture and little understanding of how farmers can be encouraged through appropriate policy measures to adopt soil conservation practices. The EU funded project “Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation” (SoCo) is aiming to fill this gap. The research was guided by a framework for policy and institutional analysis, using literature and document analyses as well asa stakeholder survey and expert interviews to investigate soil conservation in eight case studies across Europe. The paper briefly describes the case study areas and presents preliminary findings. The findings highlight i) the need to design policies that target the existing soil threats; ii) the need for good communication and cooperation both between agricultural and environmental authorities as well as between governmental and non-governmental stakeholders; iii) the necessary mix of mandatory and incentive instruments; and iv) the lack of data to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of policies and soil conservation practices." "Nitrogen dynamics under conservation tillage: soil biological and physical mechanisms of control" "Department of Soil Management" "In this project we will investigate for a number of different forms of conservation tillage with different management of organic matter, how the soil microbial biomass and the soil fauna (nematodes, collembola and mites) influence the nitrogen mineralisation immobilization turnover. To this end, incubations will be done with different inocula of soil microbial biomass and soil fauna. Furthermore, the influence of soil structure on these dynamics will be studied using X-ray nano CT scans." "Soil conservation and policy measures: the case studies" "Soil conservation and policy measures: the case studiesBased in the descriptive case study report prepared by the case study partners for Deliverable D2.1 (a report composed of individual reports on each of the eight case studies, delivered in February 2008), the objective of the second (main) phase of the SoCo-CS Project is to deliver a case study report which will be part of the Interim Report 2" "Improving soil conservation and resource use in organic cropping systems for vegetable production through introduction and management of Agro-ecological Service Crops (ASC's)" "Koen Willekens" "Crop Protection, Crop Husbandry and Environment, Plant Sciences" "Main research question/goalWhat is the value of agro-ecological service crops (ASCs) for the different aspects of soil quality and soil conservation? This project focuses on roller-crimper machinery, used to crush the ASC in the generative stage (just before flowering) just prior to sowing or planting the main crop on top of the plant residues. Field experiments will be established to verify if the use of the roller-crimper technology for ASC termination will i) maintain yield of the cash crops and vegetable product’s quality ii) enhance soil quality and increase soil fertility, iii) reduce fossil fuel energy consumption, iv) create an effective suppressive environment for pests, diseases and weeds and (v) reduce nutrient losses from the soil/plant system (i.e. nitrate leaching) and GHG emission from the soil. ASCs are non-marketable intercrops introduced in the agro-ecosystems to provide or enhance ecological services.Research approachSOILVEG is a research project funded by a European network (CORE Organic Plus ERANET) with 14 scientific partners from 8 European member states. For Flanders, the partners are ILVO, Inagro and UGent. Field experiments with ASCs established in all participating countries focus on the termination management of the ASC as main experimental factor. ILVO constructs a roller-crimper to test its performance in Belgian (Flemish and Walloon) field trials. The ASC will be grown in the cold/rainy season, and after full development it is destructed prior to sowing a spring-summer cash crop. Two treatments are compared: (i) green manure in which the ASC biomass is chopped and plowed into the soil and (ii) the decomposition of the ASC residues on the soil surface after flattening the ASC by a roller-crimper, in comparison with a negative control (no ASC). Indicators of the main crop (growth, health, yield, etc.) and the soil condition, in addition to management aspects, are considered and related to the experimental treatment. The second factor is selected to verify additional hypotheses and adapt the study aims to the local conditions and to the specific interests.Relevance/ValorisationOrganic vegetable growers are expected to benefit from the project outcome as they have to control weeds and pests without synthetic pesticides and they intend to increase the profitability of their system by reducing nutrient losses from their soils by increasing crop nutrient use efficiency. The system may reduce the dependence of on farm import of animal manure and the fossil fuel energy consumption. The knowledge of the benefits of the roller-crimper technique for termination of ASCs will also reach conventional farmers. Policymakers could use the project outcomes in setting or improving standards for organic vegetable production for EU Regulations and for rural development plans and premium schemes. The researchers will disseminate the project results online (among others) during the project period (January 2017) via the project website, ILVO’s website and the open access newsletters BIOpraktijk (published by CCBT). The information will stay available at least five years after the project ends." "Reinventing Anthrosols: an ancient answer to modern-day problems concerning climate change, soil degradation, nature conservation and agricultural yield decline?" "Jozef A. Deckers" "Division of Soil and Water Management, Bioengineering Technology, Geel Campus" "The Plaggic Anthrosols of the Campine area are a fascinating soil type, as they contain an important stock of so-called 'old carbon'. The carbon-rich A-horizons of these soils were formed by adding heathland sods enriched with stable manure, mostly during medieval times. This practice enhanced the organic matter content, CEC and fertility of the poor and sandy soils of the Campine area. Although it has been abandoned for centuries, the thick A-horizons, high carbon stocks and better soil properties are still present today. Why this 'old carbon' is so stable remains very poorly understood. The aim of this project is to assess carbon stability in Anthrosols and to implement this knowledge for carbon-sequestration and to combat soil degradation and yield decline on sandy soils." "Soil and water conservation measures to reduce land degradation at sub-catchment scale: A focus on gully control" "Matthias Vanmaercke" "Geography and Tourism" "Gully erosion can be a direct and important cause of land degradation, especially in poorly managed agricultural landscapes. Abaya-Chamo Lake catchment (the study area) is characterized by severe soil erosion, predominantly gully erosion in the midlands and highlands with more than 7000 gullies in four sub-catchments. The area is susceptible to gully erosion mainly in the midlands and uplands due to the factors like rejuvenation of landscapes and land use. In the area, gullies are not developing much more in headcut retreat. Nonetheless, expansion due to gully widening is still ongoing often affecting the croplands. Such gully widening overall received much less research attention and there is limited understanding of the factors controlling this sub-process, especially in (sub-) tropical environments. The overall goal of this project is to contribute to suitable strategies to control gully erosion, considering the characteristics and broader context of the gullies, as well as their impacts in the case of Abaya-Chamo Lake catchment, Southern Ethiopia."