Soil and hydrology sciences need laboratory and field experiments in the classroom.

An example from the SEDER group of the University of Valencia

Geophysical Research Abstracts

Vol. 17, EGU2015-15062-2, 2015

EGU General Assembly 2015

© Author(s) 2015. CC Attribution 3.0 License.

AcknowledgementsTo the “Ministerio de Economia and Competitividad” of

Spanish Government for finance the POSTFIRE project

(CGL2013- 47862-C2-1-R). The research projects GL2008-

02879/BTE, LEDDRA 243857 and PREVENTING AND

REMEDIATING DEGRADATION OF SOILS IN EUROPE

THROUGH LAND CARE (RECARE)FP7- ENV-2013- supported

this research.

Artemi Cerda (1), Oscar Gonzalez Pelayo (1), Fuensanta Garcia Orenes (2), Antonio Jordan (3), Paulo Pereira (4), Agata Novara (5), and Xavier U beda (6)

(1) Soil Erosion and Degradation Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. artemio.cerda@uv.es, Oscar.Gonzalez-Pelayo@uv.es, (2) Environmental Soil Science Group. Department of Agrochemistry and Environment. Miguel Hernandez University, Avda. de la Universidad s/n, Elche, Alicante, Spain,

Jorge.mataix@umh.es; v.arcenegui@umh.es, (3) MED_Soil Research Group. Dep. of Crystallography, Mineralogy and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Seville, Spain. ajordan@us.es, (4) Department of Environmental Policy, Mykolas Romeris University, Ateities g. 20, LT-08303 Vilnius, Lithuania, paulo@mruni.eu, (5) Dipartimento dei Sistemi Agro-

ambientali, University of Palermo, viale delle scienze, Italy. agatanovara@unipa.it, (6) GRAM (Mediterranean Environmental Research Group), Dept of Physical Geography and Regional Geographic Analysis, University of Barcelona, Montalegre, 6. 08001 Barcelona, Spain. (xubeda@gmail.com)

The use of experimental stations and long-term measurements in the

field and in the laboratory contributed to large datasets and key

information to understand the soil system and the hydrological cycle

(Neal et al., 2011; Garci a Orenes et al., 2012; Lopez-Garrido et al., 2012;

Kropf et al., 2013; Nadal-Romero, 2013; Taguas et al., 2013; Zhao et al.,

2013). However, teaching in high schools and colleagues require

simple experiments to help the students to understand the soil and

water resources and management. We show here the experiments and

mhttp://recare-project.eu/easurements we conduct within the teaching

program of the Soil Erosion and Degradation Research Group at the

University of Valencia to help the students in the understanding of the

soil and hydrologic processes.

The expereriments and measurements developed are the following: (i)

Water Drop Penetration Time (WDPT) to determine the soil water

repellency; (ii) Leaves water retention capacity measured in the field;

(iii) soil infiltration capacity measured with simple ring infiltrometers;

(iv) measurement of the soil bulk density; and (v) measurement of the

soil water content. Those experiments and measurements are applied

to agriculture, rangeland and fire affected soils.

ReferencesGarci a-Orenes, F., Rolda n, A., Mataix-Solera, J., Cerda , A., Campoy, M., Arcenegui, V., Caravaca, F. 2012 Soil

structural stability and erosion rates influenced by agricultural management practices in a semi-arid Mediterranean

agro-ecosystem. Soil Use and Management 28(4): 571-579. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-2743.2012.00451.x

Kro pfl, A. I., Cecchi, G. A., Villasuso, N. M., Distel, R. A. 2013. Degradation and recovery processes in Semi-Arid

patchy rangelands of northern Patagonia, Argentina. Land Degradation & Development, 24: 393- 399. DOI

10.1002/ldr.1145

Lo pez-Garrido, R., Deurer, M., Madejo n, E., Murillo, J. M., Moreno, F. 2012. Tillage influence on biophysical soil

properties: The example of a long-term tillage experiment under Mediterranean rainfed conditions in South Spain.

Soil and Tillage Research, 118, 52-60.

Mekuria, W., Aynekulu, E. 2013. Exclosure land management for restoration of the soils in degrade communal grazing

lands in Northern Ethiopia. Land Degradation & Development, 24: 528- 538. DOI 10.1002/ldr.1146 Nadal-Romero, E.,

Lasanta, T., Garci a-Ruiz, J. M. 2013. Runoff and sediment yield from land under various uses in a Mediterranean

mountain area: long-term results from an experimental station. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 38(4), 346-

355.

Neal, C., Reynolds, B., Norris, D., Kirchner, J. W., Neal, M., Rowland, P., Wright, D. 2011. Three decades of water

quality measurements from the Upper Severn experimental catchments at Plynlimon, Wales: an openly accessible

data resource for research, modelling, environmental management and education. Hydrological Processes, 25(24),

3818-3830.

Taguas, E. V., Carpintero, E., and Ayuso, J. L. 2013. Assessing land degradation risk through the long-term analysis

of erosivity: a case study in Southern Spain. Land Degradation & Development, 24: 179- 187. DOI 10.1002/ldr.1119

Zhao, G., Mu, X., Wen, Z., Wang, F., and Gao, P. 2013. Soil erosion, conservation, and Eco-environment changes in the

Loess Plateau of China. Land Degradation & Development, 24: 499- 510. DOI 10.1002/ldr.2246

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n = 200 / % of yes Before AfterQuestion % %

Are experiments important in your education? 12 75Did you use experiments in the Primary school? 74 78

Did you use experiments in the High School? 85 86Did you use experiments in your University education? 15 95

Do you expect experiments in the field? 35 89Do you expect experiments in the class-room? 4 75Do you expect experiments in the laboratory? 69 95

Do you prefer easy-to-make experiments? 9 78Do you prefer complex and expensive experiments? 5 86

Do you like to develop your own experiments? 9 84Is mathematics your main constrain to develop experiments? 82 12

Is money your main constrain to develop experiments? 65 15Is space your main constrain to develop experiments? 45 2

Is material your main constrain to develop experiments? 98 15Is knowledge your main constrain to develop experiments? 40 35

Is the education system your main constrain to develop experiments? 56 95Is internet a source of information for your experiments? 5 89Is internet a source of disseminatio for your experiments? 6 95

Must be experiments and measurements present in the class-room? 45 95Do you have enough facilities at the UVEG to perform your experiments? 90 10

Average 42.5 65.2