https://www.uab.cat/web/estudiar/official-master-s-degrees/general-information-1096480962610.html?param1=1096482863622

This master is biennial and will not open pre-registration for the 2023-2024 academic year.

The master’s degree in Soil and Water Management gives students multidisciplinary training in Earth Sciences, especially hydrology and soil science applied to the sustainable use of natural resources, in both farmland and forested areas, and in the conservation of the quality and the quantity of water and soils.

This is an inter-university master’s degree programme worth 90 credits, containing a highly professionalised approach.

The degree is taught by highly-reputed experts from the four universities involved, specialising in geology, chemistry, biology and soil science, and in applied sciences like agricultural, forestry and hydrological engineering.

Career options

Carreer options

Upon obtaining your degree you will be prepared to do the following, whether in administration, research, education or the private sector:

• Generate and interpret soil and water data. Prepare soil maps.
• Maintain and/or improve agricultural production efficiently and economically, through proper management of irrigation and fertilisation.
• Manage rural areas by preserving or improving the quality of soil and water.
• Control the degradation of soils and waters, and use them efficiently.
• Use and manage the soils for recycling and recovery of organic waste, minimizing impacts.
• Diagnose problems of soil contamination and apply remediation techniques.
• Evaluate hydrological, geomorphological and soil risks, and plan measures to reduce and minimize their impacts.
• Rehabilitate degraded lands and develop environmental restoration projects.

Master’s Degree Coordination

The master’s degree is coordinated by the University of Lleida, where all the registration procedures must be done.

Dr. Ramon J. Batalla (ramon.batalla@udl.cat), general coordinator of the master’s degree
Dr. Xavier Domene (Xavier.Domene@uab.cat), coordinator for the UAB

Coordinator university:

University of Lleida

Participating universities

University of Barcelona
Public University of Navarre
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Additional information

http://www.magsa.udl.cat/en/index.html

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364936239_Soil_and_Water_Conservation_for_Sustainable_Food_Production

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368873703_IUSS_Alert_209_November_2022png

https://www.iuss.org/publications/iuss-alerts-2021-2022/iuss-alert-209-november-2022/

“Nic Jelinski is standing at the bottom of a six-foot deep hole in the middle of a corn field in Waseca, Minnesota. ‘Can you see how the first two feet of soil is black?’ he asks the group of conservation professionals gathered around him. ‘That’s where top soil with organic matter has built up over time. The gray soil underneath shows us that the soil here is usually saturated with water from this point on.'” Prof. Nic Jelinski is featured in the Stillwater Gazette. 

2022 Larson Allmaras Lecture

featuring Dr. Vanessa Bailey:

https://swac.umn.edu/events/2022-larson-allmaras-lecture

Pores to Cores: Microbial Carbon Cycling

in Response to Changing Soil Moisture

Microbes are critical agents of an enormous number of soil processes, perhaps most importantly, those associated with carbon cycling, greenhouse gas emissions, and global climate feedbacks. Yet the soil system is a physically and chemically complex system within which microbial communities function. Soil structure, soil water, and soil microbiology interlink to regulate the soil carbon cycle; carbon cycle feedbacks to the Earth system result from the destabilization of soil carbon. The physical structure of soil – aggregation and the soil pore network – comprise both the flow paths for resource transport in the aqueous phase and the habitat for soil microbes. The soil water is both the connecting liquid for solute transport and the reagent within which biogeochemical transformations occur. The microbial community both responds to the local environment, decomposing soil organic carbon (SOC) and helps shape the local environment by promoting and sustaining aggregation. To study any of these elements alone is difficult, yet to truly understand soils, we must understand them together. We combine advanced techniques for molecular characterization of SOC with tomography and sequencing to reveal where in the soil matrix SOC persists, and in what forms. We have found little evidence for chemical recalcitrance as a C protection mechanism. We have imposed extreme water cycles, from drought through flood, and found that moisture history matters a great deal to the forms of C in soil, where they are located, and how they contribute to CO₂ emitted through heterotrophic respiration. Yet, we find these patterns are expressed differently in different soils and we hypothesize that water and soil structure may explain some of these differences. By considering different physical, chemical, and biological controls as processes that contribute to soil C destabilization, we can inform more accurate and robust predictions of soil C cycling in a changing environment.

https://swac.umn.edu/events/2022-larson-allmaras-lecture

GROUNDWATER – MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE

Groundwater is invisible, but its impact is visible everywhere.

Out of sight, under our feet, groundwater is a hidden treasure that enriches our lives.

Almost all of the liquid freshwater in the world is groundwater.

As climate change gets worse, groundwater will become more and more critical.

We need to work together to sustainably manage this precious resource.

Groundwater may be out of sight, but it must not be out of mind.

https://www.worldwaterday.org/

The mission of the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate is to advance the understanding of Earth system processes and the interaction among land, atmosphere, and water. Through research, teaching, and outreach we seek to:

• improve and protect the quality of soil, air, and water resources in natural and managed ecosystems;
• enhance agricultural and forest productivity and sustainability;
• predict and mitigate impacts of environmental and climate change on ecosystems and society; and
• provide science based knowledge for improved decision making and a better informed citizenry.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359310869_Ecosystem_management_of_degraded_red_and_lateritic_soil_through_agroforestry

https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=36uqLM0AAAAJ&citation_for_view=36uqLM0AAAAJ:M3ejUd6NZC8C

Degree), National Pingtung University of Science and

Technology, Taiwan.

Perspectives
The ultimate goal of the Department is to coordinate the needs of nation’s hillslope development and disaster prevention, therefore, students are trained with up-to-date techniques and fundamental engineering core abilities. Special project that expands for two consecutive academic years is one of requirement that assists students in their senior years to gain hand-on experience.

Distinguishing Features
The Department is devoted to foster students with natural resources conservation technology, including techniques of rational soil and water resource usage and conservation, vegetation engineering, watershed management, disaster prevention on hillslopes, GIS, and climate resource analysis for sloping lands.

Curriculum
All courses taught in the Department emphasize both theory and practice. The four-year program is built upon fundamental courses of computing, ecology, geology, botany, meteorology, hydrology, engineering mechanics, soil physics, and soil erosion. Watershed management, vegetative engineering and resource conservation are taught to equip students with knowledge and techniques of soil and water conservation.

https://www.studyintaiwan.org/university/program/865

NCHU, National Chung Hsing University

145 Xingda Rd., South Dist., Taichung City 402

Taiwan.

The Department of Soil and Water Conservation was established in 1964 in recognition of the importance to conserve the soil and water resources in the country. The graduate program of M.S. degree was initiated in 1974 and then Ph.D. program in 1987. This department is one of the sole departments in the whole country of Taiwan.

The undergraduate courses are divided into five major fields, which are fundamental courses, conservation of environment and ecology, water resource engineering, slopeland engineering and planning and design for soil and water conservation engineering.

http://swcdis.nchu.edu.tw/EnglishWeb/index.aspx