Ecosystem Kickstarter: innovative erosion control

We initiated a feasibility study towards testing and developing the Ecosystem Kickstarter: an innovative, low-tech, and accessible solution for restoring degraded landscapes by erosion prevention. After multiple tests, Ecosystem Kickstarter has become a separate entity and social enterprise under the supervision of the Foundation Ecokick.

Partners:

Regreening & land restoration Grimaldi property

Intensive UAV and field analysis and mapping of 15 ha of strongly degraded land. The resulting soil, texture, nutrient, slope and aspect maps have been translated into a detailed micro-intervention map to combat future erosion, forming a plan for regreening the area into a lush place.

Partner:

TSN Groep: visualising a climate-proof and green business park

3D scan of the company workshop and its surroundings, resulting in a neat map showing the design of climate change adaptation measures, and the design and visualisation of a to-be-developed mini forest to improve biodiversity in the city.

Partner:

Climate change impact on drought, salinization and flooding

Mapping Agro Ecological Zones (AEZ’s) in the Caribbean countries of Trinidad & Tobago, St.Kitts & Nevis, Barbados and Belize, while identifying climate change impacts on drought, salinization and flooding. The maps were validated with field observation, measuring soil properties and interviewing actors in the zones.

Partners:

Designing vineyard drainage systems using UAV

In our research collaboration with the University of Padova, we combined cutting-edge technologies of remote sensing, photogrammetry, and GIS to address the erosion problem in Italian vineyards. Our aim was to come up with a set of new designs of terrace drainage systems, while evaluating their construction costs and benefits for erosion control. Core tasks were digital terrain modifications, simulating erosion patterns, and statistical quantifications.

Our outcomes are published in the open-access scientific article shown below.

Partners:

Peek: Making field trips and excursions fun and effective

The Peek app is the app that makes excursions fun and effective again, for both teachers and students. It is focussed on improving reading skills and facilitating active dialogue about landscapes and surroundings. It is the substitute of old-fashioned paper field work or excursion and has been implemented widely at different universities globally. Cambisol has been involved as Teun is the co-founder of the current seperated spin-off Peek.

A Peek demo can be freely obtained at the website.

Partners:

Invited seminars at the University of Padova

Invited seminars on global soil and water management strategies, and the use of UAV (drones) for mapping erosion and restoration measures. The audience consisted of MSc students in the fields of Sustainable Agriculture and GIS.

Partners:

Developing a sustainable enterprise plan 

Developing an enterprise plan for sustainable business for TSN Groep, covering CO2-reduction and improving energy efficiencies. Brought together TSN Groep and Trees for all as a partnership to compensate for the CO2 emissions of the company.

Partners:

Baseline UAV survey for afforestation in Spain

coming soon...

Partner:

The Network University

Networking activity to map young diaspora from Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya active in agriculture, by meeting them (virtually or offline) and defining their expertise and interests in cooperation with The Network University.

Partner:

Evaluating the impact of terraces by simulating erosion patterns

Our international collaboration with the University of Padova and Wageningen University & Research resulted in new advances in the visualisation of simulated erosion patterns. We studied three Italian terracing types by remote sensing and GIS-based erosion simulations. We focussed on detailed spatial analysis and process visualisation through high-resolution 3D renders, as can be seen in the animated video below.

Scientific outcomes are published in Catena world-leading journal.

Partners:

Research project
Climate-Smart Farming
in the Caribbean

Facilitating multiple workshops and field visits on the islands of St. Kitts, Nevis and Antigua, defining the current issues related to food safety / sovereignty and climate change. This work was to set a base-line for a larger research project with these partners.

Partners:

Soilution System: improving sustainability of Soave vineyards

We are involved as spatial data provider and consultant in the Soilution System project, part of a rural development plan in the vineyard cultural landscapes of Soave, Italy. The project aims at developing novel technologies and management practices to reduce soil loss and improve environmental and economic sustainability.

Partners:

Multispectral UAV surveying of vineyards

In this research project in collaboration with the University of Padova, we visited 2 vineyards in Verona (Italy) and Culemborg (the Netherlands) for multispectral UAV surveying to study relationships between soil, water and grape plants.

Partners:

Koninklijke Haagsche Golf & Country Club

Providing the KHGCC with very high resolution elevation and slope models of their 18 greens for the daily management of the golf course, retrieved by drone analysis and processing.

Partner:

Effects of off-road vehicles on erosion and dust deposition

In Aruba, traffic on dirt roads and recreational off-road driving has put nature and environment under high pressure. In this study, measurements were done to analyse dust transport and spatial deposition along an off-road track. Experiments helped to learn more about the effect of different driving speeds and traffic densities on the dust cloud dimensions, leading to practical guidelines for sustainable future tourism on the island.

Partner:

Predicting erosion by UAV and field measurements

We collaborated with the Universities of Padova and Wageningen to understand and even predict erosion on vineyard terraces. UAV surveying and field measurements were used to investigate terrace failure. Our study shows that suitable design is crucial for positive terrace functioning and preventing the degradation of these ancient soil and water conservation structures. More information in our open access scientific publication (visible below).

Partners:

Mapping orchard soils and yield using UAV

As part of an exploration of the potential causes of yield differences within one orchard, we first created an ultra high resolution elevation model, showing potential differences in micro topography. As a next step, a more extensive field survey will be done, mapping soil texture differences and more