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SSS2.10

Large-Scale Mapping, Monitoring and Modelling of Soil Erosion with Earth Observation
Convener: Elias Symeonakis  | Co-Convener: Anton Vrieling 

Accelerated soil erosion is the principal cause of soil degradation across the world creating negative impacts on water quality, agricultural systems as well as infrastructure. At the smaller scales, improvements in soil erosion modelling are evident. However, the assessment of large-scale water erosion is constrained by data availability and quality. Therefore, there is still a clear need for improved understanding of large-scale erosion processes and their interactions and the development of effective and consistent large-scale prediction techniques. These issues assume an increasing importance as population pressure and economic development call for agricultural development projects.

Over the last decades, a number of studies have employed Earth Observation (EO) data to provide solutions to the challenges of large-scale erosion assessment. These studies can be classified into four groups: (i) identification of large-scale erosion features (e.g. gullies, sediment deposition, etc.); (ii) assessment of the main soil erosion factors of vegetation cover, topography or soil properties; (iii) parameterisation of soil erosion models and qualitative mapping methods; and (iv) validating these assessments based on EO data. Contributions dealing with any these topics are welcome. We also welcome conceptual presentations that present novel ideas on ways forward for large-scale erosion assessment.