Department of Environment

Projects

List of ongoing or recently finished projects

  • Resistance and resilience of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) genoptypes to water stress and soil compaction. > Read more
  • Climate-smart soil management to combat land degradation and enhance soil, water and crop productivity in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia. > Read more
  • Impact of climate-smart soil management practices on current and future rainfed maize production in Uganda. > Read more
  • Biochar-based sustainable soil and water management in irrigated rice production in Benin. > Read more
  • Cost-effective irrigation methods and water management at farm/field level in the Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia. > Read more
  • Building resilience to climate change: impact of reduced tillage and mulching on the soil water balance and crop growth. > Read more
  • Compost and other soil conditioners as a measure for climate induced soil physical challenges in biological farming systems. > Read more
  • Estimation of the water retention capacity of soils based on soil and land use characteristics. > Read more
  • Impact of agroforestry systems on soil water balance in semi-arid regions of Rwanda. > Read more
  • Impacts of irrigation with grey effluent water on soil properties and crop growth. > Read more
  • Working the land, searching the soil. A geophysical framework for diachronic land-use studies. > Read more
  • Agricultural drought: will capillary rise from groundwater be among pertinent drivers of heterotrophic activity and carbon cycling in our soils? > Read more
  • Environmental Impact of Soil Structural Degradation by Agricultural Operations. > Read more
  • Healthy soils for sustainable rice production in the Vietnamese Mekong delta. > Read more
  • Prevention of soil compaction by agricultural operations in Chuquisaca, Bolivia. > Read more
  • Optimisation de l’humidité pour la maîtrise du tassement des sols agricoles en Tunisie. > Read more

Project-info

Resistance and resilience of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) genoptypes to water stress and soil compaction.

Timeframe: 1 Oct 2024 - 30 Sep 2028
Promoter(s): Wim Cornelis, Mohammad Mofizur Jahangir
Main researcher: Jamal Hossain
Funding: Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council. > up

Climate-smart soil management to combat land degradation and enhance soil, water and crop productivity in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

Timeframe: 1 Oct 2024 - 30 Sep 2028
Promoter(s): Wim Cornelis, Amaury Frankl, Seifu Admassu Tilahun
Main researcher: Habtamu Muche Fenta
Funding: UGent BOF. > up

Impact of climate-smart soil management practices on current and future rainfed maize production in Uganda

Rainfed maize yield in Uganda has remained very low compared with that attained by researchers. The study will assess the impact of climate-smart soil management practices on soil-water regime and maize yield using field experiments in Living Labs, and set-up a  computer simulation model to simulate and predict maize yield response to these practices using collected data under various climate scenarios.
Timeframe: 1 Oct 2023 - 30 Sep 2027
Promoter(s): Wim Cornelis, Everline Komutunga (NARL)
Main researcher: Choice Agaba
Funding: UGent BOF. > up

Biochar-based sustainable soil and water management in irrigated rice production in Benin

In Benin, rice is mainly cultivated in the inland valleys, which offer a suitable environment for irrigated rice cultivation because of the availability of water during the dry season and the relatively fertile soils. However, in an irrigated rice system where land is overexploited, soil degradation problems are becoming increasingly acute. Despite the use of chemical fertilizers, yields remain low (2.5 t/ha of paddy). One of the alternatives for sustainable land management (SLM) in the tropics is the application of biochar. Indeed, over the past decade, many authors have recommended the incorporation of biochar into degraded soils as a sustainable strategy to both mitigate climate change and increase agricultural production. The overall objective of this project is to sustainably improve the productivity of irrigated rice systems through the development and optimization of an integrated model based on the combined use of biochar and other SLM measures to better manage soil and water in a climate change context. Data will be collected through farm surveys and participatory field experimentations. This study will enable us to better understand irrigated rice systems and provide information and decision-making tools for policy makers, agricultural advisory services and other stakeholders.
Timeframe: 1 Oct 2023 - 30 Sep 2027
Promoter(s): Wim Cornelis, Codjo Emile Agbangba (INRAB) 
Main researcher: Kocou Fortuné Adoko 
Funding: INRAB. > up

Cost-effective irrigation methods and water management at farm/field level

Timeframe: 1 Oct 2023 - 30 Sep 2027
Promoter(s): Wim Cornelis, Margaret Chen (VUB), Seify Tilahun 5BDU), Desale Kidane (BDU), Abebech Abera (BDU)
Main researcher: Abdu Yimer Yimam
Funding: VLIR-UOS IUC Bahir Dar Phase II (Belgian Development Cooperation). > up

Building resilience to climate change: impact of reduced tillage and mulching on the soil water balance and crop growth

A recent meta-analysis on the impact of agricultural practices on the water-regulating function of soil, showed that reduced tillage, continuous covering of the soil and the addition of organic material contributes to improved water infiltration and retention. The aim of the project is to investigate the effects of organic mulches on plant-available water and crop growth as an adaptation mechanism against extreme weather conditions. This project is part of the project "Soil Structure, Soils Managed in a Climate-Resilient Way" (SOILSTRUCT) and links with Flanders' Blue Deal actions.
Timeframe: 1 Apr 2023 - 31 Mar 2027.
Promoter(s): Wim Cornelis, Maarten De Boever (ILVO)
Main researcher: Rémy Willemet
Funding: Flemish Government. > up

Compost and other soil conditioners as a measure for climate induced soil physical challenges in biological farming systems

Timeframe: 1 Ma 2020 - 28 Feb 2026.
Promoter(s): Wim Cornelis, Steven Sleutel
Main researcher: Lotte Baert
Funding: Ghent University. > up

Estimation of the water retention capacity of soils based on soil and land use characteristics

As a result of climate change, Flanders is increasingly being confronted with weather extremes.. In order to model the resilience of soils to drought, pedotranser functions (PTFs) to predict soil hydraulic properties can be used. This project aims at developing new PTFs based on historical and new datasets.
Timeframe: 1 Feb 2022 - 31 Jan 2024.
Promoter(s): Wim Cornelis, Pieter Janssens, Ivo Van de Moortel (Antea Group)
Funding: Flemish Government. > up

Impact of agroforestry systems on soil water balance in semi-arid regions of Rwanda

The research project will evaluate combined factors affecting adoption of agroforestry in the research area, farm and landscape impacts of agroforestry on soil water balance and maize yield; season and source of water consumption pattern by trees; and the effect of agroforestry systems on microclimate change in soil water balance highly exposed regions to drought, such as semi-arid regions of Rwanda. This action research will involve farmers in data collection, analysis, and develop solutions together with the hope to expose them to agroforestry services for their adoption and improve small-scale farmers' livelihoods.
Timeframe: 1 Oct 2020 - 30 Sep 2014
Promoter(s): Ann Verdoodt, Wim Cornelis, Pascal Boeckx
Main researcher: Juliette Gatesi
Funding: EU. > up

Working the land, searching the soil. A geophysical framework for diachronic land-use studies

Through an interdisciplinary approach, this project aims to redress current understanding of Neolithic land-use. Hereby, a synergy between archaeology, environmental studies and applied geophysics will provide insight into diachronic human-environment interactions in complex pedological environments. Aimed at a robust basis for prehistoric archaeology, this will equally offer a future-oriented methodological framework for soil and environmental studies.
Timeframe: 1 Oct 2020 - 30 Sep 2014
Promoter(s): Philippe De Smedt, Philippe Crombé, Wim Cornelis
Main researcher: Gastón Mendoza Veirana 
Funding: BOF UGent. > up

Agricultural drought: will capillary rise from groundwater be among pertinent drivers of heterotrophic activity and carbon cycling in our soils?

The overarching goal of the present proposal is to assess to which extent groundwater depth exerts a control on heterotrophic activity in agricultural soil. We hypothesize that in specific soil texture / groundwater depth combinations, the process of capillary rise of moisture into topsoil becomes a conditio sine qua non for occurrence of soil microbial activity in drier summers.
Timeframe: 1 Oct 2020 - 30 Sep 2024
Promoter(s): Steven Sleutel, Wim Cornelis, Pascal Boeckx
Main researcher: Astrid François
Funding: FWO. > up

Healthy soils for sustainable rice production in the Vietnamese Mekong delta

Timeframe: 1 March 2017 - 28 February 2021 extended
Promoter UGent : Wim Cornelis, Steven Sleutel, Ann Verdoodt
Main researcher: Nguyen Van Qui
Funding: Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam. > up

Prevention of soil compaction by agricultural operations in Chuquisaca, Bolivia

This project will develop a decision support tool that allows to evaluate the risk of soil compaction due to agricultural operations with heavy machinery. The tool compares mechanical strength of the soil with stresses propagated in soil and exerted by wheels from machinery driving on the soil. It will be used to raise awareness to soil compaction. Meanwhile, the capacity of SFXU staff regarding teaching and research on soil compaction in an
agricultural context will be enhanced.
Timeframe: 1 March 2016 – 28 February 2020 extended
Promoter(s): Adam Bezuijen, Gemmina De Emidio, Wim Cornelis, Juan Carlos Rojas Vidovic
Main researcher: Juan Alfredo Torrico
Funding: VLIR–UOS TEAM (Belgian Development Cooperation). > up

Optimisation de l’humidité pour la maîtrise du tassement des sols agricoles en Tunisie

Timeframe: 1 October 2015 – 30 September 2020 extended
Promoter(s): Wim Cornelis, Khaoula Abrougui
Main researcher: Chihab Khemis
Funding: Institut Supérieur Agronomique de Chott-Mariem. > up

Building resilience to climate change: effect of selected sustainable land management practices on cocao yield and quality response in Uganda

Cocoa productivity in Uganda has remained low with average productivity of 0.55t/ha, compared with 1.65t/ha attained in Ghana. The study will develop simple visual indicators for monitoring soil structural quality in cocoa fields, establish the effect of sustainable land management practices on cocoa yields and quality and predict future cocoa yields using data from Global Climate and Regional Climate Models.

Timeframe: 1 Feb 2021 - 31 Jan 2025
Promoter(s): Wim Cornelis, Pascal Boeckx
Main researcher: David Akodi
Funding: BOF UGent. > up

Impacts of irrigation with grey effluent water on soil properties and crop growth

In Europe and beyond, water is a limited resource. With the growing population and global change, availability of freshwater will become more problematic in the future. The use of ‘grey’ water for irrigation has risen globally, but has hardly been introduced in Belgium. Because of a salinization hazard, using ‘grey’ water can lead to soil structural degradation. Field experiments have been setup in 2018 at INAGRO (Beitem) in which potato, spinach and cauliflower are grown. The objective is to study the effect of effluent water (from three different sources, i.e. from a (domestic) wastewater treatment plant, from frozen-vegetables industry and from potato industry) and a rainwater control on physical, chemical and biological soil quality and growth of vegetables, by conducting lab and field tests.
Timeframe: 1 Oct 2020 - 30 Sep 2024
Promoter(s): Wim Cornelis, Sarah Garré
Main researcher: Lin Wang
Funding: CSC. > up