Geomorphic landscape approach to mapping soil degradation and Hazard prediction in semi-arid environments: Salinization in the Cochabamba valleys, Bolivia

Abstract

Knowledge of the soilscape, i.e. the pedologic portion of the landscape, its characteristics, and composition helps understand the relationships between causes, processes, and indicators of land degradation. This chapter describes the application of the geopedologic approach to map land degradation caused by soil salinity, and to predict salinization hazard in the semi-arid environment of the Cochabamba valleys in Bolivia. In addition to providing a framework for generating soil information at sub-regional level, geopedology assisted in understanding topsoil spectral reflectance features of soil degradation, assessing soil salinity type and magnitude, and predicting salinity hazard.