The PlaNet experience at LASOSU conference 2021
LASOSU2021, the International Forum on Land Degradation, Soil Conservation and Sustainable Development, 2021, was successfully held as an online conference on 21- 23 August 2021. The conference is supervised by the World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (WASWAC), Italian Association of Agricultural Engineering (AIIA) and Soil Erosion Division of CSWCS (China) and the conference is organized by Dalian University of Technology (China) and University of Padova (Italy). Thirteen other famous institutes are involved in co-organizing the conference, e.g., the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of CAS & MWR (China), Beijing Normal University (China), Xi’an University of Technology (China), Italian Association for Soil and Water Bioengineering (Italy), etc.
PlaNet network supported and promoted a session to this conference entitled “Soil and water bioengineering (SWB) as nature-based solution for slope and bank erosion control, stabilization and ecological restoration“, convened by Federico Preti (University of Firenze and president of AIPIN-Italian Association of Soil and Water Bioengineering), Paola Sangalli (President of the EFIB – European Federation of Soil and Water Bioengineering) and Vittoria Capobianco (NGI – coordinator of PlaNet – member of AIPIN).
The conference:
Thoughtful reports and hot discussions have been carried out focusing on the cutting-edge topics for the effects of climate change on land degradation, remote sensing and big data in land degradation analysis, soil conservation and sustainable development, nature-based solutions for soil and water conservation, smart monitoring information system for soil and water conservation, decision-making information system for soil and water conservation and land resource management.
Sessions and topics:
Below a list of some of the sessions of interest to PlaNet network, in particular related to soil erosion control, land degradation and ecological restoration.
- Soil erosion and its control in the countries along the belt and road
- Soil erosion processes and mechanism
- Sustainable land management: practice and its suitability
- Climate change, land degradation, combatting strategies
- Forest ecosystems and soil functionality worldwide: past, present and future impacts, evaluation and research
- Ecological restoration and sustainability
- Effects of restoration measures against soil erosion in rural areas at watershed level: lessons learned from the past and future needs
The session “Soil and water bioengineering (SWB) as nature-based solution for slope and bank erosion control, stabilization and ecological restoration” was a success, with almost 20 contributing speakers and 40 participants at the highest peak.
Relevant presentations from the session were:
- Soil and Water Bioengineering (SWB)in Europe: 25 Years of the EFIB, presented by Paola Sangalli – EFIB
- An overview of constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment in mountain areas: performance and floristic evolution in several case studies in Val Camonica (North Italy), presented by Lorenzo Rossi – University of Milano.
- NBS and traditional erosion and landslide mitigation measures in LaRiMiT database: pooling of expert scores, presented by Vittoria Capobianco – NGI.
- Transferability analysis as a supporting tool for the implementation of soil and water bioengineering techniques to unknown areas, presented by Melanie Maxwald – University of Florence.
- Ecosystem kickstarter: Affordable and sustainable erosion control for restoring desertification-prone agro-ecosystems, presented by Teun A. Vogel – Cambisol Environmental Consultancy
- Nature-based solutions for water management and conservation: the case study of the LIFE BEWARE project, presented by Lorenzo Bettella – University of Padova
- Grey and blue-green infrastructures acting together, presented by Gioia Gibelli – Politecnico di Milano.
The conference in numbers:
259 papers have been accepted and 10 outstanding participants have been awarded in LASOSU2021.
241 participants from 19 countries in the field of soil and water conservation and sustainable development have been involved in the online communication during 22-23 August, including 53 chairpersons, 169 oral presenters and 19 poster presenters, 82 of which are at the level of professors, and 84 of which are from outside of China. In the conference, 6 preeminent scientists, have given keynote speeches, and another 23 experts have given solicited parallel-session presentations. During the conference, a total of 2263 participants were recorded.
Conclusions:
LASOSU2021 has received wide attention in the field of soil conservation and sustainable development. It is said that “LASOSO2021 is a high-level international academic conference held under the epidemic situation of COVID-19”. Maybe LASOSU2021 has made a promotion in improving the general studies and starting the key projects in the field.
LASOSU2021 has played a positive role in providing a global perspective and strategic thinking to dissolve the problem of serious soil degradation described in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a document adopted by all UN Member States in 2015.
Contact person from PlaNet network: Federico Preti (federico.preti@unifi.it)
Link to the website: http://lasosu2021.dlut.edu.cn/meeting/list_en.asp?id=2710&nid=1560