Soil Geography and Landscape

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Chair Group

In Soil Geography and Landscape, led by chairholder Veerle Vanacker, we study soil patterns and landscape dynamics. We take an integrative approach that combines biophysical and human elements to gain insight in past, present and future system dynamics, and to support sustainable land management.

Research themes

Earth surface dynamics
We analyse the past of soil and landscape systems to understand the current dynamics under global change and to project future pathways.
Human-landscape interaction
We study human-landscape interactions over a range of spatial and temporal scales, using geological, geomorphological, archaeological and historical data.
Geography and data science
We develop methods for quantifying soil properties combining expert knowledge, data science, geostatistics, remote and proximal sensing, and process-based modelling.
Soil geography and landscape models
Soil Geography and landscape has a long history of developing numerical models and codes in the area of soilscapes, digital soil mapping and landscape evolution modelling.

Education

Education by Soil Geography and Landscape

We aim to educate responsible change-makers by stimulating students to understand soil and landscape systems in a spatial and temporal context. To achieve this, we often take students out to the field so they can experience soils and landscapes themselves. In many courses later in the curriculum we combine this with quantitative approaches, often including modelling in a spatial and temporal context or laboratory analyses.

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Contributions

Researchers of the Soil Geography and Landscape Group publish on a regular basis in scientific journals, professional journals, scientific and popular books, and proceedings.

Publications & Projects

At Soil Geography and Landscape, we work on projects about Earth surface dynamics, Human-landscape interaction and Geography and data science. We publish the outcome of these projects in scientific journals, professional journals, scientific and popular books, and proceedings.

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Chairholder

Veerle Vanacker is Chair of Soil Geography and Landscape. In her research, Vanacker uses geochemical techniques based on cosmogenic radionuclides to quantify earth surface process rates and get new insights in the rates of natural soil production, chemical weathering, surface denudation, and river incision.