Scientific Sessions
1. Successful restoration in degradad land. Cases, strategies and policies.
Artemi Cerdà1
1Soil Erosion and Degradation Research Group. Department of Geography, Valencia University, Blasco Ibàñez, 28, 46010 Valencia, Spain. artemio.cerda@uv.es
The increasing pressures of climate change, land degradation, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity require integrated solutions that enhance ecosystem resilience while supporting sustainable development. Soil restoration and carbon farming have emerged as complementary approaches that improve soil health, enhance ecosystem services, sequester atmospheric carbon, and strengthen the resilience of agricultural and natural ecosystems. Healthy soils not only contribute to climate change mitigation but also improve water regulation, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, and long-term food security.
This session invites interdisciplinary contributions that explore the role of carbon farming as a catalyst for restoring degraded landscapes and promoting climate-smart land management. We welcome research on regenerative agriculture, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, silvopastoral systems, biochar, compost and organic amendments, cover crops, peatland restoration, sustainable grazing, and other nature-based solutions that enhance soil organic carbon and ecosystem functioning. Contributions addressing the interactions between soil carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, water resources, agricultural productivity, and ecosystem resilience are particularly encouraged.
The session also seeks advances in soil carbon monitoring, digital technologies, remote sensing, modelling, environmental assessment, carbon accounting, certification schemes, and policy instruments that facilitate the implementation of carbon farming. Socioeconomic studies evaluating governance, farmer engagement, financial incentives, carbon markets, and public policies supporting soil restoration are equally welcome. Case studies demonstrating successful implementation of carbon farming across diverse climatic regions, farming systems, and land uses will provide valuable insights into scaling up effective practices.
By fostering dialogue among scientists, land managers, policymakers, industry representatives, and civil society, this session aims to bridge scientific knowledge and practical implementation. It will highlight innovative strategies that restore soil functions, enhance carbon sequestration, improve food security, and support resilient landscapes capable of addressing the intertwined challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and sustainable development. The session aligns with the goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and global initiatives promoting healthy soils as the foundation of resilient societies.
Key Words: Land Restoration, Positive Results, Nature-based Solutions (NbS), Cultural-Based Solutions (NbS).
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2. Carbon Farming for Soil Restoration, Food and Climate Security
Rattal Lal1, Saskia Keesstra2
1CFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration, School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
2Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 67808PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands saskia.keesstra@wur.nl
The increasing pressures of climate change, land degradation, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity require integrated solutions that enhance ecosystem resilience while supporting sustainable development. Soil restoration and carbon farming have emerged as complementary approaches that improve soil health, enhance ecosystem services, sequester atmospheric carbon, and strengthen the resilience of agricultural and natural ecosystems. Healthy soils not only contribute to climate change mitigation but also improve water regulation, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, and long-term food security.
This session invites interdisciplinary contributions that explore the role of carbon farming as a catalyst for restoring degraded landscapes and promoting climate-smart land management. We welcome research on regenerative agriculture, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, silvopastoral systems, biochar, compost and organic amendments, cover crops, peatland restoration, sustainable grazing, and other nature-based solutions that enhance soil organic carbon and ecosystem functioning. Contributions addressing the interactions between soil carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, water resources, agricultural productivity, and ecosystem resilience are particularly encouraged.
The session also seeks advances in soil carbon monitoring, digital technologies, remote sensing, modelling, environmental assessment, carbon accounting, certification schemes, and policy instruments that facilitate the implementation of carbon farming. Socioeconomic studies evaluating governance, farmer engagement, financial incentives, carbon markets, and public policies supporting soil restoration are equally welcome. Case studies demonstrating successful implementation of carbon farming across diverse climatic regions, farming systems, and land uses will provide valuable insights into scaling up effective practices.
By fostering dialogue among scientists, land managers, policymakers, industry representatives, and civil society, this session aims to bridge scientific knowledge and practical implementation. It will highlight innovative strategies that restore soil functions, enhance carbon sequestration, improve food security, and support resilient landscapes capable of addressing the intertwined challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and sustainable development. The session aligns with the goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and global initiatives promoting healthy soils as the foundation of resilient societies.
Key Words: Soil, Carbon, Management, Sustainability, Restoration, Rehabilitation, Degradation.
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3. Sediment connectivity and dynamics in changing degraded landscapes: Integrating modelling and monitoring for land degradation and restoration
Manuel La Licata1, Juying Jiao2, Yang Yu3, Bingzhe Tang4, Michael Maerker5
1Department of Science, University of Rome Tre, Rome, Italy. manuel.lalicata@uniroma3.it
2 College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China. jyjiao@ms.iswc.ac.cn
3 School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China. theodoreyy@gmail.com
4 College of Geomatics, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, China. bingzhetang@xust.edu.cn
5 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy. michael.maerker@unipv.it
Soil erosion and land degradation cannot be fully understood by considering soil loss alone. Their environmental consequences largely depend on how sediment produced in source areas is transferred, stored, remobilized, and ultimately delivered downstream. Sediment connectivity provides a valuable conceptual framework for interpreting these source-to-sink relationships, while monitoring and modelling of sediment dynamics offer the empirical basis to understand their spatial and temporal variability. Integrating these perspectives can improve the assessment of soil erosion, sediment redistribution, and land degradation across different landscapes.
This session invites interdisciplinary contributions integrating sediment and hydrological connectivity assessment, sediment dynamics modelling, and sediment monitoring within soil erosion and land degradation frameworks. Particular attention will be given to approaches combining structural and functional connectivity, sediment budgets, sediment tracing and fingerprinting, in-situ monitoring, high-resolution terrain analysis, remote sensing, UAV observations, environmental sensors, and modelling. Methodological advances and applications from hillslope to catchment and regional scales are particularly encouraged.
A central focus will be on how LULC changes and broader landscape transformations modify sediment sources distribution, sediment availability and accessibility, transfer pathways, storage areas, and sinks, as well as mountain hazards. Relevant modification processes include agricultural intensification and abandonment, deforestation and reforestation, permafrost degradation, wildfire, grazing, urbanization, infrastructure development, and other human- or climate-driven disturbances. Studies addressing changes in the spatial and temporal dynamics of sediment connectivity, including responses to extreme hydrological events, are particularly welcome.
The session will also explore the role of sediment connectivity in land restoration planning and sustainable land management. Contributions may examine how soil and water conservation practices, revegetation, terraces, check dams, water storage and drainage system, riparian restoration, nature-based solutions, and other interventions modify sediment pathways and promote landscape disconnection and sediment retention. Approaches integrating connectivity indices with soil erosion models, detection of terrain changes, sediment yield observations, and long-term monitoring may provide important insights into the effectiveness of restoration measures.
By bringing together geomorphologists, soil scientists, hydrologists, engineers, remote-sensing specialists, ecologists, and land managers, the session aims to advance integrated approaches for identifying sediment sources and transfer pathways, distinguishing erosion hotspots from areas effectively contributing sediment downstream, and prioritizing monitoring, conservation, and restoration actions.
Key Words: Sediment connectivity, Sediment sources, Source-to-sink, Sediment monitoring, Soil erosion, LULC changes, Landscape modifications.
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4. Impact of Leisure Activities on Mountain Ecosystems
Kwanele Phinzi1
1Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Zululand, South Africa
Mountains provide a wide range of ecosystem services and societal benefits, including biodiversity conservation, water regulation, cultural and spiritual values, recreation, tourism, and opportunities for physical and mental well-being. Increasingly, mountain landscapes are being used for leisure and outdoor recreation, including hiking, trekking, mountaineering, trail running, mountain biking, cycling, skiing, camping, and nature-based tourism. These activities can generate important health, social, cultural, and economic benefits for individuals and communities and contribute to the sustainable use and appreciation of mountain environments. However, the growing intensity and spatial extent of recreational activities can also place considerable pressure on mountain ecosystems. Where such activities are poorly planned or inadequately managed, particularly in mountain landscapes outside formally protected areas, they can contribute to vegetation loss, habitat fragmentation, soil compaction, surface disturbance, and accelerated erosion.
This session invites contributions examining the environmental consequences of recreational and leisure activities in mountain landscapes. Particularly welcome are studies that link recreation and tourism to the physical, chemical, and biological dimensions of land degradation and explores pathways towards more sustainable recreational use of mountain environments. Contributions may address, but are not limited to:
- Soil degradation – soil erosion, compaction, nutrient depletion, and altered soil-water relationships associated with recreational activities.
- Vegetation and biodiversity impacts – trampling, vegetation loss, changes in plant community composition, habitat disturbance, invasive species, and impacts on mountain flora and fauna.
- Hydrological and geomorphological processes – changes in infiltration, runoff, sediment transport, slope stability, gullying and other geomorphic responses to recreational disturbance.
- Impacts of different leisure activities – hiking and trekking, mountain biking and cycling, trail running, mountaineering, skiing, camping, off-road recreation, and other forms of nature-based tourism.
- Remote sensing and geospatial approaches: applications of GIS, remote sensing and other geospatial technologies for detecting, mapping, monitoring, and modelling recreation-induced land degradation.
- Field-based assessment and monitoring – indicators and methodologies for quantifying recreational impacts on soils, vegetation, biodiversity, and ecosystem processes.
Keywords: Mountains, Leisure, Tourism, Biodiversity, Ecosystem, Degradation, Sustainability.
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5. Safeguarding Desert-Oasis Ecosystems: Integrating Ecological Restoration, Land Management and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands
Yunfei Liu1, Zeeshan Ahmed2, Qi Liu3, Bochao Cui1, Dongwei Gui2
1Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. liuyf@ms.xjb.ac.cn, cuibc@ms.xjb.ac.cn
2Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry. zeeshan@ms.xjb.ac.cn, guidwei@ms.xjb.ac.cn
3King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia. qi.liu.1@kaust.edu.sa.
Desert–oasis ecosystems represent unique and highly valuable ecological systems that sustain biodiversity, human livelihoods, and agricultural production in some of the world’s most water-limited regions. Acting as ecological refuges within arid landscapes, oases provide essential ecosystem services, including water regulation, soil fertility maintenance, carbon storage, habitat conservation, and support for traditional agricultural systems and local communities. However, these fragile ecosystems are increasingly threatened by multiple interacting pressures, including climate change, prolonged drought, groundwater depletion, soil salinization, land-use change, overexploitation of natural resources, vegetation degradation, and accelerating desertification processes. Understanding the mechanisms driving oasis degradation and developing effective strategies for ecosystem restoration, sustainable resource management, and climate adaptation are critical for maintaining the resilience and long-term sustainability of desert–oasis landscapes.
This session welcomes contributions from researchers, scientists, and practitioners working on dryland ecology, desertification science, soil and water management, ecological restoration, remote sensing, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development. The session aims to bring together interdisciplinary perspectives from ecologists, soil scientists, hydrologists, environmental managers, policymakers, and experts involved in conserving and restoring vulnerable desert–oasis ecosystems worldwide. Contributions from different arid and semi-arid regions, including Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and other dryland areas, are particularly encouraged. Contributions may address, but are not limited to:
• Oasis degradation drivers (water scarcity, salinization, overgrazing, groundwater depletion)
• Desertification processes and ecological thresholds
• Soil degradation and carbon dynamics
• Vegetation resilience and biodiversity conservation
• Remote sensing and AI-based monitoring
• Ecological restoration and nature-based solutions
• Sustainable oasis agriculture and water management
Keywords: Arid lands, Climate change, Desertification, Ecological restoration, Land degradation, Oasis agriculture, Water scarcity
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6. Reading Landscapes for Restoration: Community-Grounded Archetypes Linking Water Security, Agroecology and Land Degradation Response.
Sarika Kulkarni’,
1Raah Foundation, 4501, Kohinoor Square, Shivaji Park, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. sarika@raahfoundation.org
Restoration planning still tends to treat degraded land as though it were uniform. A single prescription – a species list, a trench spacing, a subsidy – is applied across a district in which slope position, soil depth, aquifer behaviour, tenure and land-use history vary enormously over a few hundred metres. The result is a well-documented
pattern of low survival rates, abandoned structures and eroded community trust. Reading a landscape correctly before intervening in it is therefore not a preliminary step but the decisive one.
This session explores landscape archetypes as a practical framework for that reading. An archetype is a recurring configuration of biophysical and social conditions – a shallow-soil upper slope under open-access grazing, a spring-fed valley bottom with fragmented smallholdings, an abandoned terrace system on a weathered basalt aquifer – to which a distinct restoration response is appropriate. Archetypes offer a way to move between the plot-level detail practitioners work with and the district or basin scale at which policy and finance operate, without losing either.
This session invites work that examines how such typologies are constructed and validated. Remote sensing, hydrogeological mapping and soil survey supply one layer of evidence. Farmer and community knowledge of where water sits, which slopes fail, which species establish and which commons can realistically be governed supplies another, and is frequently the more spatially precise of the two. The session welcomes work that takes both seriously and examines what happens when they disagree.
Contributions are invited on: methods for delineating and testing landscape typologies; water security as an entry point to restoration, including aquifer characterisation, spring rejuvenation and the sequencing of soil and water conservation measures; agroecological and agroforestry transitions on degraded farmland, including multi-strata food forests, biological inputs and soil carbon outcomes; restoration of common lands and the governance arrangements that sustain it; and the gender dimensions of restoration, where women’s land access, labour and decision-making authority determine whether ecological gains translate into household food and nutritional security.
We especially encourage contributions that report failure and revision alongside success, and that connect field evidence to Land Degradation Neutrality targets, National Adaptation Plans and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Experimental research, long-term monitoring, participatory mapping, and practitioner case studies from the Global South are all welcome, as are contributions that bridge the persistent gap between restoration science and restoration practice.
Join us in Yangling, China, for the 2027 Land Degradation and Restoration conference, and for a discussion of how learning to read a landscape changes what we choose to do to it.
Keywords: Landscape, Water, Agroecology, Commons, Gender, Restoration, Degradation.
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7. Session title: A rational approach to land restoration: Excerpts from ten countries
Ritika Jain1, V Santhakumar2
1Associate Professor. Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, India.
2 Retired Professor, Azim Premji University, Bangalore, India and Independent consultant to UNCCD G20 GLI
This session proposes to present the key themes and contributions of two recent books on land restoration: Land Restoration: A Rational, Grounded and Pragmatic Approach by V. Santhakumar, Ritika Jain, and Muralee Thummarukudy and Pathways through which socio-economic factors enable/disable land degradation: The tale of ten countries by Ritika Jain, Pratima Pandey and V. Santhakumar. The first book addresses the urgent global challenge of land degradation against the backdrop of international initiatives such as the UNCCD’s Land Degradation Neutrality, the Bonn Challenge, and the G20 Global Land Initiative, highlighting both progress and persistent gaps in implementation. The book also presents the country systems approach and outlines the roles of various stakeholders involved in land restoration. The second book presents a detailed implementation of the systems approach in ten different countries across the world.
In the session, we intend to discuss the systems approach- the main framework discussed in the first book, analyzing how socioeconomic factors such as poverty, inequality, agricultural dependence, and governance shape land degradation and restoration outcomes across diverse contexts. The session will also explore the roles of various stakeholders- governments, private sector, NGOs, and communities, and emphasizes the need for context-specific policies, innovative financing, and capacity-building. It also discusses the importance of integrating land restoration into education and professional training. By combining empirical analysis with practical recommendations, the session will discuss a pragmatic roadmap, as presented in the first book, for policymakers, practitioners, and advocates seeking to accelerate land restoration at scale.
In the latter part of the session, we will highlight the main findings of the second book across the ten countries. We will contrast the experiences of the ten countries and draw some patterns by focusing on the common factors and the unique factors that shape land degradation in a country. Overall, the session will emphasize how meeting land restoration targets is not a linear path but is multi-layered and context driven.
Keywords: Landscape, Water, Agroecology, Commons, Gender, Restoration, Degradation.