EGEMAP (Environmental Geography and Mapping)

Terra Lab UGR 2 (Regional Geographical Analysis and Physical Geography Department at UGR), RNM-197 (research group) and DaSCI (research institute)

Our research lines are

Landscape, sustainability and environmental degradation.

Geomatics (GIS, remote sensing -UAVs and satellites, AI -ML and DL-).

Soil-water-plant relationships and climate.

Who we are

We are scientists who are working at a laboratory belonging to the University of Granada, and the EGEMAP (Environmental geography and Mapping) constitutes a group of people and space that allows covering research projects and teaching innovation. It is managed by the RNM-197 (research group Gestión y Tecnología Ambiental), DaSCI (research institute of AI and Big Data) and Regional Geographical Analysis and Physical Geography Department.

The main purpose is to support all the possible research topics of the department and groups that work on the analysis of the territory, the biophysical environment and the landscape. These are two functional spaces with lines of work closely related to the projects carried out and in force.

The EGEMAP or Environmental Geography and Mapping and research topics try to assess and explain the main aspects of the territory that show interactions between individuals and/or human societies with their natural environment.

CURRENT TOPICS

TOPIC 1: Vineyards, soils and eco-geomorphological processes

Land Degradation in VINEYARDS should be a big concern for humankind. For this reason, we are trying to assess a long-term Multidisciplinary Approach aimed to reduce it.

VINEYARDS are one of the most vulnerable landscapes of the world because of the misuse and abuse of soil resources, which result in their complete loss of functionality. However, this is impossible to achieve without:

Designing applied research from the pedon to the regional scale.
Considering the opinion of the stakeholders.
We are facing issues associated with ecosystem services or production quality and opportunities and barriers to adopting sustainable soil management practices.

TOPIC 2: Landscape restoration and environmental impact assessment

Land degradation by diverse human activities is a big concern for humankind and natural ecosystems. In our lab, we are trying to establish the basis for the realization studies of changes in soil and plant properties, especially hydric and biological ones, subjected to different uses. For example, the recently burned and adjoining areas, for example, in the province of Granada (e.g. Sierra Nevada, los Guájares) or the Montes de Málaga (Comarca de Campo de Cámara). This objective, in turn, is intended to be the starting point for the request for larger projects, which allows for complementing previous lines of research developed by the team.

Scientific objectives: Characterization of key properties in the soil-water relationship.
Assessing the influence of human activities on the water and carbon balance for planning restoration strategies.

TOPIC 3: Territorial planning and dissemination activities (Urban agendas, teaching and didactics, etc.)

In our lab, we design living labs such as BEPs (Baetic Experimental Plots) to completely describe and monitor processes for future publications, and projects to be requested (international, national and regional calls or private funds from foundations). The main aim is to obtain cutting-edge information on the state of the soil, vegetation and integrated management using experiments, soil analyses, drones and satellite images.