**Sílvio Carlos Rodrigues**

Institute of Geography, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil

**IV**

erosion mitigation strategies and measures for protecting our soil while ensuring

Considering the importance and relevance of this topic for all societies, we have put forth much effort in developing this book. Written by authors from across the globe, the seven chapters in this volume reflect the authors' experiences of implementing different methodologies for soil erosion evaluation as well as soil

Chapter 1 by Gil and Pacheco evaluates some RGB indexes for protecting the soil from erosive processes by vegetation cover, considering an area with agricultural use and based on images collected by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UVA). The objective of the proposed methodology, which was tested in Ecuador, is to offer the possibility of quickly differentiating vegetation from other types of coverage on the ground. The evaluation allowed to define which indexes present the best results and adaptation to the type of crop or plant mass mapped and to propose their use for zoning of risk of erosion under the agro-ecological conditions of the

Chapters 2 and 3 propose the implementation of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) to evaluate soil erosion in two African regions with different characteristics: Algeria and Ethiopia. In Chapter 2, Benchettouh et al. evaluate erosion in the wadi Mina catchment (Northwest Algeria) and its impact on silting up of dams built for human consumption and economic activities. The results of this study indicate that a significant part of the wadi Mina catchment (36.1%) is affected by high-to-dangerous erosion risk, revealing the urgent necessity of implementing soil conservation measures. In Chapter 3, Ahmed and Asmamaw propose the implementation of RUSLE to quantify the amount of soil loss in Bahir Dar Zuria district, Ethiopia, concluding the existence of a high correlation between soil loss

In Chapter 4, Pambudi presents a model for evaluating the Erosion Hazard Level (EHL) in the Lesti Sub-Watershed, Indonesia, considering population pressure to

In Chapter 5, Okou et al. propose the evaluation of the impacts of soil degradation effects on phytodiversity and vegetation structure on the Atacora mountain chain in Benin, West Africa, concluding that physical soil degradation induced modification of floristic composition, phytodiversity loss and modification of vegetation

In Chapter 6, Rutebuka presents some successful stories of sustainable landscape management and soil erosion control developed in Rwanda. These initiatives include intensive erosion control interventions as well as participatory landscape management, both promoted by the Government of Rwanda, to optimize land

In the final Chapter 7, Das et al. propose a revision of agronomic and environmental impacts of biochar on soil amendment, showing that biochar can play an

a sustainable and food-secure world.

conservation strategies.

study area.

and high slopes.

structure.

determine the priority conservation areas.

productivity in a sustainable manner.
