Christian Riveros Lizana

This research examines the relationship between wildfire aerosol deposition—primarily from Amazonian fires—and the accelerated retreat of tropical glaciers in the Andes. Covering approximately 1,409 km² and supplying water to over 30 million people, these glaciers have experienced significant shrinkage since the 1970s. This decline is driven by rising average temperatures (1–2 °C) and the deposition of light-absorbing particles (LAPs), notably black carbon (BC).Black carbon deposition on glacier surfaces reduces albedo, increasing absorbed solar radiation and enhancing glacier melt rates. BC-induced albedo reductions range from 0.04% to 3.8%, contributing to a positive radiative forcing of up to +3.2 W/m². Annually, 5–20% of glacier mass loss can be attributed to this darkening effect. BC concentrations spike during El Niño events, when atmospheric conditions promote Amazonian wildfire activity and enhance aerosol transport to high-altitude glaciers.Amazonian wildfires account for approximately 70% of BC emissions deposited in the Andes, peaking at 50 teragrams of BC per fire season due to agricultural expansion and slash-and-burn practices. Atmospheric transport models (e.g., WRF-CHEM) and field measurements highlight the role of meteorological systems such as the South American Monsoon System (SAMS), the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), and the South American Low-Level Jet (SALLJ) in moving aerosols over 2,000 km during the dry season (July–October). This process leads to BC concentrations in glacier snowpacks reaching up to 1,092 ng/g.The combined effects of albedo reduction and increased radiative forcing exacerbate glacier melting, with significant implications for water resources, food security, and ecosystem stability in regions reliant on seasonal glacier runoff. Observed melt rates range from 0.1 to 0.4 meters of ice thickness per year, with peaks during El Niño episodes.

Forest plantations represent an alternative to reduce timber extraction pressure in the Amazonian forests. In order to tolerate the hostile field conditions of deforested areas, high-quality seedlings are required. This study aimed to find the optimal dose of a native microbial consortium (NMC), which enhances seedling quality indicators, in three forest species at nursery phase. A completely randomized design (3 × 5) was used. Factor 1: Bolaina blanca (Guazuma crinita Mart.), Capirona (Calycophyllum spruceanum Benth. Hook. f.), and Marupa (Simarouba amara Aubl.). Factor 2: Incremental doses of 0, 160, 320, 480, and 640 mL NMC per plant. The nursery survival (%), robustness index, root height/length ratio, shoot–root index, Dickson Quality Index (DQI), Nitrogen (%), Phosphorus (%), and Potassium (%) content in tissues were analyzed. Statistical analyses consisted of two-way ANOVA per variable and correlation analysis. The results indicated that increasing doses of NMC did not improve nursery survival for any species; did not decrease the robustness index, plant height/root length ratio, or the shoot–root index for any species; and did not increase the DQI, P%, or K% for any species; however, they did increase the N% for all species. In conclusion, the incremental dose of 160 mL was chosen for increasing the N% without affecting nursery survival.

The Peruvian Amazon faces an increasing threat of soil erosion, driven by unsustainable agricultural practices and accelerated deforestation. In Neshuya (Ucayali region), agricultural activity has intensified since 2014, but the effect on soil erosion is unknown. The present study aimed to evaluate the increase in erosion levels, at a sub-basin of the central–eastern Amazon of Peru, in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model was used for assessing the effect of vegetation cover change from 2016 to 2022. In the Neshuya sub-basin (973.4 km²), the average erosion increased from 3.87 to 4.55 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, on average. In addition, there is great spatial variability in the values. In addition, 7.65% of the study area (74.52 km²) exceeds the soil loss tolerance limit (15 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹). The deforestation rate was 17.99 km² year⁻¹ and by 2022 the forested area reached 237.65 km². In conclusion, the transition from forest to farmland was related to the most critical erosion values. Unsustainable soil management practices can be the underlying explanation of changes in soil chemical and physical properties. Also, social dynamic changes and differences in landscape patterns play a role.

Tillage conservation practices (CA), traditional agriculture (TA), and liming influence soil properties and crop yield. However, it is essential to demonstrate which tillage and liming practices improve soil properties and forage corn yield. This study compared soil properties and forage corn production in two tillage systems with the addition of dolomite and lime, which formed four treatments. The tillage in the first three days surpassed the TA soil CO₂ emission, with 64.8% more CO₂ than in the CA soil, and the TA hydraulic conductivity and bulk density were more suitable than those in the CA soil. The CA soil had 233 earthworms m⁻² more than in TA. The TA green forage corn yielded 6.45 t ha⁻¹ more than in CA, with a higher P, Ca, and Mg foliar content than in CA, but in the CA, the foliar N and K were higher than in TA. The liming increased soil cations (except K), highlighting the lime on dolomite with—52% Al and + 4.85 t ha⁻¹ of forage corn compared to the control. Soil CO₂ emission was far lower in CA than in TA, with a slightly lower forage yield, and other soil properties were improved, meaning lower land preparation costs and time savings than in TA. Lime improved acidic soil faster than dolomite, generating higher forage yields.

Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are among the most concerning consequences of retreating glaciers in mountain ranges worldwide. GLOFs have attracted significant attention amongst scientists and practitioners in the past 2 decades, with particular interest in the physical drivers and mechanisms of GLOF hazard and in socioeconomic and other human-related developments that affect vulnerabilities to GLOF events. This increased research focus on GLOFs is reflected in the gradually increasing number of papers published annually. This study offers an overview of recent GLOF research by analysing 594 peer-reviewed GLOF studies published between 2017 and 2021 (Web of Science and Scopus databases), reviewing the content and geographical focus as well as other characteristics of GLOF studies. This review is complemented with perspectives from the first GLOF conference (7–9 July 2021, online) where a global GLOF research community of major mountain regions gathered to discuss the current state of the art of integrated GLOF research. Therefore, representatives from 17 countries identified and elaborated trends and challenges and proposed possible ways forward to navigate future GLOF research, in four thematic areas: (i) understanding GLOFs – timing and processes; (ii) modelling GLOFs and GLOF process chains; (iii) GLOF risk management, prevention and warning; and (iv) human dimensions of GLOFs and GLOF attribution to climate change.

Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are among the most concerning consequences of retreating glaciers in mountain ranges worldwide. GLOFs have attracted significant attention amongst scientists and practitioners in the past few decades, with particular interests in the physical drivers and mechanisms of GLOF hazard, and socioeconomic and other human-related developments that affect vulnerability to GLOF events. This increased research focus on GLOFs is reflected in the gradually increasing number of papers published annually. This study offers an overview of recent GLOF research by analysing 570 peer-reviewed GLOF studies published between 2017 and 2021 (Web of Science and Scopus databases), reviewing the content, geographical focus as well as other characteristics of GLOF studies. This review is complemented with perspectives from the first GLOF conference (7–9 July 2021, online) where a global GLOF research community from major mountain regions gathered to discuss the current state of the art of integrated GLOF research. Therefore, representatives from 17 countries identified and elaborated trends and challenges and proposed possible ways forward to navigate future GLOF research, in four thematic areas: (i) understanding GLOFs – timing and processes; (ii) modelling GLOFs and GLOF process chains; (iii) GLOF risk management, prevention and warning; (iv) human dimensions of GLOFs and GLOF attribution to climate change.

The effects of climate change are causing atypical changes dynamics of tropical glaciers. Conventional methods and optical images were ineffective in measuring these changes periodically due to the complexity of remote mountainous regions and cloud cover. In this research, a Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) analysis has gone performed with Sentinel-1 data from February 2019 to March 2020 in the Cordillera Blanca and Vilcabamba for Mapping displacement and subsidence. The measurements were compared with surface temperature and precipitation, providing zonal statistics to identify and assess regions associated with Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) hazards and enhanced understanding of the glacier dynamics in response to changing climatic conditions.

This present work is the results of study on water erosion in Burundi, a landlocked country amid the African Great Lakes region where East and Central Africa converge. The agriculture is developed in areas where the slopes is very steep and some factors such as land-use methods weaken soils and lead to water erosion and the results in soil degradation rendering it infertile. Production on this way is becoming insufficient for the rapidly growing of population. The extension of cultivated land often not linked to anti-erosion measures exposes the soil to intense erosion. The results get it of processing satellite images (Landsat 8) allowed to identify the main places where erosion is very severe. Lost soil was estimated by the RUSLE method and using four raster images corresponding to factors related to precipitation, soil erodibility, topography, slope length and vegetation cover. The results obtained allow the identification of areas around all the country where the interventions of government and environment protection institutions are necessary to limit the processes of soil degradation.