Doctoral Dissertation Research: Conservation Engineering and Cross-Slope Terracing in Mexico

墨西哥的联邦保护机构模仿古代和土著人民的工作，在山坡上建造了土梯田，以收集地表径流，抑制侵蚀，并改善水对农业土壤的渗透。博士生Matthew LaFevor在得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校地理系William Doolittle教授的指导下，将研究其中一种梯田方法，zanja bordo，其在北方特拉斯卡拉农田中保持水分和增加土壤水分水平的有效性。研究的动力是更好地了解当地水管理技术的机制和投资，作为气候变化背景下淡水短缺时的缓解战略。 这项研究将需要土壤水分体积采样和测绘桑加博尔多梯田，以及半结构化采访梯田农民和联邦保护官员。在特定的空间尺度上，估计zanja-bordo和对照地块的湿度水平，将提供有价值的数据，用于测试现有的水文效益假设。对桑加博尔多梯田的实地空间测量将允许将其与用于建造它们的联邦设计模板中指定的建筑形式进行比较。这些更多的理论设计模型和实际的现场测量之间的差异将对梯田工程的长期有效性产生影响。最后，采访梯田建设者和保护官员将深入了解劳动力需求，所需的维护和桑加博尔多梯田项目的可持续性。这项实地研究将对墨西哥的一项主要环境发展倡议进行重要评估。 如果证明是有效的，zanja-bordo技术可用于保护淡水资源，提高农业生产力，改善世界各地干旱和半干旱地区小农的生计。 在更全球范围内，这项研究将提供一个关键的角度来看，利用土著农业技术的现代保护做法的有效性，它将促进水收集技术和雨水灌溉农业系统的知识，许多生存社区依赖。 这项研究的结果将通过为环境政策制定提供关键信息和方向，改善直接影响墨西哥农村地区75万多农民的政府梯田项目。项目？的合作重点将作为一个渠道，增加保护官员和当地社区之间的沟通，其中许多是由土著群体组成。最后，在美国和国际期刊上发表研究结果将扩大对人类环境地理学的兴趣。

Imitating the works of ancient and native peoples, federal conservation agencies in Mexico build earthen terraces on mountain slopes to capture surface runoff, inhibit erosion, and improve water infiltration into agricultural soils. Doctoral student Matthew LaFevor under the guidance of Professor William Doolittle in the Department of Geography at the University of Texas at Austin will investigate one of these terracing methods, zanja-bordo, for its effectiveness at conserving water and increasing soil moisture levels in agricultural fields of northern Tlaxcala. The impetus for the research is to better understand the mechanics of, and investments in, indigenous water management technologies as mitigation strategies at times of freshwater deficits in the context of climate change. This study will entail volumetric soil moisture sampling and mapping of zanja-bordo terraces, as well as semi-structured interviews with terrace farmers and federal conservation officials. Estimating the moisture levels of both zanja-bordo and control plots, over specific spatial scales, will provide valuable data that will be used to test existing assumptions over their hydrological benefits. Spatial measurements of zanja-bordo terraces in the field will allow for their comparison with the architectural forms specified in the federal design templates used to build them. Variations between these more theoretical design models and actual field measurements would have implications for the long-term effectiveness of terracing projects. Finally, interviews with terrace builders and conservation officials will lend insight into the labor demands, required maintenance and sustainability of zanja-bordo terracing projects. This field study will provide a critical assessment of one of Mexico's major environmental development initiatives. If shown to be effective, zanja-bordo techniques could be used to conserve freshwater resources, increase agricultural productivity, and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in arid and semi-arid regions around the world. More globally, this research will offer a critical perspective on the effectiveness of using indigenous agricultural technologies for modern conservation practices, and it will advance knowledge about water harvesting techniques and the rain-fed agricultural systems upon which many subsistence communities depend. Results of this study will could improve governmental terracing projects that directly affect over 750,000 farmers in rural areas of Mexico by providing critical information and direction for environmental policy-making. The project?s collaborative focus will serve as a conduit for increased communication between conservation officials and local communities, many of which are composed of indigenous groups. Finally, the publication of findings in both U.S. and international journals will broaden interest in human-environment geography.