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，在山坡上建造土制梯田，以捕获地表径流，抑制侵蚀，并改善水渗入农业土壤。得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校地理系教授威廉·杜立特（William Doolittle）的指导下，博士生马修·拉弗尔（Matthew LaFevor）将研究其中一种梯田方法zanja-bordo在特拉斯卡拉北部农田保水和提高土壤湿度水平方面的有效性。推动这项研究的动力是更好地了解在气候变化背景下淡水短缺时期作为缓解战略的本土水管理技术的机制和投资。这项研究将需要对赞贾-博尔多梯田进行体积土壤湿度采样和测绘，并与梯田农民和联邦保护官员进行半结构化访谈。估算zanja-bordo和对照地块在特定空间尺度上的湿度水平，将提供有价值的数据，用于测试现有的关于其水文效益的假设。zanja-bordo梯田的空间测量将允许它们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。这些更理论化的设计模型和实际的实地测量结果之间的差异将对梯田工程的长期有效性产生影响。最后，与露台建筑商和保护官员的访谈将有助于深入了解赞贾-博尔多露台项目的劳动力需求、所需的维护和可持续性。这项实地研究将对墨西哥的一项主要环境发展倡议进行批判性评价。如果zanja-bordo技术被证明是有效的，它可以用来保护淡水资源，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。在更广泛的全球范围内，这项研究将为利用本土农业技术进行现代保护实践的有效性提供一个批判性的视角，并将推进关于集水技术和许多自给社区所依赖的雨养农业系统的知识。这项研究的结果将为环境决策提供关键信息和指导，从而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。这个项目吗?美国的合作重点将成为加强保护官员和当地社区之间沟通的渠道，其中许多社区由土著群体组成。最后，在美国和国际期刊上发表的研究结果将扩大人们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.