The lack of urban sustainability is a widespread deficiency in urban agglomerations. To achieve adequate land use, we present a methodology that allows for: 1) the identification of the impacts caused by urban expansion since 1956 to the present in Salamanca (Spain); and 2) the promotion of a more sustainable future in urban development. A multi-temporal assessment of land use was made by remote sensing, while sustainability criteria were analyzed using the multicriteria analysis (MCA) with Geographical Information Systems (GIS). In addition, we established recommendations for soil carbon management in semi-arid ecosystem soils that contribute to climate change mitigation. The results show an increase of the urbanized area from 3.8% to 22.3% in the studied period, identifying up to 15% of buildings in zones with some type of restriction. In 71% of the cases, urbanization caused the sealing of productive agricultural soils (2519 Ha), almost 20% of which were of the highest quality. In last few decades, an excessive increase of built-up areas in comparison to population dynamics was identified, which causes unnecessary soil sealing that affects the food production and the capacity to mitigate climate change by managing the carbon cycle in the soil.

Nowadays, soil erosion is a global problem of great environmental and social concern, affecting natural resources, natural spaces and agricultural production. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out an erosion risk analysis to estimate the amount of soil lost, as well as to establish possible conservation practices to mitigate this loss. One way of doing this is through the integration of empirical equations such as RUSLE and GIS techniques, giving rise to a mapping of potential and actual erosion, considering the factors that make up this equation. The results obtained indicate that the areas with extreme erosion levels in Arribes del Duero, that is, with the greatest losses (greater than 200 Tm/ha/year), correspond to areas with steep slopes, poorly developed soils such as Leptosols and Regosols and vegetation with little or no vegetation cover. On the other hand, areas with stable levels of erosion (up to 10 Tm/ha/year) are found in flat areas, with more developed soils, such as Alisols and Luvisols, and vegetation with a higher density and herbaceous cover. Finally, it is concluded that the integration of GIS techniques with parametric equations constitutes a simple and economic tool for estimating these losses and, together with land use, allows different mitigation measures to be established, which, in our study area, focus on reducing the length and gradient of the slope, such as contour cultivation, construction of terraces and “bancales”.

Soil erosion in coastal areas, driven by global change and human activity, poses a significant threat to ecological and economic stability. This research investigates water erosion in the southeast of the Ría de Arosa (Pontevedra, Spain), utilizing the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation model and Geographic Information System technologies. Key factors analyzed include rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, topography, land cover, and conservation practices. High-resolution maps (1 × 1 m pixels) identified areas at high risk of erosion. Vulnerable zones, such as coastal cliffs and vineyards, show severe erosion rates exceeding 50 t/ha/year (>5 mm/year), with the most extreme zones reaching up to 200 t/ha/year (>200 mm/year). These results emphasize that intervention could be required or recommended. Suggested measures include reforestation, effective agricultural land management, or the implementation of vegetative barriers to reduce erosion. These areas, characterized by steep slopes and sparse vegetation, are particularly susceptible to soil loss, necessitating specific conservation efforts. The results underscore the need for sustainable coastal management practices and preventive strategies to protect this vulnerable coastal zone. Implementing these measures is crucial to mitigating the impacts of soil erosion, preserving natural resources, and ensuring long-term ecological and economic resilience in the region.

In recent decades, natural disasters have increased drastically, with slope movements being the most damaging geological hazard, causing thousands of deaths and considerable economic losses. To reduce these losses, it is necessary to carry out cartographies that spatially delimit these risks, preventing and mitigating the effects through the analysis of susceptibility in areas of great environmental value, as is the case of the Arribes del Duero Natural Park. For this purpose, different statistical methods combined with Geographic Information Systems have been developed. The susceptibility assessment methodology is carried out by integrating different thematic layers: lithology, geomorphology (slopes, curvature, aspect), hydrogeology and vegetation, performing map algebra and taking into consideration their weighting using deterministic methods (analytical hierarchy method). The susceptibility results are grouped into Very High, High, Medium, Low and Very Low so that the areas of Very High susceptibility correspond to areas of the high slope, without vegetation, south facing, with a lithology of quartzites, metapelites, and gneisses (canyons, steep valleys) and, in the case of very low susceptibility, with a lithology of quartzites, metapelites, and gneisses, On the contrary, the sectors of lower susceptibility coincide with flat areas, denser vegetation, north facing, with a lithology of conglomerates, pebbles, sands and clays, such as erosion surfaces or valley bottoms. The analysis carried out in this current investigation will allow the territorial delimitation of problem areas and the establishment of risk mitigation and management measures.

Many different processes for manufacturing of magnetic particles are present in scientific literature. However, the large majority are not able to be applied to large-scale real operations. In this study, we present an experiment undertaken to determine advisable values and options for the main variables and factors for the application of the reverse co-precipitation method to produce magnetic particles for real environmental applications. In such, we have tried a conjugation of values/factors that has led to 12 main experiments and production of 12 different particles. After an initial study concerning their main characteristics, these 12 different particles were applied for the sorption removal of COD from real wastewater samples (efficiencies between 70% and 81%) and degradation of Methylene blue by Fenton reaction (degradation efficiencies up to 100%). The main conclusion from this work is that the best set of values depends on the target environmental application, and this set of values were determined for the two applications studied.

The concept of geological heritage has been introduced into the protected area of the Arribes del Duero Natural Park, which is west of the Salamanca and Zamora Provinces, Spain for the purpose of developing a guide to places of geological and geomorphological interest, through which geoenvironmental itineraries were developed in order to demonstrate to both the students and tourists, the geological context of the events in the geological history of this natural park. Twelve of the most geologically representative geosites were assessed using 18 quantitative parameters dealing with the scientific, didactic and cultural-tourist interest of each site. The objective of this paper is to describe and analyze the points of interest that are of geoheritage significance and to develop of an inventory that will ultimately facilitate geoconservation and the dissemination of information through educational virtual itineraries that reveal the known geological history of an area. A 3D virtual geological route was created in Google Earth for educational use with superimposed georeferenced cartographies, together with a field guide and an app. The virtual route allows the participants to follow the geological events and the natural history of the park using digital devices in real time with the possibility of observing the relief, the geology and having access to the informative files describing each geosite. Using a field guide, each geosite is complemented with activities, and the participants have the option to evaluate what has been learned. An app makes the itinerary more interactive. These georesources allow a teaching–learning process where the student is an active part of the development and creation of the contents using technologies that provide an entertaining and didactic learning experience, and this involves working as a team and interacting with social networks, thus, potentially influencing the attitudes and skills development that are involved in geoconservation as an element for its sustainable development. The identification of geological heritage currently constitutes a great resource to promote the sustainable development of it and employment in very depopulated rural areas.