GEOTIGMA

This line of research is developed within the Physical Geography and Environment Group (IOCAG-ULPGC), in collaboration with national and foreign researchers. Its objectives are: i) the study of natural processes on the coasts of volcanic hotspot islands, as well as human interactions that modify these processes; and ii) the proposal of management measures for the conservation of natural values from the perspective of sustainable development, in the current context of climate change.

The impact of land use on recent changes in the landscape is analysed. The studies focus on island systems, considering the environmental consequences of processes (desertification, artificialisation, etc.) derived from territorial changes (agricultural abandonment, coastalisation, etc.), both in coastal areas and in the interior of the islands.

Planning procedures are studied (systems of indicators, carrying capacity, etc.) that allow sustainability criteria to be incorporated into territorial management, and research is carried out into tools for the inclusive dissemination of the value of the natural and cultural heritage of island territories.

Terraced agricultural landscapes reflect human adaptation to adverse environments (rugged topography, extreme climatic features, scarcity of agricultural soils and water). They have survived past climatic changes and their conservation is therefore part of global change adaptation strategies.

The research includes: the study of the processes of change that the terraced areas have undergone (agricultural abandonment, scrubland and artificialisation); the analysis of the hydrogeomorphological consequences of their abandonment (typology and magnitude of erosion processes), and the development of methodological proposals for their valuation, conservation and recovery.

The aim of this line is to analyse natural risks in the Canary Islands from a spatio-temporal perspective. The work carried out in this line has focused mainly on the analysis of risks of climatic origin, with special reference to adverse meteorological episodes that generate flooding processes in urban centres.

Studies have also focused on the evaluation of emergency and disaster management systems at the local level, with a view to proposing more effective management measures.

This line of research is carried out within the Physical Geography and Environment Group (IOCAG-ULPGC), in collaboration with national and international researchers.

Its objectives are: i) the study of natural processes in arid coastal aeolian sedimentary systems, especially the characterisation, dynamics and spatio-temporal evolution of landforms and vegetation; ii) the study of human interactions with natural processes, both those related to traditional activities and tourism development, and those derived from climate change; and iii) the proposal of management measures for the conservation of these systems from the perspective of sustainable development.