RUI: gully (lavaka) erosion in madagascar: multi-decadal analysis and intersections with land use

The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded President & Trustees of Williams College $450,652 on August 15, 2026, under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to conduct a multi-decadal analysis of lavaka gully erosion in Madagascar and its intersections with land use.

The project will re-image and re-measure 244 lavaka gullies previously documented twenty years ago, integrating repeat photography, field measurements, three-dimensional photogrammetry, and radiocarbon dating to quantify gully evolution and reconstruct erosion history. The recipient will document changes in gully size, activity, and agricultural use; test relationships between gully development and anthropogenic landscape change; and determine the age and evolution of the largest gullies through stratigraphic and geochronologic analysis. The work will establish a framework for understanding long-term gully evolution applicable to analogous gully systems worldwide.

The project incorporates undergraduate researchers and Malagasy collaborators throughout execution and develops educational materials and field activities to teach schoolchildren about soil erosion. Performance occurs in Williamstown, Massachusetts, with work extending through July 31, 2029. No subawards are planned for this award. The assistance type is Project Grant, classified within NSF's Research and Related Activities framework, reflecting the Foundation's focus on integrating undergraduate research experiences and broader geoscience education into fundamental research.

Abstract

Understanding how gullies develop is essential for managing landscapes affected by soil erosion, yet their evolution remains poorly documented. This project will improve understanding of how landscapes respond to natural processes and human land use by studying madagascar's distinctive lavaka gullies. IT will provide an evidence-based assessment of widely held assumptions about landscape degradation while highlighting how local farming communities adapt to these environments. Because similar gullies occur in many parts of the world, the results will provide a framework for analysing and understanding erosion and landscape change more broadly. By engaging undergraduate researchers and malagasy collaborators throughout the project and developing educational materials and field activities to teach schoolchildren about soil erosion, the project will strengthen geoscience education and promote broader understanding of land management. The project will RE-image and RE-measure a unique archive of 244 lavaka previously documented twenty years ago, integrating repeat photography, field measurements, three-dimensional photogrammetry, and radiocarbon dating to quantify gully evolution and reconstruct erosion history. IT will document changes in gully size, activity, and agricultural use, test relationships between gully development and anthropogenic landscape change, and determine the age and evolution of the largest gullies through stratigraphic and geochronologic analysis. The resulting dataset will establish a robust framework for understanding long-term gully evolution in madagascar and analogous gully systems worldwide. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.