Dr. Sergio Contreras is gespecialiseerd in het ecohydrologisch functioneren van inheemse en agro-ecosystemen van aride en semi-aride gebieden en de relatie met menselijke activiteiten. Tijdens zijn carrière heeft Dr. Contreras een speciale interesse getoond in de interacties en terugkoppelingen tussen vegetatie en grondwater, in de energie- en waterbalans en in de biomassa en landbouwproductiviteit van deze gebieden. Zijn studies bestrijken een breed scala aan ruimtelijke schalen, van perceel tot regionaal, en methodologische benaderingen (GIS en remote sensing, hydrologische modellering, hydrochemische en isotopische technieken).
Hij was pre- en postdoctoraal onderzoeker bij de Spaanse Nationale Onderzoeksraad (CSIC) waar hij een groot deel van zijn wetenschappelijke carrière ontwikkelde, en deed onderzoeksverblijven in Australië, Argentinië en de VS. Hij heeft deelgenomen aan verschillende internationale en nationale onderzoeksprojecten en -contracten en is momenteel lid van de International Association of Hydrogeologists en de American Geoscience Union. Sergio werkt in het FutureWater kantoor in Cartagena, Spanje.
Gerelateerde projecten
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I-DIP: Monitoren, voorspellen en bestrijden van plotselinge droogte in PakistanRegio's in Pakistan worden steeds vaker getroffen door plotselinge droogtes – plotselinge droogteperiodes die zich binnen enkele weken ontwikkelen en ernstige gevolgen hebben voor gewassen en bestaansmiddelen. Om de veerkracht te versterken, voeren FutureWater en WaterSprint, in samenwerking met het National Drought Monitoring Centre (NDMC) en het Better Cotton Initiative,... 
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Droogtevoorspellingsmodel voor Somalië/SomalilandDit project heeft als doel om de paraatheid en respons op droogte in Somalië en Somaliland te versterken door de technische en operationele capaciteit van het Somali Disaster Management Agency (SODMA) en de National Disaster Preparedness and Food Reserve Authority van Somaliland (NADFOR) te verbeteren. Onder leiding van het Wereldvoedselprogramma... 
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Technische bijstand voor de uitvoering van de Europese strategie voor veerkracht op het gebied van waterFutureWater ondersteunt de Europese Commissie als onderdeel van een consortium dat technische input levert voor de Europese strategie voor waterveerkracht. FutureWater levert met name wetenschappelijke en beleidsrelevante analyses over waterschaarste en droogte, waterefficiëntie en waterzekerheid. Dit omvat het reageren op ad-hocverzoeken door beoordelingen te leveren over onderwerpen als sectorale watervraag,... 
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Climate Trends and Projections for Olive Production, Andalucia, SpainThe primary goal of this research is to examine the climatic changes projected for two key regions in Andalucia, Spain, which are deemed crucial for olive production. The study analyzes trends and future projections concerning rainfall, temperature, river flows, and evapotranspiration rates, discussing their potential impacts on both the micro... 
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Megadroogtes in de watertorens van Europa – van procesbegrip naar strategieën voor beheer en adaptatieMegadroogtes zijn zeldzame en weinig begrepen gevaren. Ze worden gedefinieerd als uitzonderlijk ernstige, langdurige (>5 jaar) droogteperioden die meerdere jaren aanhouden en grote gebieden en verschillende sectoren van de economie en het milieu zwaar treffen (Cook et al., 2022). Ze worden over het algemeen veroorzaakt door het samenvallen van extreme... 
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Catchment Assessment for Water Stewardship PlanHighly productive berry farms and water scarcity are causing conflicts with the environmental assets and values of the Doñana National Park, Spain. There is growing interest in the agricultural sector to reverse this situation by implementing a water stewardship program. A catchment assessment is needed to produce baseline information to... 
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WEAP Ground Water Modelling in MozambiqueGroundwater availability is critical to the Umbeluzi Catchment. Currently, there is a need for a simple tool that can asses the availability of resources in the ground. This especially to asses the permits for groundwater extractions. It is expected that a simplified modelling approach can provide a trend analysis sufficient... 
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GLOW: Global Water Availability Forecasting Service to Support Water SecurityThe GLOW project aims to pilot an operational service that provides timely and easy access to current and forecasted water availability and demand across the entire Maputo River and the Black Umbeluzi River Basins. 
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MAGDA: Meteorological Assimilation from Galileo and Drones for AgricultureHet MAGDA-project heeft als doel een geïntegreerd - maar modulair - systeem te leveren voor het maken van voorspellingen van zwaar weer en irrigatieadviezen, verbeterd door middel van verschillende satelliet-, drone- en grondtechnologieën voor het observeren van het weer. De belangrijkste toepassingen zullen bestaan uit waarschuwingen voor zwaar weer dat... 
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SOS-Water: Water Resources System Safe Operating Space in a Changing Climate and SocietyHet SOS-Water Project probeert de grenzen aan te geven waarbinnen de capaciteit van de aarde om levensondersteunende systemen voor de mensheid te leveren niet in gevaar komt en de capaciteit van de mensheid om zich aan te passen aan milieuveranderingen niet overbelast raakt. Het overschrijden van dergelijke drempels of omslagpunten... 
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BONEX: Boosting Nexus Framework Implementation in the MediterraneanBONEX is een project dat wordt gefinancierd door de PRIMA-EU Foundation, speciaal voor het Middellandse Zeegebied. Deze regio staat voor verschillende uitdagingen om voedsel- en waterzekerheid in de toekomst te garanderen en tegelijkertijd ecosystemen te behouden. BONEX onderzoekt en ontwikkelt specifieke oplossingen die de koppeling van governance met de praktijk... 
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Groundwater Recharge in the Campo de Cartagena Quaternary AquiferThis project (1) provides a critical review of previous results generated, and a SWOT analysis of hydrological simulation tools used in the area. (2) improve and update the quantification of the main water balance components, including vertical and lateral fluxes, at the basin scale in recent times (2000-2020 period) through... 
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Water Risk Assessment for Private Farming in North SpainThis project aims to support a due diligence processs by reviewing and auditing water-related factors of risk for orchard fruit farming in including availibility and access, climate change impact, water quality, and potential conflicts and competence among water-demand users. 
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Robust Decision Making for Land Use Planning in the Panama Canal River BasinA Land Use Plan will be prepared for the river basin that belongs to and provides water for the Panama Canal. The regional plan (PIOTA) will set the framework, vision and direction for strategic planning and land use in the basin. For this purpose, the Panama Canal Authority and stakeholders... 
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InfoSequia-4CAST: Forecasting and Quantifying Risks of Crop and Water Supply Failures Using Machine Learning and Remote SensingInfoSequia-4CAST combines historical and up-to-date observations of satellite-based meteorological and agricultural drought indices with climate variability indices, to generate seasonal outlooks of water supply and crop yield failure alerts. These impact-based indicators are computed using a simple, robust and easily understandable statistical forecasting-modelling framework. By making use of multi-sensor, state-of-the... 
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G3P: Development of a Global Gravity-based Groundwater ProductGroundwater is one of the most important freshwater resources for mankind and for ecosystems, and has been declared as an Essential Climate Variable (ECV) by GCOS, the Global Climate Observing System. However, the Copernicus Services do not yet deliver data on this fundamental resource, nor is there any other data... 
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Detection of On-farm Reservoirs in Irrigated AreasThe detection of on-site farm reservoirs and ponds in large areas is a complex task that can be addressed through the combination of visual inspection of orthophotos and the application of automatic pixel classification algorithms. This analysis performs a general workflow based on the usage of a Random Forest classifier... 
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Satellite-based Monitoring of the Health Status of Grasslands at the Alagon ValleyThis project is part of the technical-innovation support provided by FutureWater to ECOPRADERAS, an EIP-AGRI Operational Group which aims to improve the sustainable management of grasslands located at the Alagon Valley (Extremadura, Spain). Specific tasks included: the definition of a methodological framework for monitor the health of grasslands at the... 
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Application of the Decision Tree Framework in the Chancay-Lambayeque Basin, PeruThe Chancay-Lambayeque watershed faces the challenges of rapid population growth and economic development in the presence of inadequate water supply, flood risk and environmental degradation. The study applies a step-wise approach, i.e. the World Bank’s Decision Tree Framework (DTF), to identify most important climate and nonclimate vulnerabilities for the system... 
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TWIGA: Transforming Weather Water data into value-added Information services for sustainable Growth in AfricaTWIGA aims to provide actionable geo-information on weather, water, and climate in Africa through innovative combinations of new in situ sensors and satellite-based geo-data. With the foreseen new services, TWIGA expects to reach twelve million people within the four years of the project, based on sustainable business models. The TWIGA... 
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HERMANA: Tool for Integrated Water ManagementHERMANA aims to foster the development of an integrated water management decision support system (DSS) that supports daily, tactical and strategic decision-making related to water resources in Colombia, and specifically in the Cauca Valley Basin. The HERMANA tool will be a comprehensive system able to provide valuable, relevant, and reliable... 
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Hydrogeological modeling of groundwater discharge to the Mar Menor lagoonThe groundwater discharge of irrigation return flows to the Mar Menor lagoon (Murcia, SE Spain), the largest coastal lagoon in Europe, is among one of the possible causes that would explain the high levels of eutrophication (hypereutrophication) and the several algal blooms accounted in this lagoon ecosystem in the last... 
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IMPREX: IMproving PRedictions and management of hydrological EXtremesFutureWater leads the coordination of the “Agriculture and Drought” sectoral Work Package of IMPREX. This WP specifically aims to study and evaluate the use of IMPREX weather forecasts and predictions, climate variability, and drought indicators to assess agricultural drought risk and impacts over four case studies and at the pan-European... 
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Economic assessment of management alternatives in the protected areas of LAG CampoderThis project aims to advertise about the environmental assets found in the LAG Campoder at the Murcia Region (SE Spain), and to quantify using social and economic techniques the degree in which these assets are perceived by local population. FutureWater is responsible for the characterization and description of three representative... 
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ASSET: Accounting System for the SEgura river and TransfersSemiarid coastal regions, as the Southeastern of Spain in which the Segura River Basin is located, are expected to be more affected by climate change and the resulting aggravation of water scarcity, droughts and desertification than other regions. In this project the interactions between the economy and the hydrological system... 
Gerelateerde publicaties
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2025 - Remote Sensing Integrating Advanced Sensor Technologies for Enhanced Agricultural Weather Forecasts and Irrigation Advisories: The MAGDA Project ApproachLagasio, M., S. Barindelli, Z. Chitu, S. Contreras, A. Fernández-Rodríguez, M. de Klerk, A. Fumagalli, A. Gatti, L. Hammerschmidt, D. Haskovic, M. Milelli, E. Oberto, I. Ontel, J. Orensanz, F. Ramelli, F. Uboldi, A.Validi, E. Realini 
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2025 - Technical Report MAGDA: Irrigation Advisory Results ValidationContreras, S., A. Fernández, M. de Klerk 
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2024 - FutureWater Report 250 Satellite-based Water Productivity of dominant croplands in the Jucar River Basin (Spain) by local implementation of WaPOR algorithmFernández-Rodríguez, A., S. Contreras, G. Simons 
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2024 - Technical Report MAGDA: Demonstrator Operational Irrigation Advisory ServiceFernández, A., M. de Klerk, S. Contreras, E. Aparicio Medrano 
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2024 - FutureWater Report 251 Hydrological Assessment, Risk Analysis and Farming Opportunities in the Doñana Ecosystem and the Coast of Huelva (Spain): AWS Catchment Status ReportContreras, S., M. Bea, J.E. Hunink 
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2024 - Agricultural Water Management How Future Changes in Irrigation Water Supply and Demand Affect Water Security in a Mediterranean CatchmentEekhout, J.P.C., I. Delsman, J.E.M. Baartman, M. van Eupen, C. van Haren, S. Contreras, J. Martínez-López, J. de Vente 
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2024 - FutureWater Report 249 InfoSequia-4CAST: Towards an Operational Satellite-based Drought Early Warning and Forecasting System for Quantifying Risks of Crop and Water Supply FailuresContreras, S., G.W.H. Simons, A. Fernández-Rodríguez 
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2023 - Technical Report MAGDA: Water Balance SimulationsFernández, A., M. de Klerk, S. Contreras, E. Aparicio Medrano 
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2023 - FutureWater Report 234 InfoSequia-4CAST: Water Supply Pilot CaseContreras, S., A. Fernández, J.E. Hunink, G.W.H. Simons 
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2023 - FutureWater Report 235 InfoSequia-4CAST: Crop Yield Pilot CaseContreras, S., A. Fernández, A. Grudnowska, M. Wens, G.W.H. Simons 
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2023 - Technical Report Historical and Recent Patterns of Groundwater Recharge in the Campo De Cartagena Quaternary Aquifer by Combining Hydrological Modelling and Satellite DataContreras, S., J.L. García-Aróstegui, V. Robles-Arenas, J.E. Hunink 
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2023 - Technical Report G3P-GDI InfoSequia Integration and Evaluation ReportContreras, S., A. Fernández 
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2023 - Technical Report G3P Evaluation ReportUrgilez-Vinueza, A., C. Ruz-Vargas, S. Contreras, T. Imran 
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2022 - FutureWater Report 234 InfoSequia-4CAST: Report on InfoSequia-4CAST DevelopmentContreras, S., G. Guimarães, A. Fernández, S. Khanal, G.W.H. Simons 
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2022 - FutureWater Report 235 InfoSequia-4CAST: Report on InfoSequia Monitor UpgradingContreras, S., C. Nolet, S. Khanal, A. Fernández, G.W.H. Simons 
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2021 - FutureWater Report 230 InfoSequia-4CAST: Risk Assessment and Mitigation PlanContreras, S., G.W.H. Simons, A. Fernández 
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2021 - FutureWater Report 229 InfoSequia-4CAST: Action Plan for Developing and TestingContreras, S., A. Fernández, G. Guimarães, G.W.H. Simons 
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2021 - FutureWater Report 228 InfoSequia-4CAST: Baseline Design ReportContreras, S., G. Guimarães, G.W.H. Simons, C. Nolet, J.Beard, S. Khanal, A. Fernández 
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2021 - Technical Report Plan Indicativo de Ordenamiento Territorial Ambiental (PIOTA) para la Cuenca Hidrográfica del Canal de Panamá (CHCP)FutureWater - IDOM 
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2020 - Internship report Determining the dryness index and evaporative fraction for satellite and drone imagesFaassen, K., C. Nolet, S. Contreras 
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2020 - FutureWater Report 212 Monitor Ecopraderas: Seguimiento del estado de las praderas de la Vega del Alagón mediante indicadores de satéliteContreras, S., C. Nolet, G.W.H. Simons 
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2019 - FutureWater Report 197 Seasonal Hydrological Forecasting for the Segura River Basin, SpainHamed, R., A. De Tomas, S. Contreras, J.E. Hunink 
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2019 - BRIGAID Internal Report InfoSequia Testing Development ReportContreras, S., J.E. Hunink 
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2019 - FutureWater Report 186 Detection and coverage estimation of on-farm reservoirs and ponds in Mediterranean irrigated regions using orthophotos and pixel classification techniquesContreras, S. 
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2019 - E-Proceedings of the 38th IAHR World Congress HERMANA: Co-Design of an Integrated Operational Water Management Tool For the Valle Del Cauca, ColombiaBall, S., M.F. Sanchez, M. Werner, S.T. Escobar Carmona, C.Y. Soto Chavez, M. Wuis, S. Contreras, K. Douben, M. Visser, J.E. Hunink 
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2019 - Water A Simplified Water Accounting Procedure to Assess Climate Change Impact on Water Resources for Agriculture across Different European River BasinsHunink, J.E, G.W.H. Simons, S. Suárez-Almiñana, A. Solera, J. Andreu, M. Giuliani, P. Zamberletti, M. Grillakis, A. Koutroulis, I. Tsanis, F. Schasfoort, S. Contreras, E. Ercin, W. Bastiaanssen 
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2019 - Technical Report El Marco del Árbol de Decisión: Aplicación a la Cuenca de Chancay-Lambayeque, PeruTaner M.Ü., J.E. Hunink, S. Contreras, A. Hijar, R. Hamed, D. Morales, A. Wasti, P. Ray 
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2019 - FutureWater Report 194 Satellite-based altimetry data for hydrological assessments: two case studiesHunink, J.E., J.P.C. Eekhout, J. de Vente, S. Contreras, G.W.H. Simons 
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2019 - Science of the Total Environment Hydrogeological modelling for the watershed management of the Mar Menor coastal lagoon (Spain)Alcolea, A., S. Contreras, J.E. Hunink, J.L. García-Aróstegui, J. Jiménez-Martínez 
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2018 - Agricultural Water Management Comparison of meteorological and satellite-based drought indices as yield predictors of Spanish cerealsGarcía-León, D., S. Contreras, J.E. Hunink 
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2017 - FutureWater Report 176 Cuantificación de la descarga subterránea al Mar Menor mediante modelización hidrogeológica del acuífero superficial CuaternarioContreras, S., A. Alcolea, J. Jiménez-Martínez, J.E. Hunink 
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2017 - FutureWater Report 174 Water and carbon fluxes in irrigated citrus orchards assessed from satellite dataContreras, S., J.E. Hunink, A. Baille 
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2017 - Remote Sensing Hydrological Modelling using Satellite-Based Crop Coefficients: A Comparison of Methods at the Basin ScaleHunink J.E., J.P.C. Eekhout, J. de Vente, S. Contreras, P. Droogers, A. Baille 
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2017 - FutureWater Report 167 Hydrological Evaluation and Ecosystem Valuation of the Lukanga SwampsHunink, J.E., S. Contreras, G.W.H. Simons, P. Droogers 
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2016 - Agricultural Water Management Effects of saline reclaimed waters and deficit irrigation on Citrusphysiology assessed by UAV remote sensingRomero-Triguerosa, C., P.A. Nortes, J.J. Alarcón, J.E. Hunink, M. Parra, S. Contreras, P. Droogers, E. Nicolás 
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2016 - Environmental Reviews The role of groundwater in highly human-modified hydrosystems: a review of impacts and mitigation options in the Campo de Cartagena-Mar Menor coastal plain (SE Spain)Jimenez-Martinez, J., J.L. Garcia-Arostegui, J.E. Hunink, S. Contreras, P. Baudron, L. Candela 
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2016 - Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics Vertical and lateral soil moisture patterns on a mediterranean karst hillslopeCantón, Y., E. Rodríguez-Caballero, S. Contreras, L. Villagarcía, X.Y. Li, A. Solé-Benet, F. Domingo 
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2015 - Agricultural Water Management Estimating groundwater use patterns of perennial and seasonal crops in a Mediterranean irrigation scheme, using remote sensingHunink, J.E., S. Contreras, M. Soto-García, B. Martin-Gorriz, V. Martinez-Álvarez, A. Baille 
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2015 - FutureWater Report 148 Scoping Assessment of Erosion Levels for the Mahale region, Lake Tanganyika, TanzaniaHunink, J.E., W. Terink, S. Contreras, P. Droogers 
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2015 - FutureWater Report 138 Water accounting at the basin scale: water use and supply (2000-2010) in the Segura River Basin using the SEEA frameworkContreras, S., J.E. Hunink 
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2015 - FutureWater Report 141 Hydrological pre-feasibility assessment for the Romuku hydropower plant Central Sulawesi, IndonesiaHunink, J.E., S. Contreras, P. Droogers 
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2014 - Water Environment Research Effects of reclaimed waters on spectral properties and leaf traits of Citrus orchardsContreras, S., P. Pérez-Cutillas, C.S. Santoni, C. Romero-Trigueros, F. Pedrero, J.J. Alarcón 
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2014 - Droughts: Research and Science-Policy Interfacing Drought effects on rainfed agriculture using standardized indices: A case study in SE SpainContreras, S., J.E. Hunink 
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2014 - FutureWater Report 125 Building a Watershed Information System for the Campo de Cartagena basin (Spain) integrating hydrological modeling and remote sensingContreras, S., J.E. Hunink, A. Baille 
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2013 - Earth observation of ecosystem services Detecting ecosystem reliance on groundwater based on satellite-derived greenness anomaly and temporal dynamicsContreras, S., D. Alcaraz-Segura, B. Scanlon, E.G. Jobbágy 
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2013 - Ecohydrology Abrupt watercourse formation in a semiarid sedimentary landscape of central Argentina: The roles of forest clearing, rainfall variability, and seismic activityContreras, S., C.S. Santoni, E.G. Jobbagy 
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2012 - Plant, Cell and Environment Stand structure modulates the long-term vulnerability of Pinus halepensis to climatic drought in a semiarid Mediterranean ecosystemMoreno-Gutierrez, C., G. Battipaglia, P. Cherebuni, M. Saurer, E. Nicolás, S. Contreras, J.I. Querejeta 
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2011 - Environmental Earth Sciences Diffuse and concentrated recharge evaluation using physical and tracer techniques: Results from a semiarid carbonate massif aquifer in southeastern SpainAlcalá, F.J., Y. Cantón, S. Contreras, A. Were, P. Serrano-Ortiz, J. Puigdefábregas, A. Solé-Benet, E. Custodio, F. Domingo 
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2011 - Catena Controls of infiltration-runoff processes in Mediterranean karst rangelands in SE SpainLi, X-Y., S. Contreras, A. Solé-Benet, Y. Cantón, F. Domingo, R. Lázaro, H. Lin, B. Van Wesemael, J. Puigdefábregas 
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2011 - Journal of Hydrology Remote sensing estimates of supplementary water consumption by arid ecosystems of central ArgentinaContreras, S., E.G. Jobbagy, P.E. Villagra, M.D. Nosetto, J. Puigdefábregas 
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2010 - Water Resources Research Vadose zone transport in dry forests of central Argentina: The role of land useSantoni, C.S., E.G. Jobbagy, S. Contreras 

 
        






























