Dr. Charles Gunay, Assistant Professor discussed his study in the latest iteration of SESAM Research Impact Series (SRIS), held last October 10, 2024 via Zoom and Facebook Live. His presentation entitled “Impact of ecological restoration on the sedimentation in a drinking water supply reservoir,” was part of his post-graduate research in Japan.

This SRIS was organized by the Continuing Education and Training Division (CETD), led by For. Sofia Alaira with members Ms. Jessa O. Aquino-Cando, EnP., Dr. Thaddeus P. Lawas, Mr. Robert Patrick M. Cabangbang and Ms. Cherry S. Padilla. More than 200 attended this online event, which highlights methods and impacts of interdisciplinary research.

Dr. Gunay, is a graduate of Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, at Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan in 2024. He explored the integrated roles of conservation practices on the geophysical condition of the forest that overall impacts the hydrological processes and erosion susceptibility of the catchment. His research engagements in the past seven years focused on GIS and remote sensing applications in agriculture and environment; flood and sediment modeling; erosion and sedimentation processes in catchments and dams; and ecological conservation.

Dr. Rico C. Ancog, Dean of SESAM-UPLB, said in his opening remarks that SRIS highlights what the school has been doing, in relation to the school’s research and extension mandate. “Today we wanted to highlight our youngest and newest faculty member, Dr. Charles Gunay, who specifically elaborate with us the concept of ecological restoration in relation to sedimentation rate in a specific watershed,” Dr. Ancog added.

“The motivation of my study- it is a holistic approach on addressing climate change, land degradation and sedimentation of the water bodies”, Dr. Gunay said. He added, one if the research gap his study addressed for environmental science and engineering is that the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) has its shortcomings in reflecting stand, canopy and surface properties in its calculation processes in forested watersheds.

As for his recommendations for future work, Dr. Gunay stressed the need to installation of additional weather stations to verify if the colling is linked to ecological restoration; further validation of the empirical model to prove its generalization; improvement if the reproducibility if annual sediment yield; and investigation of the individual effect of each management practice on hydrological and erosion-related processes.

In her closing message, Ms. Aquino-Cando, EnP., University Researcher, acknowledged the coordination of the CETD, as well as the support of Dr. Yusuf A. Sucol, Head of SESAM Research Division.