Successful prediction of pathways of storm runoff generation and associated soil erosion is of considerable societal importance, including off-site impacts such as water quality and the provision of related ecosystem services. Recently, the role of connectivity in controlling runoff and erosion has received significant and increasing scientific attention, though in a disparate and uncoordinated way. There is a wealth of experience and expertise in connectivity across Europe that could be harnessed to ensure that the potential already demonstrated in key studies can be more widely fulfilled; to move forward along agreed lines and identify emerging goals, and to benefit from cross-fertilization of ideas from the fields of Hydrology, Soil Science, Geomorphology and Ecology.

There are many factors conditioning the recovery of fire-affected ecosystems. So, it is important to assess what measures are necessary to apply and their effectiveness in each case. Certain postfire actions may cause more damage than burning itself, while there are others that are not always necessary, as the ecosystem may sometimes be able to recover by itself.

LEDDRA aims to advance the comprehensive study of the socio-environmental fit of responses to land and ecosystem degradation and desertification (LEDD) in various contexts. It adopts the ecosystem approach and an integrated methodology with continuous feedbacks between theory, methods and applications.

In 2007, the National Thematic Network FUEGORED "Effects of Forest Fires on Soils" was born as a result of the interest of Spanish researchers in maintaining a more fluid relationship that would allow them to develop better science.