## 2 Materials and Methods
#### 2.1.3 The FP Technique to Evaluate Soil and Water Resources' Degradation
Land use and soil cover are fundamental aspects that must always be prioritized equally. Recent research by [PERSON] in 2023 [37; 38] evaluated the impact of land use/cover change on soil loss and sediment export dynamics, particularly in fragile mountain river basins. The Random Forest classifier in the Google Earth Engine platform was employed for land use/cover classification, and the Integrated Valuation Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) Sediment Delivery Ratio model was used for soil loss and sediment export modeling. [PERSON], in 2018 [99], corroborated the above in a work conducted to evaluate the effect of land use/cover changes over decades on the hydrological network of a watershed in northeastern Spain. They confirmed that information on the spatial distribution of land use/cover is essential to monitor the runoff response as the leading cause of water erosion and to analyze watershed hydrology. [PERSON] in 2022 [100] showed the influence of land cover by suggesting that the hydrological regimes of the Brazilian and Paraguayan drainage areas of the Paraguay River basin were altered because of changes in the vegetation cover of the basin as a direct result of the development of productive activities and the unplanned expansion of urban and rural populations. Research conducted by Marchesini V.A. in 2020 [101] in the South American region of Chaco demonstrated the impact of raindrops on bare soil as the first stage of erosive processes, increasing the vulnerability of the soil when it has no vegetation cover to assimilate the mass and kinetic velocity, which determines the erosivity of raindrops. The work of [PERSON] in 2020 [102] also studied the subject by evaluating the effect of rain splash on soil particle transport, using a modified model to study short slopes in China. They found that the number of splashed particles decreases exponentially with an increasing distance, and the maximum splash distance is affected by the kinetic energy of rain. In addition, they found that covered soil decreases the kinetic energy of the raindrops, slowing degradation in the landscape. Another feature of the CSSI technique is shown in the work of [PERSON] in 2020 [89], where it is confirmed that submarine canyons provide a vector for organic carbon transport to the deep ocean and that organic matter in the canyon sediments has strong terrigenous affinities throughout the sedimentary system. The study adds to the growing evidence that the fingerprint of human activities on land extends well beyond the coast and continental shelf by transporting sediment and associated materials (including potential contaminants) via various pathways, including canyon transport [5]. The depletion distance and transport mechanisms of turbidity currents carrying terrestrial materials offshore through submarine canyons are likely to be reduced by incorporating organic matter, which favors the burial and preservation of organic carbon [103]. The recent work of [PERSON] in 2023 [71; 72] exposed the need for isotopic fingerprinting of sediment sources based on land use, given rapidly changing land use patterns and frequent weathering events. Another recent research study by [PERSON] in 2023 [77] demonstrates the CSSI technique's value in assessing sediment contributions associated with different land use changes within the Panama Canal watershed. The influence of potential sediment inputs was evaluated, and the main land use contributions to Lake Alajuela were defined. In a very current work developed in mid-2024, [PERSON] uses compound-specific stable isotopes of long-chain fatty acids to determine the sediment contributions from multiple sources--grazed, forage, riparian zones, banks, and forested soils--to Murray Creek, a tributary to the Nechako River in British Columbia (Canada) [104]. Extreme conditions lead to increased sediment flux into freshwater systems worldwide.