A new study with the MEDFATE forest simulation model makes it possible to read into the effect of the mixture of plant species and their interactions in terms of water use and drought stress.
A new study, led by the University of Exeter with the participation of Maurizio Mencuccini, ICREA research professor in CREAF, suggests small trees adapt better to droughts and could grow into a new generation to help the rainforest survive.
With spring almost upon us, CREAF’s experts are reporting that this year could be a chance for Catalonia’s forests to recover from accumulated past droughts and the devastating effects of the pine processionary. There will be no let-up for the territory’s undergrowth, however, with the box tree moth’s continuing expansion leaving just 20% of box plants with new growth.
According to a study led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the way trees have responded to drought in the past could be a key indicator of their risk of mortality. The study examined growth rings to compare that response in dead and surviving trees.
According to an article by CREAF researchers Benjamin Stocker and Josep Peñuelas published in Nature Geoscience, drought impact studies based on satellite data do not factor in the effects of soil moisture.
Trees that have grown in highly suitable climatic conditions are less capable of dealing with extreme droughts, according to a study that underlines the importance of taking a forest's history into consideration when deciding how best to conserve and manage it.
Los Angeles and its great urban area (more than 18 million people) are in water suply problems since long time ago. At the begining of the 20th century, Owens Valley was drained among huge hiden economic interests that inspired the film Chinatown.
Once rehydrated, holm oaks have a large capacity for recovery thanks to their high adaptation to the Mediterranean climate. The release of organic compounds into the soil represents a considerable loss of carbon for the holm oak and also modifies the microbial community, which may lead to additional effects on the tree.
The increase in drought episodes and the lack of water in the soil have favored Mediterranean species. At the same time, conifers are losing ground because they are less adapted to droughts. These trends correspond to the period of 1987 to 2012 and have been confirmed through satellite remote sensing images.
Some giant trees, such as cedars and redwoods, are an example of great longevity and their populations depend much more on tendencies than on specific traumatic episodes. Climate change and human pressures can put their survival at risk.
A new study has concluded that, universally, trees that have died from drought are unable to transport water to their leaves. The findings also highlight trees that have drained their carbon reserves since they are not able to carry out photosynthesis. The results of the study will permit the creation of more precise models for predicting the effects of climatic changes on vegetation.
A study with the participation of researchers from CREAF and the UAB warns that increasing droughts could affect forests’ species composition and structure, making them more vulnerable.
What is the future that the Mediterranean forests expect? Climate change is already strongly felt and its impacts reach everywhere. Francisco Lloret tells the current situation and how we will have to prepare ourselves and forests to the coming changes .
CREAF researchers signal climate change and changes in land use as the principal causes. The most impacted are specialized species living in very specific habitats and those producing a number of generations in a single year.
How does water move inside a tree? CREAF researchers are helping to demystify such topics using 3D images wich reconstruct the internal structure of tree branches and trunks, and further, deepening our knowledge on the transport of water and nutrients .
We seek a candidate to apply for a 4 years doctoral fellowship to carry on in the CIBIO (Vila do Conde, Porto) and CREAF (Bellaterra, Barcelona) within the Doctoral Programme in Biodiversity, Genetics and Evolution (BIODIV), funded by the “Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia” (Portugal).
A study by CTFC and CREAF scientists has led to the development of a mathematical model which predicts drought stress in forests. The research shows that forest drought stress depends on climatic conditions as well as vegetation and soil characteristics.
According to a study co-led by CREAF staff published this week in the journal Nature, droughts caused by climate change could result in the death of the tallest tress in tropical forests. For the first time, the scientists have shown that after prolonged water deficit tall trees suffer embolisms in their circulatory systems and die of dehydration.
Researchers from the UAB, CREAF and the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) have analysed how the deterioration of woods caused by droughts associated to global warming are affecting the microbial composition of the soil and modifying carbon cycles.
CREAF participated in a study which proposes that in order to understand the full impact of climate change, it is not enough to study just protected natural areas, which are mature and able to handle change; instead, it is important to focus on the study of those ecosystems which have been altered and are still recovering.
Forests cover one-third of the Earth’s land surface, and they provide many essential ecological, economic and social services. During the last decades, the scientific community has been alarmed by reports of widespread tree and forest mortality worldwide.
A new scientific article published by members of CREAF, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences reveals that when a forest is attacked by certain fungi during an episode of drought, tree mortality multiplies. The article explains the two classes of fungi which benefit from situations of drought and how they colonize and end up killing trees through food and water starvation.
The BeWater project launched its first series of meetings on 28 May in La Tordera, Catalonia, Spain. CREAF, the local case study leader, together with consortium partners, met key local stakeholders in order to introduce the project, hear local perspectives on the state of the river basin and discuss potential global change impacts.
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