Etiqueta: forests

News

New proposals to understand how the planet’s vegetation works

20 de July 2020CREAF

An international team -where Josep Peñuelas has participated- explores the factors that most affect plant behavior and how they can be included in predictive models to improve them. The result, published in Nature Plants wants to improve understanding of the global carbon cycle and ecosystem services and their future if forests change due to climate change.

News

A year of respite for Catalonia’s forests

20 de March 2020Verónica Couto Antelo

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.

News

Trees’ risk of climate change-induced death is reflected in their wood

28 de January 2020Anna Ramon Revilla

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.

News

Some plants do not reproduce every year because of nutrient scarcity

10 de December 2019Verónica Couto Antelo

A study involving three CREAF researchers has found that plants with low nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in their leaves do not reproduce every year to enable them to reproduce on a huge scale in years in which conditions are right. Oaks, holm oaks and beeches are examples of trees that behave in such a way.

News

Local climate causes trees around Europe to leaf at different times

27 de November 2019Anna Ramon Revilla

At this time of year, deciduous trees across Europe are losing the last of their leaves. When will they come into leaf again? A study just published in Nature Communications has shown that while year-to-year leafing date variations can be explained by heat accumulation, local climate is a key factor in geographical variations.

News

New forests grow faster but are more sensitive to climate change

9 de October 2019Anna Ramon Revilla

A study led by CREAF has found that new forests growing on abandoned rural land are able to capture more carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere than long-established forests. This effect could be temporary, however, as the wood of their trees is less dense, making them more vulnerable to extreme climate events.

News

Clearing House project to develop sustainable urban forests

4 de October 2019Anna Ramon Revilla

Cities across Europe and China are preparing to green themselves. The Sino-European project Clearing House was officially launched and will be expanding the knowledge of trees and forests in urban areas.

News

Are the tropical forests losing their carbon storage capacity?

3 de September 2019CREAF

Recently published in the journal Nature Plants, a pioneering international study led by CREAF-based CSIC researcher Josep Peñuelas has used L-band passive microwave observations to measure carbon stocks and fluxes in the planet’s tropical forests more reliably than ever before.

News

Increased CO2 only leads to faster growth in plants if they have enough water

30 de August 2019Verónica Couto Antelo

According to a study published recently in the journal PNAS, climate change has caused forests to alter the way they grow, in that they only take advantage of the fertilizing effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) to grow faster if they have plenty of water.

News

Satellites are overestimating vegetation’s ability to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide

1 de May 2019Anna Ramon Revilla

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.

News

Tropical forests are the terrestrial plant ecosystems to which climate change poses the greatest risk

20 de March 2019CREAF

A study involving CREAF's Josep Peñuelas has identified the optimal temperatures of terrestrial plant ecosystems throughout the world and indicates the size of their margin for adaptation to warming. Outside that margin, ecosystem growth slows sharply.

News

Which new practices and tools can improve the climate mitigation and adaptation potential of EU forests?

27 de February 2019CREAF

A final report of the EIP-AGRI Focus Group on ‘New forest practices and tools for adaptation and mitigation of climate change’ was published last January. Enrique Doblas, as an expert involved in this Focus Group, was involved in this publication.

News

CREAF researchers challenge the notion that nitrification occurs only in soil

5 de February 2019CREAF

Human-induced increase in nitrogen deposition profoundly alters nitrogen (N) cycling globally. Yet, the ultimate fate of nitrogen deposition on forest ecosystems isn’t fully understood. Rossella Guerrieri, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow in CREAF sheds light on the overlooked leaf microbial transformations of nitrogen deposition and its contribution to N cycling.

News

Forest management in Europe will not stop global warming

11 de October 2018Anna Ramon Revilla

Aude Valade, CREAF researcher, and the international team behind the study published in Nature recommends that forests be managed with a view to preserving the ecological, social and cultural ecosystem services they provide, rather than to cooling the planet as envisaged in the Paris Agreement.

News

The forests that store the most carbon are also the richest in biodiversity

3 de October 2018Anna Ramon Revilla

A study led by CREAF researcher Judit Lecina Díaz has mapped Spain's carbon and biodiversity hotspots, which are located in the Pyrenees and their foothills, Madrid, Cuenca, La Rioja and Andalusia, and along the coast of the Cantabrian Sea.

News

‘Pampered’ trees are the most vulnerable to drought

26 de July 2018Giulio Nigro

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.

News

CREAF presents the Network for European Mountain Research (NEMOR)

30 de May 2018Anna Ramon Revilla

Coordinated by CREAF and comprising more than 50 European organizations, NEMOR has produced a document seeking the European Commission's recognition of mountains as a unique setting for activities such as testing related to the effects of climate change, reversing depopulation and promoting new circular economy projects.

News

Need for re-evaluation of water, forest and agriculture management strategies in Catalan strategy for climate change adaptation

24 de April 2018Albert Naya i Díaz

The final conclusions of the LIFE MEDACC project, conducted by the Catalan Office for Climate Change (OCCC) of the Ministry of Territory and Sustainability, CREAF, IPE-CSIC and IRTA, draw attention to the need to adapt forest, agriculture and water management strategies to the new arid conditions expected as a result of climate change. Since 1973, the water flow at the headwaters of the Muga and Ter rivers has dropped by almost half, and the volume of the middle and lower sections of the Segre has decreased by as much as 60%.

Knowledge

It’s already available CREAF Talk by Scott Ollinger about nitrogen and carbon assimilation in forests

22 de February 2018CREAF

A new video of CREAF Talks conferences is now available. Scott Ollinger, from University of New Hampshire, USA, talks about basic relations among foliar N and CO2 assimilation in forests, relationships between N concentrations and a suite of functionally convergent plant traits that influence canopy reflectance, and implications for broad-scale N mapping and ecosystem—climate interactions.

News

How the forests of the Iberian Peninsula have changed over 25 years?

18 de December 2017Albert Naya i Díaz

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.

News

For the time being, forests are helping to slow CO2 accumulation and climate change

4 de December 2017Albert Naya i Díaz

A study led by CREAF shows that decreases in pollutant deposition and the increase in atmospheric CO2 have stimulated photosynthesis and carbon sequestration in forests. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how carbon circulates in the atmosphere, in living organisms, oceans, and soils in order to anticipate the effects of climate change.

Knowledge

“We invest much more time writing scientific publications than making science accessible”

31 de October 2017Verónica Couto Antelo

Rossella Guerrieri has a PhD in Forestry and Environmental Sciences and has been a post-doc at CREAF since 2016. Her projects are related to the natural cycles of forests and she is a strong advocate of the social impacts of science.

News

Do drought-affected trees die of thirst or hunger?

16 de August 2017Albert Naya i Díaz

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.

News

CREAF will help European forestry adapt to climate change

8 de June 2017Albert Naya i Díaz

Enrique Doblas is part of a European interest group on climate change adaptation in the forestry sector. CREAF’s knowledge and innovations will be taken into account when planning solutions to fight climate change.

Knowledge

Woodlands in their labyrinth: forest management and biodiversity conservation

23 de April 2017Francisco Lloret

The forth post of Francisco Lloret's section Festina Lente. In this one he explains different dimensions of combining forest management with biodiversity conservation.

Knowledge

The forest fate: winning time

6 de March 2017Francisco Lloret

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 .

News

The MENFRI project thrust forward a new approach in innovative research and sustainable development

31 de January 2017Albert Naya i Díaz

The European project MENFRI was coordinated by CREAF and came to an end in 2016. Its novel approach, centering on cooperation and knowledge transfer, has opened the door to new opportunities, The NODE being one of them.

Knowledge

Riding resilience

6 de December 2016Francisco Lloret

The use of the term 'resilience' has been extended. But success entails risks. When dealing with complex concepts encapsulated in a word, the risk translates into confusion. It is therefore worth entertaining the passage and meditate for a while.

News

Launching of the NODE at the European Parliament!

10 de November 2016CREAF

The NODE will be officially launched on 16th November 2016 at the European Parliament in Brussels, within the conference Jobs, Development, Social Inclusion and Climate Change Migration in the Mediterranean: The transformative power of the Forestry and Environmental sector.

Knowledge

In urbibus mundi

8 de November 2016Jaume Terradas

In this new post, Jaume Terradas thinks about what nature has meant for human since the dawn of our species, and how the accumulation of people in cities leads us to be away from nature.

News

The treeline in Tibet increases slower than temperatures

27 de April 2016Albert Naya i Díaz

The forest treeline shifts upward slower than temperature increase, and it can be hindered by densification of shrubs. A number of factors influence upward forest expansion, including the particular plant species growing near trees, climate change, human activity, and terrain morphology. The Tibetan Plateau, practically devoid of human pressures, offers a pristine area for study 

News

Mathematics in the fight against forest drought

8 de February 2016CREAF

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. 

News

Agriculture and forestry increase the production world ecosystem biomass by 15%

6 de October 2015Marina Torres Gibert

CREAF has participated in an international study which has estimated the total biomass production of all planetary ecosystems. These data can be used to improve accounting of the global supply of natural resources and plan strategies for boosting the sequestration of atmospheric carbon.

News

The response of leaf unfolding phenology to climate warming has significantly reduced in Central Europe

23 de September 2015CREAF

Leaf unfolding occurred on average about 4 days earlier every one degree increase in spring temperature between 1980 and 1994, whereas this value dropped to -2.3 days C-1 between 1999 and 2013, a decrease of over 40%. According to this study recently published in the jorunal Nature with the participaction of Josep Peñuelas, researcher from CSIC at CREAF, warmer winters and photoperiod are forcing plants to control their phenology calendars.

News

A CEED Research Fellow will study fire effects to biodiversity in Catalonia

7 de September 2015CREAF

A CEED (Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions) Research Fellow has been recently awarded one of the five Victorian Postdoctoral Research Fellowships. He will travell to Spain to study the threat of fires to biodiversity at the CTFC (Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia) and CREAF (Centre of Ecological Research and Forestry Applications).

News

Òdena’s wildfire images taken by drones

1 de September 2015CREAF

InForest mixed unity, composed by CTFC and CREAF, has published the first images taken by drones of the burned area from Òdena's wildfire (Barcelona area), occurred last july which burned more than 1.200 ha. InForest is pioneer in drones use for ecology and conservation research.

News

Nutrient-rich forests absorb more carbon

7 de April 2014Anna Ramon Revilla

Thee ability of forests to sequester carbon from the atmosphere depends on nutrients available in the forest soils, shows new research from an international team of researchers,

News

Scientists study the chemical language of plants from the sky

10 de October 2013Anna Ramon Revilla

A study carried out by scientists at the CREAF and the CSIC has shown that the reflectance PRI index allows for the quantification of gasses emitted by plants in order to communicate or in situations of stress.  This index is calculated by measuring the light that vegetation reflects with the help of photosensors on planes or with satellite images.

News

Nightime global warming limites CO2 uptake by boreal flora

5 de September 2013Anna Ramon Revilla

Nightime temperatures on the planet have increased 1.4 times faster than daytime temperatures. This asymmetry alters carbon fluxes and plant growth in the northern hemisphere, according to a study in which the CREAF is participating.

News

Firefighters are the main factor that determines the current patterns of forest fires in Catalonia

21 de June 2013Anna Ramon Revilla

A new model of landscape evolution, developed by a group of Catalan and Canadian researchers, identifies that the ability to extinguish fire is essential in the explanation of the fire patterns in Catalan territory. The model also shows that, if current climate trends continue, the burned area could increase by more than 60% in the next 20 years.

News

The CREAF begins a European international cooperation project to improve forest management and combat global change in the Mediterranean

20 de June 2013Anna Ramon Revilla

Enrique Doblas and Jordi Vayreda, researchers at the CREAF, will begin the MENFRI project (Mediterranean Network of Forestry Research and Innovation) in December, a European forest management project funded by the call FP7 – INCO.

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