A study conducted by researchers at the CREAF and the Autonomous University of Barcelona demonstrates that many pine populations of the Iberian Peninsula are in decline. The study foresees a very unfavorable scenario for some pine species with predicted climate change, which would see the pines negatively affected by both the expansion of the holm-oak, as well as an increase in drought and fire.
This is an unpublished study, prepared by the CREAF and promoted by the Catalan Office for Climate Change. According to CANVIBOSC, beech and Scots pine will be the species that suffer the impacts of climate change the most, while the oak and Aleppo pine are less vulnerable.
“Your 25th birthday is a good opportunity to reflect on your own life. It is also a good moment for institutions to do it as they are mature enough to assess their trajectory and decide their future actions”, explained Professor Carles Gràcia, from the Department of Ecology of the UB, in the lecture he pronounced to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the CREAF.
The CREAF has started a new research project in the field of remote sensing. The main novelty of the project is that it uses drones, or unmanned aircraft (UAV) to study crop characteristics.
The newly published book “Adapting to climate change in European forests – results of the MOTIVE project” summarizes results of a large European research project for a general audience. Carles Gràcia, from CREAF has explained the results of case study of Prades.
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.
A new international study relates brain size to the amount of stress hormone in birds. A larger brain increases cognitive ability, which allows them to face new challenges and, ultimately, a more relaxed lifestyle compared to those with a small brain.
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.
This year, 2013, the CREAF celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary. During this quarter of a century, the center has grown and evolved step by step to become what it is now: a model terrestrial ecology research center that provides cutting-edge scientific knowledge on the greatest and most complex environmental challenges that society faces in the 21st century.
The DINACLIVE project aims to analyze how land cover and land uses have changed throughout the Iberian Peninsula. With the extracted information, they will be able to observe the impacts of climate change and other factors, such as the effects of the drought on vegetation.
