CENTRE: Lost intern

We are in year one after the first pandemic. The planet is occupied entirely by humans who still believe in GDP ... Well, not entirely... A research center populated by a little bit of everything, the truth, is looking for ways to keep the planet habitable for our species.

CENTRE4_ENG

Climate change and population growth: key factors in the decline of Easter Island’s civilization

The collapse of civilizations has always attracted our attention: entire books, films and thousands of legends have been dedicated to it. What makes some human populations disappear and others not? Is it related to climate crises and pandemics like the current ones?

Climate change and civilization Climate change and easter islands Easter island’s civilization Olga margalef @en Rapa nui @en Sergi pla-rabes @en

Climate change, deforestation and fires are changing the Amazon Rainforest’s scent

For a long time now, scientists have been describing nature’s scents on the basis of measurements of their main ingredients, volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Emitted by plants, fungi, bacteria and all animals for communication purposes, such compounds are a form of language.

Amazon climate Amazon rainforest Ana yáñez @en Cambio climático @en @en Clima y amazonas @en Climate change Isoprene Sesquiterpenes Volatile organic compounds

New proposals to understand how the planet's vegetation works

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.

Climate change Forests Global carbon cicle Global change Plants Predictive models Vegetation Vegetation dynamics

Mosquito Alert confirms five-year high in spring tiger mosquito numbers in 2020

The number of tiger mosquito sightings reported via the Mosquito Alert app in the first half of 2020 is 70% higher than in 2018, which was, until now, the year with the most early-season sightings of the insect. However, 2015 still holds the record for the greatest number of tiger mosquito sightings over a full season.

Mosquito alert @en Tiger mosquito

CREAF participates in a European report to restore biodiversity and ecosystem services

The report has been prepared by an EKLIPSE expert working group, including researcher Pilar Andrés, and presentates a serie of key points at the scientific, political and social levels to improve the restoration of ecosystems. These results were included in the 2019 IPBES soil degradation conference.

Ecological restoration Eklipse @en Pilar andrés @en