Close your eyes and think of the most solid living organism you know of. Did you think of a tree? Trees are solid, still, and impervious to the passing of time, right? Well, wrong actually. In reality, the trunk of a tree beats: it shrinks in the daytime due to water loss and swells at night as it rehydrates via the tree’s roots. That beat, according to a study published recently in Nature Communications, is weakened by heatwaves.
Two studies led by Jofre Carnicer, CREAF researcher and professor at the University of Barcelona-IRBIO, show that natural areas that maintain microclimates are more resilient to climate change and biodiversity loss. Both studies conclude that microclimates (areas of natural space with different temperature, shade or humidity) become climatic refuges when there are extreme conditions, and that they should be studied in detail to assess the real impacts of global warming on nature.
The biodiversity and climate crisis are inextricably intertwined and cannot be addressed or resolved independent of one another. Although the global storytelling has tended to focus on climate change, science points out that nature is a critical ally in the fight against climate change and nature loss.
On 7 November, the European Parliament was the venue for an unprecedented seminar entitled "The need for forest management. The case of Mediterranean forests", organised by Catalan MEP Jordi Solé, vice-president of the Greens/EFA parliamentary group. The seminar opened with a welcome address by Jordi Solé, who presented the critical context of forests in Catalonia. The event was attended by leading figures in the field from various research centres and institutions, including CREAF.
The scientific community has already shown that forests growing in a climate unsuitable for them, such as a spruce in a dry climate, are easily more affected by forest diseases or pest attacks.
