Josep maria espelta @en

CREAF is a firm believer in scientific cooperation and, accordingly, the international dimension of its activity is constantly growing. This year has taken Olga Roig and Josep Maria Espelta to the UK and Lebanon to attend meetings on the forestry sector and environmental policies.

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.

Raúl Bonal (Madrid, 1974) is a researcher at the University of Extremadura and is associated researcher at CREAF since 2009. In the Western world, what Raúl has achieved has become quite rare: describe a new species. The species discovered by Raúl is known as the “holm oak spider” and was given the Latin name Cheiracanthium ilicis. More such discoveries may be in store in the not-too-distant future.

Ivette Serral has a degree in Environmental Sciences from the UAB and has been working as a technician in remote sensing and GIS at CREAF since 2002.

Anoia and Bages suffered a large forest fire in July 2015, which burned 1,235 ha. Areas of Aleppo pine that had been thinned previously are recovering better than non-thinned areas in terms of resprouting species of trees and shrubs. The regeneration of the Aleppo itself has been more modest and sparse, but they can be found throughout the burnt area.

According to a study in which CREAF participated, the delay of late-summer rains could change the equilibrium between males and females in these Mediterranean weevils, favoring the females. The authors have shown that male weevils are more sensitive to prolonged drought.