Jason Greenlee jasongreenlee@hotmail.com The Fire Research Institute (FRI) was founded in 1983 as a non-profit organization with the lofty goal of promoting world peace through fire science. The concept was stolen from Richard Nixon, who, you will remember, opened up relations between the US and China by sending a ping-pong team to visit China. I thought that more scientific interaction between na ...[Read More]
Under research
Monday paper: Managing soil nitrate with cover crops and buffer strips in Sicilian vineyards
A. Novara, L. Gristina, F. Guaitoli, A. Santoro, A. Cerdà. 2013. Managing soil nitrate with cover crops and buffer strips in Sicilian vineyards. Solid Earth, 4, 255-262, doi:10.5194/se-4-255-2013 Abstract When soil nitrate levels are low, plants suffer nitrogen (N) deficiency but when the levels are excessive, soil nitrates can pollute surface and subsurface waters. Strategies to reduce the nitrat ...[Read More]
Monday paper: Mean age of carbon in fine roots from temperate forests and grasslands with different management
E. Solly, I. Schöning, S. Boch, J. Müller, S.A. Socher, S.E. Trumbore, M. Schrumpf. 2013. Mean age of carbon in fine roots from temperate forests and grasslands with different management. Biogeosciences, 10, 4833-4843, doi:10.5194/bg-10-4833-2013 Abstract Fine roots are the most dynamic portion of a plant’s root system and a major source of soil organic matter. By altering plant species div ...[Read More]
4th European Conference on Permafrost (EUCOP)
Marc Oliva The big European conference on frozen soils is approaching fast. The EUCOP conference will take place in Évora (Portugal) from 18 to 21st June 2014. At the conference website (http://www.eucop4.org) you can find all the information about sessions and key-note speakers, the online abstract submission form, details on the programme, registration fees, stipends for young reseachers and inf ...[Read More]
Monday paper: Modelling soil bulk density at the landscape scale and its contributions to C stock uncertainty
K.P. Taalab, R. Corstanje, R. Creamer, M.J. Whelan. 2013. Modelling soil bulk density at the landscape scale and its contributions to C stock uncertainty, Biogeosciences, 10, 4691-4704, doi:10.5194/bg-10-4691-2013 Abstract Soil bulk density (Db) is a major contributor to uncertainties in landscape-scale carbon and nutrient stock estimation. However, it is time consuming to measure and is, therefor ...[Read More]
Climate change effects on agriculture and land and water resources in Spain
E. Vargas-Amelin (Research Group International Political Economy, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia and Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and P. Pindado (Permanent Representation of Spain at the European Union. Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs) have just published an interesting paper on climate change effects on agriculture and land and water resources in Spain. Accordi ...[Read More]
Monday paper: Hydrological modelling of a slope covered with shallow pyroclastic deposits from field monitoring data
R. Greco, L. Comegna, E. Damiano, A. Guida, L. Olivares and L. Picarelli. Hydrological modelling of a slope covered with shallow pyroclastic deposits from field monitoring data. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 4001-4013, 2013, doi: 10.5194/hess-17-4001-2013 Abstract A one-dimensional hydrological model of a slope covered with pyroclastic materials is proposed. The soil cover is constituted by layers ...[Read More]
Forest residue mulching reduces post-fire soil erosion
Sergio A. Prats University of Aveiro, Portugal Still under the effect of the last wave of wildfires of summer 2013, Porto Canal interviewed the last Ph.D. student of the CESAM Research Centre at the University of Aveiro, who deals with soil erosion mitigation after wildfires. Porto Canal wanted to disseminate the last advances in recognizing the main effects of wildfires, the selection of soil ero ...[Read More]
Working for the recovery of burned soils
Fire is a natural agent that occurs in most terrestrial ecosystems. In Mediterranean areas, for example, fire is a natural agent that has contributed to shape the history of vegetation, soils, and ultimately, the landscape we know today. Also, since ancient times, men have also used fire as a tool for the management of ecosystems. As a result, the Mediterranean vegetation has developed mechanisms ...[Read More]
Ladies and gentlemen: the Rolling Stones
Racetrack Playa is a plain without vegetation of a dry located above the northwestern side of Death Valley, in Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, CA, USA (click here to see in Google Maps). Although “playa” is the Spanish word for beach, it is also used in English to refer to a dry lake. Racetrack Playa occupies an area of 4.5 km (north-south) by 2 km (east-west) which is 1,130 m ...[Read More]