Conversion of an industrial cutaway peatland to a Betulacea family tree species plantation

ArticleTo evaluate the potential of establishing a deciduous tree plantation on an industrial cutaway peatland over an 8 ha large experimental site was established in the central part of Latvia and silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) and black alder (Alnus glutionsa (L.) Gaertn.) tree species were planted. As it is a harsh and unfavorable environment wood ash, otherwise a waste product, was used as a fertiliser and liming material in three applications (5, 10 and 15 t ha-1 ). In comparison with control, fertilised soils had higher Ca, Mg, P amounts, whilst the most substantial difference was seen in the amount of K. Application of wood ash also considerably increased soil pH from 3.5 (Control) to 5.9 (15 t ha-1 ). Even though showing reduced growth in unfertilised soil both alder and birch seedling survival rate was higher than 80%. The highest survival rate for birch was under wood ash treatment, while alder under 10 t ha-1 wood ash fertiliser treatment showed the lowest survival rate i.e. 81%. In total, more than 60 naturally occurring vegetation species were observed in the first and the second year of sites establishment after fertilisation. Species as Betula pendula, Betula pubescens, Populus tremula, Pinus sylvestris, Salix spp. often occurred from natural vegetation regeneration. Already after one year of vegetation succession increase in tree and shrub species cover was observed, suggesting perhaps such areas can be naturally afforested thus creating a more heterogeneous forest stand. In such a way sustaining economic use of land resources after peat extraction while providing other ecosystem services

Carbon content of below–ground biomass of young Scots pines in Latvia

ArticleForest ecosystems play crucial role in global carbon cycling, therefore, increasing afforestation of agricultural land in Europe has been recognized as important contribution of carbon sequestration. In carbon reporting systems, root carbon content (CC) default value has been set to 50%. The study aimed to estimate CC in below–ground biomass and in relation to tree age in young Scots pine stands on forest and former agricultural land. The below–ground CC of young (8 to 40 years) managed Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands growing on nutrient poor mineral soils in Latvia was carried out. In total 62 sample trees (43 in forest land, 19 in former agricultural land) were randomly selected for destructive sampling to estimate the CC within below–ground biomass. Below–ground biomass weighted mean CC was 49.7 ± 0.4%, being slightly lower than the default CC value used to calculate carbon budgets. Root fractions stump, small roots (diameter 2–20 mm), coarse roots (diameter > 20 mm)) differed (p < 0.001) in their CC. Stumps (50.6 ± 0.6%) had highest (p < 0.001) CC in the below–ground biomass, followed by coarse (49.5 ± 0.4%) and small (49.1 ± 0.4%) roots, which did not differ from each other in their CC. Results demonstrated age–dependent increase of CC (p < 0.001) from 48.2 ± 0.3% to 51.7 ± 0.5%, indicating overestimation of the default value during the first two decades, but underestimation for older trees (24 to 40 years)

Forest regeneration quality assessment by ASTA system

In Latvia one third of the total forest area is regenerated by planting tree seedlings and therefore it is important to choose the appropriate soil preparation method and the right type of regeneration material for each forest type. Usually the success of afforestation is evaluated by how high is the average seedling survival rate and growth parameters like height, annual increment, diameter at breast height while the location of the seedling is disregarded. This may be of great importance since in such stands the environmental conditions typically are not entirely homogenous. Micro topography differences impact seedling growth, because it modifies water regime, temperature, micronutrient availability, sun radiation and other factors. Therefore, aim of this work is to improve monitoring methods and determine the most efficient soil preparation and seedling preparation combination to improve the quality of forest regeneration. That could be done using ASTA documentation system originally developed to show seedling and mound location and density in planting area during mechanic planting. But it also allows to link the precise location of the seedling and growing conditions with its growing rate and survival and therefore it is easier to exclude seedlings that are affected by other factors than those that you are interested in, so you can gain more representative results. This also could be used in forest management. When using ASTA system it is also possible to display how different tree disease are distributed in the stand, if they have spread eventually or localized only in some parts of the stand, also it can be used for browsing and other tree damage monitoring in the stand. In conclusion: in harsh environmental conditions on unprepared forest soil and soil prepared in furrows made by disc trench larger seedlings show better survival rate. Survival of seedlings is significantly impacted by micro topography, whereas mounded micro sites equalize local environmental conditions that reduce impact of micro topography

Toolkit per la valutazione delle abilità sociali ed emotive a scuola

Il progetto “Learning to Be: Development of Practices and Methodologies for Assessing Social, Emotional and Health Skills within Education Systems”, cofinanziato dal programma Erasmus+ dell’Unione europea, è un progetto sperimentale che coinvolge differenti Istituti ed Enti di ricerca che si occupano di istruzione ed educazione appartenenti a sette Paesi Europei: Finlandia, Italia, Lettonia, Lituania, Portogallo, Slovenia e Spagna. Il progetto, di durata triennale (febbraio 2017 - gennaio 2020), è volto a sperimentare metodologie di insegnamento e strumenti per la valutazione delle competenze socio-emotive negli studenti a scuola, al fine di comprendere come queste abilità possano essere supportate e promosse nei contesti educativi. “Learning to Be” si basa sul principio che la valutazione a scuola possa andare oltre le pure conoscenze nozionistiche e la performance scolastica, includendo, al contrario, pratiche educative che permettano, in particolare, l’osservazione dello sviluppo personale e delle abilità sociali e emotive. Pertanto, tale volume propone e descrive metodologie pratiche che possono essere utilizzate dai docenti e dagli studenti in classe al fine di sostenere gli aspetti sociali ed emotivi dell’apprendimento, promuovendo uno sviluppo sano della personalità e incoraggiando la costruzione di relazioni positive a scuola. Questo Toolkit, pensato per i docenti di scuola primaria e secondaria di I grado, delinea i principi fondamentali per una pratica efficace dell’apprendimento socio-emotivo a scuola e fornisce tecniche pratiche per valutare le competenze socio-emotive degli studenti in classe, oltre che per facilitare e sostenere ulteriori apprendimenti. Pur non avendo l’obiettivo di fornire un quadro completo rispetto alle conoscenze e agli studi inerenti l’apprendimento socio-emotivo, ha altresì lo scopo di supportare i docenti nel migliorare le pratiche educative connesse alla valutazione a scuola. Crediamo che sia importante che tutti coloro che si occupano di educazione con bambini e giovani possano avere una formazione circa lo sviluppo emotivo e sociale, per comprendere in che modo questi aspetti impattino anche sull’apprendimento a scuola. Il titolo originale del progetto “Learning to Be” (“imparare ad essere”) è un augurio affinché questo progetto sia di aiuto per gli studenti e per i docenti nel loro percorso di crescita, per “imparare ad essere” felici e responsabili nei confronti degli altri