Impact of bonfires on soil properties in an urban park in Vilnius (Lithuania)

Lighting bonfires in urban parks is a widespread practice. However, few studies have examined their impact on soil properties. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of bonfires on the soil properties of an urban park in Vilnius, Lithuania. The properties studied were soil water repellency (SWR), aggregate stability (AS), soil organic matter (SOM) content, total nitrogen (TN), inorganic carbon (IC), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), extractable calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), potassium (K), aluminum (Al), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), boron (B), chromium (Cr), available phosphorus (P), silicon (Si) and sulfur (S). Soil ratios calculated were carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N), Ca+Mg/(Na+K)1/2 (SPAR), Ca:Al and Ca:Mg. Three areas were studied: Site 1) Pinus sylvestris L. and Quercus robur L.; Site 2) Aesculus glabra Wild.; and Site 3) Pinus sylvestris L. and Acer plantanoides L. At each site, 20 samples were collected (10 within the bonfire area, 10 from a control area). The results showed significantly higher values of SOM, IC, pH, EC, Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, Al, Zn, Cu, Cr, S, C/N ratio, Ca:Al ratio and Ca:Mg ratio in bonfire soils than in control unburned soils. In bonfire soils, significantly lower values were recorded of SWR, AS, TN, SOM, Al, Mn, Fe, Cr, S and SPAR comparing to control soils. Most affected area by the bonfire was Site 1, which presented a marked increase in heavy metal content comparing to the control. The impact of soil heating was evident in AS, IC, pH, extractable Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, Al, Zn, Cu, Cr, S, and in its ratios. Protective measures are needed to limit bonfires and prohibit the burning of hazardous materials

Human-environmental interaction with extreme hydrological events and climate change scenarios as background

Climate change significantly impacts the lives of all people. Global change is composed of multiple factors that affect the population differently, having a very significant impact in the Mediterranean area. Human beings, through their actions, try to mitigate this impact and thus generate a more resilient society. Extreme hydrological events are affected by this climate change, with torrential rainfall events and severe droughts becoming frequent. Understanding these trends will allow us to better adapt to future conditions. This study aims to analyse catastrophic floods and severe droughts from paleo studies to studies that focus on future projections. For this purpose, a search for information has been carried out through other studies over the last five years to have a current perspective of this situation. Studies point to changes in the dynamics of floods and droughts, not only worsening the extremes but also affecting the average values of the records of each. In addition, the studies point out that anthropic action is accelerating the changes, with human beings and their capacity to adapt being inferior to the velocity of this global change. It is necessary to generate a paradigm shift in terms of global production by trying to adapt to future extreme flood and drought hazards

Spanish regions and sustainable development: measurement of advances from rio to johannesburg through multidimensional synthetic indexes

In the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), the bases for a world sustainable development were set. Ten years later it took place in Johannesburg the World Summit on Sustainable Development, where it was discussed about the fulfilled advances and it favoured actions for century XXI. This document analyses the concern on sustainability in the Spanish regions by means of the creation of a global synthetic index of sustainable development that fulfils three conditions: it is adapted to Pressure-State-Answer principles, it adopts the Local Agenda 21 mandates and it fits in the four basic dimensions of sustainability: institutional, environmental, economic and social. Over the calculation of the changes taken place in the aforementioned decade in a set of selected variables – grouped in indicators and sub-indicators and classified according to the four dimensions aforementioned in the sustainable development – it is proceeded to the estimation of the synthetic index for the Spanish Autonomous Regions, what is useful as an instrument of analysis to make those regions hierarchical according to their degree of adaptation to the sustainability commitment developed in the Summit in Rio. JEL Classification: Q2, R1 Key Words: Sustainable development, regional analysis, Spain

Impacto de los incendios forestales en la regulación de las inundaciones y la depuración del agua

Wildfires are global phenomena with positive and negative impacts on ecosystems. They are a natural ecosystem element that shaped several biomes. However, for some time, they may disturb the ecosystems, reducing their capacity to supply several services. The objective of this article is to resume the impacts of wildfires on flood regulation and water purification and discuss the use of some restoration measures to mitigate the wildfire impacts. Wildfires, especially in the immediate period after, reduce the ecosystem’s capacity to regulate floods and purify water due to vegetation removal and ash that can degrade water quality. The magnitude of the impacts depends essentially on wildfire severity and post-wildfire precipitation intensity. Restoration measures must be applied, especially after high-severity wildfires and if the recurrence is high. In the context of climate change, the interval between fires is expected to be shorter, and the severity will be high. Therefore, restoration measures may be more needed.Los incendios forestales son un fenómeno global con repercusiones positivas y negativas en los ecosistemas. Estos son un elemento natural de los ecosistemas que dio forma a diversos biomas. Sin embargo, durante algún tiempo, pueden perturbar los ecosistemas, reduciendo su capacidad para suministrar diversos servicios. El objetivo de este artículo es resumir los impactos de los incendios forestales en la regulación de las inundaciones y la depuración del agua y discutir el uso de algunas medidas de restauración para mitigar los impactos de los incendios forestales. Los incendios forestales, especialmente en el periodo inmediatamente posterior al evento, reducen la capacidad del ecosistema para regular las inundaciones y depurar el agua debido a la eliminación de vegetación y cenizas que pueden degradar la calidad de ese agua. La magnitud de los impactos depende esencialmente de la severidad del incendio forestal y de la intensidad de las precipitaciones posteriores al mismo. Deben aplicarse medidas de restauración, especialmente después de incendios forestales de gran severidad y si la recurrencia es elevada. En el contexto del cambio climático, se espera que el intervalo entre incendios sea más corto y que la severidad sea mayor. Por lo tanto, las medidas de restauración pueden ser más necesarias

Effect of pre- and post-wildfire management practices on plant recovery after a wildfire in Northeast Iberian Peninsula

[En] Fire and pre- or post-fire management practices shape the distribution and richness of plant species. Here, the effects of pre- and post-fire management on vegetation recovery were studied at different times, up to 18 months after a wildfire. Two months after a 2015 wildfire, 18 study plots were established (three 4-m2 plots for each treatment), vegetation regrowth was monitored and vegetal species richness (S), evenness (IT), density (D), diversity (H0) and maximum diversity (HMax) after 2, 10 and 18 months. The treatments were (1) control, unaffected by 2015 wildfire; (2) no treatment (NT), burned in 2015 wildfire and not managed; (3) managed in 2005 and burned in 2015 (M05B); (4) managed in 2015, 2 months before wildfire (M15B); (5) cut and manual removal after the 2015 wildfire (CR); (6) cut and no trunk removal randomly deposited on topsoil after the 2015 wildfire (CL). All the treatments were carried out in a Pinus halepensis Miller forest. At 10 and 18 months after the wildfire, vegetation recovery was greater in NT, CR and CL plots than in M05B and M15B the plots. By 18 months after the wildfire, Brachypodium retusum (Pers.) P. Beauv. and Rosmarinus officinalis L. were still dominant, especially in M15B, corroborating the belief that pre-fire treatment reduced ecosystem resilience and vegetal recovery compared to the NT and post-fire managed plots. Richness was significantly lower 10 months after wildfire in control plots, and IT was significantly higher in that inventory than previously in M15B. Eighteen months after the wildfire, H0 was significantly lower in M15B. Ten months post-wildfire, HMax was significantly lower in the control plots. Eighteen months after the wildfire, HMax, was significantly higher in CR, CL and M05B than in the control and M15B plots. Overall, pre-fire management was detrimental to post-fire vegetation recovery, while manual post-fire management proved beneficial

Soil physico-chemical properties and Organic Carbon stocks across different land use in an urban park of Vilnius, Lithuania

Urban areas are characterised by land use change processes. Urban and peri-urban soils degradation increase at the different land uses, and the characteristic of each land use affecting soil carbon stock and, consequently, the role of soil as a CO2 sink. The aim of this work was to assess the effect of land use and soil management practices in urban and peri-urban soils in Vilnius (Lithuania). Studied properties were: Sand, Clay, Silt, Stoniness, bulk density (BD), pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and soil organic carbon stocks (SOCS). Ten samples were collected at depths 0-10 cm in 8 different land uses and soil management practices in the urban and peri-urban areas of Vilnius. Forests – Quercus robur, Acer plantanoides, Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies, grasslands – semi-natural grasslands (SNG) and managed semi-naturalgrasslands (MSNG), both dominated by Taraxacum officinale, artificial grasslands (AG), and urban. SOC (t/ha) resulted significantly higher in Pinus sylvestris and Art. Grass than in Quercus robur, Acer plantanoides, and urban land uses. Urban land use recorded lower values of SOC (t/ha) than the other land uses except for Acer plantanoides. Land uses with high human intervention decline soil quality and affect the role of soil as a climate regulator

Incendios forestales, un fenómeno global

Fires can take place anywhere on the planet. It is a phenomenon that has exists and always will be present. Each ecosystem will respond differently to a fire, in fact, many landscapes have been modeled by fire. Some important aspects are described, such as the fire regime, or the paradox of fires. The causes and the effects of fires are analyzed and it is concluded that only with a good knowledge of the problem we can find solutions.Los incendios pueden tener lugar en cualquier lugar del planeta. Incendios siempre ha habido y siempre habrá. Cada ecosistema responderá de manera diferente, ya que, de hecho, muchos paisajes han sido modelados por el fuego. Se describen algunos aspectos importantes, como el régimen de incendios, o la paradoja de los incendios. Se analizan las causas, sus efectos y se concluye que solo con un buen conocimiento del problema se pueden encontrar soluciones

After the wildfires: the processes of social learning of forest owners' associations in central Catalonia, Spain

Over the last few decades, according to the Forest Fire Prevention Services of the Catalan Government, a small number of fires (less than 1%) have been responsible for the destruction of more than three quarters of the burnt forest area in Catalonia. However, while these wildfires have transformed many components of the landscape, including its vegetation and soils, they o er landowners the opportunity to learn from past decisions. This article aims to analyze the responses of forest owners in Central Catalonia after the great forest fires of the 1980s and 1990s, including the way in which their objectives and strategies are defined and their actions implemented. By conducting interviews with the members of forest owners' associations and by means of participant observation at association meetings, we seek to examine the processes of social learning experienced by this collective and to identify the mechanisms used in their e orts to create socio-ecological structures that are less vulnerable to fire. Associationism is unusual in the world of Catalan forest ownership, despite the great number of private forest areas. In our results, however, associationism emerges as a strategy for cooperation, a recognition of the need to link ecological and social structures in the territory, and one which we define as a form of 'socio-ecological resistance'. Our study highlights that the goals and actions of forest owners' associations have both an instrumental and emotional component, so that reason, emotion and action have come to form the three vertices of socio-ecological resistance to fire

Soil quality of abandoned agricultural terraces managed with prescribed fires and livestock in the municipality of Capafonts, Catalonia, Spain (2000-2017)

The abandonment of the economic activities of agriculture, livestock, and forestry since the second half of the 20th century, in conjunction with the exodus of inhabitants from rural areas, has resulted in an increase in the forest mass as well as an expansion of forest areas. This, in turn, has led to a greater risk of forest fires and an increase in the intensity and severity of these fires. Moreover, these forest masses represent a fire hazard to adjacent urban areas, which is a problem illustrated here by the village of Capafonts, whose former agricultural terraces have been invaded by shrubs, and which in the event of fire runs the risk of aiding the propagation of the flames from the forest to the village's homes. One of the tools available to reduce the amount of fuel in zones adjoining inhabited areas is prescribed burns. The local authorities have also promoted measures to convert these terraces into pasture; in this way, the grazing of livestock (in this particular instance, goats) aims to keep fuel levels low and thus reduce the risk of fire. The use of prescribed fires is controversial, as they are believed to be highly aggressive for the soil, and little is known about their long-term e ects. The alternation of the two strategies is more acceptable¿that is, the use of prescribed burning followed by the grazing of livestock. Yet, similarly little is known about the e ects of this management sequence on the soil. As such, this study seeks to examine the impact of the management of the abandoned terraces of Capafonts by means of two prescribed fires (2000 and 2002), which were designed specifically to prevent forest fires from reaching the village. Following these two prescribed burns, a herd of goats began to graze these terraces in 2005. Here, we report the results of soil analyses conducted during this period of years up to and including 2017. A plot comprising 30 sampling points was established on one of the terraces and used to monitor its main soil quality properties. The data were subject to statistical tests to determine whether the recorded changes were significant. The results show modifications to the concentration of soil elements, and since the first prescribed burn, these changes have all been statistically significant. We compare our results with those reported in other studies that evaluate optimum soil concentrations for the adequate growth of grazing to feed goats, and conclude that the soil conditions on the terrace after 17 years are optimum for livestock use

Minor Soil Elements in Contrasting Profiles in an Area Frequently Affected by Fire, NE Iberian Peninsula

Forest fires are a major concern in Mediterranean areas, where factors such as slope and aspect determine the degree of water and nutrient retention and their availability in soil. In this work, we analysed the effects of slope and aspect on minor soil elements. The study area was located in Ódena (NE Iberian Peninsula) in a typical Mediterranean forest. Four geomorphologically representative and contrasting soil profiles were sampled from different slopes and aspects. Eleven samples were taken from each profile at different depths. The amount of extractable aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), boron (B), and lead (Pb) and the calcium (Ca):Al ratio in all horizons of each profile were determined. The results showed that Al, Fe, and Pb and the Ca:Al ratio were mainly affected by slope, whereas Mn, Zn, and B were especially conditioned by aspect. This type of study aims to determine which areas have to be managed in order to avoid not only soil contamination by heavy metals but also a shortage of certain essential nutrients for plant regeneration and, thus, improved soil quality