Pseudo-steppes with grasses and annuals of the Thero-Brachypodietea in Natura 2000 sites

Pseudo-steppe with grasses and annuals includes a variety of xeric, termophilic and mostly open Mediterranean perennial and annual grasslands growing on usually eutrophic, but also oligotrophic, soils. Three major sub-types should be considered: one of perennial basophile rather hard short-grass communities, included in Lygeo-Stipetalia; another one of very dense and short but highly productive perennial summer drying swards, created by intense and continuous livestock activity, included in Poetalia bulbosae; and a last one of pioneer and ephemeral basophilous annual grasslands, included in Brachypodietalia (Trachynietalia) distachyae. The diversity of plant, invertebrate and vertebrate communities is usually high. Pseudo-steppe with grasses and annuals has a typical Mediterranean distribution, with a significant area located in the Iberian Peninsula (mostly in Spain), followed by Italy, France, Greece, Cyprus and Malta. The habitat has been favoured by traditional management schemes and contributes to the so-called cultural landscapes. It usually occurs in a mosaic pattern with a wide variety of related habitats, many of them also included in the 92/43 EEC Directive. As a consequence, a high number of animal species protected by that Directive depend, to a higher or lesser degree, on this habitat type. That is why a holistic perspective is needed when considering conservation management models. Too low a grazing intensity will result in scrub encroachment, a reduction in biodiversity and an increased risk of wild fires. For Poetalia bulbosae communities, experience shows that this will lead to their disappearance due to rapid changes in floristic composition. Therefore, grazing (particularly sheep grazing) is essential for the long-term maintenance of this habitat. Regular scrub clearing on small to medium-size irregular plots and silvicultural treatments on related forests and coppices are advisable as complementary measures, as well as the conservation or restoration of traditional infrastructures (water points, hedges, stone walls) and nearby small agricultural plots. A light phosphoric fertilization is recommended for Poetalia bulbosae communities; however, fertilization with other nutrients or on other 6220 habitat type communities should be banned. Restoration of 6220 habitat type communities from overgrown sites will require scrub clearing and intense grazing for many years. Other relevant measures are reducing or banning the use of pesticides and herbicides, protecting the habitat from urbanization processes, control of tourism activity when necessary, promoting livestock quality labels, improving living conditions for shepherds and implementing new land management strategies

Pest categorisation of Melampsora medusae

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Plant Health Panel performed a pest categorisation of Melampsora medusae, a well-defined and distinguishable fungal species of the family Melampsoraceae. The pathogen is regulated in Annex IAI of Council Directive 2000/29/EC as a harmful organism whose introduction into the EU is banned. M. medusae is a heteroecious rust fungus with Populus spp. as primary telial hosts and various conifers (Larix, Pinus, Pseudotsuga, Abies, Picea and Tsuga spp.) as secondary aecial hosts. M. medusae is native to North America and has spread to South America, Africa, Asia, Oceania, as well as the EU, where M. medusae f. sp. deltoidae has been reported with a restricted distribution and low impacts from Belgium, south-west France and southern Portugal. The pest could spread to other EU countries, via dissemination of spores, movement of host plants for planting and cut branches. Climate is assumed not to be a limiting factor for the establishment of the pathogen in the EU. M. medusae is the most widespread and important Melampsora rust in North America. In western Canada, extensive damage has been reported to conifers and Populus spp. in nurseries and plantations as well as in woodlands. M. medusae is damaging in both Australia and New Zealand. The pest could have economic and environmental impacts in the EU if aggressive isolates of M. medusae were introduced into the EU. Import prohibition of host plants for planting is an available measure to reduce the risk of further introductions. Some resistant Populus cultivars are available. Moreover, increasing the genetic diversity of poplar plantations can prevent disease impacts. The main uncertainty concerns the factors explaining the low pathogenicity of the populations of M. medusae present in the EU. The criteria assessed by the Panel for consideration as a potential quarantine pest are met (the pest is present, but with a restricted distribution, and is officially under control). Given that plants for planting are not the main pathway of spread, not all criteria for consideration as a regulated non-quarantine pest are met

Ecología, tipología, valoración y alternativas silvopascícolas de los Quejigares (Quercus faginea Lamk) de Guadalajara

El quejigo (Quercus faginea Lamk.) es una de las especies arbóreas más características y abundantes en España. El valor ecológico de sus masas es muy alto, pero su actual producción económica es muy baja. En el presente trabajo se estudian las características ecológicas, silvícolas y pascícolas de los quejigares de Guadalajara para tratar de determinar su forma más adecuada de utilización. En el capítulo 1 se recopila, analiza y resume toda la información existente anteriormente sobre el quejigo en España. En el capítulo 2 se estudia la ecología del quejigo en la provincia de Guadalajara, incluyendo los siguientes temas: - Estudio ecológico de los quejigares: clima, suelo, posición topográfica, fauna, acción antrópica, vegetación, etc. - Establecimiento de una tipología forestal para las masas de quejigos. - Cuantificación del desfronde, la biomasa, el efecto fertilizador y la producción del quejigar experimental de Barriopedro. - Estudio de los sistemas de regeneración natural y artificial en el quejigo- - Análisis de la composición específica de un pastizal de quejigar y de las variaciones provocadas en él por claras de distinta intensidad en el estrato arbóreo. II En el capítulo 3 se valora la calidad del arbolado y del pastizal en los quejigares de Guadalajara. En el capítulo 4, y como resultado de los estudios realizados, se concluye analizando las posibilidades de utilización de los quejigares de la provincia: roturación y cultivo agrícola, repoblación forestal, implantación de pastizales, conversión en monte alto, adehesamiento, y mantenimiento del tallar

The Global Forest Trade Model - GFTM

A meaningful assessment of policy options within the forest-based bioeconomy presupposes the capability to model market implications. To this end, an economic forest-based sector model, the Global Forest Trade Model (GFTM), is being developed at the Forest Resources and Climate unit of the Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES). The GFTM is an equilibrium trade-based model for the forest sector with the aim of providing projections of production and trade of wood-based products and pellets for 48 countries/sub-regions of the world, with a focus on EU. This technical report describes the set-up of the model.The study outlines the theoretical framework, the programming of the model in MatLab, data collection, parameters used, and the calibration of the model. Presented test runs with GFTM indicates that the model behaves in a logically consistent way, all in all well in line what can be expected from economic theory. The next steps in the development process entail trying out linkages with a forest resource model and a dedicated energy model.JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat

The European Fire Database: technical specifications and data submission

The European Fire Database is an important component of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the EC focal point of information on forest fires established by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Directorate General for Environment to provide up to date and harmonized information on forest fires in Europe. As of 2014 EFFIS is part of the Forest Information System for Europe (FISE), following the new EU Forest Strategy adopted in 2013. The Fire Database is the largest repository of information on individual fire events in Europe and is the end product of a long collaboration between European countries and the European Commission on forest fires. It contains forest fire information compiled by member countries of the EFFIS network. Fire data provided each year by national authorities are checked, stored and managed by JRC within the fire database. Each country has its own internal rules of reporting on individual fire events which is in most cases done mainly for administrative purposes. To widen the exploitation potential of the national fire data within the European Fire Database and to enhance data harmonization and data quality control, the common data set up has been gradually modified over the years. A common and in depth understanding of latest definitions and data specifications is of paramount importance. This report intends contributing to these efforts illustrating in detail the data stored in the European Fire Database, their definitions, the formats required for country data submission and the process of data validation and storage carried out at JRC.JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat

El ciervo (Cervus elaphus) como reservorio de agentes transmisibles implicados en el fallo reproductivo en rumiantes domésticos y silvestres en "Los Quintos de Mora"

La tecnificación de la ganadería en las últimas décadas ha propiciado que se incrementen los problemas sanitarios, en particular los asociados a las enfermedades compartidas con la fauna silvestre y con el ser humano (zoonosis). Las enfermedades infecciosas emergentes son la principal causa de muerte en el mundo y, actualmente, la fauna silvestre es el origen de más del 70 % de estas enfermedades. Todo ello ha llevado a acuñar la iniciativa “Una única sanidad”, cuyo mensaje es que la sanidad humana está estrechamente relacionada con la sanidad animal y con el medio ambiente. Por tanto, es imprescindible adoptar estrategias de control de enfermedades transmisibles que engloben los tres pilares: el ser humano, la ganadería y la fauna silvestre y el medioambiente. De todos ellos, el pilar menos conocido es la sanidad de la fauna silvestre y, en concreto, la de los ungulados, que son los que tienen una relación más directa e intensa con el ganado doméstico. En España, el aumento del censo del ganado doméstico en explotación extensiva y la intensificación de esta producción han generado un incremento de la densidad de animales alrededor de los puntos de suplementación de agua y alimento, facilitando la transmisión de enfermedades entre el ganado doméstico y la fauna silvestre. Por otra parte, la sobreabundancia de especies cinegéticas, fundamentalmente el jabalí y el ciervo, unida a la ausencia de medidas de vigilancia epidemiológica (activa y pasiva)de las enfermedades transmisibles, incluyendo las zoonosis, están planteando importantes problemas sanitarios..

Fruticeticultura. Gestión de arbustedos y matorrales

Los arbustos, o frútices, son vegetales leñosos de menos de 5 m de altura sin un tronco preponderante, porque se ramifican a partir de la base. Los arbustos de menor altura, de un metro a lo sumo o poco más, se llaman matas o matillas; sin embargo, el término sufrútice se aplica a plantas semejantes a arbustos, generalmente pequeñas y sólo lignificadas en la base (FONT QUER, 1989). Como consecuencia de esas definiciones, generalmente aceptadas, un matorral (suffruticetum) es una comunidad vegetal dominada por matas, mientras que si el dominio corresponde a arbustos, debe recibir la denominación de arbustedo (fruticetum). La técnica correspondiente a la gestión de los arbustedos y matorrales no ha recibido ningún nombre oficial, o al menos aceptado con generalidad, pero, por similitud con los términos selvicultura (o silvicultura) y pascicultura, debiera denominarse fruticeticultura. Por ello, ese será el término que utilizaremos como título para este trabajo preliminar, dedicado a resumir la tipología general de los arbustedos y matorrales de la Península Ibérica, su significación ecológica, sus características esenciales y sus técnicas de utilización. Esperamos que este trabajo sirva de base e introducción para uno más extenso y profundo que analice la situación de los matorrales y arbustedos españoles con una escala sintaxonómica mucho más detallada

Assessment of Forest Fire Risk in European Mediterranean Region: Comparison of Satellite-Derived and Meteorological Indices

Forest fires are a major hazard to Mediterranean forests where, on average, half a million hectares of forested areas are burned every year. It is for this reason that the assessment of fire risk lies at the heart of fire prevention policies in the region. Often, the estimation of forest fire risk involves the integration of meteorological and other fuel-related variables leading to an index that assesses the different levels of risk. Two indices that are frequently used to estimate the level of fire risk are the Fire Weather Index (FWI) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Although the correlation between the number of fires and the level of risk determined by the indices has been demonstrated; however the analysis that lead to this conclusion considered only the areas where the fires took place. The present paper analyzes the behaviour of these fire risk indices both in areas where fires took place and in those where fires did not occur. It analyzes and compares the potential of the two indices to discriminate different levels of fire risk over large areas using quantitative and graphical methods. The analysis is performed considering a dataset of 10 years of fire events, satellite data and meteorological data for Spain. The results show a better performance of the FWI over NDVI in identifying areas at risk of fires.JRC.H.7-Land management and natural hazard

Reporting of Biomass Burning under the LULUCF sector. Comparative assessment of data reported under the UNFCCC and EFFIS.

The land use, Land use Change and forestry (LULUCF) sector is one of the six sector included in the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories that Annex I Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol (KP) must submit annually. The sector covers anthropogenic emissions of GHGs and their removals by terrestrial carbon pool: living biomass, dead organic matter and soil organic carbon, disaggregated into six main land use categories: Forest land, Cropland, Grassland, Wetlands, Settlements and Other land. Moreover, additional sources of emissions - as those resulting from Biomass burning have also to be reported. The GHG inventories prepared by the Parties should use comparable methodologies provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the information provided should be Transparent, Accurate, Comparable, Consistency and Complete. In addition, the IPCC Guidelines considers, as integral parts of the GHG inventory process, the implementation of quality control / quality assurance (QA/QC) and verification procedures that are intended to establish the reliability of the information contained in the inventory. This reports contains a comparative assessment of Biomass burning data reported to the UNFCCC by 5 selected Member States with the information contained in the European Forest Fires Information System (EFFIS). The aim is to verify data reported to UNFCCC and to test the utility and feasibility of the use of EFFIS as a tool for the verification of EU MS GHG inventories. Noticeable differences among the data reported in the data sets were found and they would need to be explained. But, in overall, the findings raised in this report suggest that EFFIS data has a good potential as a tool for developing verification procedures of the Biomass burning data and even, it may be used to support the estimates of burned areas in the case that this information is not available at country level.JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat