La incidencia de los incendios forestales en España

Este trabajo forma parte del número monográfico de la revista "Serie Geográfica" dedicado a Incendios forestales (No. 7, 1997-1998).[EN] Forest fíre incidence is a severe environmental problem in Spain. This paper analyses the problem through the study of the available fíre statistics. Most relevant factors affecting fíre incidence in Spain are also reviewed. The main factors of fíre occurrence are analysed as well as the situation of Spain in the European context. Special emphasis is provided on large fíres (above 500 hectares), which are the most destructive from both an environmental and economical point of view.[ES] La incidencia de incendios forestales en nuestro país constituye un problema ambiental de primera magnitud. En el presente articulo se realiza un análisis del fenómeno a través del estudio de las estadísticas más recientes. Se evalúan igualmente los principales factores de incidencia y la situación de España en el contexto europeo. Se hace especial hincapié en los grandes incendios, que son los más catastróficos, tanto desde el punto de vista ambiental como económico.Peer reviewe

Cartografía de incendios forestales en Paraguay mediante imágenes AQUA-MODIS

Uno de los principales problemas ambientales que se plantean actualmente a nivel mundial es la pérdida de los recursos\ud forestales ocasionada por el fuego. La gran extensión y dificultad de acceso a muchas de las zonas afectadas, especialmente en zonas tropicales, hace difícil la cuantificación del daño que provocan los incendios forestales. La cartografía operativa de las áreas quemadas requiere disponer de métodos fiables y rápidos que permitan obtener resultados en un margen relativamente corto de tiempo y a una escala espacial y temporal adecuada para la gestión del fenómeno. La teledetección desde satélite supone una técnica adecuada para esta finalidad ya que proporciona datos de la superficie terrestre con una cobertura espacial y temporal suficientemente detallada y ofrece información espectral apropiada para la cartografía de áreas quemadas. En este trabajo se aborda el uso de imágenes\ud procedentes del sensor AQUA-MODIS para la cartografía de áreas afectadas por incendios forestales en Paraguay. Se propone una metodología que combina productos MODIS con distintas resoluciones espaciales (500 y 250 metros) y espectrales (7 y 2 bandas) con el propósito de mejorar la capacidad de discriminación y delimitación de las zonas afectadas por incendios forestales en un ámbito tropical. La metodología propuesta nos permitió discriminar todos los incendios ocurridos en la zona de estudio con tamaño igual o superior a 150 hectáreas. La capacidad\ud de discriminación resultó aceptable (en torno a los 60 %) para los incendios entre 100 y 125 hectáreas, en cambio demostró ser mas limitada para los incendios inferiores a 100 hectáreas.One of the major environmental problems facing the world today is the loss of forest resources caused by fire. The large size and difficulty of access to many affected areas, especially in tropical areas, make difficult to quantify the damage caused by forest fires. Operational mapping of burned areas requires the availability of reliable and rapid\ud methods that can produce results in a relatively short time range and a spatial and temporal scale appropriate to the management of the phenomenon. Satellite remote sensing is a suitable technique for this purpose as it provides\ud data on the Earth's surface with enough spatial and temporal coverage and provides detailed spectral information suitable for mapping burned areas. This paper discusses the use of images from the AQUA-MODIS sensor\ud for mapping areas affected by forest fires in Paraguay. It propose a methodology that combines MODIS products with\ud different spatial (500 and 250 meters) and spectral (7 and 2 bands) resolutions for the purpose of improving the capacity of discrimination and delimitation of areas affected by forest fires in a tropical area. The proposed methodology allowed us to discriminate all fires in the study area with size equal to or greater than 150 hectares. The discrimination capacity was acceptable (around 60%) for fires between 100 and 125 hectares, however proved to be more limited for fires less than 100 hectares

Utilidad de la Guía Didáctica de Teledetección y Medio Ambiente para la enseñanza activa de la Geografía

La guía está concebida como un atlas en el que se ha compilado una abundante colección de imágenes de la Tierra y de los océanos, adquiridas desde distintos satélites, plataformas espaciales tripuladas y desde la Estación Espacial Internacional. Ilustran distintos fenómenos y riesgos naturales y diferentes impactos provocados por el hombre sobre los recursos naturales. En resumen, se trata de un recurso didáctico para la enseñanza activa de la Geografía, y de otras ciencias afines, en Secundaria y Bachillerato. También se comentan las razones que dificultan el empleo de este tipo de recursos audiovisuales en las aulas.Peer reviewe

Nanofabrication and electrochemical characterization of self-assembled monolayers sandwiched between metal nanoparticles and electrode surfaces

et al.Nanoscience and nanotechnology have reached the syllabi of many upper-division undergraduate and master-level courses all over the world. There is therefore a growing need for practical exercises that illustrate the fabrication, characterization, properties, and applications of nanomaterials. Here we describe an advanced-level laboratory experiment in which students had the opportunity to fabricate surfaces modified by ordered monolayers and nanostructured materials. The surface modification was quantified by means of a quartz crystal microbalance, while the electrochemical properties of the nanoarchitectures were assessed using cyclic voltammetry experiments. Electron transfer across self-assembled monolayers mediated by gold nanoparticles was presented as a topic for discussion, and consideration of potential practical applications of the observed phenomena (catalytic and electrocatalytic processes, as well as development of optical, (opto)electronic, and photovoltaic devices with enhanced properties) was proposed as a further reading exercise.Financial support from the Department of Physical Chemistry and DGA/Fondos Feder is acknowledge as well as CTQ2012-33198 and CTQ2013-50187-EXP grants.Peer Reviewe

Movilidad social y satisfacción laboral en población española emigrada a Alemania

Este artículo analiza la movilidad social y satisfacción laboral (SL) en una muestra de 200 inmigrantes en Alemania procedentes de diferentes lugares de España, comparando resultados para hombres y mujeres y para grupos con diferentes características sociales o formativas. Las variables evaluadas son: movilidad social, satisfacción laboral, burnout, características del puesto y ajuste laboral. Los resultados muestran que mujeres y varones tienen niveles similares en SL, cinismo y agotamiento, en tanto que los hombres se perciben más autoeficaces. Las clases sociales inferiores y los trabajadores con menores ingresos puntúan menos en SL y autoeficacia. El cinismo, la autoeficacia, la sobrecualificación y las características del puesto predicen tanto la SL extrínseca (50’2%) como la intrínseca (58’2%). Este estudio contribuye al conocimiento de la realidad laboral actual de los trabajadores inmigrantes entre países europeos.This article analyses social mobility and job satisfaction (JS) in immigrants, considering his burnout at work and other labour characteristics. In a sample of 200 migrants in Germany from different parts of Spain results for men and women and for groups with different social and educational characteristics are compared. The evaluated variables are: social mobility, job satisfaction, burnout, job characteristics and labour adjustment. The results show that women and men have similar levels in JS, cynicism and exhaustion; more men are perceived self-efficacy. The lower classes and workers with lower incomes scored least in JS and efficacy. Cynicism, self-efficacy, overqualification and job characteristics predict both extrinsic JS (50.2%) and intrinsic (58.2%). This study contributes to the understanding of the current labour situation of Spanish workers in a European country

Understanding the optical responses of leaf nitrogen in Mediterranean Holm oak (Quercus ilex) using field spectroscopy

The direct estimation of nitrogen (N) in fresh vegetation is challenging due to its weak influence on leaf reflectance and the overlaps with absorption features of other compounds. Different empirical models relate in this work leaf nitrogen concentration ([N]Leaf) on Holm oak to leaf reflectance as well as derived spectral indices such as normalized difference indices (NDIs), the three bands indices (TBIs) and indices previously used to predict leaf N and chlorophyll. The models were calibrated and assessed their accuracy, robustness and the strength of relationship when other biochemicals were considered. Red edge was the spectral region most strongly correlated with [N]Leaf, whereas most of the published spectral indexes did not provide accurate estimations. NDIs and TBIs based models could achieve robust and acceptable accuracies (TBI1310,1720,730: R2 = 0.76, [0.64,0.86]; RMSE (%) = 9.36, [7.04,12.83]). These models sometimes included indices with bands close to absorption features of N bonds or nitrogenous compounds, but also of other biochemicals. Models were independently and inter-annually validated using the bootstrap method, which allowed discarding those models non-robust across different years. Partial correlation analysis revealed that spectral estimators did not strongly respond to [N]Leaf but to other leaf variables such as chlorophyll and water, even if bands close to absorption features of N bonds or compounds were present in the models.This research has been funded by the BIOSPEC project “Linking spectral information at different spatial scales with biophysical parameters of Mediterranean vegetation in the context of Global Change” (http://www.lineas.cchs.csic.es/biospec) (CGL2008-02301/CLI, Ministry of Science and Innovation) and the FLUXPEC project “Monitoring changes in water and carbon fluxes from remote and proximal sensing in a Mediterranean dehesa ecosystem” (http://www.lineas.cchs.csic.es/fluxpec) (CGL2012-34383, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness). Pacheco-Labrador, J. was sponsored by a JAE-Predoc grant (CSIC)Peer reviewe

El mercado de emisiones de CO2: su repercusión en la contabilidad financiera

La entrada en funcionamiento del nuevo mercado de emisiones, como mecanismo para la consecución de los compromisos adquiridos en el Protocolo de Kioto, ha dado lugar a la creación de un nuevo elemento –el derecho de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero– que afectará al patrimonio y resultado de las organizaciones. Este derecho, de naturaleza patrimonial y, por tanto, susceptible de ser transferido requiere el estudio de las incidencias que pueden plantearse en el reconocimiento, valoración y registro de las operaciones del mismo, siendo éste el objeto del presente trabajo.The new market of emissions, like a mechanism for the attainment of the commitments acquired in the Kyoto Protocol, has given rise to the creation of a new element - the right of greenhouse gas emissions- that will affect to the patrimony and result of the organizations. This right, of patrimonial nature and, therefore, capable of be transferred, requires the study of the incidences that can consider in the recognition, valuation and registry of the operations of it, being this one the object of the present work

Mindfulness and job control as moderators of the relationships between demands and innovative work behaviours

Innovation enables organizations to respond successfully to rapid changes in a business environment. This innovation capability largely relies on employees. Although workers are required to be innovative, their jobs frequently contain higher demands that might make it difficult for them to innovate at work. The Job Demands-Control model active hypothesis suggests that highly demanding jobs that allow individuals enough discretion enhance innovative performance. Improving an important attentional resource such as mindfulness at work might also play a similar role, although there is a need for more research at this level. The main aim of this study is to examine the relative contribution of job control and increases in mindfulness as moderators in the job demands-innovation work behaviours relationship. The results obtained with 221 workers indicated that in previous situations characterized by high job demands (T1), workers who increase their capacity for mindfulness are more innovative in the future (T2)

Assessing the impact of non-linear responses of field spectroradiometers on the estimation of biophysical parameters and light use efficiency

Tommaso Julitta’s Short Term Scientific Mission was funded by the Cost Action ES0903 – Eurospec. Javier Pacheco-Labrador’s stay was partially funded by the Biospec project “Linking spectral information at different spatial scales with biophysical parameters of Mediterranean vegetation in the context of Global Change” (CGL2008-02301/CLI, Ministry of Science and Innovation).Peer reviewe