MediterraneanEnvironmentResearchGroup
Location map of research areas
Research topics
Fire ecology
Prescribed Burnings
The cooperation between GRAM (Group of Mediterranean Environmental Research) of the Universitat of Barcelona and the GRAF (Group of Forest Actions Support) of the Generalitat of Catalunya, have to carry out an investigation applied over the forest environment activities of the GRAF.
One of the different tasks developed by the GRAF, is the execution of Prescribed Fires to manage the fuel. These burnings, have, among others objectives, to diminish the quantity of exactly critical fuel that in case of forest fire enhance the environment requirements to favour the technically named as High Intensity Fire.
One of the interests of the GRAF is that the infrastructure arranged for the execution of these prescribed fires serves as field laboratory to carry out the maximum of investigations applied, contemplating the different scientific interests: vegetation, fauna, soil, climatology, load of fuel, behaviour of the fire, etc.
The objective of the GRAM within this woodland management to assess which is the effect that these prescribed fires have on the soil.
Hidrology
The GRAM works since 1980 in the study of the natural and anthropic variables, that takes place in river processes. The discharges are studied and their temporary and spatial variability, the sediment transport in solution, suspension and as bed load, and the morphology of the channel in relation to the transport. We analyze the causes, risk and prevention of floods, their effects in the erosion of the margins and beds of the rivers, and the dynamics of the transportation and the sedimentation downstream. The analysis of the relations between haste and overflow during a 35 years period (1960) they have shown an increase of the coefficient of river overflow of to a 50% in the basins that have been submitted to waterproofing, due to the increase of the surfaces urbanized and of the network of highways, which explains the increment of the floods in urban areas.
Hydrology picture gallery: meteorological station and the two gauging stations in Mas Bassets (Les Gavarres).
Gauging station of “Campàs” and “Bosc”, Mas Bassets (Les Gavarres, Girona)
The river studies cannot leave sideways a problematic one as important as the contamination of the water, so much the superficial of rivers and lakes as the subways of wells and aquifers. The GRAM also works in this topic research, and has been able to verify the importance of the contamination of wells in urban areas, often with concentrations that surpass the limits recommended and permitted by the legislation.
Study of the soil and erosion
The study of the soils and erosion is also a main research topic. It is based on the knowledge of the dynamics of the sides relating to its substrate, morphology, soil type and vegetation covering. It has been found, for example, that after a forest fire the erosion reaches, after the first rain, 35 times more than in a forest. Also the differences in relation to the substrate have been verified, having found the highest values (487 times) in the granite areas. It has been verified that in a forest clarified, though generates an overflow and upper erosion al of the forest, the increment is alone from 4 to 5 times more.
In the case of the agricultural fields, the erosion varies in relation to the types of plant and to the annual cycle of cultivation. The period of major risk is at the end of summer and beginning of autumn when the fields are being prepared for the sowing.
The land use's study as a key factor to understand the erosive dynamics.