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{ES] Los Puntos Estratégicos de Gestión (PEG) son, “localizaciones del territorio en las cuales la modificación del combustible y/o la preparación de infraestructuras permiten al servicio de extinción ejecutar maniobras de ataque seguras para limitar la potencialidad de un Gran Incendio Forestal”. En el monte público de Serra “Alt del Pi y Agregados” se han definido 35 PEG, donde el diseño particular de su gestión ha quedado a expensas del criterio del gestor forestal. En este sentido, el proyecto LIFE RESILIENTE FORESTS ha desarrollado una herramienta de soporte a la decisión para la gestión forestal denominada C.A.F.E. Por un lado, es capaz de cuantificar la provisión de bienes y servicios derivados de dicha gestión (carbono, agua, fuego y ecoresiliencia), y por otro, es capaz de optimizar dicha provisión mediante el diseño óptimo de la gestión forestal (intensidad, localización, tipo de gestión y frecuencia temporal). Como resultado, la herramienta proporciona una lista de posibles soluciones (diseños), entre las que el gestor forestal podrá elegir la que considere más adecuada. Mediante esta herramienta se pretende diseñar y planificar en el tiempo la gestión forestal de los PEGs de Serra atendiendo a la provisión de biomasa, secuestro de Carbono, agua y riesgo de incendio., [EN] The Strategic Spots of management are, “locations on the territory in which the modification of the fuel and/or the preparation of infrastructures allow the extinction service to execute attacking maneuvers safely, reducing the potentiality of great wildfires”. In the Public utility forest of Serra “Alt del Pi y Agregados”, 35 Strategic Spots have been defined, where criteria of management are on the hand of the forest manager. The project LIFE RESILIENT FOREST has developed a Decision Supporting System for forest management named C.A.F.E. This DSS tool is capable of quantify the goods and services derived of said management (carbon, water, fire, and eco-resilience). In addition to this, the DSS tool is also capable of optimize said goods and services by designing the optimal management (intensity, location, kind of management, frequency). Intersecting all the variables mentioned, the C.A.F.E. offers a list of possible solutions, where the forest manager could choose. The intention of this project is to design and plan the Strategic Spots by the optimal way through this tool, attending to the production of biomass, carbon sequestration, water, and wildfire risk reduction.

Climate change increases the occurrence and severity of droughts due to increasing temperatures, altered circulation patterns, and reduced snow occurrence. While Europe has suffered from drought events in the last decade unlike ever seen since the beginning of weather recordings, harmonized long-term datasets across the continent are needed to monitor change and support predictions. Here we present soil moisture data from 66 cosmic-ray neutron sensors (CRNSs) in Europe (COSMOS-Europe for short) covering recent drought events. The CRNS sites are distributed across Europe and cover all major land use types and climate zones in Europe. The raw neutron count data from the CRNS stations were provided by 24 research institutions and processed using state-of-the-art methods. The harmonized processing included correction of the raw neutron counts and a harmonized methodology for the conversion into soil moisture based on available in situ information. In addition, the uncertainty estimate is provided with the dataset, information that is particularly useful for remote sensing and modeling applications. This paper presents the current spatiotemporal coverage of CRNS stations in Europe and describes the protocols for data processing from raw measurements to consistent soil moisture products. The data of the presented COSMOS-Europe network open up a manifold of potential applications for environmental research, such as remote sensing data validation, trend analysis, or model assimilation. The dataset could be of particular importance for the analysis of extreme climatic events at the continental scale. Due its timely relevance in the scope of climate change in the recent years, we demonstrate this potential application with a brief analysis on the spatiotemporal soil moisture variability. The dataset, entitled “Dataset of COSMOS-Europe: A European network of Cosmic-Ray Neutron Soil Moisture Sensors”, is shared via Forschungszentrum Jülich: https://doi.org/10.34731/x9s3-kr48 (B

[ES] Los análisis de prospectiva basados en escenarios se han convertido en los últimos años en una importante herramienta para la planificación y la formulación de políticas públicas en numerosos ámbitos. Estos análisis permiten explorar cuáles pueden ser las implicaciones de diversas combinaciones de factores de cambio y establecer las bases para una respuesta adaptada desde las políticas. En el ámbito forestal, son múltiples e importantes los factores de de cambio que pueden incidir en el futuro de los montes valencianos (efectos del cambio climático, la fortaleza del modelo basado en la bioeconomía o las transformación demográficas y sociales). Se trata además de factores con un elevado grado de incertidumbre. En este marco, el objetivo de este Trabajo Fin de Máster es realizar un ejercicio de prospectiva, a partir de la elaboración de escenarios, dirigido a contribuir a la planificación y formulación de políticas forestales en el ámbito competencial de la País Valencià. El trabajo se realizará a lo largo de las siguientes etapas: (1) recopilación a partir de una revisión bibliográfica de los principales factores de cambio que pueden tener incidencia en los montes valencianos; (2) valoración por parte de un conjunto seleccionado de expertos de estos indicadores a partir de tres criterios: relevancia, grado de incertidumbre y capacidad de influencia desde las políticas autonómicas; (3) análisis de las valoraciones otorgadas y selección de los dos factores en función de los que obtengan una mayor puntuación ponderada, para el diseño de un marco de escenario 2x2, y (4) elaboración de una breve narrativa para cada uno de los cuatro escenarios posibles., [EN] Scenario-based foresight analyses have in recent years become an important tool for planning and policy-making in many areas. These analyses allow the implications of various combinations of drivers of change to be explored and provide the basis for a tailored policy response. In the field of forestry, there are many important factors of change that may affect the future of Valencian forests (the effects of climate change, the strength of the bioeconomy-based model or demographic and social changes). These are also factors with a high degree of uncertainty. Within this framework, the objective of this Master's thesis is to carry out a foresight exercise, based on the development of scenarios, aimed at contributing to the planning and formulation of forestry policies in the area of competence of the País Valencià. The work will be carried out in the following stages: (1) compilation from a bibliographic review of the main factors of change that may have an impact on Valencian forests; (2) assessment by a selected group of experts of these indicators based on three criteria: relevance, degree of uncertainty and capacity of influence from regional policies; (3) analysis of the assessments given and selection of the two factors according to those obtaining the highest weighted score, for the design of a 2x2 scenario framework, and (4) preparation of a brief narrative for each of the four possible scenarios., [CA] Les anàlisis de prospectiva basats en escenaris s'han convertit en els últims anys en una important eina per a la planificació i la formulació de polítiques públiques en nombrosos àmbits. Aquestes anàlisis permeten explorar quins poden ser les implicacions de diverses combinacions de factors de canvi i establir les bases per a una resposta adaptada des de les polítiques. En l'àmbit forestal, són múltiples i significatius els factors socioeconòmics que poden incidir en el futur de les muntanyes valencianes. El present treball recull una anàlisi prospectiva d'escenaris orientat a contribuir a la presa de decisió en l'àmbit de les polítiques forestals del País Valencià. D'aquesta manera, es pretén examinar la interacció entre el sistema terrestre format pels boscos mediterranis en el territori valencià, i els factors socioeconòmics que incideixen en ells. El treball s'ha realitzat al llarg de les següents etapes: (1) recopilació a partir d'una revisió bibliogràfica d'un total de 18 factors de canvi (factors que causen el canvi que afecten o donen forma al futur) que poden tindre incidència en l´ecosistema meditarràni al territorio valencià; (2) valoració d'aquests indicadors per part d'un conjunt seleccionat de 15 experts a partir de tres criteris: rellevància, grau d'incertesa i capacitat d'influència des de les polítiques autonòmiques; (3) tractament estadístic de les dades amb la finalitat d'obtindre una anàlisi de les valoracions atorgades i així seleccionar els dos factors que obtinguen una major puntuació ponderada, per al disseny d'un marc de quatre escenaris. Els resultats obtinguts assenyalen els dos factors més importants sobre la base d'aqueixos criteris: Nivell de despesa pública i Coordinació dels departaments administratius sectorials. A partir d'ells, s'ha procedit a elaborar una breu narrativa per a cadascun dels quatre escenaris possibles. Aquest treball pot servir de precedent per a futures investigacions que agafen el testimoni i continuen amb e

[ES] El proyecto SINCERE (H2020, Spurring INnovations for forest eCosystem sERvices in Europe) tiene como objetivo el desarrollo de políticas novedosas y modelos nuevos de negocio en el ámbito forestal. Uno de sus casos de estudio se localiza en Berriatúa, País Vaco, España, donde a través de metodologías y protocolos de actuación en una cuenca piloto se busca implementar la provisión, valorización y monitorización de los servicios ecosistémicos para crear un nuevo marco legal para la selvicultura en la legislación foral de Vizcaya. Este TFG se enmarca en dicho proyecto y surge de la necesidad de cuantificar el papel de la gestión forestal en la ecohidrología, la provisión de agua y la resiliencia de los montes. El objetivo es incluir el agua como un servicio ecosistémico e identificar qué practicas de gestión forestal en plantaciones de pino radiata tienen un impacto positivo en la provisión de agua en cantidad y calidad. Para ello, primero se realizará una caracterización del estado actual de la cuenca piloto identificando las características intrínsecas y extrínsecas de la zona (aspectos biofísicos y de gestión forestal). Una vez caracterizado, se elegirán las variables ecohidrológicas y ecofisiológicas que se introducirán como inputs en el programa informático BIOME, considerando cada una de las fases del itinerario habitual en las plantaciones de Pinus radiata, obteniendo así una caracterización ecohidrológica del itinerario y un modelo calibrado y validado. Posteriormente, se establecerán diferentes combinaciones de frecuencia/ intensidad de las prácticas forestales (cambios en el itinerario) que serán introducidas en el modelo de BIOME, dando lugar a diferentes resultados que serán analizados para identificar aquellas combinaciones que favorecen dicha provisión de agua. Finalmente, con este análisis de datos se podrán proponer mejoras que consigan dicho objetivo marcado. BIBLIOGRAFÍA SINCERE. Desarrollo de un nuevo marco legal para la selvicultura encaminada, [EN] Land-use change, rural depopulation, and the aging of the forest masses is forcing the forestry sector to refocus the silviculture dedicated to obtaining goods (mainly wood), towards a multifunctional forestry that generates ecosystem services (ES) and that is rewarded through Payments for Environmental Services (PES). The SINCERE project (H2020, Spurring INnovations for forest eCosystem services in Europe) aims to develop novel policies and new business models in the forestry field. One of its case studies is located in Berriatua, Basque Country, Spain, where through methodologies and protocols of action in a pilot basin, it seeks to implement the provision, valuation, and monitoring of ES and thus create a new legal framework for forestry in the provincial legislation of Vizcaya. This paper is part of the SINCERE project and arises from the need to quantify the role of forest management in ecohydrology, water provision, and forest resilience, through the process-based model BIOME-BGC_MuSo, and propose an alternative to the current forest management in the Pinus radiata plantations of Berriatua, that increases the ES offered by the water, and, therefore, the benefits obtained by PES.

[EN] Poor reforestation outcomes imply unfulfillment of program goals and might erode institutional willpower and political momentum towards reforestation efforts, affecting both public and private support. However, program improvement in real reforestation projects is challenging due to the conjunction of many different variables of distinct nature that mutually interact and feedback in an inextricable fashion. In this work, we deploy a comprehensive integral assessment of reforestation program based in a study case where technical and environmental information is gathered and related to indicators of performance both in the short and mid-term. This assessment aims to provide reliable end-results for survival and growth, unveils pitfalls on successful plantation establishment and allows for learning processes on how to improve plantation performance and the potential margin for this improvement. The selected project was carried out on harsh site conditions, with different species, cultural treatments and contractors, and was affected by the driest year on record, encompassing enough technical and ecological complexity that makes it suitable for the purpose of this study. Mortality, either in the short (53%) or in the mid-term (83%), was high, but very variable according to site and species. Anthropogenic variables (project planning and execution) gathered high relative importance on plantation performance in the first two years (11-29%) that decreased with time, whilst environmental variables (site and meteorological) showed increased importance ten years after planting (>50%). In the short-term, soil moisture and meteorology during planting season have been identified as key factors that trigger the effects of both technical decisions (planting date and planting technique) and other environmental variables on performance. In the design phase, some decisions related to zoning, species selection and cultural treatments application have been related to poor performan

Adaptive forest management (AFM) is an urgent need because of the uncertainty regarding how changes in the climate will affect the structure, composition and function of forests during the next decades. Current research initiatives for the long-term monitoring of impacts of silviculture are scattered and not integrated into research networks, with the consequent losses of opportunities and capacity for action. To increase the scientific and practical impacts of these experiences, it is necessary to establish logical frameworks that harmonize the information and help us to define the most appropriate treatments. In this context, a number of research groups in Spain have produced research achievements and know-how during the last decades that can allow for the improvement in AFM. These groups address the issue of AFM from different fields, such as ecophysiology, ecohydrology and forest ecology, thus resulting in valuable but dispersed expertise. The main objective of this work is to introduce a comprehensive strategy aimed to study the implementation of AFM in Spain. As a first step, a network of 34 experimental sites managed by 14 different research groups is proposed and justified. As a second step, the most important AFM impacts on Mediterranean pines, as one of the most extended natural and planted forest types in Spain, are presented. Finally, open questions dealing with key aspects when attempting to implement an AFM framework are discussed. This study is expected to contribute to better outlining the procedures and steps needed to implement regional frameworks for AFM.

[EN] Water scarcity in semi-arid regions is expected to increase under climate change, which will significantly affect forest ecosystems by increasing fire risk, diminishing productivity and water provisioning. Eco-hydrological forest management is conceived here as an adequate strategy to buffer climate change effects and increase forest resilience. Under this context, soil moisture is a key variable to quantify the impacts of eco-hydrological forest management on forest-water relations. Cosmic-ray neutron and capacitance probes are two different techniques for measuring soil moisture, which differ greatly in the spatial scale of the measurement support (i.e., few centimeters vs. several hectares). This study compares the capability of both methodologies in assessing soil water dynamics as a key variable that reflects the effects of forest management in a semi-arid environment. To this end, two experimental plots were established in Sierra Calderona in the province of Valencia in Spain in a post-fire regeneration Aleppo pine forest with high tree density. One plot was thinned (T) and the other remained as control (C). Nine capacitance probes and one Cosmic Ray Neutron Probe (CRNP) were installed in each plot. First, the CRNP was calibrated and validated, and subsequently, the performance of both techniques was analyzed by comparing soil moisture and its relationship with environmental variables and stand transpiration. The validation results confirmed the general reliability of CRNP to obtain soil moisture under semi-arid conditions, with a Kling-Gupta efficiency coefficient (KGE) between 0.75 and 0.84, although this performance decreased significantly when dealing with extreme soil moisture (KGE: -0.06-0.02). A significant effect of forest biomass and litter layer was also observed on CRNP-derived soil moisture, which produced an overestimation of soil moisture. The performance of both methodologies was analyzed by partial correlations between soil moisture and en

[EN] Having regard to the substantial world-scale forest restoration needs, the efforts must be done efficiently, which necessarily forces to consider the adaptation of new forests to the extremes arising from climate change. In this context, species selection strategies should enhance long-term functional resilience in the face of novel environmental scenarios. The use of plant functional traits for selecting species under climate change might be advantageous over more traditional taxon-based criteria as an adaptive forestry management strategy. In this work, we studied which functional traits (across species) have played a relevant role on field performance and fitness in a mull-species reforestation trial in a Mediterranean dryland affected by an extreme drought event. Different traits both from the individual plant and from the species were studied in seven species both at the short and the mid-term (10 years). The relative importance (RI) or contribution of the different traits to plantation performance was assessed through boosted regression tree models. The results showed that, under favorable climatic conditions, mean survival was above 70% and individual plant functional traits held up to 60% of importance on such value. The impact of species functional traits was low in this case (less than 18%) pointing out that all the species were performing within their niche at this point. However, after the driest year on record, the role of the latter on survival rose up to 53% of RI and survival sharply decreased to 33%, with some species showing negligible survival rate (< 10%). The dynamic response of stomata and xylem resistance to cavitation, together with roofing depth, were the main traits (species traits) identified in successful performance facing the extreme environmental factors. Thus, trait-oriented approach to select species represent a key tool in the implementation of new and successful forest restoration strategies to design resistant and resilient e

[EN] Soil organic carbon pools have an important role in the maintenance of ecosystems as a source of energy for soil microorganisms. Soil biological and biochemical properties are essential for the decomposition of organic matter. These soil properties can be affected by thinning, which is considered sustainable when the soil properties are maintained or improved. We studied the effects of selective thinning and shrub clearing, performed with an ecohydrological approach, in a marginal Holm oak forest in a semiarid area on soil properties. The effects of thinning (T) were compared with an untreated area (control, C). Fine woody debris was ground into mulch onto the thinned area. Forest floor and mineral soil properties were analyzed between five months and seven years after the thinning. In the forest floor, gravimetric water content (GWc(ff)) and water soluble organic carbon (WSOCff) were analyzed and compared between T and C. In mineral soil, GWC(ms), soil organic carbon (SOC), WSOCms, soil basal respiration (BR), soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and soil enzymes (acid phosphatase (Acid PA) and urease (URE)) were analyzed. In the early stage, the results showed slightly higher SOC and WSOms in T likely due to fine woody debris left on the forest floor. However, seven years after the thinning the effects of the thinning on all the studied variables were negligible. All variables showed high spatial-temporal variability. Our results suggest that selective thinning and shrub clearing in the studied site do not affect negatively soil properties when woody debris is left on the forest floor.

[EN] Mediterranean drylands are often nutrient poor, but parameter requirements of forest ecosystem models are usually high. Therefore, there is a need for developing parsimonious nutrients models. In that sense, this study aims to contribute to a better understanding and modelling of the hydrological and biogeochemical (carbon and nitrogen) cycles and their interactions in semiarid conditions and to test the capability of a new parsimonious model to satisfactorily reproduce them. The proposed model (TETIS-CN) and two additional widely used models were implemented in a Quercus ilex forest, and no noteworthy differences were found. Results suggest that: (1) it is important to include carbon observations in the calibration process and to consider all the existing vegetation species in the simulation; (2) a fixed daily potential uptake may not be appropriate to reproduce plant nitrogen uptake; and (3) TETIS-CN, with a lower number of parameters, proved an acceptable tool.

[ES] Los bosques mediterráneos de zonas semiáridas son considerados entornos con escasez hídrica y de baja productividad, como consecuencia, generalmente estos bosques terminan sin manejo forestal y abandonados, con el consiguiente aumento de riesgo de incendio forestal y con la disminución del rendimiento del agua. En este sentido, se propone la selvicultura adaptativa como un recurso útil para mejorar, tanto la resiliencia de las estructuras forestales frente al inminente cambio climático, como para optimizar el ciclo hidrológico. Existen numerosos estudios a nivel de parcela y de árbol individual en los que se demuestra la utilidad de la selvicultura adaptativa, pero pocos a nivel de cuenca, siendo estos de especial importancia para evaluar el efecto neto producido en ciclo hidrológico. De modo que, en este trabajo se plantea y estudiar la viabilidad del uso de la teledetección e información satelital como una herramienta eficaz para la gestión forestal adaptativa a escala de cuenca., [EN] The Mediterranean forests of semi-arid zones are considered environments with water scarcity and low productivity, as a consequence, generally, these forests end up without forest management and abandoned, with the consequent increase in the risk of forest fires and with the decrease in water yield. In this sense, adaptive forestry is proposed as a useful resource to improve both the resilience of forest structures in the face of impending climate change and to optimize the hydrological cycle. There are numerous studies at the plot and individual tree level in which the usefulness of adaptive silviculture is demonstrated, but few at the basin level, being of special importance to evaluate the net effect produced in the hydrological cycle. So, in this paper the viability of the use of remote sensing and satellite information as an effective tool for adaptive forest management at the basin scale is considered and studied., [CA] Els boscos mediterranis de zones semiàrides són considerats entorns amb escassetat hídrica i de Baixa productivitat, com a conseqüència generalment, aquests boscos acaben sense maneig forestal i abandonats, amb el consegüent increment de risc d'incendis forestals i amb la disminució del rendiment hídric. En aquest sentit, es proposa la silvicultura adaptativa com un recurs útil per a millorar, tant la resiliència de les estructures forestals enfront de l'imminent canvi climàtic, com per a optimitzar el cicle hidrològic. Hi ha nombrosos estudis a escala de parcel·la, però pocs a nivell de conca, sent aquests d'especial importància per a avaluar l'efecte net produït en el cicle hidrològic. D'aquesta manera, en aquest treball es planteja i estudia la viabilitat de l'ús de la teledetecció i informació satel·litària com una ferramenta eficaç per a la gestió forestal adaptativa a escala de conca.

[ES] Las variables climáticas son fundamentales para el entendimiento científico y la toma de decisiones. Sin embargo, los datos climáticos más utilizados a nivel mundial provienen de distintos modelos climáticos globales, el problema es que estos datos no son totalmente reales. Es por lo anterior que el objetivo principal del estudio es evaluar las predicciones climáticas de modelos globales en Chile. Para esto, se compararan las predicciones de dos grillas climáticas globales de amplio uso en el mundo (WorldClim y Terraclimate) con datos climáticos (in situ) situados a la largo de Chile. Se realizará un análisis estadístico de las predicciones en un gradiente latitudinal de más de 4200 Km, para determinar patrones de sobre o subestimación de las variables precipitación y temperatura media mensual, así como también de buen comportamiento predictivo., [EN] Climatic variables are fundamental for scientific understanding and decision making. However, the climatic data most used worldwide come from different global climate models, the problem is that these data are not totally real. Therefore, the main objective of the study is to evaluate the climate predictions of global models in Chile. For this, the predictions of two global climatic grids of wide use in the world (WorldClim and Terraclimate) with climate data (in situ) located throughout Chile will be compared. A statistical analysis of the predictions will be made in a latitudinal gradient of more than 4200 km, to determine patterns of over or underestimation of the variables precipitation and monthly average temperature, as well as good predictive behavior.

[EN] Water is the key element that modulates the provision of goods and services together with global/climate stressors affecting semiarid forests. In this sense, there is a need to improve the understanding and quantification of forest and water relationships as affected by forest management. This work addresses this issue by comparing net rainfall (Pn) redistribution into different belowground hydrological processes (BHP) in two forest types after a thinning treatment: a holm oak coppice (HU) and a post-fire Aleppo pine regeneration (CAL). The relative contribution (RI) of forest structure, antecedent soil moisture (¿st), rainfall and meteorological conditions on the BHP was assessed through boosted regression trees models. In both sites, the RI of the forest structure itself was limited (< 10%). However, ¿st, which clearly increased significantly with thinning, received an average RI of 29%. Surface and subsurface lateral flows showed values<1% of gross rainfall (Pg) in either site and were not significantly affected by thinning. On the other hand, soil moisture and drainage were affected by the thinning treatment, although with different extent depending on the site: in the drier site (CAL), the increased Pn in the thinning was mainly allocated into increased soil water content, with very limited improvement in drainage (< 10 mm/year); in contrast, in the wetter continental site of HU, drainage to deeper soil layers was the most remarkable effect of thinning (50 mm/year higher than in control), given the higher ¿st and hence the lower soil water storage available. Thinning also improved the response of BHP during drought, making these processes more elastic and less vulnerable to climatic extremes. The results presented here complement those previously reported on rainfall partitioning in these sites and all together provide a comprehensive understanding of the short-term effect (3¿4 years) of water-oriented silviculture in Quercus ilex and Pinus halepensis low

[EN] Trees in semiarid conditions survive despite water scarcity and shallow soils because they commonly have access to subsoil water resources. Currently, conventional models do not include groundwater transpiration and the results frequently underestimate the actual evapotranspiration and overestimate the net recharge. Therefore, in this work we focus on how a multi-variable calibration with a multi-objective approach may improve model robustness leading to a more realistic closure of the water balance in two models (LEACHM and TETIS) of different conceptualisation taking into account the specific characteristics of a facultative phreatophytic forest. The results suggest that the common single-variable and single-objective calibration is not able to measure all system¿s characteristics. However, the multi-variable and multi-objective calibration proved a good option to reproduce the water dynamics of a facultative phreatophytic forest and confirmed that groundwater transpiration is an important water source for them. Therefore, hydrological models should include this mechanism and both LEACHM and TETIS proved an acceptable tool to be applied in the regions covered by this species.

In this work a Bayesian network (RB) was built with the aim to relate those effects that the hydrological silviculture produced in an experimental plot in comparison with other one without any intervention. Water, Carbon and Nitrogen cycles as well as the forest fire risk using a soil moisture deficit index were included in the analysis. Experimental measurements were employed in the calibration and validation of a mechanistic model with the aim to study other 96 different scenarios of 50 year long and then to build the RB. According to the results, hydrology oriented forest management was very positive because of more water and nutrients were made available for the stand. This water comes from a reduction of the interception, allowing a higher evapotranspiration and a slightly higher deep percolation. Run off was undisturbed. Soil organic carbon content, soil respiration, LAI and gross primary production were increased too in the treated plot; however, the forest fire risk was reduced. Nitrogen leaching was no detected., En este trabajo se desarrolló una red bayesiana (RB) para relacionar todos los efectos que la gestión forestal de base hidrológica introdujo en una parcela experimental tratada en comparación con un testigo sin tratar. Se analizaron los ciclos del agua, del nitrógeno y del carbono así como el riesgo de incendio a través de un indicador de déficit de humedad del suelo. Los datos medidos en las parcelas se emplearon para calibrar y validar un modelo mecanicista basado en procesos. Con el modelo calibrado y validado se simularon 96 escenarios distintos de 50 años de duración con cuyos resultados se construyó la RB. Los resultados indican que la gestión forestal hidrológica es muy positiva pues más agua y nutrientes fueron puestos a disposición de la masa. El agua procede de una menor intercepción, permitiendo un aumento de la evapotranspiración, un ligero aumento de la percolación profunda, sin efecto apreciable sobre la escorrentía superficial. Se incrementan también el contenido en carbono orgánico del suelo así como la respiración. El incremento en la disponibilidad de agua y nutrientes se traduce en un mayor LAI y productividad primaria así como un descenso del riesgo de incendio. No se detectaron pérdidas de nitrógeno en forma de lixiviados.

[EN] Hydrology-oriented forest management sets water as key factor of the forest management for adaptation due to water is the most limiting factor in the Mediterranean forest ecosystems. The aim of this study was to apply Bayesian Network modeling to assess potential indirect effects and trade-offs when hydrology-oriented forest management is applied to a real Mediterranean forest ecosystem. Water, carbon and nitrogen cycles, and forest fire risk were included in the modeling framework. Field data from experimental plots were employed to calibrate and validate the mechanistic Biome-BGCMuSo model that simulates the storage and flux of water, carbon, and nitrogen between the ecosystem and the atmosphere. Many other 50-year long scenarios with different conditions to the ones measured in the field experiment were simulated and the outcomes employed to build the Bayesian Network in a linked chain of models. Hydrology-oriented forest management was very positive insofar as more water was made available to the stand because of an interception reduction. This resource was made available to the stand, which increased the evapotranspiration and its components, the soil water content and a slightly increase of deep percolation. Conversely, Stemflow was drastically reduced. No effect was observed on Runof due to the thinning treatment. The soil organic carbon content was also increased which in turn caused a greater respiration. The long-term effect of the thinning treatment on the LAI was very positive. This was undoubtedly due to the increased vigor generated by the greater availability of water and nutrients for the stand and the reduction of competence between trees. This greater activity resulted in an increase in GPP and vegetation carbon, and therefore, we would expect a higher carbon sequestration. It is worth emphasizing that this extra amount of water and nutrients was taken up by the stand and did not entail any loss of nutrients.

Forests provide many environmental services, especially those related to the water cycle. In semiarid areas where water is a limiting factor for ecosystem functioning, forested areas can have a strong impact on ground water recharge. In these areas, proper knowledge of forests’ water balance is necessary to promote management practices that may ensure ecosystem properties and environmental services like water or carbon fixation. In this article, we review several ecohydrology topics within the framework of Mediterranean water-limited environments in two representative ecosystems: Kermes oak (Quercus ilex L.) and Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) forests. Both are the commonest species in countries that surround the Western Mediterranean Basin. We analysed the Blue and Green water components, i.e., green water is the water demand of forests, represented by evapotranspiration and interception; while blue water is the part of the balance involving runoff and deep percolation, which can be regarded as water directly usable by society. In general, different studies conducted in Mediterranean areas have pointed out that the water balances of Q. ilex and P. halepensis forests have low values for the Blue to Green water (B/G) ratios. Adaptive forest management like forest thinning can compensate for these ratios. Thinning has demonstrated to reduce losses by interception, but at same time, it can also increase individual tree transpiration and evaporation rates. However, these practices lead to higher B/G ratios when considering the whole stand. In future global change scenarios, in which drought conditions are expected to intensify, management practices can improve the water balance in these ecosystems by minimizing the risk of plant mortality and species replacement due to intense competence by water resources.

[EN] In Mediterranean ecosystems, special attention needs to be paid to forest¿water relationships due to water scarcity. In this context, Adaptive Forest Management (AFM) has the objective to establish how forest resources have to be managed with regards to the efficient use of water, which needs maintaining healthy soil properties even after disturbance. The main objective of this investigation was to understand the effect of one of the AFM methods, namely forest thinning, on soil hydraulic properties. At this aim, soil hydraulic characterization was performed on two contiguous Mediterranean oak forest plots, one of them thinned to reduce the forest density from 861 to 414 tree per ha. Three years after the intervention, thinning had not affected soil water permeability of the studied plots. Both ponding and tension infiltration runs yielded not significantly different saturated, Ks, and unsaturated, K¿20, hydraulic conductivity values at the thinned and control plots. Therefore, thinning had no an adverse effect on vertical water fluxes at the soil surface. Mean Ks values estimated with the ponded ring infiltrometer were two orders of magnitude higher than K¿20 values estimated with the minidisk infiltrometer, revealing probably soil structure with macropores and fractures . The input of hydrophobic organic matter, as a consequence of the addition of plant residues after the thinning treatment, resulted in slight differences in terms of both water drop penetration time, WDPT, and the index of water repellency, R, between thinned and control plots. Soil water repellency only affected unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity measurements. Moreover, K¿20 values showed a negative correlation with both WDPT and R, whereas Ks values did not, revealing that the soil hydrophobic behavior has no impact on saturated hydraulic conductivity.

In Mediterranean ecosystems, special attention needs to be paid to forest-water relationships due to water scarcity. In this context, Adaptive Forest Management (AFM) has the objective to establish how forest resources have to be managed with regards to the efficient use of water, which needs maintaining healthy soil properties even after disturbance. The main objective of this investigation was to understand the effect of one of the AFM methods, namely forest thinning, on soil hydraulic properties. At this aim, soil hydraulic characterization was performed on two contiguous Mediterranean oak forest plots, one of them thinned to reduce the forest density from 861 to 414 tree per ha. Three years after the intervention, thinning had not affected soil water permeability of the studied plots. Both ponding and tension infiltration runs yielded not significantly different saturated, Ks, and unsaturated, K-20, hydraulic conductivity values at the thinned and control plots. Therefore, thinning had no an adverse effect on vertical water fluxes at the soil surface. Mean Ks values estimated with the ponded ring infiltrometer were two orders of magnitude higher than K-20 values estimated with the minidisk infiltrometer, revealing probably soil structure with macropores and fractures. The input of hydrophobic organic matter, as a consequence of the addition of plant residues after the thinning treatment, resulted in slight differences in terms of both water drop penetration time, WDPT, and the index of water repellency, R, between thinned and control plots. Soil water repellency only affected unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity measurements. Moreover, K-20 values showed a negative correlation with both WDPT and R, whereas Ks values did not, revealing that the soil hydrophobic behavior has no impact on saturated hydraulic conductivity.

This paper analyzes the Girona River (Spain) flash flood, occurred on the 12th of October 2007, combining hydrological and hydraulic modeling with geomorphologic mapping and post-flood survey information. This research aims to reproduce the flood event in order to understand and decipher the flood processes and dynamics on a system of prograding alluvial fans. The hydrological model TETIS was used to characterize the shape and dimension of the October 2007 Girona River hydrograph. Subsequently, the flood event was reproduced using the free surface flow module of the model RiverFlow2D. The combination of hydrological and hydraulic models was evaluated using post-flood surveys defining maximum flooded area and flood depths. Then, simulations with different peak discharges were carried out to estimate the hydro-geomorphologic response of the Girona River floodplain, through the identification of the activation thresholds in different geomorphic elements. Results showed that the unit peak discharge of the October 2007 flood event (5 m3 s−1 km−2) was among the largest ever recorded in the area, according to the existing literature. Likewise, the hydraulic model showed a good performance in reproducing the flood event (FitA = 76%, RMSE = 0.65 m and NSE = 0.6), despite the complexity of the case, an ephemeral and ungauged river. The model simulation revealed the existence of an activation pattern of paleochannels and alluvial fans, which was altered by the presence of some anthropogenic disturbances. This multidisciplinary approach proved to be a useful strategy for understanding flash flood processes in ungauged catchments. It allowed understanding the mechanisms governing floods in alluvial fans systems and it represented a solid contribution for early warning plans and risk mitigation policies.

[EN] Estimating forest transpiration is of great importance for Adaptive Forest Management (AFM) in the scope of climate change prediction. AFM in the Mediterranean region usually generates a mosaic of different canopy covers within the same forest. Several models and methods are available to estimate forest transpiration, but most require a homogeneous forest cover, or an individual calibration/validation process for each cover stand. Hence, a model capable of reproducing accurately the transpiration of the whole canopy-cover mosaic is necessary. In this paper, the use of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is proposed as a flexible tool for estimating forest transpiration using the forest cover as an input variable. To that end, sap flow, soil water content and other environmental variables were experimentally collected under five Aleppo pine stands of different canopy covers for two years. These sets of inputs were then used for the ANN training. Stand transpiration was accurately estimated using climate data, soil water content and forest cover through the ANN approach (correlation coefficient R = 0.95; Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient E = 0.90; root-meansquare error RMSE = 0.078 mm day(-1)). Finally, the input value for soil water content (when not available) was computed using the process-based model Gotilwa+. Then, this computed soil water content was used as input in the proposed ANN. This combination predicted the forest transpiration with values of R = 0.90, E = 0.63, and RMSE = 0.068 mm day(-1). Artificial Neural Network proved to be a useful and flexible tool to predict the transpiration dynamics of an Aleppo pine stand regardless of the heterogeneity of the forest cover produced by adaptive forest management.

[EN] Vegetation plays a key role in catchment's water balance, particularly in semi-arid regions that are generally water-controlled ecosystems. Nowadays, many of the available dynamic vegetation models are quite complex and they have high parametrical requirements. However, in operational applications the available information is quite limited. Therefore parsimonious models together with available satellite information can be valuable tools to predict vegetation dynamics. In this work, we focus on a parsimonious model aimed to simulate vegetation and hydrological dynamics, using both field measurements and satellite information to implement it. The results suggest that the model is able to adequately reproduce the dynamics of vegetation as well as the soil moisture variations. In other words, it has been shown that a parsimonious model with simple equations can achieve good results in general terms and it is possible to assimilate satellite and field observations for the model implementation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[EN] Diminishing rainfall interception in semiarid forests may offset reductions of available water either for ecosystem or human needs under the climate change predictions. Forest managers should be aware of this issue and develop specific hydrology-oriented silvicultural treatments. In this sense, relating forest-water processes to detailed forest structure information, as provided by light detection and ranging (LiDAR), is essential. In this study, low-density LiDAR data are used to characterize forest structure and throughfall water. First, LiDAR was validated as an estimator of the forest structure variables (canopy cover, canopy height, and leaf area index) in a semiarid forest, with acceptable root mean square errors (6.2% cover, 0.4m(2)m(-2) LAI and 0.7m height). Secondly, the LiDAR-derived variables were related to the measured throughfall by means of simple and multiple regression models. The best model included canopy cover and stand height, and improved upon previous results based on field measures from r(2) = 0.76-0.95. Finally, the model was used to estimate the throughfall in the whole sub-catchment, where very low or low throughfall (<74%) was identified in 47.5% of the area. Low-density LiDAR was proved to be useful in guiding hydrology-oriented silviculture to increase the amount of throughfall water.

Adaptive forest management (AFM) aims to adapt a forest to water availability by means of an artificial regulation of the forest structure and density. Areas vulnerable to water scarcity situations, such as the Mediterranean region, might require AFM to optimize the hydrological cycle under normal and future global change conditions. This study uses the process based model (PBM) BIOME-BGC to predict the effects of AFM in an unmanaged semi-arid Mediterranean Aleppo pine plantation. At the same time, it seeking to increase the spatially explicit information to initialize the model runs. To this end, the model has been slightly modified, and canopy average specific leaf area and canopy water interception coefficient have both been introduced as functions of canopy coverage, which was obtained using airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) technology. The model was then calibrated and evaluated using sap flow, soil moisture and throughfall field data obtained during one year from three forest coverages (85, 73 and 26%, respectively). Calibration and evaluation of the model show acceptable accuracy, with the Nash Sutcliffe coefficient ranging between 0.39 and 0.76 for calibration and 0.35 and 0.75 for evaluation. The model was then applied to analyze and predict the need for forest management in a Mediterranean public forest indicated a possible optimization of the hydrological cycle to establish a new equilibrium between blue and green water. This new scenario reduced water interception and plant transpiration (green water), and increased water runoff and/or percolation (blue water).