Después de casi 5 años de despropósitos [1-5], ya se ha puesto fin a esa idea absurda de querer plantar cipreses para frenar los incendios forestales en Valencia. Los miles de plantones de ciprés que estaban preparados para tal finalidad se han regalado a diferentes ayuntamientos con la condición de no plantarlos en el medio natural (Levante, 21 Feb 2017). Quizá decir que este cambio ha sido posible gracias al nuevo marco político de la Diputación de Valencia.
Para compensar estos despropósitos, aquí un pequeño homenaje a estos árboles (clicar para ampliar): Cipreses en el Coliseo de Roma, en la Torre de Pisa, en la Mezquita de Córdoba (campanario), y en el teatro de Mérida (fotos: JG Pausas).
Referencias
[1] De incendios y cipreses (1), jgpausas.blogs.uv.es 29/9/2012
[2] De incendios y cipreses (2), jgpausas.blogs.uv.es 7/10/2012
[3] De incendios y cipreses (3), jgpausas.blogs.uv.es 22/6/2013
[4] De incendios y cipreses (4), jgpausas.blogs.uv.es 31/8/2015
[5] De incendios y cipreses (5), jgpausas.blogs.uv.es 11/10/2016
In the cover of the March issue of the Journal of Ecology (105:2) there is a picture of Palicourea rigida (Rubiaceae), a plant growing in the Brazilian savannas (cerrado). It is an example of a plant that survives in a very flammable environment (grassy savanna) thanks to a set of traits conferring very low flammability, including a very low specific leave area and a thick corky bark. Grasses generates fast fires of low intensity (fast-flammable strategy), and in this environment, having low flammability is adaptive as it increases survival (non-flammable strategy). That is, different (contrasted) flammability strategies allows coexistence. For the definition of the different flammability strategies see [1].
(photo by J.G. Pausas)
[1] Pausas J.G., Keeley J.E., Schwilk D.W. 2017. Flammability as an ecological and evolutionary driver. Journal of Ecology 105: 289-297. [doi | wiley | pdf | blog | brief]
Some of the scientists attending the recent MEDECOS (International Conference on Mediterranean Ecosystems, Sevilla, February 2017 [1]) wrote a declaration on the recent wildfires that affected very large areas of Chile [2]. The declaration is composed of 10 statements (a decalogue) and is available here:
English version | Spanish version
Central Chile, MODIS image of January 25, 2017 (by NASA).
References:
[1] MEDECOS XIV
[2] Incendios en Chile 2017
