Fuente: Vicerrectorado de Investigación de la US.

Varios estudios llevados a cabo por el grupo de investigación MED_Soil, del Departamento de Cristalografía, Mineralogía y Química Agrícola de la Universidad de Sevilla, ponen de manifiesto que la retirada de la madera quemada tras un incendio forestal puede ser perjudicial para la recuperación de la zona afectada, ya que la utilización de maquinaria pesada y el arrastre producen un impacto negativo en un momento en que el suelo se halla en un estado especialmente frágil.

Soil as a resourceA long history of land useEver since man learned to cultivate, soil has been considered as a source of food for humanity. Agriculture was born during the Neolithic period, when the economy of human societies evolved from gathering, hunting and fishing to farming and ranching. The first known crops were wheat and barley. Cultivation of cereals and legumes favored the development of the population during the Neolithic, and the development of agricultural techniques such as the use of domesticated animals, irrigation, or intensive farming encouraged the development of civilizations in the Fertile Crescent, Egypt, India, China or America. In the West, improved cultivation techniques favored the development and expansion of agriculture during Roman times and the Middle Ages, further improving the living conditions of farmers. Especially since the discovery of America (AKA collision against Europe), globalization of agricultural products initiated.


Continue reading at G-Soil.

Are wildfires a natural ecological factor or an environmental problem?

According to official statistics, during the 1990’s, about 1.5 millions ha were burned in Spain. In the first decade of this century, the burned area in Spain also surpassed one million hectares. To put it in conventional TV surface units, the burned area in the past 20 years equals the provinces of Cáceres and Badajoz, or 274,000 soccer fields. The effects caused by the fire on the soil have been studied over the past 20 years by research groups who have made a significant contribution to the advancement and improvement of scientific knowledge.


Continue reading at G-Soil.