The landscape process1905 2012
1905
100 years ago. Crops with ploughless agriculture. The forest was exploited to make charcoal. More water on streams with fishes. Very high biodiversity due to the agricultural/forest interface. Key species were abundant.
Land-use abandonment drives to a biodiversity loss. Flora and fauna linked to open habitats gone nearly extint. Pinus halepensis, once the main structural component of the forest, is now in decadence. Great risk of forest fire forces constant efforts on forest fuel extraction in order to reduce fire risk.
2011
Now Greenfab Lab is changing the
landscape structure in order to
Get open spaces with grass cover (crops
and grazing)
Plant different crops (different intensities of
management)
Make energy from the forest
biomass
Shift the water cycle balance to the blue
water system (runoff and well water)
And so a monitoring program is needed in order to get an
adaptive management estrategy
Optimize rainwater harvesting and water management without
affectin the drainage ecosystem
Optimitze traditional and experimental crop estrategies
Optimize the positive impact on landscape and biodiversity
That will lead to
Physical and Biological processes to be controlled
Blue water-green water balance
Soil erosion control and fertility
enhacement
Forest structure
Open habitat flora and fauna recovery
QV monitoring program
The cleared areas and also the untouched ones can have changes in their 3D structure. So we need fixed datums and points of view in order to have visual and temporal references. IR photography and fish/eye photography ban be of great help.
Placing pluviometers on different places can help to measure the rate of rain interception of the forest canopy. Relative humidity and temperature are basic data. The difference of leaf and air temperature is a good indicator of water stress during summertime. Trunk diameter changes on broadleaved trees is a good indicator of the water availability and water stress.
Notch weirs are used to measure water discharge on streams and channels. An adaptation of the system can be used for the existing subterranean water mines. Runoff plots are needed to know which level of rain intensity overcomes infiltration and promotes superficial runoff. This is reqalted to slope and class of cover. Forest clearances should make easier to get water runoff for lower precipitation. A shift to blue water.
Erosion pins are simple and precise devices for measuring erosion. We only need to place the pin at a GPS positioned place and measure the distance to soil surface with a precision calliper.
There is also an urgent need to provide efficient homes for desired fauna.As rabbits went extinct time ago, we need to make safe places for their colonies with palets.
We should also place safe nestboxes for different species of owls. Specially for barn owl (Tyto alba), little owl (Athene noctua), and scops owl (Otus scops). The existing and frequent tawny owl (Strix aluco) is also welcomed.