The University of Huelva, with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation, launched the project “Old forests in the face of climate change: vulnerability, adaptive capacity and implications in forest management”.

Due to the increasing pressure on forests due to climate change and the increased demand for resources by the world’s growing population, understanding the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of forest heritage is critical for its conservation and management. The ecosystem study of old-growth forests and their long-term ecological dynamics can provide knowledge about their vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate change. Thus, within the framework of the project, 120 total chronologies of Pinus nigra have been obtained in three study areas (60 old and 60 young) and three historical series of climate records. In addition, an indicator of forest aging has been defined and contrasted, models have been developed to analyze the trends in forest growth of old and young trees and their behavior in the face of extreme weather events. This has made it possible to verify that young trees are more sensitive to extreme droughts than old ones, and that old trees in more arid areas are less resistant and recover more slowly from the effect of intense drought than trees in wetter areas. A photographic exhibition has been created at the University of Huelva, where it received more than a hundred visits. The Seminar at the UHU was attended by about 50 attendees from different geographical origins, including professionals, Public Administration officials, companies, interested citizens, students, etc.

In addition, the project and the exhibition were commented on in the magazine Montes; and a space was dedicated to him in the programs “Tierra y Mar” and “Espacio Protegido” of Canal Sur.