Raúl Vicente lleva veinte años trabajando como bombero forestal. La mayor parte de este tiempo ha dirigido una brigada en la base helitransportada de la BRIF de Daroca, en Aragón. Desde allí, los bomberos forestales son movilizados para participar en la extincion de los incendios mas devastadores que se producen en cualquier parte de la geografia española. En estas paginas, Raul Vicente nos hace un hueco en el helicoptero junto a el y sus compañeros para hacernos participes de sus experiencias y permitirnos conocer de cerca una profesion tan gratificante como dura. Hermano fuego comienza siendo un viaje a la extincion de incendios forestales, pero termina siendo mucho mas: todo un recorrido vital por las emociones que se esconden en el corazon de las llamas.

Forestry in Ireland has never been so contentious. Over the last century the area of Irish woodland has increased tenfold, mostly through the planting of imported conifer species; government policy is to plant more trees to supply industry and to tackle climate change, both urgent priorities. But there has been a backlash from farmers, local communities, environmentalists and EU regulators. The rate of planting has plummeted. And up to one-third of new plantations in Ireland are failed forests that should never have been planted in the first place. How did we end up in this peculiar situation?Island of Woods traces the history of Irish forests over the last 10,000 years. It explains why Ireland lost so much of its forest cover, before a burst of tree-planting over the last few decades. It examines the state of Irish forestry today and sketches a way forward for our woods that balances commercial, environmental and social goals a vision of a different type of forestry that could transform the Irish landscape and re-establish a genuine tree culture in the country.This engaging examination of Irish woodlands relates historical events to present-day concerns and controversies, drawing out crucial themes that continue to shape the Irish landscape.

Making Charcoal and Biochar is written with the interested amateur in mind, with the certainty that anyone who has a go at making charcoal will soon get the bug. Before you know it, you will be upgrading to a shiny new retort and there will be no looking back! This book gives a wide range of possibilities for making charcoal on a small scale and for commercial production. There are chapters on the heritage skills of earth burns, the enduring popularity of metal kilns and the future represented by the charcoal retort. Biochar - or small particle charcoal - has been heralded as an ancient but rediscovered super substance that can increase soil fertility and productivity whilst locking up carbon into the ground. This book looks at the ongoing discussion and weighs up the evidence. It concludes with a celebration of the myriad ways in which charcoal can be put to use. Covering the essentials for starting a business such as legislation and marketing, there are also chapters on why charcoal is in the ascendency from the ubiquitious barbecue to the most recent research into biochar and carbon sequestration. Fully illustrated with 195 colour photographs.

Trees have held an important place in mans way of life since he has been on the earth. Trees provided early man with weapons to defend himself and helped provide him with food, shelter and fuel.Trees have played an important role in the history of the United States. Timber was our nations first export. The forest also provided our forefathers with their homes, farm implements, rifle stocks and wagons. The forest, by furnishing ties and utility poles, made possible the expansion of railroad systems, electric power and telephone networks. Every industry depends upon forest products in one way or another.Trees are more important today than ever before. More than 10,000 products are reportedly made from trees. Through chemistry, the humble woodpile is yielding chemicals, plastics and fabrics that were beyond comprehension when an axe first felled a Texas tree.The American standard of living depends to no small extent on the care with which we use our forest resource. Fortunately, trees are a renewable resource. They can be grown as a crop and harvested in such a way that the stand is kept productive, and a steady supply of forest products is assured...

Este libro ha sido escrito pensando en un público lector con la formación de un estudiante de licenciatura o postgrado en áreas afines tales como biología,ecología y manejo, ingeniería ambiental, etcetera. Tambien esta pensado como un material auxiliar para aquellos profesionales que en su campo de accion esten los proyectos de restauracion y los investigadores que deseen iniciarse en esta desafiante y compleja area de las ciencias naturales, cada vez mas pertinente frente al drama mundial de la degradacion ambiental.

It seems that forests have never been more in the news than they are today. The part played by the tropical forests in sustaining the worlds climate is well understood, but they are in drastic decline. Our own prehistoric forest was mostly destroyed thousands of years ago to make way for farming. Only since the First World War have practical measures been taken to reverse this trend of decline, and a century of tree planting has more than doubled Britains forest cover. Most of the early thinking on tree planting in Britain was about boosting timber production in the aftermath the two World Wars, when submarine blockades froze out imports. But times have changed. Planting today is inspired not just by the need for timber, but by environmental and social initiatives that are working to strengthen the partnership between people and nature. David Foot reveals the story of twentieth-century forest creation, and the Eureka moment in the 1980s that challenged foresters and conservationists to work together on new ideas.