Welsh Journals

WELSH GEOGRAPH/CAL NEWS UNIVERSITY CDLLEGE OF SWANSEA Forest Fire and Erosion in North-Central Portugal Physical geographers (Dr R.A. Shakesby -leader, Dr R.P.D. Walsh, Dr E.M. Bridges, Mr M. Coulson, Dr W.C. Rouse and Professor N. Stephens) at the Department of Geography at Swansea are currently involved in an EEC- sponsored research project into the impact. of forest fire on soil erosion and streamflow solute and sediment. dynamics in parts of the the Agueda river basin in north-central Portugal. The project, which runs for three years from January 1st 1988, is being carried out jointly with staff (under the direction of Professor Celeste Coelho) at the Departamento de Ambiente e Ordanamento, Aveiro University. The project is financed by a f131,000 grant from the EEC Research Programme in the Field of Environmsntal Protection and forms part of the EEC Co-ordinat.ed Research Project. "Erosion Action of FíT-e", which also involves IBEF^AT Madrid, InFtituto per la Chimica del Terreno (Pisa, Italy) and the Universidad de Santiago de Ccmpostela (Spain). It also involves collaboration with the wider project "Soil Erosion in the EBC a Framework for Soil Prot.ection", which is developing a procedure for predicting rates of soil erosion in the EEC countries the Portugal project. will help to provide field data on erosion in forest fire landscapes with which to calibrate and validate such a prediction rrodel. The fundamental aim of the project is to assess the inrnediate and longer- term impact of forest fire on soil erosion, soil guality and stream solute and sediment. dynamics in a Mediterranean climatic environment.. To what extent erosion increases after a fire and how quickly it later declines with revegetation are key questicns. Two contrasting tree species, pine (Pinus pinaster) and eucalyptus (Eucaliptus globulus) are important in the Agueda river basin study area and there are also contrasts in forest management following a forest fire. Additional aims of the project are therefore to assess whether erosional impacts vary between pine and eucalyptus and between different post-fire forest management treatments. The experimental design that has been adopted to help achieve these aims has involved the establishment of numerous slope erosion measurement sites as well as flow/water quality monitoring stations in five catchments in the region. Two research students in the Department (James Terry and Antonio Ferreira) are carrying out. Ph.D. research within the project.. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF WALES, ABERYSTWYTH Gregynog Chair of Hunan Geography Dr John W. Aitchison was appointed to the prestigious Gregynog Chair of Hunan Geography on the lst January 1989. Born in Liverpool in 1942, Professor Aitchison first came to Aberystwyth as an undergraduate in 1960. He continued as a research student under Professor Jim Taylor and was appointed to the staff as a lecturer in 1967. He became Senior Lecturer in