María A. Grande-Ortiz

Edaphic controls on ecosystem‐level carbon allocation in two contrasting Amazon forests

Studies of carbon allocation in forests provide essential information for understanding spatial and temporal differences in carbon cycling that can inform models and predict possible responses to changes in climate. Amazon forests play a particularly significant role in the global carbon balance, but there are still large uncertainties regarding abiotic controls on the rates of net primary production (NPP) and the allocation of photosynthetic products to different ecosystem components. We evaluated three different aspects of stand-level carbon allocation (biomass, NPP, and its partitioning) in two amazon forests on different soils (nutrient-rich clay soils versus nutrient-poor sandy soils) but otherwise growing under similar conditions. We found differences in carbon allocation patterns between these two forests, showing that the forest on clay soil had a higher aboveground and total biomass as well as a higher aboveground NPP than the sandy forest. However, differences between the two forest types in terms of total NPP were smaller, as a consequence of different patterns in the carbon allocation of aboveground and belowground components. The proportional allocation of NPP to new foliage was relatively similar between them. Our results of aboveground biomass increments and fine-root production suggest a possible trade-off between carbon allocation to fine roots versus aboveground compartments, as opposed to the most commonly assumed trade-off between total aboveground and belowground production. Despite these differences among forests in terms of carbon allocation, the leaf area index showed only small differences, suggesting that this index is more indicative of total NPP than its aboveground or belowground components.

Diseño de un cuestionario para evaluar conocimientos básicos de estadística de estudiantes del último curso de ingeniería

The design of a questionnaire to assess knowledge of basic statistics for engineering students is presented. The original questionnaire included a large number of items grouped by subjects. This questionnaire was submitted to a panel of experts, consisting of nine teachers of Applied Statistics from different engineering majors belonging to iberoamerican universities. This group of experts evaluated the questions and provided valuable information to prepare the final questionnaire. The final questionnaire proposed includes 20 questions divided in four subjects: descriptive statistics, sampling, hypothesis test and general linear model. These subjects are similar to other studies found in the literature on evaluation of knowledge of basic statistical concepts.

Análisis de competencias en el Grado de Ingeniería Forestal para su adaptación al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior

In this work generic and specific skills that students of Forest Engineering degrees must obtain in the framework of the European Higher Education Space in Spain are established. Based on the concept of Forest Engineering, Spanish legislation and the recommendations of associations of European and Latin American engineers, ten generic and fourteen specific skills were selected. The results were validated by qualitative research technique of natural group discussion. The materials to develop these skills were grouped into basic, fundamentals of engineering and agroforestry science. The study shows that agroforestry sciences require practical training to acquire specific skills in Forest Engineering.

Cooperative learning in Forestry Engineering with NIPPE Descartes software

This work describes the methodology, procedure, and results obtained from the application of an education co‐operative learning experience with NIPPE Descartes software in a specific task. Students in the second year of a degree course in Forestry Engineering at the Madrid Polytechnic University were invited to take part in a peer‐learning experience. The students were organized in pairs and asked to complete an optional task in one of the modules in the subject of Mechanics. This experience took place between 2006 and 2011. The results were compared with the previous period between 2003 and 2006 in which this task was not required. The students were surveyed to assess their degree of satisfaction and the contribution of the experience to the learning of the subject. This methodology was observed to substantially reduce the percentage of students who do not show up for their evaluation exams, and the percentage of pass and fail marks also reveals significant differences. Additionally, of the students who performed the task, the number who passed in the ordinary examination period increased nearly 30% points compared to those who did not. It is worth noting that 43% of the students participating in the experience rated the activity as a fairly or very positive in terms of contributing to learning the subject.

Applying Multivariate Data Analysis as Objective Method for Calculating the Location Index for Use in Urban Tree Appraisal

The urban canopy is a very valuable element in cities, and its environmental benefits are significant. It is very important for cities to assess adequately their canopy. An important part of its value is related to the tree number density according to the population density. The most commonly used methods for tree appraisal use subjective means to obtain the influence of location. A new methodology is developed in this work to obtain an objective location index. The proposed index gives a value to the tree according to its location in the city. A multiple regression model (function of the canopy density per inhabitant and the urban area percentage) is used to calculate the location index. The index has been calculated for the neighborhoods of the city of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, but can be applied to any city with objective variables, available from any local administration.