Portugal fears severe erosion in areas of burned out forest.

[NNadir]

While we're all staring at the hurricanes, another consequence of global climate change has been the destruction of forests, which is accelerating rapidly through drought, fire, and changes in the range of forest parasites previously killed off via frosts.

Forgotten now, is this summer's ravages in Europe, notably in Portugal, which lost, prehaps permanently, an area of forest comparable to the size of Luxembourg.

Fire-ravaged Portugal faces erosion


An area the size of Luxembourg has been lost
The forest fires which have devastated large parts of Portugal could be followed by massive soil erosion, environmental campaigners say.
Portugal was worst-hit by the forest fires which swept across Europe after weeks of drought and heat.

Forestry officials estimated earlier in August that an area almost the size of Luxembourg had already been lost to the flames - around 215,000 hectares (531,000 acres).

The fires are now out, but Portugal's largest green campaign group says much of the damage is yet to come.

"During the first rainfalls in the fall there will be a huge quantity of soil which will be dragged as sediment into bodies of water," said Francisco Ferreira, the vice-president of Quercus quoted by AFP news agency.

More than 12.5 million metric tons of topsoil will be eroded in the next year, the group says.

Agriculture could be badly affected, and water supplies put at risk of pollution.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3164843.stm

[NNadir]

1. I

[NNadir]

2. think

[NNadir]

3. I'll bump my thread

[NNadir]

4. with 5 of my own comments.

[NNadir]

5. It will make them more serious.

And convincing.

:evilgrin: