Description: The Global Consortium for the Classification of Fungi and fungus-like taxa is an international initiative of more than 550 mycologists to develop an electronic structure for the classification of these organisms. The members of the Consortium originate from 55 countries/regions worldwide, from a wide range of disciplines, and include senior, mid-career and early-career mycologists and plant pathologists. The Consortium will publish a biannual update of the Outline of Fungi and funguslike taxa, to act as an international scheme for other scientists. Notes on all newly published taxa at or above the level of species will be prepared and published online on the Outline of Fungi website (https://www.outlineoffungi.org/), and these will be finally published in the biannual edition of the Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa. Comments on recent important taxonomic opinions on controversial topics will be included in the biannual outline. For example, ‘to promote a more stable taxonomy in Fusarium given the divergences over its generic delimitation’, or ‘are there too many genera in the Boletales?’ and even more importantly, ‘what should be done with the tremendously diverse ‘dark fungal taxa?’ There are undeniable differences in mycologists’ perceptions and opinions regarding species classification as well as the establishment of new species. Given the pluralistic nature of fungal taxonomy and its implications for species concepts and the nature of species, this consortium aims to provide a platform to better refine and stabilise fungal classification, taking into consideration views from different parties. In the future, a confidential voting system will be set up to gauge the opinions of all mycologists in the Consortium on important topics. The results of such surveys will be presented to the International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi (ICTF) and the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (NCF) with opinions and percentages of votes for and against. Criticisms based on scientific evidence with regards to nomenclature, classifications, and taxonomic concepts will be welcomed, and any recommendations on specific taxonomic issues will also be encouraged; however, we will encourage professionally and ethically responsible criticisms of others’ work. This biannual ongoing project will provide an outlet for advances in various topics of fungal classification, nomenclature, and taxonomic concepts and lead to a community-agreed classification scheme for the fungi and fungus-like taxa. Interested parties should contact the lead author if they would like to be involved in future outlines.

Description: The scaling properties of snow depth provide valuable information to understand snow dynamics in Alpine areas. Previous studies have reported detailed observational datasets and insights on the main drivers of snowpack distribution in different regions of the world through variogram analysis, identifying scale break lengths and their anisotropies. The identification of such breaks helps to determine the combination of processes that govern snow dynamics at different spatial scales, providing guidance for the spatial configuration of physically based snow and hydrological models. Nonetheless, most of the domains previously studied are not large enough to identify potential large scale break lengths, as the observations usually relied on Terrestrial Laser Scanners. This study exploits a dataset of more than 20 UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) observations covering more than 300 ha at the Izas Experimental Catchment and the surrounding area (located in Central Spanish Pyrenees) from 2020 to 2023. The extent of this novel observational technique has enabled variogram analysis up to 2000 m, along with the adjustment of other geostatistical models (multisegment log-log linear, speherical, Gaussian and exponential). The results obtained in this study area, show a very high temporal consistency for the first detected scale break lengths and a variety of second scale break lengths. The dominant wind direction and the topographic characteristics observed in this study area might partially explain the snowpack scaling properties. These results are compared with previous snow depth variogram analyses conducted on TLS (Terrestrial Laser Scanner) observations for a smaller area in the same study site.

Description: The 2021 Tajogaite eruption in La Palma, Canary Islands, was accompanied by strong volcanic tremor. In September 2021, during the first two weeks of eruption, we deployed two small-aperture seismic arrays. We chose two locations around Montaña Caldero and Llano del Jable, located about 4 km SE and 2 km NE of the eruption site. The arrays were composed of 1 three-component and 9 vertical-component short-period seismometers, sampled at 100 sps by a 12-channel data acquisition system. In each array, the receivers were spread with an aperture of about 400 m. Although they operated intermittently due to failures in the power supply related to ash fall, they provided long time series of multichannel seismic data that allow for the characterization of the syn-eruptive tremor. The analysis of the recorded wavefields reveals a persistent tremor source linked to the activity of the eruptive vents. The main component of the wavefield in the 1-3 Hz frequency band propagates with apparent slowness around 1 s/km, impinging on the arrays from directions of ~300 and 260ºN, respectively. These directions are slightly deviated from the active vents azimuths, a fact that we attribute to propagation effects produced by the topography and heterogeneous velocity structure. Subtle variations in the apparent slowness and propagation azimuths are investigated using the relative slowness estimate method, that allows for a precise determination of the apparent slowness vectors.

Description: Forest gaps are optimal spots for snow accumulation due to physical protection against wind, presence of large shaded areas by canopy structure, no snow interception by branches and limited arrival of longwave radiation from surrounding canopies. Nonetheless, the interaction between gaps geometry, surrounding canopies structure and their topographical characteristics affect gaps effectiveness to accumulate and preserve snow compared to areas beneath canopies or wide open areas. This study analyses the snow depth distribution in forest gaps along three study plots in the sector of Balneario de Panticosa in the Central Pyrenees in order to quantify the role of gap geometry and their topographic attributes on snow dynamics. The digital surface models were computed by Structure from Motion photogrammetry using two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) throughout 5 field surveys over the 2021, 2022 and 2023 snow seasons. We present a methodology to identify and classify forest gaps, and estimate the H factor (ratio between average trees heights vs gap radius) according to the surrounding trees. Topographic variables as wind exposition, aspect and potential solar radiation were also derived from surface elevation data. Results showed a high influence of gaps characteristics on the mean snow accumulation in all field surveys. The topographic variables, such as the main direction of wind exposition and the potential solar radiation, have a variable significance during the accumulation and the melting period. This work also demonstrates the reliability of UAV observations to measure snow distribution at fine scale in forest gaps within forest stand.

Description: EnMAP (Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program) is a high-resolution imaging spectroscopy remote sensing mission that was successfully launched on April 1st, 2022. Equipped with a prism-based dual-spectrometer, EnMAP performs observations in the spectral range between 418.2 nm and 2445.5 nm with 224 bands and a high radiometric and spectral accuracy and stability. EnMAP products, with a ground instantaneous field-of-view of 30 m x 30 m at a swath width of 30 km, allow for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of surface variables from frequently and consistently acquired observations on a global scale. This article presents the EnMAP mission and details the activities and results of the Launch and Early Orbit and Commissioning Phases until November 1st, 2022. The mission capabilities and expected performances for the operational Routine Phase are provided for existing and future EnMAP users.