The effects of experimental thinning on throughfall and stemflow: A contribution towards hydrology-oriented silviculture in Aleppo pine plantations

Rainfall interception by the forest cover causes an important reduction in bulk rainfall in semiarid cli- mates, such as the Mediterranean. Unmanaged, dense pine stands in this area are expected to have an important impact on water resources. This paper studies the effect of forest management on the parti- tioning of rainfall into throughfall and stemflow in an Aleppo pine plantation in eastern Spain. Three thin- ning-intensity treatments were compared with unmanaged stands that served as the control. The results revealed a very low throughfall in the control treatments during the study period of 55.9%, whereas throughfall increased significantly after thinning to 83.8%, 67.7% and 61.3% of the bulk rainfall for high-, moderate- and low-intensity treatments, respectively. Total throughfall was negatively and line- arly related to the tree density, forest cover, basal area and leaf area index. In contrast, weekly throughfall was modelled by considering these variables together with bulk rainfall in a multiple exponential expres- sion; the weekly throughfall R2 values (corrected Pearson coefficient) were above 0.9. These models would facilitate the implementation of hydrology-oriented silviculture via a more accurate prediction of the impacts of thinning on throughfall in this type of forest.This study is a part of two projects: "Determination of hydrologic and forest recovery factors in Mediterranean forests and their social perception" and "CGL2011-28776-C02-02: Hydrological characterisation of forest structures at plot scale for an adaptive management (HYDROSIL)". The first project is led by Dr. Eduardo Rojas and granted by the Ministry of Environment, Rural and Marine affairs (Spanish Government). The subproject in which this study has been developed is titled "Optimization of forest management techniques in terms of their hydrologic and soil conservation effects, criteria development for a hydrological silviculture". The second project is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. The authors are grateful to the Valencia Regional Government (CMAAUV, Generalitat Valenciana) and VAERSA staff for their support in allowing the use of the experimental forest of La Hunde and their assistance in carrying out the fieldwork. The authors also acknowledge the comments of the editor, the two reviewers, R. Herrera and P. Llorens which substantially improved the manuscript.Molina, AJ.; Campo García, ADD. (2012). The effects of experimental thinning on throughfall and stemflow: A contribution towards hydrology-oriented silviculture in Aleppo pine plantations. Forest Ecology and Management. 269:206-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2011.12.037S20621326

Neurocomputational Model of EEG Complexity during Mind Wandering

Mind wandering (MW) can be understood as a transient state in which attention drifts from an external task to internal self-generated thoughts. MW has been associated with the activation of the Default Mode Network (DMN). In addition, it has been shown that the activity of the DMN is anti-correlated with activation in brain networks related to the processing of external events (e.g., Salience network, SN). In this study, we present a mean field model based on weakly coupled Kuramoto oscillators. We simulated the oscillatory activity of the entire brain and explored the role of the interaction between the nodes from the DMN and SN in MW states. External stimulation was added to the network model in two opposite conditions. Stimuli could be presented when oscillators in the SN showed more internal coherence (synchrony) than in the DMN, or, on the contrary, when the coherence in the SN was lower than in the DMN. The resulting phases of the oscillators were analyzed and used to simulate EEG signals. Our results showed that the structural complexity from both simulated and real data was higher when the model was stimulated during periods in which DMN was more coherent than the SN. Overall, our results provided a plausible mechanistic explanation to MW as a state in which high coherence in the DMN partially suppresses the capacity of the system to process external stimuli

SilvAdapt.Net: A Site-Based Network of Adaptive Forest Management Related to Climate Change in Spain

Adaptive forest management (AFM) is an urgent need because of the uncertainty regarding how changes in the climate will affect the structure, composition and function of forests during the next decades. Current research initiatives for the long-term monitoring of impacts of silviculture are scattered and not integrated into research networks, with the consequent losses of opportunities and capacity for action. To increase the scientific and practical impacts of these experiences, it is necessary to establish logical frameworks that harmonize the information and help us to define the most appropriate treatments. In this context, a number of research groups in Spain have produced research achievements and know-how during the last decades that can allow for the improvement in AFM. These groups address the issue of AFM from different fields, such as ecophysiology, ecohydrology and forest ecology, thus resulting in valuable but dispersed expertise. The main objective of this work is to introduce a comprehensive strategy aimed to study the implementation of AFM in Spain. As a first step, a network of 34 experimental sites managed by 14 different research groups is proposed and justified. As a second step, the most important AFM impacts on Mediterranean pines, as one of the most extended natural and planted forest types in Spain, are presented. Finally, open questions dealing with key aspects when attempting to implement an AFM framework are discussed. This study is expected to contribute to better outlining the procedures and steps needed to implement regional frameworks for AFMA.J. Molina is beneficiary of an “APOSTD” fellowship (APOSTD/2019/111) funded by the Generalitat Valenciana. M. Moreno-de las Heras is beneficiary of a Serra Hunter fellowship (UB-LE-9055) funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya. F.J. Ruiz-Gómez is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship of the Junta de Andalucía (Sevilla, Spain), and the European Social Fund 2014–2020 Program (DOC_0055). The authors received national and international funding through the following projects: SILVADAPT.NET (RED2018-102719-T), ESPECTRAMED (CGL2017-86161-R), Life-FOREST CO2 (LIFE14 CCM/ES/001271), ALTERACLIM (CGL2015-69773-C2-1-P), INERTIA (PID2019-111332RB-C22-BDV), CEHYRFO-MED (CGL2017-86839-C3-2-R), DEHESACLIM (IB16185), RESILIENTFORESTS (LIFE17 CCA/ES/000063), Rhysotto (PID2019-106583RB-I00), AGL2017-83828- C2-2-R, RTI2018-096884-B-C31, ESPAS (CGL2015-65569-R), and caRRRascal (RTI2018-095037-B-I00) : We thank the financial support from the “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación -Redes de Investigación 2018, Programa Estatal de Generación de Conocimiento y Fortalecimiento Científico y Tecnológico del Sistema de I + D + I

Population study of the native Losine horse

The Losine horse, Spanish Losine Pony according to Masón (1969), gets its name for the point of origin, the Losa Valley in the north of the province of Burgos (Spain). This breed maintained its numbers until the 50s when its population declined until reaching a critical point 1986 of only around 180 specimens, in that year, in view of the alarming situation, recovery program for the breed was initiated with the establishment of the first centre for the Breeding and selection of the Losine horse in Pancorbo (Burgos). The fact that so little time has passed since establishing this centre, explains the fact that the Losine horse has a 20.31 p.100 of its population of 154 specimens belonging to the base or founding animals. Further more, it has high average of pedigree founders (16.80) that represent approximately 65 p.100 of the population base. The sequential entrance of founding animal from generation to generation has caused a low ave rage of inbreeding in the Losine horse population ( Fmedia = 1.8 p.100).El caballo Losino, Pony sp. Losino según Masón (1969), recibe su denominación del área original de cría, el Valle de Losa, en el Norte de la provincia de Burgos (España). Esta raza mantuvo sus efectivos hasta los años 50 pero posteriormente su población descendió hasta llegar en 1986 a los límites más críticos de su historia (alrededor de 180 ejemplares). En ese año, en vista de la alarmante situación, se inició un proyecto de recuperación de la raza, creándose en Pancorbo (Burgos) el primer Centro de Cría y Selección del caballo Losino. El hecho de haber transcurrido tan poco espacio de tiempo desde el momento de comenzar, en el Centro de Pancorbo, la recuperación de la Raza del Caballo Losino hace que de los 154 animales que han sido censados hasta el momento del estudio, un 20,31 p.100 sean animales pertenecientes a la población base o fundadora. Así mismo, observamos el elevado número medio de fundadores por pedigrí (16,80) que representa aproximadamente el 65 p.100 de la población base. La entrada secuencial de animales fundadores en cada intervalo generacional, ha motivado que la consanguinidad media de la población de caballos Losinos sea baja ( Fmedia = 1,8 p.100

Collective unambiguous positioning with high-order BOC signals

© 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.The unambiguous estimation of high-order BOC signals in harsh propagation conditions is still an open problem in the literature. This paper proposes to overcome the limitations observed in state-of-the-art unambiguous estimation techniques based on the application of existing direct positioning techniques and the exploitation of the spatial diversity introduced by arrays of antennas. In particular, the ambiguity problem is solved as a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) estimation problem in the position domain.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A Simple Algorithm for Minimum Cuts in Near-Linear Time

We consider the minimum cut problem in undirected, weighted graphs. We give a simple algorithm to find a minimum cut that $2$-respects (cuts two edges of) a spanning tree $T$ of a graph $G$. This procedure can be used in place of the complicated subroutine given in Karger's near-linear time minimum cut algorithm (J. ACM, 2000). We give a self-contained version of Karger's algorithm with the new procedure, which is easy to state and relatively simple to implement. It produces a minimum cut on an $m$-edge, $n$-vertex graph in $O(m \log^3 n)$ time with high probability, matching the complexity of Karger's approach.Comment: To appear in SWAT 202

A to Z of the Muon anomalous magnetic moment in the MSSM with Pati-Salam at the GUT scale

We analyse the low energy predictions of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) arising from a GUT scale Pati-Salam gauge group further constrained by an A4 × Z5 family symmetry, resulting in four soft scalar masses at the GUT scale: one left-handed soft mass m0 and three right-handed soft masses m1, m2, m3, one for each generation. We demonstrate that this model, which was initially developed to describe the neutrino sector, can explain collider and non-collider measurements such as the dark matter relic density, the Higgs boson mass and, in particular, the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon (g − 2)μ. Since about two decades, (g − 2)μ suffers a puzzling about 3σ excessoftheexperimentallymeasuredvalueoverthetheoreticalprediction,whichour model is able to fully resolve. As the consequence of this resolution, our model predicts specific regions of the parameter space with the specific properties including light smuons and neutralinos, which could also potentially explain di-lepton excesses observed by CMS and ATLAS

The neutron time-of-flight facility n-TOF at CERN: Phase II

Neutron-induced reactions are studied at the neutron time-of-flight facility n-TOF at CERN. The facility uses 6∼ns wide pulses of 20 GeV/c protons impinging on a lead spallation target. The large neutron energy range and the high instantaneous neutron flux combined with high resolution are among the key characteristics of the facility. After a first phase of data taking during the period 2001-2004, the facility has been refurbished with an upgraded spallation target and cooling system for a second phase of data taking which started in 2009. Since 2010, the experimental area at 185 m where the neutron beam arrives, has been modified into a worksector of type A, allowing the extension of the physics program to include neutron-induced reactions on radioactive isotopes

Primera valoración genética para la disciplina de raid en el caballo de pura raza árabe español

El esquema de selección del caballo de Pura Raza Árabe fue aprobado por el Ministerio de Agricullura Pesca y Alimentación en septiembre de 2005. Dentro de él se especifica que se realizará una selección para mejorar los caracteres que potencien el alto rendimiento, que de forma natural, presenta la raza en la disciplina de raid. Se ha realizado la primera valoración genética para la disciplina de raid en el caballo de Pura Raza Árabe para lo cual se ha contado con datos de 249 caballos con un total de 547 participaciones en raids de diferentes categarías. La valoración genética se ha realizado para los caracteres puesto clasificatorio y tiempo de carrera. Previamente ha sido preciso realizar un estudio de los factores que afectan al rendimiento de esta disciplina. Los factores que se han incluido en el modelo de valoración por resultar estadísticamente significativos han sido el año de celebración de la prueba de raid, la zona geográfica donde se realiza la prueba y los kilómetros del recorrido. Además, se han incluido como covariables el número total de participantes en la prueba de raid para el carácter puesto clasificatorio y el tiempo medio de carrera para el carácter tiempo. las heredabilidades obtenidas presentan un valor bajo-medio (0,18 para el puesto clasificatorio y 0,13 para el tiempo). La evolución del valor genético para dichos caracteres nos muestra que el progreso genético ha sido escaso hasta el momento, pero la elevada variabilidad del carácter asegura un progreso genético adecuado si se realiza una apropiada intensidad de selección para dichos caracteres