129 research outputs found
Ecology, ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology of Argan tree (Argania spinosa)
Argania spinosa es una especie leñosa endémica del suroeste de Marruecos que ha jugado un papel fundamental, desde un punto de vista etnobotánico, en la economía local de los pueblos bereberes. El aceite de argán se extrae de manera artesanal de los frutos de esta planta siguiendo un modelo etnográfico de gran interés. En el presente trabajo se sintetizan, mediante una profunda revisión bibliográfica, los conocimientos referidos a la ecología, etnobotánica y etnofarmacología del argán y se detallan los metabolitos implicados en sus propiedades.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por los proyectos de investigación HAR2008-06477-C03-03/HIST y HAR2008-09120/HIST (Plan Nacional de I + D + i, España), y ERC-230561 (European Commission).Peer reviewe
Biological Interaction as a Possible Ultimate Driver in the Local Extinction of Cedrus atlantica in the Iberian Peninsula
This research study was funded by (i) the Spanish government, State R & D Program Oriented to the Challenges of the Society, MED-REFUGIA Research Project (RTI2018-101714-B-I00); (ii) Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation, OROMEDREFUGIA Research Project (P18-RT-4963); (iii) ERDF Operational Programme in Andalusia (EU regional programme), RELIC-FLORA 2 Research Project (B-RNM-404-UGR18); and (iv) State Program for the Promotion of Scientific Research and Excellence Technique, PALEOPINSAPO Research Project (CSO2017-83576-P). The APC was funded by (i) the Spanish government, State R & D Program Oriented to the Challenges of the Society, MED-REFUGIA Research Project (RTI2018-101714-B-I00); and (ii) Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation, OROMEDREFUGIA Research Project (P18-RT-4963).The presence of Cedrus atlantica on the European continent, including, especially, the determination
of the time of its disappearance from the Iberian Peninsula, is one of the most controversial
issues in recent decades regarding the successive extinction of conifers in the Western Mediterranean.
This work propounds the possibility that C. atlantica and Pinus nigra could have co-habited in the
past, mutually excluding each other in the areas with suitable conditions for both species, where,
ultimately, the one that was the most competitive would have remained. The niche overlap in the
two-dimensional ecological space was analyzed. In addition, the potential distribution of both species
in theWestern Mediterranean today and two past periods (Last Glacial Maximum and Mid-Holocene)
was modeled to identify their common geographic area of distribution. The species showed very
well differentiated niches and a distribution of their habitats virtually segregated by continents since
the Mid-Holocene (P. nigra in Europe and C. atlantica in Africa), which responds to differences in
climatic affinities. However, the contact of the bordering areas of their distributions in the Baetic
mountain range suggests that C. atlantica could have maintained its presence in the Iberian Peninsula
until recent times. P. nigra would have displace it in later stages due to its greater prevalence on the
continent, so it would have had greater opportunities to occupy the available space.Spanish government, State R&D Program Oriented to the Challenges of the Society RTI2018-101714-B-I00Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation, OROMEDREFUGIA Research Project P18-RT-4963ERDF Operational Programme in Andalusia (EU regional programme) B-RNM-404-UGR18State Program for the Promotion of Scientific Research and Excellence Technique, PALEOPINSAPO Research Project CSO2017-83576-
Lean Pattern in an Altitude Range Shift of a Tree Species: Abies pinsapo Boiss
Organisms modify their geographical distributions in response to changes in environmental
conditions, or modify their affinity to such conditions, to avoid extinction. This study explored the
altitudinal shift of Abies pinsapo Boiss. in the Baetic System. We analysed the potential distribution of
the realised and reproductive niches of A. pinsapo populations in the Ronda Mountains (Southern
Spain) by using species distribution models (SDMs) for two life stages within the current populations.
Then, we calculated the species’ potential altitudinal shifts and identified the areas in which the processes of persistence and migration predominated. The realised and reproductive niches of A. pinsapo
are different to one another, which may indicate a displacement in its altitudinal distribution owing
to changes in the climatic conditions of the Ronda Mountains. The most unfavourable conditions
for the species indicate a trailing edge (~110 m) at the lower limit of its distribution and a leading
edge (~55 m) at the upper limit. Even though the differences in the altitudinal shifts between the
trailing and leading edges will not cause the populations to become extinct in the short term, they
may threaten their viability if the conditions that are producing the contraction at the lower limit
persist in the long term.This research was funded by (i) Spanish government, State R&D Program Oriented to the
Challenges of the Society: MED-REFUGIA Research Project (RTI2018-101714-B-I00); (ii) Andalusian
Plan for Research, Development and Innovation: OROMEDREFUGIA Research Project (P18-RT4963); (iii) ERDF Operational Programme in Andalusia (EU regional programme): RELIC-FLORA 2
Research Project (B-RNM-404-UGR18); and (iv) State Program for the Promotion of Scientific Research
and Excellence Technique: PALEOPINSAPO Research Project (CSO2017-83576-P). The APC was
funded by (i) Spanish government, State R&D Program Oriented to the Challenges of the Society:
MED-REFUGIA Research Project (RTI2018-101714-B-I00); and (ii) Andalusian Plan for Research,
Development and Innovation: OROMEDREFUGIA Research Project (P18-RT-4963)
Europe's southernmost interglacial refugia as sentinels for the local extinction of mountain conifers
This research has been supported by a contract for University
Teacher Training (Formación de Profesorado Universitario) (Ref. 18/03023) from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports
(Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deportes del Gobierno de España),
and research projects financed by the State Research Agency (SRA)
and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF): PALEOPINSAPO
(CSO2017-83576-P), MED-REFUGIA (RTI2018-101714-B-I00) and
TED2021-132631B-I00; Andalusian Plan for Research, Development
and Innovation: Oromed-Refugia (P18-RT- 4963); and ERDF Opera-
tional Programme in Andalusia (EU regional programme): ForestMed
(A-RNM-688-UGR20).The Serrania de Ronda is an exceptional palaeoecological laboratory for studying the dynamics of vegetation over
time, due to its strategic geographical location at a biogeographical crossroads and its proven historical legacy.
Many of the mountains that form part of this territory are today practically deforested, such as Sierra Blanca,
whose geographic location at the heart of the Serranía de Ronda means that it has enormous potential as a bio-
geographical crossroads: the occasional presence of Abies pinsapo, Pinus pinaster and Quercus rotundifolia suggests
that it was once covered by a mixed forest of conifers and broad-leaved trees. The lack of environmental research
in Sierra Blanca has facilitated the installation of large quarries, which have led to its exclusion from the Sierra de
las Nieves National Park, which was created in 2021. We applied the pedoanthracological methodology, which
has enabled us to discover paleo-populations of A. pinsapo and Pinus sylvestris-type. The results confirm that co-
niferous forests previously covered a much wider area during the Holocene. These findings reinforce the role of
Sierra Blanca as a high-altitude refuge for conifers during the warm stages of the Holocene and as a sentinel for
the local extinction of mountain conifers. This information could help improve its management and conservation.Spanish Government
18/03023State Research Agency (SRA)European Commission
CSO2017-83576-P,
RTI2018-101714-B-I00,
TED2021-132631B-I00Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation
P18-RT-4963ERDF Operational Programme in Andalusia (EU regional programme)
A-RNM-688-UGR2
Natural and anthropic dynamics of the vegetative landscape of the inner valleys of western Cantabria (North of Spain)
Vegetation history in the Toledo Mountains (Central-Iberia): human impact during the last 1300 years
ABSTRACT: Mid-mountain ecosystems provide a broad diversity of resources, heterogeneous relief, and a mild climate, which are all very useful for human necessities. These features enable different strategies such as the terracing of the slopes as well as wide crop diversification. Their relations lead to a parallel co-evolution between the environment and human societies, where fire and grazing become the most effective landscape management tools. This paper presents the results obtained from a multi-proxy study of the Bermú paleoenvironmental record, which is a minerotrophic mire located in the Quintos de Mora National Hunting Reserve (Toledo Mountains, central Spain). The bottom of this core has been dated in the Islamic period (ca. 711-1100 cal AD), and the study shows how the landscape that was built over time in the Toledo Mountains up to the present day is narrowly linked to human development. This study shows the increasing human pressure on the landscape, as well as the subsequent strategies followed by the plant and human communities as they faced diverse environmental changes. Thus, it is possible to attest the main role played by the humans in the Toledo Mountains, not only as a simple user, but also as a builder of their own reflexion in the environment.Funding: This research was funded the project REDISCO-HAR2017-88035-P (Plan Nacional I+D+I, Spanish
Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness). Reyes Luelmo is funded by a FPU grant (Spanish Ministry of
Education, Culture and Sports)
Studying community assembly drivers and its past dynamics incorporating phylogenetic and functional data to the fossil record.
Estudiando los determinantes de la composición de comunidades y sus dinámicas en el pasado incorporando información filogenética y funcional
al registro fósil. El registro fósil contiene información sobre la composición relativa de especies en un momento concreto, aportando información de
la dinámica de comunidades a lo largo de intervalos temporales extensos, siendo el Pleistoceno y el Holoceno los periodos mejor representados.
Sin embargo, estos datos son rara vez considerados en las hipótesis y modelos que se han desarrollado recientemente para explicar la composición
de comunidades. El papel de las variables abióticas (i.e., climáticas) en el ensamblaje de comunidades está bien documentado tanto en el registro
fósil como por datos ecológicos actuales. Sin embargo, el papel de las interacciones bióticas es más controvertido, aunque el uso de información filogenética
y de rasgos funcionales está ayudando a comprender su papel relativo en las comunidades actuales. La creciente popularidad de herramientas
ecoinformáticas de modelización junto con un mayor volumen de datos paleoecológicos disponibles online facilita su integración con la
teoría y los modelos de ecología de comunidades. Sin embargo, su uso en el estudio de las interacciones bióticas es todavía escaso y su integración
con datos funcionales y filogenéticos es prácticamente inexistente. Con el objetivo de fomentar nuevos estudios, revisamos los avances en la integración
de paleoecología con la teoría y modelos de la ecología de comunidades, analizamos las principales incertidumbres asociadas a los datos
fósiles, para asegurar un análisis serio y riguroso y finalmente sugerimos futuras líneas de trabajo.Studying community assembly drivers and its past dynamics incorporating phylogenetic and functional data to the fossil record. The fossil record
provides information on species relative abundances at specific times, which in turns can inform about community dynamics over long time periods,
being the Pleistocene and the Holocene the best represented. However, palaeoecological data are rarely incorporated in hypothesis and models recently
developed to explain community composition. The role of abiotic variables (i.e., climate) to drive community assembly is well documented
both in contemporary ecology and the fossil record. Although the role of biotic interactions in community assembly remains controversial, phylogenetic
and functional traits information are contributing to clarify its importance on contemporary communities. The growing popularity of ecoinformatic modelling
tools along with an increasing availability of palaeoecological data in online databases facilitates the integration of palaeoecological data to
inform theory and models of community ecology. However, such integration remains largely unexplored. Aiming to boost such sort of studies, we
review here advances in palaeoecological studies to inform community ecology, we also provide a guide on common uncertainties associated with
fossil records to ensure a rigorous use of them, and propose further working lines in such integration
Pollen study of an endorheic lagoon in Almenara de Adaja (Valladolid, Northern Meseta): environmental changes and human activity during the last 2800 years
El análisis de microfósiles polínicos y no polínicos de una secuencia obtenida en una laguna endorreica en Almenara de Adaja (Valladolid, Meseta Norte) muestra este registro como sensible tanto a cambios de naturaleza climática como antrópica durante los últimos 2800 años. Se han detectado los momentos de variabilidad climática que se han descrito para esta cronología como el período frío del final de la Edad del Hierro (850-75 cal BC), el Período Cálido Romano (ca. 75 cal BC-300 cal AD), el Período Frío Altomedieval (ca. 300-800 cal AD), el Período Cálido Bajomedieval (ca. 800-1450 cal AD) y la Pequeña Edad del Hielo (ca. 1450-1800 cal AD). Además, se han observado distintos grados de antropización en el paisaje en relación con las pautas de asentamiento en la zona. Aunque es desde la época romana cuando se establecieron las transformaciones del paisaje que han conformado el paisaje actual, que está caracterizado por ser un espacio muy agrícola y ganadero.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el Programa Consolider TCP-CSD2007-00058 (Programa de investigación en tecnologías para la valoración y conservación del Patrimonio Cultural)Peer Reviewe
El verderón serrano en invierno: patrones de distribución, el papel de los pinos e implicaciones para la conservación de la especie
The Citril finch Serinus citrinella is a Paleartic endemic species that breeds in the subalpine
mountain zones of western temperate Europe. The species seems to be suffering a serious decline in its
northern range, mainly in the Black Forest and the NE of the Alps. Numerous reasons have been provided for
this decline, but all of them have been related to breeding habitats. Given that the species undergoes an altitudinal
migration and that during winter it may use very different habitats, a sound knowledge of the distribution
patterns and habitats used outside the breeding period is needed to conduct adequate conservation policies
and management. This information, however, is largely lacking. The aim of this paper was to determine the
current habitat used by Citril finches in north–eastern Spain during the winter, to analyse habitat suitability and
to study movements, by investigating the origin of birds that overwinter in Catalonia. Citril finch distribution was
modelled using both discriminant analysis and maximum entropy modelling, on the basis of species occurrences
during winter in Catalonia (data from 1972–2009).El verderón serrano (Serinus citrinella) es una especie paleártica endémica que cría en zonas montañosas subalpinas de la Europa occidental templada. Esta especie parece que está sufriendo un gran declive en su área de distribución septentrional, principalmente en la Selva Negra y en el NE de los Alpes. Se han propuesto muchas razones para dicha disminución, pero todas ellas estaban relacionadas con los hábitats de cría. Dado que esta especie lleva a cabo una migración altitudinal, y que durante el invierno puede utilizar habitats muy distintos, se precisaría un buen conocimiento de los patrones de distribución y de los hábitats utilizados fuera del período reproductor, para poder establecer unas directrices de conservación y gestión adecuadas. Sin embargo, esta información es muy escasa. El propósito de este estudio es determinar el hábitat común utilizado por los verderones serranos en en nordeste de España durante el invierno, para analizar la idoneidad del habitat, y estudiar los movimientos, investigando el origen de la aves que invernan en Cataluña. La distribución se modelizó utilizando el análisis discriminante y la modelización de entropía máxima con los datos registrados desde 1972 al 2009 sobre la presencia de esta especie durante el invierno en Cataluña. Los resultados evidenciaron que la presencia de bosques abiertos mixtos de pino negral (Pinus nigra subsp. salzmanii) y pino silvestre o albar (Pinus sylvestris), con numerosas tierras de cultivo y plantas arvenses, en areas submediterráneas típicas en las que las temperaturas templadas de finales de invierno (días soleados) facilitan la apertura de las piñas, fueron las variables ecológicas y bioclimáticas claves responsables de la distribución del verderón serrano en invierno (valores AUC o área bajo la curva: datos de entrenamiento AUC = 0,955; datos del test AUC = 0,953). Analizamos las recuperaciones (N = 238) de 2.368 aves anilladas en las áreas de invernada y 12.648 aves anilladas en localizaciones subalpinas en los Pirineos adyacentes, desde 1977 al 2004. Los resultados de los datos de recuperación de anillas muestran que en el área de estudio se capturaron aves procedentes de muy diversas localizaciones dentro del área de distribución de la especie estudiada, incluyendo aves transpirenaicas procedentes de los Alpes. Ello enfatiza la gran movilidad de las poblaciones del verderón serrano hasta alcanzar las áreas de invernada. Desde el punto de vista de la conservación, la gran importancia de los pinos (principalmente del negral) para la distribución invernal de esta especie pone de manifiesto que cualquier amenaza para los pinos, especialmente los incendios forestales, tendrá grandes efectos adversos sobre las poblaciones del verderón serrano.This work was supported by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (CGL 2009–10652)
Aerobiological and allergenic analysis of Cupressaceae pollen in Granada (Southern Spain)
Cupressaceae pollen has been cited in recent years as one of the major airborne allergens of the Mediterranean region, prompting us to conduct an exhaustive analysis on the aerobiological behaviour of this pollen in the Iberian Peninsula and the repercussion that it has had on the atopic population. The aerobiological study, performed from 1996 to 2003 in the city of Granada (S. Spain), used a volumetric Hirst collector. The results indicate that this pollen is present in the air most of the year, registering a high incidence during the winter months. This type of pollen behaved irregularly in the air, fluctuating yearly, seasonally, and within the same day.
Temperature and humidity were the parameters that most directly influence the variability of this allergen, while rainfall prior to flowering increased pollen production. The predictive models used estimated a high percentage of the levels reached over the short term by this pollen in the atmosphere of Granada. The clinical study performed
with atopic patients showed that some 30% of the population with pollinosis are sensitive to Cupressaceae pollen, affecting people of both genders equally. On the other hand, the most sensitive age group was 21-40 years of age, while children and the elderly registered almost negligible values. Most of the sensitive subjects resided within
the city or in the metropolitan area, where environmental pollution reached high levels, while the pathology was found to be less frequent in rural zones. The most frequent symptoms were upper-respiratory ailments and an asthmatic profile.En los últimos años el polen de
Cupressaceae se ha considerado uno de los principales alérgenos aéreos de la región Mediterránea, lo que motivó la realización de un análisis exhaustivo del comportamiento
aerobiológico de este polen en la Península Ibérica y de la repercusión que tenía en la población atópica. En el estudio aerobiológico, llevado a cabo entre 1996 y 2003 en la ciudad de Granada (sur de España), se utilizó un captador volumétrico tipo Hirst. Los resultados indican que este polen se encuentra presente en el aire la mayor parte del año, pero registra una alta incidencia en los meses de invierno. Este tipo de polen mostró un comportamiento
irregular en el aire, con fluctuaciones anuales, estacionales y en un mismo día. La temperatura y la humedad fueron los parámetros que influyeron más directamente en la variabilidad de este alérgeno, mientras que la lluvia antes de la floración incrementó la producción de polen. Los modelos predictivos utilizados estimaron un porcentaje elevado de los niveles alcanzados a corto plazo por este polen en la atmósfera de Granada. El estudio clínico realizado con pacientes atópicos mostró que un 30% de la población con polinosis es sensible al polen de Cupressaceae, afectando a ambos sexos por igual. Por otra parte, el grupo de edad más sensible fue el de 21 a 40 años, mientras que los niños y los ancianos registraron valores casi insignificantes. La mayoría de los sujetos sensibles residían en el núcleo urbano o en el área metropolitana, donde la contaminación ambiental alcanza niveles elevados, mientras que la patología fue menos frecuente en la zona rural. Los síntomas más frecuentes fueron afecciones de las vías respiratorias altas y un perfil asmático.The authors wish to thank the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology for financing this study with the “Análisis de la actividad alergénica de la atmósfera” project (BOS2002-03474)
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