Irrigation of Young Cork Oaks under Field Conditions—Testing the Best Water Volume

This study is the beginning of the first long-term study on cork oak irrigation under field conditions, with a structural-functional approach. Cork oaks are currently facing disturbances affecting cork quality and quantity, jeopardizing the future of the economic sector. There is a need for new production techniques that maximize cork oak growth and vitality. In this study, irrigation was implemented in a new intensive cork oak plantations to test the best irrigation volume. The long-term goal is to improve tree growth with minimum water requirements. A 6 ha intensive plantation was installed in Coruche, Portugal. The experimental plot consisted of a subsurface drip fertigation system, buried 40 cm deep; with five independent irrigation treatments. It was tested four irrigation volumes during the dry period—21 weeks in the summer of 2016—ranging from 1.88 mm to 5.62 mm a week. Information on meteorological conditions, soil moisture profile and leaf stomatal conductance were gathered periodically and dendrometric measurements were performed before and after the treatments. Cork oaks’ structural and functional parameters were associated with irrigation volume Response to irrigation showed an inflection point in treatment 2, corresponding to a water supply of 3.12 mm per week: below the inflection point, stomatal conductance was reduced by 15% and relative diameter growth at the base was reduced by 10%. Stomatal conductance also showed a positive relationship with soil moisture below the irrigation tubes and with plants’ stem diameter. In conclusion, irrigation supply during the period of water stress improved function and structure of cork oaks seedlings under field conditions. These results suggest that irrigation can be a viable alternative to improve cork oak growth in afforestation and reforestatio

The sweet drive test : refining phenotypic characterization of anhedonic behavior in rodents

Measuring anhedonic behavior in rodents is a challenging task as current methods display only moderate sensitivity to detect anhedonic phenotype and, consequently, results from different labs are frequently incongruent. Herein we present a newly-developed test, the Sweet Drive Test (SDT), which integrates food preference measurement in a non-aversive environment, with ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) recording. Animals were placed in a soundproofed black arena, under red light illumination, and allowed to choose between regular and sweet food pellets. During the test trials, 50 KHz USVs, previously described to be associated with positive experiences, were recorded. In a first experimental approach, we demonstrate the ability of SDT to accurately characterize anhedonic behavior in animals chronically exposed to stress. In a subsequent set of experiments, we show that this paradigm has high sensitivity to detect mood-improving effects of antidepressants. The combined analysis of both food preference and the number of 50 KHz vocalizations in the SDT provides also a valuable tool to discriminate animals that responded to treatment from non-responder animals.We thank S. Borges and A. J. Rodrigues for advice and assistance in the USVs recording procedures and analysis, and H. Almeida and J. J. Cerqueira for comments and suggestions on the experimental design. Furthermore, we thank P. Costa for assistance with 3D reconstruction images. Antonio Mateus-Pinheiro, Patricia Patricio, Monica Morais, and Nuno D. Alves received fellowships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This study was co-funded by the Life- and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), and ON.2-O NOVO NORTE-North Portugal Regional Operational Programme 2007/2013, of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 2007/2013, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

Modeling Fine-Scale Cetaceans’ Distributions in Oceanic Islands : Madeira Archipelago as a Case Study

Species distributional estimates are an essential tool to improve and implement effective conservation and management measures. Nevertheless, obtaining accurate distributional estimates remains a challenge in many cases, especially when looking at the marine environment, mainly due to the species mobility and habitat dynamism. Ecosystems surrounding oceanic islands are highly dynamic and constitute a key actor on pelagic habitats, congregating biodiversity in their vicinity. The main objective of this study was to obtain accurate fine-scale spatio-temporal distributional estimates of cetaceans in oceanic islands, such as the Madeira archipelago, using a long-term opportunistically collected dataset. Ecological Niche Models (ENM) were built using cetacean occurrence data collected on-board commercial whale watching activities and environmental data from 2003 to 2018 for 10 species with a diverse range of habitat associations. Models were built using two different datasets of environmental variables with different temporal and spatial resolutions for comparison purposes. State-of-the-art techniques were used to iterate, build and evaluate the MAXENT models constructed. Models built using the long-term opportunistic dataset successfully described distribution patterns throughout the study area for the species considered. Final models were used to produce spatial grids of species average and standard deviation suitability monthly estimates. Results provide the first fine-scale (both in the temporal and spatial dimension) cetacean distributional estimates for the Madeira archipelago and reveal seasonal/annual distributional patterns, thus providing novel insights on species ecology and quantitative data to implement better dynamic management actions.This study was supported by: (i) INTERTAGUA, MAC2/1.1.a/385 funded by MAC INTERREG 2014-2020, (ii) Oceanic Observatory of Madeira throughout the project M142001-0145-FEDER-000001-OOM, and (iii) Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2020 granted to MARE UI&I. AD and FA have grants funded by ARDITI-Madeira's Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation, throughout the project M1420-09-5369-FSE000002. RF was partially supported by a FCT doctoral grant (SFRH/BD/147225/2019).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Inventário Nacional de Mortalidade de Azinheira na Fotografia Aérea Digital de 2004/2006

O presente estudo completa o 1.º inventário de árvores mortas e de grau de coberto na fotografia aérea digital de 2004-2006 para o sobreiro (Ribeiro e Surový, 2008) e azinheira para a área abrangida pela NUTS III: Alentejo Central; Alto Alentejo, Baixo Alentejo, Alentejo Litoral, Algarve, Médio Tejo, Lezíria do Tejo, Beira Baixa e Área Metropolitana de Lisboa. Os resultados deste estudo sincrónico são de particular utilidade para o conhecimento não só da distribuição como da intensidade dos eventos de declínio e, se repetido para outro conjunto de fotografias aéreas de anos posteriores, poderá fornecer informações relevantes e precisas não só da dinâmica do declínio, como do grau de coberto, permitindo uma definição de políticas florestais com um grau de eficiência espacial muito elevado. As metodologias e as aplicações informáticas desenvolvidas, se sistematizadas, podem servir para construir um sistema de monitorização em tempo real de grande utilidade para a avaliação e planeamento dos recursos florestais como da eficiência das políticas florestais. Finalmente, é importante referir que este estudo não teria sido possível de realizar sem a iniciativa do Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas que através da visão estratégica do Eng.º Francisco Lopes e do Eng.º Fernando Coucelo identificaram as competências instaladas na Universidade de Évora e iniciaram os procedimentos de financiamento do inventário da mortalidade para o sobreiro e mais tarde para a azinheira

Influence of water and nutrients on cork oak radial growth – looking for an efficient fertirrigation regime

Abstract The widespread cork oak (Quercus suber L.) mortality and reduced afforestation /regeneration are causing an overall reduction in cork production. To enhance trees’ growth and vitality, afforestation techniques using fertirrigation were tested. The main objective was the promotion of trees’ growth on new dense plantations using minimum water requirements until reaching productive forests. The experimental plot – Irricork – was installed in 2017 in a ≈1 ha stand with 14 years’ age cork oaks summer-fertirrigated since plantation. Four fertirrigation treatments were applied during fertirrigation campaigns. Radial growth, meteorological parameters and fertirrigation volume were measured every 15–30 days over four years. It was observed that weather, tree size, debarking and trees’ intra-competition had a significant effect on radial increments. Fertirrigation significantly enhanced growth during summer drought and decoupled increments from air vapor pressure deficit constraints. There was a linear relationship between trees’ radial increments and fertirrigation volume up to 140 m3 week–1. Above this value, increments were smoother. In conclusion, summer fertirrigation of 140 m3 week–1 efficiently enhanced the radial growth of trees with 50–75 circumference at breast height, under the particular edaphoclimatic conditions of the stand. This study showed to be, therefore, promising in the use of efficient fertirrigation the enhance cork oaks’ radial growth

Terão os adolescentes portugueses uma alimentação adequada? : resultados do estudo HBSC de 2018

Revista de Psicologia da Criança e do Adolescente. - ISSN 1647-4120. - V. 10, n. 1 (Janeiro-Dezembro 2019). - p. 139-148.O objetivo do estudo foi caracterizar os hábitos alimentares e perceções relativas ao corpo dos adolescentes portugueses. Participaram no estudo, integrado no Health Behaviour in School aged Children, 6997 adolescentes portugueses (51,7% meninas) do 6º, 8º e 10º ano. Os adolescentes foram inquiridos acerca do seu peso, altura, hábitos alimentares e perceção de imagem corporal. Cerca de 70% dos adolescentes apresenta peso normal/saudável. Mais meninas do que rapazes considera a sua cintura “larga” e o seu corpo “gordo”. Cerca de 45% e 33% dos adolescentes reportaram consumir diariamente frutas e vegetais respetivamente. O consumo de doces e colas apresentou uma tendência crescente ao longo da escolaridade e as meninas referiram consumir estes alimentos com mais frequência que os rapazes. O consumo excessivo de açúcar juntamente com o consumo escasso de frutas e vegetais revelam fragilidades na alimentação dos adolescentes portugueses.The aim of this study was to characterize the eating habits and body image perceptions of Portuguese young people. A total of 6997 Portuguese young people (51.7% girls) attending the 6th, 8th and 10th grades participated in the study, integrated in the Health Behaviour in School aged Children. Young people were asked about their weight, height, eating habits and body image perception. About 70% of the adolescents presented normal/healthy weight. More girls than boys considered their waist “large” and that their body “fat”. Approximately 45% and 33% of the adolescents reported daily consumption of fruits and vegetables respectively. Consumption of sweets and soft drinks showed an increasing tendency between the 6th and 10th grades and girls reported consuming these foods more frequently than boys. Excessive consumption of sugar together with the scarce consumption of fruits and vegetables reveals frailties in the diet of Portuguese young

Beyond new neurons in the adult hippocampus: imipramine acts as a pro-astrogliogenic factor and rescues cognitive impairments induced by stress exposure

Depression is a prevalent, socially burdensome disease. Different studies have demonstrated the important role of astrocytes in the pathophysiology of depression as modulators of neurotransmission and neurovascular coupling. This is evidenced by astrocyte impairments observed in brains of depressed patients and the appearance of depressive-like behaviors upon astrocytic dysfunctions in animal models. However, little is known about the importance of de novo generated astrocytes in the mammalian brain and in particular its possible involvement in the precipitation of depression and in the therapeutic actions of current antidepressants (ADs). Therefore, we studied the modulation of astrocytes and adult astrogliogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) of rats exposed to an unpredictable chronic mild stress (uCMS) protocol, untreated and treated for two weeks with antidepressants—fluoxetine and imipramine. Our results show that adult astrogliogenesis in the DG is modulated by stress and imipramine. This study reveals that distinct classes of ADs impact differently in the astrogliogenic process, showing different cellular mechanisms relevant to the recovery from behavioral deficits induced by chronic stress exposure. As such, in addition to those resident, the newborn astrocytes in the hippocampal DG might also be promising therapeutic targets for future therapies in the neuropsychiatric field.ARMS: ELC, NDA, PP, AMP, JSC, MM, AJR, JFO, and L.P. received fellowships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (IF/00328/2015 to J.F.O.; 2020.02855.CEECIND to LP). This work was funded by FCT (IF/01079/2014, PTDC/MED-NEU/31417/2017 Grant to JFO), BIAL Foundation Grants (037/18 to J.F.O. and 427/14 to L.P.), “la Caixa” Foundation Health Research Grant (LCF/PR/HR21/52410024) and Nature Research Award for Driving Global Impact—2019 Brain Sciences (to L.P.). This was also co-funded by the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), and by FEDER, through the Competitiveness Internationalization Operational Program (POCI), and by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)—project UIDB/50026/2020 and UIDP/50026/2020. Moreover, this work has been funded by ICVS Scientific Microscopy Platform, member of the national infrastructure PPBI—Portuguese Platform of Bioimaging (PPBI-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122; by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)—project UIDB/50026/2020 and UIDP/50026/2020; “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434 to A.J.R.), under the agreement LCF/PR/HR20/52400020; and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No 101003187 to A.J.R.)

Influence of water and nutrients on cork oak radial growth – looking for an efficient fertirrigation regime

The widespread cork oak (Quercus suber L.) mortality and reduced afforestation /regeneration are causing an overall reduction in cork production. To enhance trees’ growth and vitality, afforestation techniques using fertirrigation were tested. The main objective was the promotion of trees’ growth on new dense plantations using minimum water requirements until reaching productive forests. The experimental plot – Irricork – was installed in 2017 in a ≈1 ha stand with 14 years’ age cork oaks summer-fertirrigated since plantation. Four fertirrigation treatments were applied during fertirrigation campaigns. Radial growth, meteorological parameters and fertirrigation volume were measured every 15–30 days over four years. It was observed that weather, tree size, debarking and trees’ intra-competition had a significant effect on radial increments. Fertirrigation significantly enhanced growth during summer drought and decoupled increments from air vapor pressure deficit constraints. There was a linear relationship between trees’ radial increments and fertirrigation volume up to 140 m3 week–1. Above this value, increments were smoother. In conclusion, summer fertirrigation of 140 m3 week–1 efficiently enhanced the radial growth of trees with 50–75 circumference at breast height, under the particular edaphoclimatic conditions of the stand. This study showed to be, therefore, promising in the use of efficient fertirrigation the enhance cork oaks’ radial growth

Constitutive deficiency of the neurogenic hippocampal modulator AP2γ promotes anxiety-like behavior and cumulative memory deficits in mice from juvenile to adult periods

The transcription factor activating protein two gamma (AP2γ) is an important regulator of neurogenesis both during embryonic development as well as in the postnatal brain, but its role for neurophysiology and behavior at distinct postnatal periods is still unclear. In this work, we explored the neurogenic, behavioral, and functional impact of a constitutive and heterozygous AP2γ deletion in mice from early postnatal development until adulthood. AP2γ deficiency promotes downregulation of hippocampal glutamatergic neurogenesis, altering the ontogeny of emotional and memory behaviors associated with hippocampus formation. The impairments induced by AP2γ constitutive deletion since early development leads to an anxious-like phenotype and memory impairments as early as the juvenile phase. These behavioral impairments either persist from the juvenile phase to adulthood or emerge in adult mice with deficits in behavioral flexibility and object location recognition. Collectively, we observed a progressive and cumulative impact of constitutive AP2γ deficiency on the hippocampal glutamatergic neurogenic process, as well as alterations on limbic-cortical connectivity, together with functional behavioral impairments. The results herein presented demonstrate the modulatory role exerted by the AP2γ transcription factor and the relevance of hippocampal neurogenesis in the development of emotional states and memory processes.H2020 -“la Caixa” Foundation(101003187

MANUAL TÉCNICO DE PRÁTICAS SILVÍCOLAS PARA A GESTÃO SUSTENTÁVEL EM POVOAMENTOS DE SOBREIRO E AZINHEIRA

Prefácio: Em Portugal Continental, segundo os dados do 6º Inventário Florestal Nacional (IFN6)(ICNFa), os espaços florestais (floresta, matos e improdutivos) ocupam 6,2 milhões de hectares (69,4%) do território, ocupando a floresta uma área de 3,2 milhões de hectares. Os “montados”, os sobreirais e os azinhais constituem a principal ocupação florestal, com 1.069.300 hectares, representando cerca de 1/3 da floresta. Em Espanha ocupam uma área de cerca de 3.515.920 hectares (Campos et al., 2010), o que representa cerca de 1/5 dos espaços florestais,equivalente a 6,95% do território peninsular espanhol, sendo 75% das explorações privadas. De acordo com os dados do Inventário Florestal Nacional (ICNFa) o sobreiro ocupa no território continental uma área de 719.900 hectares e a azinheira de 349.400 hectares. Na região do Alentejo a área ocupada pelo sobreiro é de 609.400 hectares e pela azinheira de 315.500 hectares, representando, assim, 84,6% e 90,2%, respetivamente, das áreas ocupadas por estas espécies no território continental. Na floresta os habitats mais representados são os que derivam das florestas de quercíneas, os montados (4%, habitat 6310), os sobreirais (4%, habitat 9330), os carvalhais (3%, habitat 9230) e os azinhais (2%, habitat 9340) (ICNFa)