A New Ant Species, Temnothorax ansei sp.n. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Arid Environments of South-eastern Spain

We describe here a new ant species in the genus Temnothorax, species grouplaurae, based on morphological evidence supported by other biologicalinformation. It has been discovered at two locations in southeast Spain:Pulpí (Almería) and Lorca (Murcia). This species is a member of the lauraespecies group based on the following characters: large eyes, long and erecthairs on alitrunk, petiole and postpetiole, rectangular head and metanotalgroove. Other characters unique to new species are: dark brown in color,decumbent pilosity, and smooth and shiny head and pronotum. In addition,this new species is distinctly nocturnal in its activity patterns. Based on themorphological measurements of the queens and the workers, as well as ourobservations in the laboratory, we predict that this species has a dependentcolony founding. An identification key to the Iberian Peninsula species ofthe laurae group is also provided

Efectos de las variables ambientales en la estimación de materia orgánica del suelo a escala regional en un ambiente semiarido (Región de Murcia, España)

La estimación de valores edáficos mediante el empleo de técnicas de modelización espacial, basada en procesos y variables ambientales, es utilizada en este trabajo para analizar el efecto que tienen estas variables sobre la materia orgánica del suelo (MOS). La discusión es enormemente interesante por las conclusiones que se pueden extraer de las distintas implicaciones que ejercen los patrones ecológicos en su distribución y variabilidad espacial. En este estudio se ha utilizado una base de datos de 1126 muestras de materia orgánica en capa arable del suelo en la Región de Murcia (SE de España), con el fin de estimar el contenido de la MOS a escala regional (más de 10000 km2) mediante el uso de 21 variables ambientales como predictores. Entre las variables más influyentes destacan las asociadas al relieve (i.e. la pendiente, las curvaturas del terreno), la acumulación de flujo vinculada a las redes de drenaje, la precipitación, la radicación solar y ciertos índices específicos obtenidos mediante técnicas de teledetección, como el NDVI o el Índice Mineralógico de Arcillas CMI

Long-Term Carbon Sequestration in Pine Forests under Different Silvicultural and Climatic Regimes in Spain

Proactive silviculture treatments (e.g., thinning) may increase C sequestration contributing to climate change mitigation, although, there are still questions about this effect in Mediterranean pine forests. The aim of this research was to quantify the storage of biomass and soil organic carbon in Pinus forests along a climatic gradient from North to South of the Iberian Peninsula. Nine experimental Pinus spp trials were selected along a latitudinal gradient from the pre-Pyrenees to southern Spain. At each location, a homogeneous area was used as the operational scale, and three thinning intensity treatments: unthinned or control (C), intermediate thinning (LT, removal of 30–40% of the initial basal area) and heavy thinning (HT, removal of 50–60%) were conducted. Growth per unit area (e.g., expressed as basal area increment-BAI), biomass, and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) were measured as well as three sets of environmental variables (climate, soil water availability and soil chemical and physical characteristics). One-way ANOVA and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) were used to study the effect of thinning and environmental variables on C sequestration. Biomass and growth per unit area were higher in the control than in the thinning treatments, although differences were only significant for P. halepensis. Radial growth recovered after thinning in all species, but it was faster in the HT treatments. Soil organic carbon (SOC10, 0–10 cm depth) was higher in the HT treatments for P. halepensis and P. sylvestris, but not for P. nigra. SEM showed that Pinus stands of the studied species were beneficed by HT thinning, recovering their growth quickly. The resulting model explained 72% of the variation in SOC10 content, and 89% of the variation in silvicultural condition (basal area and density) after thinning. SOC10 was better related to climate than to silvicultural treatments. On the other hand, soil chemical and physical characteristics did not show significant influence over SOC10- Soil water availability was the latent variable with the highest influence over SOC10. This work is a new contribution that shows the need for forest managers to integrate silviculture and C sequestration in Mediterranean pine plantations

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

[EN] 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 AFM.A.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-Gomez is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship of the Junta de Andalucia (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), AGL2017-83828C2-2-R, RTI2018-096884-B-C31, ESPAS (CGL2015-65569-R), and caRRRascal (RTI2018-095037-B-I00).Molina Herrera, A.; Navarro Cerrillo, R.; Pérez-Romero, J.; Alejano, R.; Bellot, JF.; Blanco, JA.; Camarero, JJ.... (2021). SilvAdapt.Net: A Site-Based Network of Adaptive Forest Management Related to Climate Change in Spain. Forests. 12(12):1-27. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12121807127121

Reduced horn size in two wild trophy-hunted species of Caprinae

Factors affecting horn size in wild Caprinae are of biological and socio-economic interest because several species are selectively harvested on the basis of this heritable character. We analysed temporal trends in horn size in two mountain ungulates from south-eastern Spain, the Iberian wild goat Capra pyrenaica and the aoudad Ammotragus lervia. Trophy harvest is the main way in which these two species are exploited, although 'poor-quality' aoudads are also selectively removed. In recent years, both populations have suffered drastic decreases in number due to outbreaks of sarcoptic mange that led to the suspension of hunting for several years. Horn length in harvested male wild goats and aoudads declined during our study period. Over an 18-year period, the mean age of male goats shot as trophies rose by four years, while the age of trophy-harvested aoudads decreased by around six months over a 9-year period. Age and environmental conditions during the first few years of life explained 20% of variance in horn size in Iberian wild goat and 53% in aoudad. Population density early in life explained much of the reduction in goat horn size over time. Nevertheless, the major fall in population densities after the sarcoptic mange outbreaks did not lead to a recovery in horn size in either species. We suggest that the selective removal of large-horned animals may contribute to a decline in horn size. Other factors that may also explain the observed pattern include changes in interspecific competition, longlasting maternal effects and reduced carrying capacity due to overgrazing during high density periods. Unfortunately, our data sets did not allow us to account for the possible effects of these factors

Spread of a SARS-CoV-2 variant through Europe in the summer of 2020.

Following its emergence in late 2019, the spread of SARS-CoV-21,2 has been tracked by phylogenetic analysis of viral genome sequences in unprecedented detail3–5. Although the virus spread globally in early 2020 before borders closed, intercontinental travel has since been greatly reduced. However, travel within Europe resumed in the summer of 2020. Here we report on a SARS-CoV-2 variant, 20E (EU1), that was identified in Spain in early summer 2020 and subsequently spread across Europe. We find no evidence that this variant has increased transmissibility, but instead demonstrate how rising incidence in Spain, resumption of travel, and lack of effective screening and containment may explain the variant’s success. Despite travel restrictions, we estimate that 20E (EU1) was introduced hundreds of times to European countries by summertime travellers, which is likely to have undermined local efforts to minimize infection with SARS-CoV-2. Our results illustrate how a variant can rapidly become dominant even in the absence of a substantial transmission advantage in favourable epidemiological settings. Genomic surveillance is critical for understanding how travel can affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and thus for informing future containment strategies as travel resumes. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited

Spread of a SARS-CoV-2 variant through Europe in the summer of 2020

[EN] Following its emergence in late 2019, the spread of SARS-CoV-21,2 has been tracked by phylogenetic analysis of viral genome sequences in unprecedented detail3,4,5. Although the virus spread globally in early 2020 before borders closed, intercontinental travel has since been greatly reduced. However, travel within Europe resumed in the summer of 2020. Here we report on a SARS-CoV-2 variant, 20E (EU1), that was identified in Spain in early summer 2020 and subsequently spread across Europe. We find no evidence that this variant has increased transmissibility, but instead demonstrate how rising incidence in Spain, resumption of travel, and lack of effective screening and containment may explain the variant’s success. Despite travel restrictions, we estimate that 20E (EU1) was introduced hundreds of times to European countries by summertime travellers, which is likely to have undermined local efforts to minimize infection with SARS-CoV-2. Our results illustrate how a variant can rapidly become dominant even in the absence of a substantial transmission advantage in favourable epidemiological settings. Genomic surveillance is critical for understanding how travel can affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and thus for informing future containment strategies as travel resumes.S

Análisis del efecto de variables ambientales en la estimación de la erosionabilidad (Factor K)

The main goal of this work is to determine and analyze the influence of environmental variables on the changes of two erodibility methods, through the application of three estimation algorithms of K Factor. The analysis of this information allows knowing the significance of the input data to the models in the erodibility estimation, and likewise the consequence of the algorithm selected for the estimation of K Factor. The results show that the slopes, as well as the vegetation index (NDVI) and the mineralogical composition index (IOI), generated both by remote sensing techniques, have shown the highest values of association between methods.El objetivo principal de este trabajo se centra en la determinación y análisis de las variables ambientales que influyen en las divergencias de las estimaciones de erosionabilidad a partir de dos métodos, aplicando tres algoritmos de estimación del Factor K. La exploración de esta información permite conocer el peso que ejerce el origen de los datos de entrada a los modelos en el cómputo de erosionabilidad y qué importancia tiene en función del algoritmo elegido para la estimación del Factor K. Los resultados muestran que las pendientes, así como los índices de vegetación (NDVI) y de composición mineralógico (IOI) obtenidos mediantes técnicas de teledetección han   mostrado los valores de asociación más elevados entre ambos métodos.The main goal of this work is to determine and analyze the influence of environmental variables on the changes of two erodibility methods, through the application of three estimation algorithms of K Factor. The analysis of this information allows knowing the significance of the input data to the models in the erodibility estimation, and likewise the consequence of the algorithm selected for the estimation of K Factor. The results show that the slopes, as well as the vegetation index (NDVI) and the mineralogical composition index (IOI), generated both by remote sensing techniques, have shown the highest values of association between methods

Estimación de la humedad del suelo a niveles de capacidad de campo y punto de marchitez mediante modelos predictivos a escala regional

Estimating soil values by using spatial modeling techniques based on processes and environmental variables can resolve the scarcity of data concerning from soil properties in studies applied to large areas. In this paper we have used values of soil water potential, on levels for Field Capacity (pF 2.5) and Wilting Point (pF 4.2), obtained from 307 profiles (LUCDEME Project) distributed in the region de Murcia (over 10000 km2), for the purpose of provide an estimate of the moisture content of soil pF mentioned levels by 21 environmental variables used as predictors. The supplied results show distinct differences in the variables that compose each of the models, which suggest that the processes that determine the values of pF 2.5and pF 4.2 in soil can be different. Among the most influential variables include those associated with topography (digital elevation model, curvatures), flow accumulation linked to drainage networks, and values obtained by remote sensing techniques, such as NDVI.La estimación de valores edáficos mediante el empleo de técnicas de modelización espacial, basada en procesos y variables ambientales, puede ser una solución válida para solventar la escasez de datos relativos a la información de las propiedades del suelo en estudios aplicados a grandes áreas de trabajo. Para este trabajo se han empleado valores del potencial de succión a niveles de Capacidad de Campo (pF 2,5) y Punto de Marchitez (pF 4,2) obtenidos a partir de datos de 307 perfiles (Proyecto LUCDEME) distribuidos en la Región de Murcia (más de 10000 km2), con el fin de proporcionar una estimación del contenido de humedad del suelo a los niveles de pF mencionados mediante 21 variables ambientales utilizadas como predictores. Los resultados aportados muestran claras diferencias en las variables que componen cada uno de los modelos, lo que sugiere que los procesos que determinan los valores de pF 2,5 y pF 4,2 en el suelo pueden ser distintos. Entre las variables más influyentes destacan las asociadas al relieve (i.e. modelo digital de elevaciones, curvaturas), la acumulación de flujo vinculada a las redes de drenaje, y los valores obtenidos mediante técnicas de teledetección, como el NDVI