Evaluación genética de la planta forestal : concepto y resultados disponibles para rodales de pinos españoles

Presentamos una revisión de conceptos y resultados relacionados con la evaluación genética de los pinos españoles, centrada en los patrones de variación geográfica entre poblaciones. Tras describir someramente los principales mecanismos genéticos que explican esta variación, se comentan los distintos tipos de ensayos, a la luz de la legislación vigente sobre materiales de reproducción. Hemos elegido los principales resultados obtenidos hasta la fecha, con un grado de divulgación muy diverso: desde tesis doctorales y trabajos fin de carrera hasta comunicaciones en congresos y artículos científicos en revistas indexadas. Nuestro principal objetivo es dar a conocer la gran potencialidad de la variación intraespecífica de nuestras principales especies forestales de forma que se pueda sacar el máximo partido de ella dentro de una gestión forestal sostenible.________________________________We are presenting a revision of concepts and results related to the genetic evaluation of Spanish pines, focused on geographical variation patterns among populations. After describing briefly the main genetic mechanisms underlying this variation, we comment the different types of genetic trials, at the light of the current legislation on FRM. We chose the main results obtained up till now, yet with a diverse divulgation level: from doctoral Thesis and Master reports up to congress proceedings and papers on the scientific citation index. Our main goal is highlighting the wide potential of intraspecific variation of our main forest species such that it can be optimally used in the framework of a sustainable forest management

Hydrological Modeling in temporary streams: A case study in Pardiela basin, Southern Portugal

The project “Conservation and rehabilitation strategies for temporary Mediterranean river corridors: a case study on Pardiela basin, southern Portugal (Guadiana basin)", is being carried out,with the collaboration of researchers from diverse scientific areas, in order to increase the knowledge on temporary streams. The project includes different approaches at reach and basin scales, regarding the study of temporal interactions among different ecological components such as climate, morphology of stream corridor and hydrology. The obtained results were integrated in basin models: Mohid Land, an integrant part of the software Mohid River Network and in SWAT model. The outputs from Mohid Land model defined that there is 10% average of probability of total annual runoff occurrence in headwater reaches. This means that, in headwaters reaches,which represent the major area of the river basin, the percentage of time without runoff is close to 90%, exposing the ephemerality of temporary headwater reaches, the most fragile areas. The main issue related to temporary rivers is regarding water scarcity since rainfall is concentrated in small temporal events which makes water availability management a complex issue. The sustainable development at local and regional levels requires the improvement of conservation and rehabilitation strategies for this ecosystem

Listeria monocytogenes in Milk Products

peer-reviewedMilk and milk products are frequently identified as vectors for transmission of Listeria monocytogenes. Milk can be contaminated at farm level either by indirect external contamination from the farm environment or less frequently by direct contamination of the milk from infection in the animal. Pasteurisation of milk will kill L. monocytogenes, but post-pasteurisation contamination, consumption of unpasteurised milk and manufacture of unpasteurised milk products can lead to milk being the cause of outbreaks of listeriosis. Therefore, there is a concern that L. monocytogenes in milk could lead to a public health risk. To protect against this risk, there is a need for awareness surrounding the issues, hygienic practices to reduce the risk and adequate sampling and analysis to verify that the risk is controlled. This review will highlight the issues surrounding L. monocytogenes in milk and milk products, including possible control measures. It will therefore create awareness about L. monocytogenes, contributing to protection of public health

7th Drug hypersensitivity meeting: part two

No abstract availabl

Twenty-three unsolved problems in hydrology (UPH) – a community perspective

This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through on-line media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focussed on process-based understanding of hydrological variability and causality at all space and time scales. Increased attention to environmental change drives a new emphasis on understanding how change propagates across interfaces within the hydrological system and across disciplinary boundaries. In particular, the expansion of the human footprint raises a new set of questions related to human interactions with nature and water cycle feedbacks in the context of complex water management problems. We hope that this reflection and synthesis of the 23 unsolved problems in hydrology will help guide research efforts for some years to come

Estudo da atractividade do investimento na produção de diamantes de origem aluvionar

Até há algum tempo, a situação era favorável ao investimento na produção de diamantes de qualidade joia, nomeadamente de origem aluvionar. No entanto, com a instabilidade actual dos preços e com outras ameaças que se perfilam no horizonte, qualquer decisão de investimento nesta área deve de ser cuidadosamente ponderada...

Plasticity in reproduction and growth among 52 range-wide populations of a Mediterranean conifer: Adaptive responses to environmental stress

A plastic response towards enhanced reproduction is expected in stressful environments, but it is assumed to trade off against vegetative growth and efficiency in the use of available resources deployed in reproduction [reproductive efficiency (RE)]. Evidence supporting this expectation is scarce for plants, particularly for long-lived species. Forest trees such as Mediterranean pines provide ideal models to study the adaptive value of allocation to reproduction vs. vegetative growth given their among-population differentiation for adaptive traits and their remarkable capacity to cope with dry and low-fertility environments. We studied 52 range-wide Pinus halepensis populations planted into two environmentally contrasting sites during their initial reproductive stage. We investigated the effect of site, population and their interaction on vegetative growth, threshold size for female reproduction, reproductive-vegetative size relationships and RE. We quantified correlations among traits and environmental variables to identify allocation trade-offs and ecotypic trends. Genetic variation for plasticity was high for vegetative growth, whereas it was nonsignificant for reproduction. Size-corrected reproduction was enhanced in the more stressful site supporting the expectation for adverse conditions to elicit plastic responses in reproductive allometry. However, RE was unrelated with early reproductive investment. Our results followed theoretical predictions and support that phenotypic plasticity for reproduction is adaptive under stressful environments. Considering expectations of increased drought in the Mediterranean, we hypothesize that phenotypic plasticity together with natural selection on reproductive traits will play a relevant role in the future adaptation of forest tree species. © 2013 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the project Mitigenfor (RTA 2011-00016-00-00). Regina Chambel was granted by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for technical support to GENFORED network.Peer Reviewe