Buenas prácticas de innovación docente en la Universidad de Córdoba

El proyecto presenta la creación de la figura Bosque Universitario, que se incorpora al currículo docente de la titulación de Ingeniero de Montes para su uso didáctico en la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica y de Montes de la Universidad de Córdoba (UCO). Gracias a esta herramienta –cuya gestión ha costado 1.200 euros–, el alumnado conoce la gestión forestal de un monte y las funciones que se llevan a cabo en beneficio de la sociedad

Linkages between Climate, Radial Growth and Defoliation in Abies pinsapo Forests from Southern Spain

Systematic forest networks of health monitoring have been established to follow changes in tree vigor and mortality. These networks often lack long-term growth data, but they could be complemented with tree ring data, since both defoliation and radial growth are proxies of changes in tree vigor. For instance, a severe water shortage should reduce growth and increase tree defoliation in drought-prone areas. However, the effects of climatic stress and drought on growth and defoliation could also depend on tree age. To address these issues, we compared growth and defoliation data with recent climate variability and drought severity in Abies pinsapo old and young trees sampled in Southern Spain, where a systematic health network (Andalucía Permanent Plot Network) was established. Our aims were: (i) to assess the growth sensitivity of old and young A. pinsapo trees and (ii) to test if relative changes in radial growth were related with recent defoliation, for instance, after severe droughts. We also computed the resilience indices to quantify how old and young trees recovered growth after recent droughts. Wet-cool conditions during the prior autumn and the current early summer improved the growth of old trees, whereas late-spring wet conditions enhanced the growth of young trees. Old trees were more sensitive to wet and sunny conditions in the early summer than young trees. Old and young trees were more responsive to the Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index drought index of June–July and July–August calculated at short (one–three months) and mid (three–six months) time scales, respectively. Old trees presented a higher resistance to a severe drought in 1995 than young trees. A positive association was found between stand defoliation and relative growth. Combining monitoring and tree ring networks is useful for the detection of early warning signals of dieback in similar drought-prone forests

Competition modulates the response of growth to climate in pure and mixed Abies pinsapo subsp. maroccana forests in northern Morocco

The effects of changes in structure and composition on the dynamics and responses of secondary forests to climate change are understudied. Secondary forests of Abies pinsapo var. maroccana are often a mosaic of patches of various development stages showing different stand structures and successional stages. We hypothesise that the structure, species composition and tree-to-tree competition of A. pinsapo stands in Talassemtane National Park (Riff in northern Morocco) modulate the potential response of these secondary forests to climate change. Nine plots representing three species mixtures were established in A. pinsapo-dominated forests, and dendrometric and dendroecological surveys were conducted. The two-parameter Weibull function was used to investigate the diameter distributions of Abies pinsapo, Pinus nigra subsp. mauritanica. Cedrus atlantica, Acer opalus, Juniperus oxycedrus and Quercus ilex for each site along the compositional gradient. We quantified changes in radial growth, response to climate and drought, and components of growth resilience. Finally, the influence of neighbourhood competition on individual tree growth was evaluated using the a competition index. Diameter distributions had an exponential, reverse-J character for A. pinsapo in pure and C. atlantica mixed stands. By contrast, A. pinsapo presented a positively-skewed diameter distribution dominated by small-sized trees in P. nigra mixed stands. There was a significant correlation between tree growth and climate on all forest types, with differing magnitudes per species. Significant precipitation-growth correlations were found for the previous autumn and winter (October, December) in A. pinsapo. Drought events reduced A. pinsapo’s resistance to subsequent droughts when growing in pure and mixed stands with C. atlantica. This decline was statistically significant by the end of the studied period (1999–2005). In contrast, mixed forests showed the highest recovery after drought. Successive drought events consistently reduced A. pinsapo‘s resilience to drought, regardless of species composition. In pure A. pinsapo and in A. pinsapo-C. atlantica mixed forests, competition reduced A. pinsapo’s growth, while in A. pinsapo-P. nigra mixed forests increased competition with P. nigra seemed to have a positive-to-neutral effect on A. pinsapo growth. Here, we showed that the response to climate and resilience of A. pinsapo forests could be severely influenced by structure, species composition, and competition, potentially influencing our expectations of long-term persistence of old-growth coniferous trees in the Riff mountains. Understanding forest resilience and response to changing climate has important implications towards managing and safeguarding the productivity and health of these old growth forests

Evolution over Time of Ventilatory Management and Outcome of Patients with Neurologic Disease∗

OBJECTIVES: To describe the changes in ventilator management over time in patients with neurologic disease at ICU admission and to estimate factors associated with 28-day hospital mortality. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of three prospective, observational, multicenter studies. SETTING: Cohort studies conducted in 2004, 2010, and 2016. PATIENTS: Adult patients who received mechanical ventilation for more than 12 hours. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among the 20,929 patients enrolled, we included 4,152 (20%) mechanically ventilated patients due to different neurologic diseases. Hemorrhagic stroke and brain trauma were the most common pathologies associated with the need for mechanical ventilation. Although volume-cycled ventilation remained the preferred ventilation mode, there was a significant (p < 0.001) increment in the use of pressure support ventilation. The proportion of patients receiving a protective lung ventilation strategy was increased over time: 47% in 2004, 63% in 2010, and 65% in 2016 (p < 0.001), as well as the duration of protective ventilation strategies: 406 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2004, 523 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2010, and 585 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2016 (p < 0.001). There were no differences in the length of stay in the ICU, mortality in the ICU, and mortality in hospital from 2004 to 2016. Independent risk factors for 28-day mortality were age greater than 75 years, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II greater than 50, the occurrence of organ dysfunction within first 48 hours after brain injury, and specific neurologic diseases such as hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke, and brain trauma. CONCLUSIONS: More lung-protective ventilatory strategies have been implemented over years in neurologic patients with no effect on pulmonary complications or on survival. We found several prognostic factors on mortality such as advanced age, the severity of the disease, organ dysfunctions, and the etiology of neurologic disease