Negative responses of highland pines to anthropogenic activities in inland Spain: a palaeoecological perspective

Palaeoecological evidence indicates that highland pines were dominant in extensive areas of the mountains of Central and Northern Iberia during the first half of the Holocene. However, following several millennia of anthropogenic pressure, their natural ranges are now severely reduced. Although pines have been frequently viewed as first-stage successional species responding positively to human disturbance, some recent palaeobotanical work has proposed fire disturbance and human deforestation as the main drivers of this vegetation turnover. To assess the strength of the evidence for this hypothesis and to identify other possible explanations for this scenario, we review the available information on past vegetation change in the mountains of northern inland Iberia. We have chosen data from several sites that offer good chronological control, including palynological records with microscopic charcoal data and sites with plant macro- and megafossil occurrence. We conclude that although the available long-term data are still fragmentary and that new methods are needed for a better understanding of the ecological history of Iberia, fire events and human activities (probably modulated by climate) have triggered the pine demise at different locations and different temporal scales. In addition, all palaeoxylological, palynological and charcoal results obtained so far are fully compatible with a rapid human-induced ecological change that could have caused a range contraction of highland pines in western Iberia

Trends and outcome of neoadjuvant treatment for rectal cancer: A retrospective analysis and critical assessment of a 10-year prospective national registry on behalf of the Spanish Rectal Cancer Project

Introduction: Preoperative treatment and adequate surgery increase local control in rectal cancer. However, modalities and indications for neoadjuvant treatment may be controversial. Aim of this study was to assess the trends of preoperative treatment and outcomes in patients with rectal cancer included in the Rectal Cancer Registry of the Spanish Associations of Surgeons. Method: This is a STROBE-compliant retrospective analysis of a prospective database. All patients operated on with curative intention included in the Rectal Cancer Registry were included. Analyses were performed to compare the use of neoadjuvant/adjuvant treatment in three timeframes: I)2006–2009; II)2010–2013; III)2014–2017. Survival analyses were run for 3-year survival in timeframes I-II. Results: Out of 14, 391 patients, 8871 (61.6%) received neoadjuvant treatment. Long-course chemo/radiotherapy was the most used approach (79.9%), followed by short-course radiotherapy ± chemotherapy (7.6%). The use of neoadjuvant treatment for cancer of the upper third (15-11 cm) increased over time (31.5%vs 34.5%vs 38.6%, p = 0.0018). The complete regression rate slightly increased over time (15.6% vs 16% vs 18.5%; p = 0.0093); the proportion of patients with involved circumferential resection margins (CRM) went down from 8.2% to 7.3%and 5.5% (p = 0.0004). Neoadjuvant treatment significantly decreased positive CRM in lower third tumors (OR 0.71, 0.59–0.87, Cochrane-Mantel-Haenszel P = 0.0008). Most ypN0 patients also received adjuvant therapy. In MR-defined stage III patients, preoperative treatment was associated with significantly longer local-recurrence-free survival (p < 0.0001), and cancer-specific survival (p < 0.0001). The survival benefit was smaller in upper third cancers. Conclusion: There was an increasing trend and a potential overuse of neoadjuvant treatment in cancer of the upper rectum. Most ypN0 patients received postoperative treatment. Involvement of CRM in lower third tumors was reduced after neoadjuvant treatment. Stage III and MRcN + benefited the most

Strong continentality and effective moisture drove unforeseen vegetation dynamics since the last interglacial at inland Mediterranean areas: The Villarquemado sequence in NE Iberia

Few continental palaeoenvironmental sedimentary sequences from Southern Europe are long enough to span the last interglacial period (Marine Isotopic Stage-MIS 5), the last glacial cycle (MIS 4 to 2) and the Holocene. El Cañizar de Villarquemado (North-Eastern Iberian Peninsula) is an exceptional sedimentary lacustrine sequence spanning the last ca. 135,000 years of environmental change in an area of inland Iberia characterized by Mediterranean climate with strong continentality. We present a multiproxy study which combines palynological, sedimentological and geochemical analyses framed by an independent, robust chronology. Hydrological and climate evolutions were reconstructed by sedimentological and geochemical proxies. Development of wetlands and shallow carbonate lakes support relatively humid conditions during MIS 6, till the onset of MIS 4, and during the Holocene. Palaeohydrological conditions were drier during MIS 5 (dominance of peat environments) than during the Holocene (more frequent carbonate-producing lakes). Sedimentological evidence indicates extremely arid conditions during MIS 3 with greater activity of alluvial fans prograding into the basin. Sedimentary facies variability highlights a large environmental and hydrological variability during MIS 2 and a rapid humidity response to the onset of the Holocene. Compared to classic Mediterranean sites, we found novel pollen assemblages for the end of MIS 6 and MIS 5 indicating that the vegetation cover was essentially represented by sustained high proportions of continentality-adapted taxa dominated by Juniperus during the relatively humid conditions since MIS 6 till the onset of MIS 4. Higher evapotranspiration in inland Iberia would have increased during periods of higher seasonal insolation maxima, impeding soil development and the usual mesophyte expansion during interglacials observed in other Mediterranean areas. Four main periods of forest development occurred in Villarquemado during MIS 5e, MIS 5c, MIS 5a and the Holocene; secondary peaks occurred also during MIS 3. During colder but still relatively humid MIS 4, junipers and Mediterranean taxa disappear but some mesophytes and cold-tolerant species persisted and Pinus became the dominant tree up to modern times. Pollen assemblages and geochemical data variability suggest a dominant control of seasonality and the impact of North Atlantic dynamics both during MIS 5 (cold events C18-C24) and full glacial conditions (HE and D-O interstadials). At millennial scales, steppe herbaceous assemblages dominated during the extremely arid conditions of MIS 3 and pines and steppe taxa during glacial period MIS 2. Villarquemado sequence demonstrates that the resilient behaviour of conifers in continental areas of inland Southern European regions is key to understand the glacial–interglacial vegetation evolution and to evaluate scenarios for potential impacts of global change

Late Holocene ecological history of Pinus pinaster forests in the Sierra de Gredos of central Spain

15 páginas, 4 figuras, 1 tabla.This article describes the patterns and processes of vegetation change and fire history in the Late Holocene (c. 2400 calendar year BP) palaeoecological sequence of Lanzahíta, Sierra de Gredos in central Spain, and provides the first Iberian pollen sequence undertaken within a monospecific Pinus pinaster woodland. These new data reassess not only the autochthonous nature of this pine species in the region and the Iberian Peninsula, but also the naturalness of well-developed cluster pine forests. Conflicts of palaeoecological evidence with phytosociological models of vegetation dynamics in the study region, and the relationships of P. pinaster with fire occurrence in Mediterranean-type ecosystems, are discussed.This study was funded by the projects HAR2008-06477-C03-03/HIST, CGL-2006-2956-BOS (Plan Nacional I + D + i, Ministry of Education and Science, Spain), CSD2007-00058 (Consolider Program, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain) and Paleodiversitas Network (Fundación Séneca, Murcia).Peer reviewe