Biological Conservation and Nature Protection Strategies in Spanish Atlantic Region

Despite the fact that the loss of biodiversity continues to be an unresolved problem at a global level, it is possible to identify new alternatives and initiatives in biodiversity conservation. From the environmental strategic framework created worldwide, an important World Network of Biosphere Reserves has been implemented under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, which in the European Union in general, and in Spain in particular, is strongly interrelated with Natura 2000 network that is created under Directive 92/43/EEC. In the present work, the importance of the Spanish Atlantic region for biodiversity is assessed, contextualizing the networks of protected areas created in this territory and valuing the created synergies that have favored the start-up of projects and agreements aimed at reducing the loss of biodiversity and achieving sustainability

Implicacións da propiedade da terra na planificación e xestión dos espazos protexidos en Galicia

A titularidade dos terreos incluídos nos espazos naturais galegos foi mudando co paso do tempo. Nas primeiras etapas, os espazos protexidos abranguían áreas de escasa superficie de titularidade ou tutela públicas. A partires da promulgación da política autonómica, o conxunto de espazos naturais protexidos galegos aumentará a súa superficie de xeito espectacular, sobre todo coa posta en marcha da Rede Natura 2000, realizándose este incremento fundamentalmente sobre territorios de titularidade privada. A planificación destes espazos soamente será desenvolvida de xeito heteroxéneo, acumulando prolongados retrasos e conflitos na conservación e xestión dos compoñentes naturais. Dende o ano 2007 ata a actualidade, as declaracións de espazos de iniciativa municipal e privada son as predominantes, executando os correspondentes instrumentos de planificación os propios promotores dos devanditos espazos, amosando unha maior axilidade e eficacia no cumprimento dos prazos que os espazos de tutela autonómica. Neste sentido, na actualidade estanse a configurar novas ferramentas para a xestión e conservación das áreas privadas, como a custodia do territorio, así como se consolidan iniciativas para a declaración de espazos que contribúan á conservación da biodiversidade e a promoción do desenvolvemento sostible, como é o caso das Reservas de BiosferaThe ownership of land included in Galician protected areas was changing over time. In the early stages, the protected areas ranged small areas of public ownership or guardianship. From the enactment of regional policy, the set of Galician protected areas increased its surface dramatically, especially with the implementation of Natura 2000, being realized this increase mainly on privately owned lands. The planning of these spaces will be developed only so heterogeneous, accumulating long delays and conflicts in the conservation and management of natural components. Since 2007 until today, protected areas promoted by local and private initiative are the predominant declarations, running the corresponding planning instruments made by promoters of these areas. They have showed a greater agility and efficiency in meeting deadlines than public regional guardianship protected areas. In this sense, today new tools are being set up for the management and conservation of private protected areas, such as land stewardship, as well as initiatives to consolidate the statement of spaces that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and the promotion of sustainable development, as is the case of Biosphere ReservesS

Protecting Wetlands: Insights from the Northern Iberian Peninsula (Galicia, NW Spain)

Wetlands are a key tool for environment conservation policy. They harbour important biodiversity values such as priority habitats and fragile species, reduce the impacts of floods, improve water quality, absorb pollutants, and protect shores from climate change effects, also acting as carbon reservoirs in the medium and long term. From an international point of view, those sites containing representative, rare or unique wetlands, are designated under Ramsar Convention, which was signed in 1971, being added to the Convention’s List of Wetlands of International Importance and become known as Ramsar sites. More than 50 years after the signing of Ramsar Convention, its degree of application is very uneven across the different territories. This paper analyses the situation from the Atlantic area of the Iberian Peninsula, and specifically from Galicia, a territory that has a large number of wetlands, both terrestrial, marine, underground and artificial, with sites of high value for biodiversity and natural heritage conservation, but where there is no adequate protection over them, documented by the presence of a large number of anthropic impacts that is leading to biodiversity deterioration, habitat destruction and species decline

Holocene environmental change on the Atlantic coast of NW Iberia as inferred from the Ponzos wetland sequence

The intertidal environment of the Ponzos beach (NW Iberian Peninsula) hosts a sedimentary sequence (including large wood fragments) deposited during the first half of the Holocene in a hygrophilous continental wetland. Pollen and macrofossil data alongside radiocarbon dating allow reconstruction of the changes that occurred during the Early and Middle Holocene in the landscape of the NW Iberia coastal lowlands, as well as the local wetland plant communities, in response to the climate variations and the eustatic sea-level oscillations. The sequence represents the evolution of a coastal wetland from its initial phases as a hygrophilous wetland towards the subsequent installation of a freshwater lagoon. Pollen data show the dominant role of Atlantic (mainly deciduous) woody taxa, the scarcity of conifers and the lack of Mediterranean elements in the coastal landscapes around the Ponzos site. The presence and abundance of some taxa such as deciduous Quercus, Castanea, Fagus, Tilia and Ulmus during the Early Holocene provides further support for the occurrence of glacial refuges in the Cantabrian-Atlantic area during the Last Glaciation. The diverse vegetation that characterizes the modern landscapes in this territory established later, spreading from these glacial reservoirs of biodiversity. In this sense, the notable and early presence of Fagus at the beginning of the Holocene, a tree also previously recorded during several phases of the Last Glacial Cycle on the NW Iberia coasts, is noteworthy. In addition, during the Early and Middle Holocene are recorded other trees that are currently extirpated as natural taxa in the area, such as Pinus, Tilia and CarpinusS

A Fraga de Santo Estevo do Ermo (Barreiros, Lugo): un lugar clave para a conservación de pteridófitas no Norte de Galicia (NW España)

Neste traballo avalíase a importancia botánica para a conservación da contorna da Fraga de Sto. Estevo do Ermo, situada no concello de Barreiros (Lugo, NW España). Dentro das 331 ha que comprende este espazo, identificáronse un total de total de 219 taxons de plantas vasculares, das que 19 (8,6% do total) son Pteridófitas. Seis taxóns, entre eles os fentos Dryopteris aemula, Vandenboschia speciosa e Woodwardia radicans, son especies protexidas cuxas poboacións locais están asociadas ás 15,2 ha que ocupan os 6 tipos de hábitat do Anexo I da DC 92/43/CEE (dous deles de carácter prioritario) recoñecidos na área de estudo. A pesar da reducida superficie que ocupan estes ambientes ecolóxicos, este enclave pode cualificarse como un lugar de gran relevancia para a conservación das pteridófitas a nivel rexionalThis study assesses the importance of the Fraga de Sto Estevo do Hermo and its surroundings (Barreiros council, Lugo, NW Spain) as a botanical conservation site. A total of 219 taxa of vascular plants were identified, 19 of them (8,6%) being Pteridophytes. Six species (Ilex aquifolium, Ruscus aculeatus, Narcissus triandrus, and the ferns Dryopteris aemula, Vandenboschia speciosa and Woodwardia radicans) are protected species. They were associated to the 6 habitat types of the Annex I of the CD 92/43EEC that exist in the area, which occupy only 15,2 out of the 331 ha of the whole study area. Despite the small area covered by these habitats, this site can be qualified as very important for pteridophyte conservation at the regional levelS

Diagnóstico y Caracterización de los Brezales Húmedos (Nat-2000 4020*) de las Sierras Septentrionales de Galicia a partir de Criterios Científicos: Importancia para su Conservación

En el trabajo se realiza una caracterización de las variaciones estacionales de la humedad del sustrato de los brezales húmedos de la Serra do Xistral (Lugo, Galicia), y se compara con la humedad de los diferentes ecosistemas que forman la catena vegetacional en la que se enmarcan, así como con la de otros tipos de humedales estacionales. La representatividad de este territorio ha conllevado su inclusión en la Red Natura 2000, mediante la designación del Lugar de Importancia Comunitaria (LIC) Serra do Xistral (ES1120015). Los datos presentados ponen de manifiesto un funcionamiento ecológico homogéneo de los brezales húmedos en relación al resto del complejo húmedo, así como su funcionamiento inequívoco como ecosistemas húmedos. Por tanto, se confirma el diagnóstico de los brezales húmedos de las Sierras Septentrionales gallegas, vinculados al tipo prioritario Nat-2000 4020*, incluido en el Anexo I de la Directiva Comunitaria 92/43/CEE. El diagnóstico y caracterización de los tipos de hábitat debe considerar la estructura, composición y funcionalidad ecológica, mediante el empleo de conocimientos científicos y técnicos. Esto resulta de vital importancia, sobre todo para la conservación de los tipos prioritarios, evitando la puesta en marcha de planes y proyectos sin una adecuada evaluación de sus repercusionesIn this paper we have performed a characterization of the soil moisture in several wet heaths from Serra do Xistral (Lugo, Galicia), to be compared with that in the different ecosystems existing at the same vegetation catena, as well as other seasonal wetlands in the region. The representativeness of this territory has led to its inclusion in the Natura 2000 network, by designating the Site of Community Importance (SCI) Serra do Xistral (ES1120015). The data presented show a homogeneous ecological functioning of wet heaths in relation to the rest of the wet complex, and sustain their unambiguous operation as wet ecosystems. Therefore, it confirms the diagnosis of wet heaths in the northern mountains of Galicia, linked to priority type Nat-2000 4020*, included in Annex I of the EU Directive 92/43/EEC. The diagnosis and characterization of habitat types should consider the structure, composition and ecological functionality through the use of scientific and technical knowledge. This is of vital importance, particularly for the conservation of priority types, avoiding the implementation of plans and projects without a proper impact assessmentS

Galician Atlantic Islands National Park: Challenges for the Conservation and Management of a Maritime-Terrestrial Protected Area

At present, biodiversity conservation and management in Spanish National Parks in Spain must respond to a series of regulations at a European, national and regional level, also adapting to scientific-technical progress. The availability of increasingly precise data on the values to be conserved (ecosystems, habitats, species, geodiversity) in these protected areas enables more detailed management, but also requires more rigorous, powerful, and multidisciplinary tools. Maritime-terrestrial national parks are highly sensitive areas to public use, so their impact must be one of the most important factors to take into account when planning their management. This work evaluates the past and present challenges for conservation in Galician Atlantic Islands National Park (NW Spain), where biodiversity conservation and management has evolved over time in a significant way, providing a valid case study applicable to other national parks worldwide, as well as similar situations in other contexts and scenarios. Future challenges are arising in the National Park to improve the conservation status of natural habitats and wildlife, mainly through new European initiatives that may establish important synergies with other countries

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 2GeV/c. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B. V.Peer reviewe

Event-shape engineering for inclusive spectra and elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV

Peer reviewe