Diagnosis of the ecological condition of the drove road network in the Autonomous Community of Madrid (central Spain)

Context: Drove roads are landscape corridors traditionally used for livestock movement in many regions of the world, including Spain, where they cover about 0.8% of the land. They have ecological importance due to their role in connectivity, seed dispersal, soil preservation, habitat and biodiversity conservation, and the provision of ecosystem services. Drove roads are experiencing deterioration due to the abandonment of extensive grazing and transhumance. Objectives: We aim to characterize the conservation status and main predictors of deterioration of the drove roads in the Community of Madrid, a region in Spain with a high presence of these corridors. Methods: We considered all the network of the region, with the main analyses based on a sample of 160 segments of 200 m-long, which were evaluated using GIS and fieldwork. Results: Nearly one third of the network surface is occupied by crops, communication infrastructure, and urban or industrial surfaces. Natural habitats make up 60% of the network and are affected by soil degradation and grazing abandonment. Landscape matrix was the main predictor of drove road status, with urban and cropland matrices leading to a reduction in spatial integrity and availability for natural habitats. Grazing was most preserved in grassland matrices. Eco-district, drove road width, and distance to city center also had influence on conservation status. Conclusions: Despite their concerning state, the network is restorable in many areas of the region. Restoration should focus on intensified and simplified landscapes, where the network plays a more decisive role, and should consider the reintroduction of livestockOpen Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This work was supported by the European Union Life Program (project LIFE CAÑADAS, LIFE 18 NAT/ES/000930

Modelo de almacenamiento según clases de productos para mejorar las operaciones en un centro de distribución de retail

71 p.Esta tesis tiene la finalidad de proponer una solución a un problema de la industria del retail, el cual consiste en mejorar las distancias y costos de recorridos dentro de un almacén. Estos modelos de almacenamiento, dentro de sus restricciones, establecen que los productos deben ser ubicados de tal forma que minimicen distancia, dadas sus características y magnitudes. Para el caso de los almacenes de la industria del retail, éstos manejan una diversidad muy grande de productos de distintas características, por lo cual es necesario trabajar con modelos que sepan discriminar entre productos de similares características y productos diferentes. Dado lo anterior, se propone un modelo, el cual tiene la capacidad de optimizar la distancia desde la posición de almacenamiento de un producto, hasta los andenes de descarga, utilizando restricciones que establecen capacidades y criterios de decisión, los cuales discriminan entre cada clase de productos. Este modelo utiliza como uno de los factores discriminantes, la rotación de los productos dentro del almacén. La utilidad del modelo es que puede ser utilizado para tomar decisiones estratégicas de cómo abordar el movimiento de productos dentro del almacén de retail, ya que al optimizar las distancias, reduce los costos operacionales que puedan influir en dichas operaciones. Para esta problemática se desarrolló un modelo de programación lineal entera, basado en clases. Para evaluar la complejidad del modelo, se realizaron experimentaciones computacionales, que permitieron determinar que el grado de complejidad del modelo, va aumentando de forma polinomial, de acuerdo al número de clases que posee el problema. A mayor cantidad de clases, tanto los tiempos de ejecución, como los costos involucrados a la función objetivo, van aumentando. El modelo fue aplicado a un caso práctico, donde los principales resultados fueron; la determinación de los productos que tienen la mayor rotación dentro del centro de distribución, y la minimización de la distancia hasta las localizaciones. Palabras Claves: Retail , Problema de Almacenamiento, Rotación de Productos, programación líneal entera, Clases. Abstract: This thesis aims to solve a problem in the retail industry which consists of optimizing the distances and costs of journeys within a warehouse. These storage models within their restrictions, state that products must be located so as to minimize the distance, given their characteristics and magnitudes. In the case of warehouses in the retail industry, since they handle a very large variety of products with different characteristics, it is necessary to work with models whichcan discriminate between similar products and products together. Given the aforementioned, a modelis proposed, which has the ability to optimize the distance from the storage position of a product to the unloading docks, using constraintsthatset capabilities and decision criteria which discriminate between each class of goods, this model uses as one of the discriminating factors, the rotation of products within the warehouse. The usefulness of the model is that it can be used for decision making strategies of how to address the movement of products within the retail warehousebecause once the distance is optimized, it will reduce operational costs which mayinfluencethose operations. For this problem a linear integer programming model based on classes was developed. To assess the complexity of the model, computational experiments were performed, which allowed to determine that the degree of complexity of the model increases according to the number of classes theproblem has. With a highernumber of classes, both execution times, and costs involved in the objective function will increase. The model was applied to a practical case, where the main results were: the determination of the products that have the highest turnover in the distribution center and the minimization of the distance to the locations. Keywords: Retail, Storage Problem, Rotation Products, linear integer programming

Edaphic arthropods as indicators of the ecological condition of temperate grassland ecosystems: A systematic review

Temperate grasslands are part of one of the biggest biomes on earth, sustaining high levels of biodiversity and providing multiple ecosystem services. However, the area covered by this open ecosystem is decreasing worldwide, due to several threats like land use change or climate change. Ground-dwelling arthropods are an important group of the community of grassland soil invertebrates, and they play a key role within this ecosystem, while at the same time being sensitive to the changes caused by management practices like grazing, mowing, prescribed fire, etc. Using the Web of Science database, we conducted a systematic review to identify which groups of arthropods are being used as indicators to evaluate the ecological condition of grasslands in temperate regions, and which indices are being measured. As grasslands have been traditionally managed by humans for centuries, their ecological condition is intrinsically linked to the development of different management practices like grazing, mowing or restoration strategies, which usually affect soil and vegetation structure. We found that macro-arthropods were used in a greater number of studies than micro-arthropods (91% vs 15%), and within that size group, beetles were the preferred indicator in most of the temperate grassland types (49% of the studies), followed by spiders and ants. Few studies used grasshoppers to monitor grasslands changes. The indices more frequently assessed were species richness and abundance, and we identified that the response to the different management practices was quite heterogeneous. Restoration and grazing effects were the two factors more frequently evaluated for macro-arthropods, while micro-arthropods (Acari and Collembola) were dominant to assess land use type. Overall, our findings highlight the need to increase the number of studies in some temperate regions, to explore the potential of overlooked groups of arthropods, and to include indices that measure functional diversity or community compositionThis work was financially supported by the European Union Life Program (project LIFE CANADAS, LIFE 18 NAT/ES/000930

Spatial patterns of species richness and nestedness in ant assemblages along an elevational gradient in a Mediterranean mountain range

Background The study of biodiversity spatial patterns along ecological gradients can serve to elucidate factors shaping biological community structure and predict ecosystem responses to global change. Ant assemblages are particularly interesting as study cases, because ant species play a key role in many ecosystem processes and have frequently been identified as useful bioindicators. Methods Here we analyzed the response of ant species richness and assemblage composition across elevational gradients in Mediterranean grasslands and subsequently tested whether these responses were stable spatially and temporally. We sampled ant assemblages in two years (2014, 2015) in two mountain ranges (Guadarrama, Serrota) in Central Spain, along an elevational gradient ranging from 685 to 2390 m a.s.l. Results Jackknife estimates of ant species richness ranged from three to 18.5 species and exhibited a hump-shaped relationship with elevation that peaked at mid-range values (1100–1400 m). This pattern was transferable temporally and spatially. Elevation was related to ant assemblage composition and facilitated separation of higher elevation assemblages (> 1700 m) from the remaining lower elevation species groups. Ant assemblages were nested; therefore species assemblages with a decreased number of species were a subset of the richer assemblages, although species turnover was more important than pure nestedness in all surveys. The degree of nestedness changed non-linearly as a cubic polynomial with elevation. These assembly patterns coincided more clearly over time than between the two study regions. Discussion We suggest double environmental stressors typical of Mediterranean mountains explained species richness patterns: drought at low elevations and cold temperatures at high elevations likely constrained richness at both extremes of elevational gradients. The fact that species turnover showed a dominant role over pure nestedness suggested current ant assemblages were context-dependent and highly vulnerable to global change, which threatens the conservation of present day native ant communities, particularly at high elevation

Land use change of transhumant drove roads leads to soil quality degradation: a case study in Central Spain

Grassland soils, beyond their role as biodiversity reservoirs, actively contribute to the provision of numerous ecosystem services. In the Iberian Peninsula, drove roads, the traditional routes used for seasonal livestock movements in search of the most productive pastures, play a key role in the preservation of semi-natural grasslands and in the protection of the upper soil horizon. However, the absence of transhumant pastoralism has led to the degradation of these natural corridors, with unexplored consequences in terms of soil quality and functioning. To investigate the relationship between the conservation state of these livestock routes and soil characteristics, which had not been researched to date, we selected thirty sites within the Madrid drove road network in central Spain. We established three categories: (i) reference well-preserved drove roads and two degraded states: (ii) overgrown abandoned and (iii) eroded drove roads and collected soil samples at each state. We determined soil physicochemical variables like the percentage of C, total N and P, available K, pH and electrical conductivity. We also measured soil enzyme activity using fluorometric methods and assessed litter decomposition through the Tea Bag Index experiment. Our findings demonstrated that the preservation state of drove roads had a significant impact on soil fertility. The mean carbon percentage was up to ten times lower in eroded drove roads compared to reference sites, while nitrogen content was four times higher in reference sites, and phosphorus and potassium content were twice as high in reference drove roads compared to eroded sites. Litter decomposition rate was also half in eroded soils compared to reference sites. Although the nutrient content and litter decomposition of overgrown abandoned drove roads did not differ from reference sites, enzyme activity was significantly higher in reference soils compared to both degraded states. Arylsulfatase activity was six times higher in reference plots, which also showed twice as much phosphatase activity and up to four times as much β-xylosidase activity. Our results confirmed our hypothesis that drove roads suffering from erosion have the most degraded soils. Additionally, we found that both the excessive accumulation of biomass due to grazing abandonment and the loss of vegetation cover through erosion contribute to the loss of soil functionality within the Madrid drove road network. The lack of use and subsequent degradation of drove roads compromise both the stability of the soil ecosystem and the availability of nutrients for plants. Given the vast surface area covered by this network of corridors, the reintroduction of transhumant and local extensive grazing can be an important tool to improve soil characteristic

Landscape and agri-environmental scheme effects on ant communities in cereal croplands of central Spain

Agri-environmental schemes (AES) of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aims at reversing the negative effects of agricultural intensification on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Landscape context may modulate, and even constraint, AES effectiveness. We evaluate AES effectiveness on ant abundance, diversity and community composition. Ants are an ecologically dominant group whose response to conservation efforts in farmland has been rarely evaluated, despite its role in weed control, particularly in Mediterranean farmland. Ants were sampled in the edge and in the centre of paired cereal fields, managed with and without AES in three study areas along a landscape complexity gradient. AES application had no significant effects on ant species richness or ant community composition. Richness increased in fields and landscapes with higher amounts of complex edges and decreased towards the centre of the fields. Specialist granivorous ants (harvester ants, Messor spp.) were the most abundant. Abundance of foraging ants increased with the amount of complex edges around fields and in the landscape. AES application increased ant abundance close to field edges but not in field centers. AES fields had less specialist granivorous foraging in their centers than in control field centers. Ant communities in Mediterranean cereal cropland were mostly constrained by the availability of complex edges, needed for nest building. AES increased the abundance of foraging ants, mostly specialist harvester ants, and its potential service of weed control, but close to field edges mainly. Measures promoting the abundance of stable edges rather than of ephemeral headlands in the landscape are essential to enhance the potential of AES for increasing ant-mediated ecosystem services of weed controlThis paper is a contribution to the EU Project QLK5-CT-2002–1495 ‘Evaluating current European Agri-environment Schemes to quantify and improve Nature Conservation efforts in agricultural landscapes (EASY)

Role of floral strips and semi-natural habitats as enhancers of wild bee functional diversity in intensive agricultural landscapes

Los autores de la UAM pertenecen al Terrestrial Ecology Group, Department of EcologyInstalling patches of flowering plants is a commonly used strategy to enhance refuge and food resources for pollinators in intensive agricultural landscapes. Here, we evaluated how floral strips and semi-natural habitats impact the taxonomic and functional diversity of wild bees in intensively farmed sunflower fields. Pan traps were used to assess bee richness and functional diversity at 22 sampling sites (11 sites were positioned in sunflower fields with floral strips, and 11 control sites were adjacent to semi-natural habitats). Five sampling levels were established in each field, positioned at different distances from the flower strip or semi-natural habitat. Wild bee species richness and functional richness were significantly higher inside floral strips and semi-natural habitats compared to sunflower fields. Functional redundancy was significantly higher inside agricultural fields compared to inside floral strips and semi-natural habitats. Sunflower fields with floral strips had lower Rao values compared to sunflower fields adjacent to semi-natural habitats. The community-weighted mean (CWM) of intertegular distance (distance between where wings attach to body) of wild bees was significantly higher in sunflower fields adjacent to semi-natural habitats. In comparison, the CWM of wing length varied across sampling levels in sunflower fields with semi-natural habitats. Our results show it is essential to have semi-natural habitats within intensive agricultural landscapes to ensure the conservation of wild bee diversity, while the installation of floral strips offers a partial substitute to enhance wild bee diversity when semi-natural habitats are scarce or absentFinancial support was provided by the European Union FEDER INTERREG SUDOE Program (SOE1/P5/E0129). CPC was supported by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (PSG293) and the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence EcolChange

Exploring the effect of soil management intensity on taxonomic and functional diversity of ants in Mediterranean olive groves

Agricultural intensification is one of the major drivers behind biodiversity loss in Mediterranean agroecosystems. The intensification of olive groves as monoculture in large areas of the southern Spain has had important effects on biodiversity and ecological processes. In the present study, we explore the olive grove soil management practices effects on taxonomic and functional diversity of ants along a gradient of soil management intensity. We predict that both species richness and functional diversity decrease with an increasing intensification of olive grove soil management. We used pitfall traps to sample ants in 24 olive groves subject to different soil management regimes in southern Spain, and then compared ant species richness and functional diversity (FD). Nonploughed organic farms showed higher species richness. Ploughing was observed to be the soil management practice with the greatest negative effect on ant species richness. Three functional traits significantly responded to soil management intensity, with tibia length and head width showing a higher FD in organic farms and diet showing a lower FD in ploughed farms. The results of the present study highlight the negative effects of olive grove ploughing on ant biodiversity and provide novel evidence of the nonploughing organic farming role with respect to maintaining higher levels of ant functional diversityFinancial support was received from the Spanish Ministryof Economy and Competitiveness (Project CGL2014-53782-P

Abiotic controls, but not species richness, shape niche overlap and breadth of ant assemblages along an elevational gradient in central Spain

Niche overlap and breadth are fundamental characteristics of ecological niches that have been hypothesized to relate both to environmental conditions and to biotic interactions within a community. Abiotic factors and interspecific competition may have opposing effects on those niche characteristics by respectively filtering out species from the niche space and limiting among-species similarity. Here we set out to assess niche overlap and breadth of ant assemblages in Mediterranean grasslands along a 1668-m elevational gradient in the Guadarrama range (Central Spain). We carried out an outdoor cafeteria experiment considering two niche dimensions on resource acquisition: food type and period of aboveground activity. We compared metrics describing niche overlap and breadth to null models and related the metrics to elevation, temperature at ground level and a proxy of interspecific competition (species richness) with general linear models. Pianka's niche overlap indexes were higher than those calculated with random assemblages, but differences among observed and random assemblages were only significant at mid-elevations and were unrelated to the explanatory variables. Overlap along elevation seemed more due to overlap in period of activity. Niche breadth at the assemblage level was significatively smaller than null expectations and was related to elevation (negatively) and to species richness (positively). These were significantly larger than estimates for the species level. These results show that ant assemblages exploit a subset of available conditions, in a pattern only partially coincident with a scenario of abiotic control. Moreover, their constituent species share time of activity and, to a lesser extent, food resources, in spite of the interspecific competition structuring communities that is often assumed. Overall, the patterns we recorded suggest that other mechanisms should be acting to promote species coexistence, such as trade-offs among ecological functionsThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [Project 469 CGL2014-53789-R and grant BES-2015-075124 (MS)] and the research group network 470 REMEDINAL3-CM (S-2013/MAE-2719). The Sierra de Guadarrama National Park provided 471 administrative support. Arantxa Aguilar and Celia Santos contributed to the field work and Xavier 472 Espadaler helped to identify some species

Reparación de lesiones del cartílago articular de la rótula de conejos con injertos libres de pericondrio costal y periostio tibial: Estudio histológico comparativo

El propósito del presente, estudio experimental es comparar la capacidad condrogénica de injertos libres de pericondrio y periostio en lesiones que afectan a todo el espesor del cartílago articular rotuliano. Para ellos, se eligieron 18 conejos adolescentes de Nueva Zelanda con un peso comprendido entre los 2400 y 3600 gramos, a los que se realizó una lesión de 6 mm de diámetro y 3 mm de espesor en la superficie articular de la rótula, y se distribuyeron de modo aleatorio en tres grupos: control, tratados con injerto libre de pericondrio (PC) y tratados con injerto libre de periostio (PO). Todos los animales fueron sacrificados a las 8 semanas y las preparaciones histológicas fueron evaluadas con arreglo a una escala que concede una puntuación de 0 a 17 puntos. En el análisis estadístico, las diferencias encontradas han sido, en todos los casos, entre el control y los grupos tratados, para ninguna de las variables se ha podido demostrar diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los grupos PC y PO.The purpose of this experimental study was to compare the chondrogenic capacity of both perichondrium and periosteal free grafts in lesions affecting all the articular chondral thickness of the patella. A total of 18 white New Zeland rabbits with a weight ranging from 2.4 to 3.6 kg were operated. A chondral lesion o f 6 mm of diameter and 3 mm in depth was performed at the articular surface on the patella. The lesion was repair with either a perichondrium (6 animals) or a periosteal free grafts (6 animals). In other 6 animals, the control group, the lesion was not repaired. All animals were killed 8 weeks after surgery. Histological studies were performed using a modified O'Discoll's scale. Statistically significant differences were found between the control group and the two groups in which the lesions were repaired, but not between lesions treated with perichondrium and periosteal grafts