Los pastos en las fincas de Lugar Nuevo y Selladores-Contadores (Sª de Andújar, Jaén): tipología, calidad y distribución espacial

Las fincas del O. A. Parques Nacionales “Lugar Nuevo” y “Selladores-Contadero” están situadas en el Parque Natural de la Sierra de Andújar (Jaén). Su situación geográfica, y especialmente su historia de usos y propiedad han motivado que hoy sean ejemplo de una flora y vegetación con buen estado de conservación. En trabajos anteriores se han realizado catálogos florísticos de las dos fincas como estudios básicos para la planificación de la gestión y la compatibilidad de la conservación y el aprovechamiento de los recursos en los espacios naturales protegidos. En esta comunicación se realiza un análisis de los pastos herbáceos de las dos fincas que constituyen un recurso estratégico para la alimentación de las poblaciones de herbívoros instaladas en las mismas. Se analizan y cartografían las distintas formaciones de pastos reconocidos (10), su distribución espacial, palatabilidad y grado de utilizació

The past distribution of pinus nigra arnold in northern iberia. Contribution from its macroremains.

The presence of Pinus nigra in central Spain, where its natural populations are very rare, has led to different interpretations of the current vegetation dynamics. Complementary to the available palynological evidence, macroremains provide local information of high taxonomic resolution that helps to reconstruct the palaeobiogeography of a given species. Here we present new macrofossil data from Tubilla del Lago, a small palaeolake located at the eastern part of the northern Iberian Meseta. We identified 17 wood samples and 71 cones on the basis of their wood anatomy and morphology, respectively. S ome of the fossil samples were radiocarbon dated (~4.230-3210 years cal BP). The results demonstrate the Holocene presence of P. nigra in the study area, where it is currently extinct. This evidence, together with other published palaeobotanical studies, indicates that the forests dominated by P. nigra must have had a larger importance on the landscape prior to the anthropogenic influence on the northern Iberian Meseta

Floristic changes in the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands (south-west Europe) during the Cenozoic

AIM  The aim of this work was to identify the main changes in the flora and vegetation of the Iberian Peninsula over the Cenozoic Era, to record the disappearance of taxa associated with these changes and to determine the influence of climate and human activity on these events. Location  The Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. METHODS  A critical review was made of the palaeobotanical literature with the aims of detecting patterns of floristic change and extracting information on the disappearance of different taxa over the Cenozoic. These data are viewed alongside the most recent data for the climate of this period. A critical analysis is made of the role of Palaeotropical and Arctotertiary taxa in the forest communities of the Iberian Peninsula throughout the Cenozoic. RESULTS  Although the Eocene–Oligocene transition was a time when many taxa disappeared, the most outstanding events occurred between the end of the Oligocene and throughout the Miocene. Substantial floristic changes took place over this period, including the disappearance of 177 Palaeotropical taxa. This was probably related to acute cooling and aridification; no evidence exists that the Messinian Salinity Crisis had any important effect in the Iberian Peninsula. The last great disappearance of Palaeotropical taxa (36 in total) ended in the Middle–Late Piacenzian; Arctotertiary taxa were most affected during the Pleistocene. The Lower–Middle Pleistocene transition, best represented by marine isotopic stages (MIS) 36–34 and 20–18 and characterized by a change in glacial cyclicity, was the time of the last notable disappearance of taxa. MAIN CONCLUSIONS  This work provides the first chronogram of extinctions for the Iberian flora, and records the disappearance of 277 taxa during the Cenozoic. A clear relationship was detected between the main climatic events and the latest appearances of the different taxa

Los bosques en la provincia de Toledo a finales del siglo XVII según las relaciones topográficas de Felipe II

A finales del siglo XVI bajo el auspicio del rey Felipe II, se inicia una amplia encuesta en el reino de Castilla con la intención de reunir datos históricos y económicos para un mejor conocimiento de su territorio. Los resultados quedan recogidos en las llamadas Relaciones Topográficas de Felipe II. Algunas de las preguntas recogen información sobre la fuente energética, la leña, y la madera que se utilizaba en la construcción. Estos datos nos permiten tener una idea de la ocupación del territorio y la composición de los ecosistemas en el entorno de los pueblos que responden a las preguntas. En este trabajo nos hemos circunscrito a los datos aportados por los pueblos de la provincia de Toledo recogidos y transcritos a mediados del siglo XX por Viñas Rey. La imagen que nos devuelven estas respuestas no diferiría mucho de la que vemos en la actualidad, la misma composición florística de bosques, terrenos baldíos ocupados por matorral y extensiones cultivadas por cereal, olivos o viñas. El paisaje parecen extenderse sin variación a lo largo del tiempo hasta nuestros días, únicamente cambiaría la superficie ocupada por el bosque

Taxonomic composition of the Holocene forests of the northern of Spain, as determined from their macroremains

Eight sites distributed over a distance of some 400 km of the Cantabrian coast (northern Spain) provided 153 wood, 50 fruit and over 350 leaf remains belonging to the area’s Holocene forests. The high taxonomic precision with which these macroremains were identified (in many cases at the species level), plus the accurate information available regarding the original growth locations of these plants, provide new geobotanical insights into the history of northern Spain’s Atlantic forests. Radiocarbon dating of the wood samples showed the collected material to have lived between 8550 and 800 cal. BP. Analysis of the macroremains showed the deciduous mixed forests of the Holocene to contain a majority of Quercus robur and Corylus avellana, accompanied by Acer pseudoplatanus, Ulmus minor, Castanea sp., and hygro-thermophilous taxa (Arbutus, Laurus and Vitis vinifera). The remains of hygrophilous communities, dominated by Salix atrocinerea, Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus sp., show these to have expanded during the Holocene. The absence of conifer macroremains is interpreted as reflecting the disappearance of Würmian conifer populations at the beginning of the Holocene. The different taxa (eg, Ilex spp. and V. vinifera) that survived the last glaciation in the refugia offered by Spain’s northern coast persisted in the same areas during the Holocene. A leaf sample of Ulmus minor dating to 3950 ± 120 cal. BP reveals for the first time the natural occurrence of this species on the northern coast of Spai

Effects of regularly consuming dietary fibre rich soluble cocoa products on bowel habits in healthy subjects: a free-living, two-stage, randomized, crossover, single-blind intervention

Abstract Background Dietary fibre is both preventive and therapeutic for bowel functional diseases. Soluble cocoa products are good sources of dietary fibre that may be supplemented with this dietary component. This study assessed the effects of regularly consuming two soluble cocoa products (A and B) with different non-starch polysaccharides levels (NSP, 15.1 and 22.0% w/w, respectively) on bowel habits using subjective intestinal function and symptom questionnaires, a daily diary and a faecal marker in healthy individuals. Methods A free-living, two-stage, randomized, crossover, single-blind intervention was carried out in 44 healthy men and women, between 18-55 y old, who had not taken dietary supplements, laxatives, or antibiotics six months before the start of the study. In the four-week-long intervention stages, separated by a three-week-wash-out stage, two servings of A and B, that provided 2.26 vs. 6.60 g/day of NSP respectively, were taken. In each stage, volunteers' diet was recorded using a 72-h food intake report. Results Regularly consuming cocoa A and B increased fibre intake, although only cocoa B significantly increased fibre intake (p < 0.001) with respect to the non-cocoa stage. No changes in body weight were observed in either of the 4 week interventions. With cocoa product B, the number of daily bowel movements increased (p = 0.002), the frequency of having a bowel movement once a day increased (p = 0.009), the time to have a bowel movement was lower (p = 0.016) as well as the feeling of constipation (p = 0.046) without inducing adverse gastrointestinal symptoms, only flatulence increased (p = 0.019). Conclusions Regular consumption of the cocoa products increases dietary fibre intake to recommended levels and product B improves bowel habits. The use of both objective and subjective assessments to evaluate the effects of food on bowel habits is recommended.Projects AGL2007-64042 and Consolider-Ingenio (CSD2007-00063) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation also acknowledged. S.M.-L. is a JAE-Predoc fellow of CSIC Programme "Junta para la Ampliación de Estudios" co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF). M.G.-J. is a predoctoral fellow of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. A.F.-E. was a FINNOVA fellow also cofinanced by CSIC and the ESF.Peer Reviewe

The long-term evolution of the Cantabrian landscapes and its possible role in the cappercaillie drama

Within the Iberian Peninsula, at the south-western boundary of its distribution area, the capercaillie is restricted to the Cantabrian and the Pyrenean Mountains. Cantabrian capercaillie Tetrao urogallus cantabricus has undergone a dramatic decline during the last three decades, as reported in the last Iberian Survey (Robles et al. 2006) and in previous issues of Grouse News (Bafiuelos et al., 2004, 2008). As a consequence, it is currently the only subspecies of capercaillie critically threatened worldwide. Although considerable efforts have been made to understand the reasons of this decline, the long-term ecology of this subspecies has received little attention, due probably to the absence of data in the palaeozoological records. Nevertheless, palaeoecological information based on their habitats can provide a useful insight that in the case of the Cantabrian Mountains offers a large body of data that covers the forest history of the last thousands of years

Exploring the potential of Smart and Multifunctional Materials in Adaptive Opaque Facade Systems

Climate Adaptive Facades are considered promising breakthroughs for the reduction of energy consumption, as energy exchange is enabled when the weather conditions offer benefits instead of threats. So far, conventional building envelops enhance thermal performance through opaque façade components and static insulations. Therefore, natural resources from the building environment remain untapped. Little research has been done in Adaptive Opaque Facades, even if their dynamic behaviour shows a strong potential to exploit environmental resources. For the successful development of these innovative façade systems, a balance between sophistication and benefit is necessary. To manage this objective, the implementation of Smart and Multifunctional Materials in the envelopes seems promising, as they are able to repeatedly and reversibly change some of its functions, features or behaviour over time in response to environmental condition. Consequently, to trigger the response of the envelope, no external actuator or complex software management would be necessary. Nevertheless, these materials do not fulfil all the façade requirements by themselves. Thus, they need to be combined with other adaptive technologies and building elements. This paper shows an initial definition of different façade configurations that include reactive materials which enable the adaptiveness of Opaque Façade Systems. The desired results are new facade roles suitable for a temperate climate, according to the potential of these multi-performance materials in the external layer of the envelope: the dynamic temperature change of the external cladding through the solar reflectance change and the enhancement or prevention of thermal loses through Shape Changing Ventilated Facades. To achieve these new high performances, an ideal approach to the thermal behaviour of each façade layer was done and required physical properties of each elements were highlighted. As a result, we propose a mapping of potentially suitable combination of reactive materials with other building elements that might enable the holistic adaptive thermal performance

Cantabrian capercaillie through time: a further comment

In a recent note published in this journal (Rubiales et al. 2009) we discuss the role the long-term environmental history of the Cantabrian Mountains may have played in the dynamics of the Cantabrian capercaillie Tetrao urogallus cantabricus, the only subspecies of capercaillie at risk of extinction worldwide. Three key conclusions, in the light of the available palaeoecological data were that: 1) the vegetation occurring within the range of the Cantabrian capercaillie has heavily changed during the last three millennia, due primarily to anthropogenic activity; 2) the extensive distribution of pinewoods until the historical period is coherent with the pattern of association of capercaillie and conifers occurring in the rest of its range; and 3) in the light of the distinct current patterns of decline and persistence of the capercaillie, it could be expected that the demise of pinewoods (becoming locally extinct at the western part of the Cantabrian mountains) would have had implications in the capercaillie persistence in the long ter

Extinciones y Cambios Florísticos en el Cenozoico de la Península Ibérica

La revisión de los datos paleopalinológicos del Cenozoico de la Península Ibérica que se conocen hasta la actualidad permite realizar un análisis crítico a cerca de la extinción de taxones paleotropicales y arctoterciarios en esta región. Los eventos climáticos que se produjeron a lo largo del Cenozoico influyeron en la evolución de la flora ibérica, poniéndose de manifiesto una relación entre la evolución del clima y la extinción de un gran número de taxones vegetales. La mayor parte de las desapariciones que se produjeron desde el Eoceno al Plioceno corresponden a vegetales de tipo paleotropical, destacándose el Oligoceno como el período en el que tuvo lugar la mayor tasa de extinción. Durante el Mioceno las extinciones de elementos paleotropicales ocurrieron de forma gradual. La crisis del Messiniense no parece afectar de forma relevante a este proceso. De acuerdo con la caída brusca de temperaturas que aconteció en el Plioceno, en el Plasenciense se constata la última gran extinción de taxones paleotropicales. A partir del Gelindense, los taxones arctoterciarios son los que muestran una mayor taxa de extinción a causa de las glaciaciones pleistocenas. Hace 1.2-0.7 Ma, coincidiendo con el cambio de ciclicidad glacial se produjo la última desaparición masiva de taxones. Sin embargo, durante el Pleistoceno y el Holoceno aún se pueden detectar en la Península Ibérica un relevante conjunto de taxones de presencia constante durante el Cenozoico