Destinos de un biólogo cantábrico

Perfil biográfico del autor tras su paso por la Facultad de Biología de la Universidad de León, su estancia en Italia culminando con la lectura de su tesis doctoral en al año 200

Vegetation groups and habitats of neutro-basophilous fens in the Cantabro- Pyrenaean mountains

Los tremedales neutro-basófilos figuran entre los humedales con mayor riqueza de especies y más amenazados de Europa. Debido a su variabilidad ecológica y florística, la vegetación de estos hábitats puede estar sujeta a clasificaciones discordantes. En este trabajo utilizamos una base de datos de tremedales pirenaico-cantábricos para analizar los principales grupos de vegetación de estos medios y su relación con los tipos de hábitat europeos y la clasificación fitosociológica. Seleccionamos 295 muestras de acuerdo a la presencia de plantas higrófilas y calcícolas en el área de estudio (Carex lepidocarpa, C. davalliana, C. frigida y Eriophorum latifolium) y una estratificación espacial. Realizamos una clasificación utilizando datos sobre plantas vasculares y el sistema TWINSPAN modificado con una selección óptima de grupos. Analizamos los grupos de vegetación a partir de su distribución geográfica, variabilidad en altitud y pendiente, así como la similitud en la composición de especies mediante análisis de gradiente (DCA). Identificamos así cinco grupos relacionados con (i) tremedales de fuentes carbonatadas pirenaicas; (ii) fuentes carbonatadas cantábricas con el endemismo Centaurium somedanum; (iii) pastizales húmedos carbonatados pirenaico-cantábricos; (iv) tremedales carbonatados pirenaico-cantábricos; y (v) tremedales neutro-basófilos pirenaicos.Neutro-basophilous fens are among the most species-rich and threatened wetlands in Europe. Because of their ecological and floristic variability, vegetation of these habitats may be subject to classification inconsistencies. Here we use a vegetation database of Cantabro-Pyrenean fens to analyze the main vegetation groups related to these fens and their relationship with the European habitat types and phytosociological classification. We selected 295 vegetation relevés from the study area according to the presence of four calcicole specialists (Carex lepidocarpa, C. davalliana, C. frigida and Eriophorum latifolium) and geographical stratification. We classified the relevés using cover data of vascular plants, modified TWINSPAN analysis and classification crispness. We analyzed the vegetation groups according to their geographical distribution, variation in altitude and slope, and similarity of species composition using gradient analysis (DCA). We finally established five major vegetation groups: (i) Pyrenean calcareous spring fens related to high mountain streamsides, including Caricion davallianae communities with Carex frigida and relict plant communities of the Caricion maritimae alliance; (ii) Cantabrian calcareous springs with the endemic Centaurium somedanum and few fen species, which should be better assigned to tufa-forming springs; (iii) Pyreneo-Cantabrian calcareous fen grasslands, which could be included in alkaline fens or Molinietalia wet grasslands; (iv) Pyreneo-Cantabrian calcareous fens, possibly related to limestone bedrocks of Cantabrian Range and Western Pyrenees; and (v) Pyrenean neutro-basophilous fens, which seem to be part of extremely rich fens distributed on non-limestone substrates of Central and Eastern Pyrenees

Hydrothermal thresholds for seed germination in winter annual forbs from old-field Mediterranean landscapes

Under Mediterranean climates with dry‐hot summers and cool‐wet winters, many forbs with potential for habitat restoration are winter annuals, but there is little information about their germination. We performed laboratory germination experiments on 13 ruderal dicots native to Andalusia (southern Spain). We measured the germination of recently harvested seeds from natural populations across nine temperature treatments (from 5 to 35 °C, constant and alternate); two storage periods; and eight water stress treatments (from 0 to −1.0 MPa). We then calculated the hydrothermal thresholds for seed germination. Final germination ranged from 0–100% and results were mixed in response to temperature. Base temperature was below 6 °C, optimal temperature was around 14 °C and the ceiling temperature around 23 °C. For five species, 10 months of storage improved total germination, indicating a dormancy‐breaking effect, but the other species did not respond or had their germination reduced. All species were relatively tolerant to water stress, with base water potential ranging from −0.8 to −1.8 MPa. Our results suggest that hydrothermal germination thresholds, rather than physiological dormancy, are the main drivers of germination phenology in annual forbs from Mediterranean semi‐dry environments. The variation in germination responses of these forb species differs from winter annual grasses, but their seeds are all suitable for being stored before restoration.European Union's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007‐2013/. Grant Number: n°607785 Government of Asturias European Commission. Grant Number: ACA14‐1

Soil thermal buffer and regeneration niche may favour calcareous fen resilience to climate change

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Folia Geobotanica following peer review. The version of record (Fernández-Pascual, E., Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Hájek, M., Díaz, T. E., & Pritchard, H. W. (2015). Soil thermal buffer and regeneration niche may favour calcareous fen resilience to climate change. Folia Geobotanica 50, 293-301) is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12224-015-9223-y.Calcareous fens are azonal habitats permanently saturated by groundwater. This is expected to have a buffer effect on soil temperature, alleviating climate changes and allowing plant communities to occupy diverse climatic regions. We analysed the extent of such buffering and its relation with a relevant plant trait, the seed germination niche breadth, along altitudinal gradients in fens of the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain) and the Western Carpathians (Slovakia). In each fen we recorded soil temperature for several years and compared it with WorldClim predictions for air temperature. We also collected seeds from five Cyperaceae fen specialists to evaluate the influence of soil temperature on germination. Although soil temperatures and WorldClim were strongly correlated, their absolute values differed substantially, showing a narrower thermal amplitude and warmer minimum winter temperature in the soil. The greatest differences in soil temperature and germination niche breadth were those between mountain regions. Narrower germination niches correlated with the colder Slovakian winter. Our results suggest that the soil thermal buffer allows species to prevent frost temperatures in winter, but also high summer temperatures in warm regions, explaining their wide distribution ranges. The warm regeneration niche does not match the cooler soils, but shows variability and potential for adaptation. While this findings support resilience to climate warming, changes in precipitation rather than temperature seem to be the main threat for fen persistence.The Masaryk University of Brno provided institutional support. E.F.P. was supported by the Government of Asturias (Grant BP09-107, Programa de Ayudas Predoctorales ‘Severo Ochoa’, Plan de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación del Principado de Asturias) and the FP7-Marie-Curie-COFUND programme of the European Commission (Grant ‘Clarín’ ACA14-19); B.J.A. by the project ‘Employment of Best Young Scientists for International Cooperation Empowerment’ (CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0037) co-financed by the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic; M.H. by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (RVO 67985939)

Checklist of the vascular plants of the Cantabrian Mountains

We present the first standardized list of the vascular flora of the Cantabrian Mountains, a transitional zone between the Eurosiberian and Mediterranean biogeographic regions in northwestern Spain. The study area comprises 15000 km2 divided in UTM grid cells of 10 km x 10 km, for which we revised occurrence data reported in the Spanish Plant Information System (Anthos) and the online database of Iberian and Macaronesian Vegetation (SIVIM). We used a semi-automatic procedure to standardize taxonomic concepts into a single list of names, which was further updated by expert-based revision with the support of national and regional literature. In the current version, the checklist of the Cantabrian Mountains contains 2338 native species and subspecies, from which 56 are endemic to the study area. The nomenclature of the checklist follows Euro+Med in 97% of taxa, including annotations when other criteria has been used and for taxa with uncertain status. We also provide a list of 492 non-native taxa that were erroneously reported in the study area, a list of local apomictic taxa, a phylogenetic tree linked to The Plant List, a standardized calculation of Ellenberg Ecological Indicator Values for 80% of the flora, and information about life forms, IUCN threat categories and legal protection status. Our review demonstrates how the Cantabrian mountains represent a key floristic region in southern Europe and a relevant phytogeographical hub in south-western Europe. The checklist and all related information are freely accessible in a digital repository for further uses in basic and applied researchThis research was supported by the Jardín Botánico Atlántico de Gijón (SV-20-GIJON-JBA) and SEEDALP project (Spanish Reearch Agency; PID2019-108636GA/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)Peer reviewe

La integración del conocimiento sobre la Cordillera Cantábrica: hacia un observatorio inter-autonómico del cambio global

Producción CientíficaLa Cordillera Cantábrica presenta una serie de singularidades que le convierten en un excelente enclave para el seguimiento de los efectos del cambio global. Este estudio analiza la necesidad de generar un observatorio inter-autonómico del cambio global, que permitiría integrar el conocimiento actual sobre estas montañas y determinar las prioridades en la generación de nuevo conocimiento. Para cumplir este objetivo, se presentan dos aproximaciones complementarias. La primera consiste en la revisión de la literatura científica publicada sobre la Cordillera Cantábrica y su comparación con otros enclaves geográficos de la Península Ibérica. La segunda consiste en la síntesis de información de un seminario titulado “La Cordillera Cantábrica como Centinela de los Efectos del Cambio Global”, celebrado en Santander en agosto de 2015. El análisis bibliográfico muestra que el número de publicaciones científicas sobre la Cordillera Cantábrica es similar al de otros enclaves geográficos de la Península Ibérica, pero con menor riqueza de disciplinas. La producción científica está dominada por los centros de investigación más próximos y tiene una alta participación internacional. Las conclusiones del seminario evidencian que este sistema es un candidato ideal para el seguimiento de los efectos del cambio global sobre multitud de elementos biofísicos. Se considera que la generación de un seminario permanente, junto con la consolidación de las redes de seguimiento actuales, la coordinación de nuevos trabajos, y la mejora de la comunicación entre administraciones y comunidad científico-técnica son elementos esenciales en la futura generación de un observatorio del cambio global en la Cordillera Cantábrica

Mapping species richness of plant families in European vegetation

Aims: Biodiversity is traditionally studied mostly at the species level, but biogeographical and macroecological studies at higher taxonomic levels can provide valuable insights into the evolutionary processes at large spatial scales. Our aim was to assess the representation of vascular plant families within different vegetation formations across Europe. Location: Europe. Methods: We used a data set of 816,005 vegetation plots from the European Vegetation Archive (EVA). For each plot, we calculated the relative species richness of each plant family as the number of species belonging to that family divided by the total number of species. We mapped the relative species richness, averaged across all plots in 50 km × 50 km grid cells, for each family and broad habitat groups: forests, grasslands, scrub and wetlands. We also calculated the absolute species richness and the Shannon diversity index for each family. Results: We produced 522 maps of mean relative species richness for a total of 152 vascular plant families occurring in forests, grasslands, scrub and wetlands. We found distinct spatial patterns for many combinations of families and habitat groups. The resulting series of 522 maps is freely available, both as images and GIS layers. Conclusions: The distinct spatial patterns revealed in the maps suggest that the relative species richness of plant families at the community level reflects the evolutionary history of individual families. We believe that the maps and associated data can inspire further biogeographical and macroecological studies and strengthen the ongoing integration of phylogenetic, functional and taxonomic diversity concepts.MV, IA, JPC, ZL, IK, AJ and MC were funded by the Czech Science Foundation, programme EXPRO (project no. 19-28491X); JDi by the Czech Science Foundation (18-02773S); IB and JAC by the Basque Government (IT936-16); AČ by the Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS, P1-0236); AK by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (project no. 2020.01/0140); JŠ by the Slovak Research and Development Agency (APVV 16-0431); KV by the National Science Fund (Contract DCOST 01/7/19.10.2018)