Genetic variation of cork oak a tool for improving regeneration of cork oak woodlands

The European Academies' Science Advisory Council (2017) reports that the Mediterranean forest is already being affected by climate change (IPCC, 2014) and cork oak woodlands are particularly vulnerable to high-end climate scenarios that go above the Paris Agreement 2° C increase in temperature. Since longer, more frequent, and more intense drought periods are expected, stress caused by the expansion of arid and semi-arid climate will affect the species distribution. Consequently, not only established stands may be prone to tree mortality, but also the current reforestation effort may be jeopardized by low survival rates attributed to the use of unsuitable genetic material. It is expected that, through genetic adaptation and/or phenotypic plasticity, cork oak populations may have developed significant differences in fitness and the traits related to it. In this context, provenance and progeny trials are the best resource of material to assess the variability between and within populations from seed sources sampled in a wide range of locations (stands) covering the geographical distribution of the species. Profiting from the multi-locality provenance and progeny trials belonging to a Network, established in 1998, in the initiative frame of FAIR I CT 0202 for the evaluation of genetic resources of cork oak for appropriate use in breeding and gene conservation strategies”, where 35 cork oak populations covering all the natural distribution area are represented. The provenance trials that where set up in different countries are entering now the age of first debarking and this should allow to have first data about the influence of genetics on production by different site qualities. INCREDIBLE project should document this knowledgeFAIR I CT 0202info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Actas de las V Jornadas ScienCity 2022. Fomento de la Cultura Científica, Tecnológica y de Innovación en Ciudades Inteligentes

ScienCity es una actividad que viene siendo continuada desde 2018 con el objetivo de dar a conocer los conocimientos y tecnologías emergentes siendo investigados en las universidades, informar de experiencias, servicios e iniciativas puestas ya en marcha por instituciones y empresas, llegar hasta decisores políticos que podrían crear sinergias, incentivar la creación de ideas y posibilidades de desarrollo conjuntas, implicar y provocar la participación ciudadana, así como gestar una red internacional multidisciplinar de investigadores que garantice la continuación de futuras ediciones. En 2022 se recibieron un total de 48 trabajos repartidos en 25 ponencias y 24 pósteres pertenecientes a 98 autores de 14 instituciones distintas de España, Portugal, Polonia y Países Bajos.Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología-Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; Consejería de la Presidencia, Administración Pública e Interior de la Junta de Andalucía; Estrategia de Política de Investigación y Transferencia de la Universidad de Huelva; Cátedra de Innovación Social de Aguas de Huelva; Cátedra de la Provincia; Grupo de investigación TEP-192 de Control y Robótica; Centro de Investigación en Tecnología, Energía y Sostenibilidad (CITES

Physiological and biochemical changes during the loss of desiccation tolerance in germinating Adenanthera pavonina L. seeds

ABSTRACT We investigated the loss of desiccation tolerance (DT) in Adenanthera pavonina seeds during germination. Seeds were subjected to imbibition for 0, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 81 h, then dried to their initial moisture content (13%), rehydrated and evaluated for survival (resumption of growth and development of normal seedlings) and membrane system integrity (electrolyte leakage). Embryonic axes of seeds subjected only to imbibition during the same early time periods were used to investigate the electrophoretic patterns of heat-stable proteins and the relative nuclear DNA content. In A. pavonina seeds, DT remained unchanged until 36 h of imbibition (resulting in germination and 82% normal seedlings), after which it was progressively lost, and seeds with a protruded radicle length of 1 mm did not withstand dehydration. The loss of desiccation tolerance could not be related to either membrane damage caused by drying or the resumption of the cell cycle during germination. However, the decrease in heat-stable protein contents observed throughout germination may be related to the loss of DT in A. pavonina seeds

Viability of recalcitrant Araucaria angustifolia seeds in storage and in a soil seed bank

Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze is a representative species of the Mixed Ombrophilous Forest in the Atlantic Forest Biome of Brazil. The development of a germplasm conservation protocol for long-term seed bank storage is compromised for this species, as it is sensitive to desiccation. Furthermore, in situ establishment of a soil seed bank in its natural habitat may be limited. This study evaluates the storability of two provenances of A. angustifolia seeds and their behavior in an artificial soil seed bank in two forest environments (understory and edge). Results show that both seed provenances may be stored at 5 °C for approximately 12 months, retaining high viability. The subsequent decrease in germination was associated with a reduction and an increase in seed water content, as well as with increased electrical conductivity. In the understory environment, seed viability was above 85% for the first 60 days, and at the end of the experiment (270 days), seedlings emerged. However, at the forest edge, there was a total loss of seed viability after 120 days associated with a reduction in water content and high predation. It is concluded, therefore, that short-term storage of A. angustifolia seeds is possible in a cold room, which is fundamental to supply seed demand outside the production period. Forest cover conservation is important for regeneration and conservation of the species