Hydrological implications of afforestation of abandoned lands: water balance simulation of a small Mediterranean mountainous basin

The intense human activity suffered by Mediterranean mountainous areas till 50 years ago induced important geoecological modifications that played a significant hydrological and geomorphological role during agricultural land use and still have relevant consequences after land abandonment. Reforestation of these areas is perceived to suppose in the next future a senous water management problem, but more research is needed to quantify the magnitude of the hydrological implications of this change. This paper presents a simulation model made to analyze the role that vegetation cover changes can play on water resowces. This simulation model compares the actual hydrological behaviour of a small mountainous catchment covered by grassland with its behaviour modeled considering that the whole area is covered by a Pinus sylvestris stand. Simulation results during a sensitivity analysis, with forest water consumption parameters taken from literature, show that differences in vegetation cover can modify all the water balance components but effect especially both quickfiow and baseflow. The differences depend much more on the parameters used for the simulation of interception than on those used for stomatal control of transpiration

Desigualdades en los sistemas educativos en la Educación Infantil

Treball Final de Grau en Mestre o Mestra d'Educació Infantil. Codi: MI1040. Curs acadèmic: 2016/2017Este trabajo tiene como objetivo realizar un estudio sobre las desigualdades en los sistemas educativos europeos en la etapa de infantil. Su metodología se basa en búsquedas bibliográficas relacionadas con el tema de las desigualdades en los sistemas educativos de los países a comparar (España, Grecia, Alemania y Finlandia). Con estas búsquedas se pretende comparar los elementos más destacados dentro de cada sistema educativo. Para llevar a cabo estas búsquedas se han utilizado diversas fuentes, como libros, artículos de revistas de educación y materiales extraídos de la red. La parte principal de este trabajo corresponde a la descripción de la educación infantil en España y otros países de Europa como Grecia, Alemania y Finlandia, para observar las desigualdades que presentan y así, poder compararlas. A continuación, se resumen las desigualdades observadas en los distintos sistemas educativos, centrándonos en el inicio de la educación infantil, la obligatoriedad de esta, la escolarización y la financiación. Finalmente, se presentan las conclusiones. Ningún modelo educativo por sí solo puede ser más o menos efectivo sobre otro sistema.

Transpiration of montane <I>Pinus sylvestris</I> L. and <I>Quercus pubescens</I> Willd. forest stands measured with sap flow sensors in NE Spain

International audienceStand transpiration was measured during the 2003 and 2004 growing seasons using heat dissipation sap flow sensors in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and a pubescent oak (Quercus pubescens Willd.) forest located in a montane area of the Eastern Pyrenees (NE Spain). The first aim of the study was to assess the differences in quantitative estimates of transpiration (Ec) and the response to evaporative demand of the two stands. Over the studied period of 2003, characterised by a severe drought episode during the summer, the oak stand Ec was only 110mm compared to the 239 mm transpired by the Scots pine stand, although the ratio of transpiration to reference evapotranspiration (Ec/ET0) in the oak stand compares well with the expected values predicted for low leaf area index (LAI) oak forests in southern Europe. Scots pine showed a strong reduction in Ec/ET0 as the drought developed, whereas pubescent oak was less affected by soil moisture deficits in the upper soil. As a second objective, and given the contrasting meteorological conditions between 2003 and 2004 summer periods, the interanual variability of transpiration was studied in the Scots pine plot. Rainfall during the summer months (June-September) in 2003 was almost 40% less than in the same interval in 2004. Accordingly, transpiration was also reduced about 25% in 2003. Finally, Scots pine data from 2003 and 2004 was used to calibrate a simple transpiration model using ET0 and soil moisture deficit (SMD) as input variables, and implicitly including stomatal responses to high vapour pressure deficits (D?) and soil water status

Developing a novel approach to analyse the regimes of temporary streams and their controls on aquatic biota

Temporary streams are those water courses that undergo the recurrent cessation of flow or the complete drying of their channel. The biological communities in temporary stream reaches are strongly dependent on the temporal changes of the aquatic habitats determined by the hydrological conditions. The use of the aquatic fauna structural and functional characteristics to assess the ecological quality of a temporary stream reach can not therefore be made without taking into account the controls imposed by the hydrological regime. This paper develops some methods for analysing temporary streams' aquatic regimes, based on the definition of six aquatic states that summarize the sets of mesohabitats occurring on a given reach at a particular moment, depending on the hydrological conditions: flood, riffles, connected, pools, dry and arid. We used the water discharge records from gauging stations or simulations using rainfall-runoff models to infer the temporal patterns of occurrence of these states using the developed aquatic states frequency graph. The visual analysis of this graph is complemented by the development of two metrics based on the permanence of flow and the seasonal predictability of zero flow periods. Finally, a classification of the aquatic regimes of temporary streams in terms of their influence over the development of aquatic life is put forward, defining Permanent, Temporary-pools, Temporary-dry and Episodic regime types. All these methods were tested with data from eight temporary streams around the Mediterranean from MIRAGE project and its application was a precondition to assess the ecological quality of these streams using the current methods prescribed in the European Water Framework Directive for macroinvertebrate communities

Mapping Digital Media: Spain

The Mapping Digital Media project examines the global opportunities and risks created by the transition from traditional to digital media. Covering 60 countries, the project examines how these changes affect the core democratic service that any media system should provide: news about political, economic, and social affairs.Since 2005, Spain has designed and implemented aggressive digitization policies that secured the switchoff of analog television in 2010, and developed the digital terrestrial television (DTT) market to saturation point. As a result, cable and satellite subscription services have experienced some decline since 2008. The rapid rise of free-to-air (FTA) digital television has not, however, been replicated in radio, where take-up of the assigned digital audio broadcasting (DAB) standard has been marginal, with little promise of imminent significant growth. This is attributed to a policy focus on digital television, the absence of a digital radio publicity campaign and a switch-off deadline, and the cost of upgrading to digital radio faced by consumers and broadcasters alike.The roll-out of broadband infrastructure has been successful, accounting for 99 percent of all fixed-line connections in 2010. But the consumers' cost of connection remains one of the highest in the European Union (EU), and an enduring digital divide is reflected in the fact that fixed-line internet connections reached only 22 percent of households in 2010.The report also calls for the setting up of an independent regulatory authority on audiovisual matters; the effective implementation of self-regulatory codes concerning media and children; a comprehensive policy program involving concerted action by state institutions, universities, and journalism associations/unions to tackle problems of journalists' pay and conditions; the effective implementation of ethical codes and principles to challenge the abusive dominance of opinion and ideological polarization in the media; the setting up by the Government of a radiocommunications agency to handle radio spectrum policy;the delegation of DTT licensing to this radiocommunications agency; improved publicity for public tenders through the approval of a law on transparency and citizens' access to public information; the promotion of media literacy in school curricula; and finally, the protection of RTVE's political and financing independence to ensure the provision of non-partisan and good-quality journalism to Spanish society

Hydrological processes and their seasonal controls in a small Mediterranean mountain catchment in the Pyrenees

The Vallcebre catchments are located in a middle mountain area of the Pyrenean ranges, built up by sedimentary rocks and loamy soils. The vegetation cover is pastures and forests of <i>Pinus sylvestris</i>, mostly occupying former agricultural terraces. Some relatively small, heavily eroded landscapes (badlands) occur in the catchments, playing a relevant hydrological and geomorphic role. Annual precipitation is 924 mm and potential (reference) evapotranspiration is about 700 mm. Rainfall interception in forests represents about 24% of precipitation; interception rates were similar throughout the seasons because of a compensation between rainfall intensities and atmospheric conditions. Soil moisture showed a temporal pattern characterised by the occurrence of marked deficit periods in summer and also, but less pronounced, in winter. During most of the year, subsurface flows on hillslopes drove the spatial organisation of soil moisture and the occurrence of saturated areas. Nevertheless, this spatial organisation was also controlled by the patterns of vegetation cover. During dry periods, subsurface flow ceased, saturated areas disappeared and the spatial patterns of soil moisture changed. Stream flow from these catchments was dominated by storm flow, and the runoff generating mechanisms showed a clear seasonal pattern, controlled mainly by the soil moisture and the extent of saturated areas. During the dry periods, runoff was produced only on impervious areas and badlands. At the end of the dry periods, some large rainfall events generated significant runoff because of the perched saturation of the shallow soil horizons. Thereafter, runoff generation was dominated by the role of saturated areas. Stream waters in catchments with badlands had very high suspended sediment concentrations. The seasonal pattern of erosion processes in badlands was characterised by physical weathering during winter, regolith breakdown and vigorous hillslope erosion during spring and summer, and efficient transport of sediments in autumn

Seasonal and spatial variability of rainfall redistribution under Scots pine and Downy oak forests in Mediterranean conditions

The large degree of temporal and spatial variability of throughfall input patterns may lead to significant changes in the volume of water that reach the soil in each location, and beyond in the hydrological response of forested hillslopes. To explore the role of vegetation in the temporal and spatial redistribution of rainfall in Mediterranean climatic conditions two contrasted stands were monitored. One is a Downy oak forest (Quercus pubescens) and the other is a Scots pine forest (Pinus sylvestris), both are located in the Vallcebre research catchments (NE Spain, 42º 12¿N, 1º 49¿E). These plots are representative of Mediterranean mountain areas with spontaneous afforestation by Scots pine as a consequence of the abandonment of agricultural terraces, formerly covered by Downy oaks. The monitoring design of each plot consists of a set of 20 automatic rain recorders and 40 automatic soil moisture probes located below the canopy. 100 hemispheric photographs of the canopy were used to place the instruments at representative locations (in terms of canopy cover) within the plot. Bulk rainfall, stemflow and meteorological conditions above the forest cover are also automatically recorded. Canopy cover as well as biometric characteristics of the plots are also regularly measured. This work presents the first results describing the variability of throughfall beneath each forest stand and compares the persistence of temporal patterns among stands, and for the oaks stand among the leafed and the leafless period. Furthermore, canopy structure, rainfall characteristics and meteorological conditions of rainfall events are evaluated as main drivers of throughfall redistribution

Sap flow of a wild cherry tree plantation growing under Mediterranean conditions: Assessing the role of environmental conditions on canopy conductance and the effect of branch pruning on water productivity

In recent decades, wild cherry has been one of the species most widely used for reforestation in Europe. Studies aiming to select and improve trees to give them the best growth rates and wood properties have increased in response to growers’ demands. However, information relating to key physiological processes such as transpiration or stomatal conductance and to the effect of the common practice of pruning on plant–water relations is scarce. The main objective of this study was to assess the effects of environmental conditions on canopy conductance dynamics. Its secondary objective was to examine the short- and medium-term effects of branch pruning on tree transpiration, growth and derived water productivity. To this end, we measured sap flow in an experimental plantation where trees were subjected to drip irrigation and rain-fed conditions and where variables characterizing climate, soil and tree growth were also monitored. The results demonstrated that the Jarvis–Stewart approach was appropriate for studying the responses of canopy conductance to environmental factors. As well as the role of vapour pressure deficit and net radiation in controlling the daily variations of canopy conductance, the single effects of decreasing soil water content (optimum relative extractable water, REW, higher than 0.4) and increasing air temperature (optimum of 21 °C), as summer conditions approached, were correctly incorporated into the modelling exercise. Soil water content exerted the greatest control on canopy conductance for trees growing under rain-fed conditions, while air temperature did for irrigated trees. Pruning significantly reduced transpiration to about 35% when pre- and post-sub-periods were compared, but also affected annual water productivity regardless of the irrigation treatment. To assess the long-term effects of pruning on water productivity, measurements in both pruned and unpruned trees would be desirable.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Traumatic Tympanic Bulla Fracture in a Cat With Severe Head Trauma

A nine-year-old male European shorthair cat was referred to our practice with severe head trauma after suffering a road traffic accident (RTA). The patient presented marked facial swelling and multiple skin wounds and bruising, inspiratory dyspnea, palpable mandibular and maxillary fractures, serosanguinolent oronasal discharge and right eye exophthalmos and buphthalmos with loss of menace and pupillary reflex. After stabilizing the patient, a CT scan was performed under general anesthesia and an oesophagostomy tube was placed. The scan revealed the presence of multiple right tympanic bulla fractures. Multiple mandibular, maxillary, and palatine fractures were also present. The cat underwent surgery. Mandibular symphyseal separation and maxillary fractures were stabilized using intraoral cerclage wire fixation reinforced with composite and the right eye was enucleated. The rest of the fractures were treated conservatively. A CT scan 4 months after the trauma was also performed. At this point, the maxillofacial fractures were healing properly, and a bone callus demonstrating fusion of fragments of the right tympanic bulla was evident. There was absence of abnormal content inside the right tympanic bulla. The patient recovered uneventfully with no neurological deficits. To the author''s knowledge this is the first case reporting a traumatic tympanic bulla fracture in the cat with case follow up, and the first case reported using CT as diagnostic imaging test

Imagen ecográfica de la obstrucción biliar extrahepática en el perro : descripción de 7 casos

Se realizó un estudio ecográfico en siete perros que presentaban un cuadro de ictericia por obstrucción biliar extrahepática. Esta técnica permitió llegar al diagnóstico en seis de los casos. Se estudió la imagen ecográfica de la dilatación de las vías biliares intra y extrahepáticas, así como los signos asociados, tales como la presencia de una masa en el área pancreática, que pudiesen orientar sobre el origen de la obstrucción.An ultrasonographic examination was carried in out 7 dogs with icterus due to an extrahepatic biliary obstruction. This technique allowed the diagnosis in 6 of the dogs. The sonographic appearance of the dilated intra and extrahepatic biliary tree was assessed, as well as the associated lesions, such as the presence of a mass in the pancreatic area, which could guide towards the origin of the obstruction