Paleoecología de medios húmedos: el aporte de los microfósiles no polínicos

International audienceLos medios húmedos se comportan como auténticos ecosistemas, existiendo en ellos una componente abiótica y una componente biótica, que interrelacionan entre ellas interna y externamente, para definir diferentes tipos de nichos ecológicos que vienen fundamentalmente determinados por las características del agua. De manera genérica, éstos pueden subdividirse en dos tipos: medios oligotróficos y eutróficos , existiendo alternativas intermedias de tipo mesotrófico. Los estudios paleoecológicos permiten conocer la evolución temporal de los medios húmedos a través de los llamados microfósiles no polínico

Climate Change, Fire and Human Activity Drive Vegetation Change during the Last Eight Millennia in the Xistral Mountains of NW Iberia

Funding: OLC is funded by a Ramón y Cajal senior fellowship (RYC2020-030531-I) and the project “Pollutio” Plan Nacional (PID2019-111683RJ-I00) Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion. OLC and AMC are funded by “Grupos de Referencia Competitiva” (ED431C 2021/32) by Xunta de Galicia. Noemí Silva Sánchez is funded by a Juan de la Cierva-Formación Grant from the Spanish Government (ref: FJC2018-036266-I). LMM is supported by the Programa de Atracciόn de Talento modalidad 1 (2019-T1/AMB-12782; ECOSINK project) funded by the Comunidad de Madrid. LMM, TMM, AMC are funded by the project PALAEOFUN from the Plan Estatal (PID2020-115580RB-100), Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e InnovaciόnPeer reviewedPublisher PD

A palaeoecological approach to understanding the past and present of Sierra Nevada, a Southwestern European biodiversity hotspot

Mediterranean mountainous environments are biodiversity hotspots and priority areas in conservation agendas. Although they are fragile and threatened by forecasted global change scenarios, their sensitivity to long-term environmental variability is still understudied. The Sierra Nevada range, located in southern Spain on the north-western European flanks of the Mediterranean basin, is a biodiversity hotspot. Consequently, Sierra Nevada provides an excellent model system to apply a palaeoecological approach to detect vegetation changes, explore the drivers triggering those changes, and how vegetation changes link to the present landscape in such a paradigmatic mountain system. A multi-proxy strategy (magnetic susceptibility, grain size, loss-on-ignition, macroremains, charcoal and palynological analyses) is applied to an 8400-year long lacustrine environmental archive from the Laguna de la Mosca (2889 masl). The long-term ecological data show how the Early Holocene pine forests transitioned towards mixed Pinus-Quercus submediterranean forests as a response to a decrease in seasonality at ~7.3 cal. kyr BP. The mixed Pinus-Quercus submediterranean forests collapsed drastically giving way to open evergreen Quercus formations at ~4.2 cal. kyr BP after a well-known aridity crisis. Under the forecasted northward expansion of the Mediterranean area due to global change-related aridity increase, mountain forests inhabiting territories adjacent to the Mediterranean Region could experience analogous responses to those detected in the Sierra Nevada forests to the Mid to Late Holocene aridification, moving from temperate to submediterranean and then Mediterranean formations

Biodegradable drifting fish aggregating devices: Current status and future prospects

The structure, materials and designs of drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs) have generally remained rudimentary and relatively unchanged since they first came into use in the 1980 s. However, more recently, dFADs have been increasing in dimensions and the prevailing use of plastic components. Abandoned, lost or discarded dFADs can therefore contribute to the global marine litter problem. Transitioning to biodegradable and non-toxic materials that have a faster rate of decomposition, and are free of toxins and heavy metals, relative to synthetic materials, has been prescribed as an important part of the solution to reducing marine pollution from industrial tuna fisheries that rely on dFADs. This review of the current state of dFADs considers aspects related to the use of biodegradable materials in their construction, including; regulations related to dFAD materials, trials of biodegradable designs and materials and future alternatives. During the last decade, regulatory measures at tuna Regional Fishery Management Organizations (tRFMOs) have gradually moved towards the clear recommendation to use biodegradable materials in dFAD construction together with other measures limiting the number of active dFADs and the use of netting materials. However, to provide operational guidance, more clarity is needed, starting with a standardised definition of biodegradable dFADs among tRFMOs. Research involving dFAD natural and synthetic materials is required, along with improved data collection for monitoring the transition of dFAD materials against specified standards for biodegradable dFADs. In addition, alternative and complementary actions need to be explored to contribute to minimising adverse effects of dFADs on the environment. Acknowledging the current difficulties for the implementation of fully biodegradable dFADs in tuna fisheries, a stepwise process towards the implementation of commercially viable biodegradable dFADs should be considered.Peer reviewe

Turismo ornitólogico: comparativo de la nueva red de senderos de la zona de visitantes del bosque protector Cerro Blanco de Guayaquil

Ornithological tourism is a segment of tourism of specific interest related to ecotourism, which increasingly presents greater demand and specialization of the offer, both its services and infrastructure; the knowledge of the diversity of birds as a resource - attractive, is paramount, as well as the distribution, natural history and ecology that surround the birds. In South America, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Ecuador are the countries with the greatest diversity of bird species, presenting a development of variable activity between one locality or another. In Ecuador, bird watching has had a great development in the northwest of the province of Pichincha and the north of the Amazon region; Ecuador has the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP), among the most important subsystems are: the Natural Areas Patrimony of the country (PANE) and subsystems that encompass Private Forests, which contains various management categories that allow the conservation, preservation, restoration, of its ecosystems and the populations of fauna, among them the birds that are contained therein. The investigation determined the number of bird species that could be identified in the Cerro Blanco Protective Forest through direct observation on the trails prepared for visitors during the period 2015 - 2017, in transepts corresponding to the forest canopy and common spaces, of intensive use of visitors, having main interest in the endemic birds of Tumbes and comparing these results with the study carried out in the period 2013 - 2015 (López et al, 2015) in the same locality, with provision of new trails, roads and transepts. There were 23 observation sessions, determining the session time within the hours of attention to the general public (07:00 - 16:00), balancing observation sessions for the dry and rainy season of the town. The number of bird species observed is significant in relation to the total number of birds registered for the site and for the province of Guayas, which the endemic Tumbesian birds identified have traits of motivation and interest for bird watchers, due to rarity, beauty, state of conservation or emblematic birds for the geographical space. Species diversity is affected, not significantly; both for the general species, as for the endemic tumbesinas; that the layout and composition of the proposed trails are attractive for bird watching according to the duration and effort of the observation sessions, that the disabling of the Canoa path and the path to the lagoon significantly affected the observation of frequent birds in aquatic spaces.El turismo ornitológico, es un segmento del turismo de interés específico relacionado con el ecoturismo, que cada vez presenta mayor demanda y especialización de la oferta, tanto de sus servicios, como de infraestructura; el conocimiento de la diversidad de aves como recurso – atractivo, es primordial, así también la distribución, historia natural y ecología que circundan a las aves. En Sudamérica, Colombia, Perú, Brasil y Ecuador son los países que mayor diversidad de especies de aves albergan, presentando un desarrollo de la actividad variable entre una localidad u otra. En Ecuador la observación de aves ha tenido un gran desenvolvimiento en el noroccidente de la provincia del Pichincha y el norte de la región amazónica; Ecuador cuenta con el Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (SNAP) , entre los subsistemas más importantes se presentan: el Patrimonio de Áreas Naturales del país (PANE) y los subsistemas que engloban a los Bosques Privados, que contiene diversas categorías de manejo que permiten la conservación, preservación, restauración, de sus ecosistemas y las poblaciones de fauna, entre ellas las aves que ahí se contienen. La investigación determinó el número de especies de aves que se pudieron identificar en el Bosque Protector cerro Blanco mediante observación directa en los senderos dispuestos para los visitantes durante el periodo 2015 - 2017, en transeptos correspondientes a ceja de bosque y espacios comunes, de uso intensivo de visitantes, teniendo principal interés en las aves endémicas tumbesinas y comparar estos resultados con el estudio realizado en el periodo 2013 – 2015 (López et al, 2015) en la misma localidad, con disposición de nuevos senderos, caminos y transeptos. Se efectuaron 23 sesiones de observación, determinando el tiempo de sesión dentro de los horarios de atención al público general (07:00 – 16:00), equilibrando sesiones de observación para la época seca y lluviosa de la localidad. El número de especies de aves observadas es significativo con relación al total de aves registradas para el sitio y para la provincia del Guayas, que las aves endémicas tumbesinas identificadas presentan rasgos de motivación e interés para los observadores de aves, por condiciones de rareza, belleza, estado de conservación o aves emblemáticas para el espacio geográfica. La diversidad de especies se ve afectada, no significativamente; tanto para las especies generales, como para las endémicas tumbesinas; que la disposición y composición de los senderos propuestos son atractivos para la observación de aves según duración y esfuerzo de las sesiones de observación, que la inhabilitación del sendero Canoa y el camino a la Laguna, afectaron significativamente la observación de aves frecuentes de espacios acuáticos

Orkney: Beside the Ocean of Time

How do individuals and communities understand Deep Time? A relatively short-term perspective is dominant in contemporary societies as they face the complicated ongoing consequences of landscape change on every aspect of the human life, from agriculture and provision of food and energy to the protection of natural or cultural landscapes. A more holistic and deeper knowledge is required. This 18-month project - 'Orkney: Beside the Ocean of Time' - aims to generate new understandings of the interrelationship between human community, Deep Time and landscape change using an interdisciplinary approach, in which five Early Career Researchers with backgrounds in Social Anthropology, Literature, Archaeology, Palaeoecology and Geology, will work together to find innovative ways to investigate and represent time-depth in landscape, using Orkney as a model. The project will develop and pilot an interdisciplinary methodology that will enable new insights into Orkney's rich literary, geological, palaeoenvironmental and archaeological heritage, which is coupled with contemporary concerns over coastal erosion and the political and economic importance of energy generation. The project will address three main research questions: - How do communities respond and adapt to landscape change? - What is the time-depth of people's engagement with place? - How do we make Deep Time visible? Responding to the challenge of understanding human engagements with the time-depth of landscape change requires the combined insights of Arts, Humanities and Sciences. Researchers will combine their expertise to undertake interdisciplinary fieldwork on Orkney to include: analysis of 19th and 20th century Orcadian literature; investigation of the impact of flooding, the Storegga slide, volcanic ash, and other geological activity; a reanalysis of the Orcadian palaeoenvironmental data; an online database compiling and evaluating legacy Orkney radiocarbon measurements; ethnographic fieldwork (see below). Working together with our project partner, the Pier Arts Centre (Stromness), and in collaboration with a local artist, we will explore creative ways of communicating and representing the results of the fieldwork, and making Deep Time visible. The project will culminate in a public Festival of Deep Time, which will include an exhibition of the artist's collaboration, and a series of public workshops, talks and field-trips, that will enable us to undertake further ethnographic fieldwork, by involving the community in a dialogue about perceptions of time-depth and landscape change. The research findings of the project will also be made available via a project website containing geotagged images, video and other research data, and through the development of a toolkit for researchers wishing to undertake interdisciplinary Science, Arts, and Humanities research in relation to time and/or environmental change. 'Orkney: Beside the Ocean of Time' contributes to the Science in Culture Programme by providing opportunities for public engagement with the effects of time on landscape change. It will enable community dialogue about the ways in which the lived environment of Orkney has been, and will continue to be shaped by human and natural activities, in the deep and near past, the present moment, and perhaps most significantly, the as yet, undetermined future. Planned Impact Direct beneficiaries include: - Local community - Pier Arts Centre - Collaborating artist - Wider public attending the Festival of Deep Time Indirect beneficiaries who may be able to use the research include: - Artistic community - Tourism and Heritage sites and organisations - Public Sector Groups & Nonprofit Organisations - Policy Makers Impact 1: the research will benefit participants in the local community by developing a deeper understanding of the relationship between 'Deep Time' and landscape change. This will be assessed by evaluation of the Festival of Deep Time and the varying activities involved in this. Evaluation methods include semi-structured interviews, scenario-planning workshops, and feedback responses to field trips and talks that will seek to capture changes in attitudes and perceptions of participants. The Festival, artistic output and website will also raise public awareness of the way in which the lived environment of Orkney has been, and continues to be shaped by human and natural activities at various temporal scales. Impact 2: the Piers Art Centre will benefit from developing new academic partnerships that enable 'knowledge exchange', which will support the Centre in fulfilling its aim to encourage 'research that explores the visual arts', 'its collection, and Orkney through continued dialogue that provides a public facing forum for discussion'. The co-production of the Festival will also support the Centre's key role in contributing 'to the social, economic and cultural wealth of Orkney, Scotland and the UK'. Impact 3: the project offers a development opportunity for the commissioned artist, and we would anticipate, a springboard for their future work. We envisage that the artistic collaboration will also provide indirect benefit as a case-study for the artistic community on Orkney and beyond to reflect on the ways in which creative practice can contribute to different understandings of time perception and environmental change. Impact 4: although aimed principally at academic audiences, it is also anticipated that the interdisciplinary toolkit, database of legacy radiocarbon measurements, talks and co-authored articles produced by the research team, will provide impact alongside the resources made available on the website, for several indirect beneficiaries during and beyond the duration of the project. Given that the project will work at internationally significant tourism and heritage sites, which are vulnerable to the impact of both natural and human forces, the resulting fieldwork will be of potential interest to Tourism/Heritage organisations, as well as Public Sector Groups & Nonprofit Organisations on Orkney (Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Orkney Islands Council). The outputs are also of relevance for national and international policy makers and organisations concerned with the ongoing risks of Global Change, such as DEFRA, Dept. Energy & Climate Change, UN, Greenpeace. The first UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) governmental report (2012) set out the main priorities for adaptation in the UK under five themes (Agriculture & Forestry; Business; Health & Wellbeing; Natural Environment, Buildings & Infrastructure). The findings are mainly based on the 2009 UK Climate Projections, and palaeoenvironmental and archaeological perspectives are missing. The second CCRA report is due in January 2017. Although a range scientific experts and fields are included, Humanities & Arts are not. We envisage a significant benefit therefore of providing novel, interdisciplinary approaches and research data on this complex issue. We will disseminate our findings to relevant government organisations to provide new approaches to developing more holistic policies

Database_Lopez-Merino et al_Journal of Ecology.xls

<p><strong>The mat of <em>Posidonia oceanica</em> reflects six thousand years of climate and land-use changes: long-term ecology and conservation views</strong><br></p><p>1.            The Mediterranean seagrass <em>Posidonia</em> <em>oceanica</em> maintains a biodiverse ecosystem and it is a worldwide important carbon sink. It grows for millennia, accumulating organic-rich soils (mats) beneath the meadows. This marine habitat is protected by the European Union; however, it is declining rapidly due to coastal development. Understanding its response to disturbances could inform habitat restoration, but many environmental impacts predate monitoring programs (<50 years).</p> <p>2.            This research explores the palaeoecological potential of <em>Posidonia</em> mats to reconstruct six thousand years of environmental change that could have affected <em>Posidonia</em> meadows and, in turn, left an imprint on the mats.</p> <p>3.            Palynological, microcharcoal, magnetic susceptibility and glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) analyses on <em>Posidonia</em> mats enabled us to detect climate- and human-induced environmental processes impacting on the seagrass during the Late Holocene.</p> <p>4.            The pollen and microcharcoal records reconstructed anthropogenic disturbances attributed to agriculture. The record of GRSP shows that agrarian activities affected continental soil quality. Changes in magnetic susceptibility reveal that enhanced soil erosion was caused by both climate (major flooding events in the NW Mediterranean) and humans (cultivation) which impacted on the <em>Posidonia</em> mat. Finally, increased human impact is linked to eutrophication of coastal waters since Roman-Medieval times.</p> <p>5.            This study shows that climate and land-use changes in the western Mediterranean resulted in enhanced loadings of terrigenous material to the coastal zone since the Late Holocene, likely disturbing the <em>Posidonia</em> meadows and their mat carbon accumulation dynamics. Under the current global change scenario in which CO₂ emissions are projected to increase, restoring carbon sinks is a priority. Seagrass habitat restoration should consider not only the coastal perturbations, but also the continental ones at a catchment scale to preserve the socio-economic ecosystem services provided by seagrasses.</p> <br