Syntaxonomic conspectus of the vegetation of Catalonia and Andorra. II: Ruderal communities

This paper deals with plant communities settling on ruderalized sites, such as crop fields, edges of roads or paths, forest clearings, river banks, and other disturbed areas. We report all the phytosociological associations and subassociations recorded from Catalonia and Andorra, as the second part of a general vegetation survey, started with Ninot et al. (2000). For each community, we provide the correct name and usual synonyms, its typification (where appropriate), all the references including relevés, and the most outstanding features of its structure, species composition, ecology, distribution and diversity. Moreover, associations and subassociations are ordered in a syntaxonomic scheme. Syntaxonomic ranks are considered in a fairly broad, conservative sense. This classification established 156 associations and 6 informal community types, which correspond to the classes Oryzetea sativae, Stellarietea mediae, Sisymbrietea officinalis, Artemisietea vulgaris, Cakiletea maritimae, Saginetea maritimae, Pegano-Salsoletea vermiculatae, Bidentetea tripartitae, Polygono-Poetea annuae, Rudero-Manihotetea utilissimae and Epilobietea angustifolii. Complementarily, we propose corrections of names when appropriate, and eventually formalize the description of a few syntaxa

Syntaxonomic conspectus of the vegetation of Catalonia and Andorra. II: Ruderal communities

This paper deals with plant communities settling on ruderalized sites, such as crop fields, edges of roads or paths, forest clearings, river banks, and other disturbed areas. We report all the phytosociological associations and subassociations recorded from Catalonia and Andorra, as the second part of a general vegetation survey, started with Ninot et al. (2000). For each community, we provide the correct name and usual synonyms, its typification (where appropriate), all the references including relevés, and the most outstanding features of its structure, species composition, ecology, distribution and diversity. Moreover, associations and subassociations are ordered in a syntaxonomic scheme. Syntaxonomic ranks are considered in a fairly broad, conservative sense. This classification established 156 associations and 6 informal community types, which correspond to the classes Oryzetea sativae, Stellarietea mediae, Sisymbrietea officinalis, Artemisietea vulgaris, Cakiletea maritimae, Saginetea maritimae, Pegano-Salsoletea vermiculatae, Bidentetea tripartitae, Polygono-Poetea annuae, Rudero-Manihotetea utilissimae and Epilobietea angustifolii. Complementarily, we propose corrections of names when appropriate, and eventually formalize the description of a few syntaxa

Encroachment of shrubs into subalpine grasslands in the Pyrenees changes the plant-soil stoichiometry spectrum

Aims: shrub encroachment has been reported over a large proportion of the subalpine grasslands across Europe and is expected to have an important impact on the biogeochemical cycle of these ecosystems. We investigated the stoichiometric changes in the plant-soil system along the succession (e.g. increase in encroachment from unencroached grassland to mature shrubland) at two contrasting sites in the Pyrenees. - Methods: we analyzed the chemical composition (C, N,¹⁵N, P, K, Ca, Mg and Fe) in the soil and in the aboveground plant compartments (leaves, leaf-litter and stems) of the main herbaceous species and shrubs at three contrasting stages of the succession: unencroached grassland, young shrubland and mature shrubland. - Results: the plant-soil stoichiometry spectrum differed between the successional stages. Shrub encroachment generally increased the concentration of C and Ca and the C:N ratio and often reduced to concentrations of N, P and K in the leaves and leaf-litter, while several soil nutrient concentrations (N, P, K Ca and Mg) decreased. The stocks of C, N, P, Ca, and Mg in the total aboveground biomass increased with encroachment. - Conclusions: shrub encroachment favored the dominance of long-lived species with low concentrations of N and P in the plant-soil compartments, high C:nutrient ratios in the aboveground biomass and increase the uptake of N through ericoid or ectomycorrhizal fungi. We highlight the role of shrubs in the sequestration of C and nutrients through the allocation to the aboveground biomass. The changes in plant-soil elemental composition and stocks suggest a slowdown of the biogeochemical cycles in the subalpine mountain areas where shrub encroachment occurred

La vegetació de les serres prepirinenques compreses entre els rius Segre i Llobregat. 3 - Comunitats ruderals i arvenses

Continuant els articles dedicats - - a I'estudi fitocenolbgic de I'irea ureuirinenca L. . . comuresa entre les valls del Segre i el Llobregat, - recollim aquí les dades relatives a la vegetació segetal i a la vegetació ruderal, incloent-hi les vorades subnitrbtiles i els horts. A I'irea estudiada, aquests tipus de vegetació es troben representats sobretot a les parts baixes i perifhiques, sotmeses a una influttncia humana més forta, i són molt més rars (i menys diversos) a I'alta muntanya..

Manual dels hàbitats de Catalunya: catàleg dels hàbitats naturals reconeguts en el territori català d'acord amb elscriteris establerts pel CORINE biotopes manual de la Unió Europea. Volum VIII. 8. Terres agrícoles i àrees antròpiques.

Edició revisada 2017L'adaptació al nostre territori del catàleg dels biòtops de la Unió Europea (CORINE biotopes manual) va portar a dreçar una llista dels hàbitats existents a Catalunya. El present Manual vol servir per a interpretar-los teòricament i per a poder-los identificar fàcilment en la pràctica. Els volums descriptius, com aquest, comprenen una sèrie de fitxes, corresponents cadascuna a un hàbitat, ordenades i distribuïdes en apartats coincidents amb els subgrups de primer i segon nivell. Cada fitxa presenta, de manera molt sintètica, les característiques més rellevants de l'hàbitat (aspecte, ecologia general, component biòtic, paràmetres d'interès de conservació...) i porta algunes figures il·lustratives i, en la majoria de casos, un petit mapa de distribució. En aquesta nova edició s'han revisat i actualitzat els continguts de la versió anterior (nous mapes, nous paràmetres indicadors de l'interès de conservació, incorporació de la correspondència amb la nova classificació europea EUNIS...) i s'hi han afegit uns pocs hàbitats observats o descrits aquests últims anys

One-year outcome following biological or mechanical valve replacement for infective endocarditis

Background: Nearly half of patients require cardiac surgery during the acute phase of infective endocarditis (IE). We describe the characteristics of patients according to the type of valve replacement (mechanical or biological), and examine whether the type of prosthesis was associated with in-hospital and 1-year mortality. Methods and results: Among 5591 patients included in the International Collaboration on Endocarditis Prospective Cohort Study, 1467 patients with definite IE were operated on during the active phase and had a biological (37%) or mechanical (63%) valve replacement. Patients who received bioprostheses were older (62 vs 54 years), more often had a history of cancer (9% vs 6%), and had moderate or severe renal disease (9% vs 4%); proportion of health care-associated IE was higher (26% vs 17%); intracardiac abscesses were more frequent (30% vs 23%). In-hospital and 1-year death rates were higher in the bioprosthesis group, 20.5% vs 14.0% (p = 0.0009) and 25.3% vs 16.6% (p < .0001), respectively. In multivariable analysis, mechanical prostheses were less commonly implanted in older patients (odds ratio: 0.64 for every 10 years), and in patients with a history of cancer (0.72), but were more commonly implanted in mitral position (1.60). Bioprosthesis was independently associated with 1-year mortality (hazard ratio: 1.298). Conclusions: Patients with IE who receive a biological valve replacement have significant differences in clinical characteristics compared to patients who receive a mechanical prosthesis. Biological valve replacement is independently associated with a higher in-hospital and 1-year mortality, a result which is possibly related to patient characteristics rather than valve dysfunction