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Copyright of Cirugía Plástica Ibero-Latinoamericana is the property of Cirugia Plastica Ibero-Latinoamericana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Variation of functional traits among species allows evaluating their life strategies. The whole-plant economic spectrum proposes coordination of the form and function across different plant organs to optimize a resource-use strategy. However, few studies have evaluated the coordination among woody species through functional traits from different plant organs. We evaluated variation and coordination of crown, leaf, stem, root and phenology trait values across woody species of the semi-arid Mediterranean matorral of Chile. We hypothesize that sclerophyllous and malacophyllous woody species vary and coordinate their trait values along an ecological dimension that separates their resource-use strategies from conservative to acquisitive, respectively. We analyzed the variation and correlation of 14 functional traits for 12-16 species. The functional trait values between sclerophyllous and malacophyllous species did not differ across the whole-plant economic spectrum. Traits were coordinated along multiple ecological dimensions. The first dimension was associated with the leaf economic spectrum and plant morphology, yet differed between sclerophyllous and malacophyllous species. Sclerophyllous species combined mostly conservative foliar trait values (longer leaf life span) with acquisitive morphological trait values (larger maximum plant height and longer lateral extension of roots), while malacophyllous species exhibited opposite combinations. The second dimension was associated with variation in phenology and root traits. This dimension separated species with conservative phenological and root trait values (delayed growth onset and deeper rooting depth) from opportunistic species with opposite trait values. The third dimension was coordinated by wood density and the leaf 13C - isotopic composition. This dimension separated the drought-tolerant species with high stem densities and higher leaf water use efficiency from opportunistic water-use species with opposite attributes. In contrast with our hypothesis, in the Chilean matorral the species can combine conservative and acquisitive trait values to use resources and coordinate their resource use strategies across multiple dimensions. This decoupling of plant strategies could occur because different organs and phenology are exposed to different environmental filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is not yet consensus in the trade agreements literature as to whether preferential liberalization leads to more or less multilateral liberalization. However, research thus far has focused mostly on tariff measures of import protection. We develop more comprehensive measures of trade policy that include the temporary trade barrier (TTB) policies of antidumping and safeguards; studies in other contexts have also shown how these policies can erode some of the trade liberalization gains that arise when examining tariffs alone. We examine the experiences of Argentina and Brazil during the formation of the Mercosur over 1990-2001, and we find that an exclusive focus on applied tariffs may lead to a mischaracterization of the relationship between preferential liberalization and liberalization toward non-member countries. First, any 'building block' evidence that arises by focusing on tariffs during the period in which Mercosur was only a free trade area can disappear once we also include changes in import protection that arise through TTBs. Furthermore, there is also evidence of a 'stumbling block' effect of preferential tariff liberalization for the period in which Mercosur became a customs union, and this result tends to strengthen upon inclusion of TTBs. Finally, we also provide a first empirical examination of whether market power motives can help explain the patterns of changes to import protection that are observed in these settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Desacatos is the property of Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropologia Social and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of EURE is the property of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)