Search

Peri-urban regions, especially in the Mediterranean, face challenges like farmland loss due to urban pressure. This study emphasizes retail stores as strategic focal points for evaluating societal, economic, and production systems. It hypothesizes that analyzing retail stores in agricultural areas provides insights into traded and cultivated agrobiodiversity. Using the Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park (Catalonia, NE Iberian Peninsula) as a case study, this research examines different food retailers from short and conventional food supply chains. Results indicate variations in plant diversity, origin, and seasonality among different retail stores. Farmers’ markets exhibit higher intraspecific diversity, contributing to local agrobiodiversity conservation. This study observes temporal changes in farmers’ markets, highlighting shifts influenced by socioeconomic factors and climate change perceptions. Finally, this research underscores certain strategies to promote sustainable peri-urban local food systems and preserve agrobiodiversity, offering valuable insights into food supply chain dynamics in peri-urban agricultural regions.

Peri-urban regions, especially in the Mediterranean, face challenges like farmland loss due to urban pressure. This study emphasizes retail stores as strategic focal points for evaluating societal, economic, and production systems. It hypothesizes that analyzing retail stores in agricultural areas provides insights into traded and cultivated agrobiodiversity. Using the Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park (Catalonia, NE Iberian Peninsula) as a case study, this research examines different food retailers from short and conventional food supply chains. Results indicate variations in plant diversity, origin, and seasonality among different retail stores. Farmers¿ markets exhibit higher intraspecific diversity, contributing to local agrobiodiversity conservation. This study observes temporal changes in farmers¿ markets, highlighting shifts influenced by socioeconomic factors and climate change perceptions. Finally, this research underscores certain strategies to promote sustainable peri-urban local food systems and preserve agrobiodiversity, offering valuable insights into food supply chain dynamics in peri-urban agricultural regions.

Vitis vinifera L. has been present in Ibiza and Formentera, two islands of the Balearic Islands (Spain), since the 7th century BC. In the past few years, there have been several studies and investigations on the Balearic Islands. These have focused mainly on Mallorca and Menorca with a small representation of Ibiza and none that take into account Formentera. This research aims to contribute to the knowledge of Vitis cultivars cultivated on those islands and to investigate whether there are local cultivars still being grown. To do this, using an ethnobotanical approach, 15 persons were interviewed to gather information about local grapevines, and 36 accessions from 12 plots were characterized using ampelographic descriptors and identified using SSR markers. Relationships of the accessions studied with other cultivars were also assessed. The results show 21 different genotypes profiles, where six were new genotypes: Colló de gall, Grec, Maçanet, VIEIV015-Maçanet, Morzacà, and Vermelleta. Ten new synonyms and three homonyms have been proposed. Additionally, we suggest three new relationships for the `Hebén¿ cultivar, one new relationship for the Llora cultivar and one new relationship for the Beba cultivar. These results show the first reported information for Ibiza and Formentera on Vitis.

Introduction: Mental disorders are among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide. Despite the disease burden they cause, including significant direct and indirect impacts on individual¿s health and major social and economic consequences in all countries of the world, it is still one of the most neglected areas of public health. In such a context, the medicinal plants traditionally used to pale these pathologies are presented as a promising tool for future drug development for the management of mental health disorders. The aim of the present study is to analyze the information about plant species used to treat mental disorders in the Catalan linguistic area (CLA) and compare these traditional uses with pharmacological literature in order to evaluate the most quoted taxa and their uses and to provide a basis for further research. Methods: Data have been recovered from the Etnobotànica dels Països Catalans webpage (https://etnobotanica.iec.cat/) and the meta-analytic work carried out in the present study covers 27 prospections performed in different territories between 1990 and 2019. Descriptive statistics and quantitative ethnobotany were carried out and some ethnobotanical indices were calculated. Results and Discussion: The number of use reports analysed to treat mental disorders in CLA is 2,544 spread over 183 taxa belonging to 64 families, being the most cited the Malvaceae (29.36% of use reports), Lamiaceae (16.71%), Caprifoliaceae (7.94%), Rutaceae (7.47%) and Papaveraceae (6.01%). The most used taxa to treat or alleviate the mental disorders have been Tilia platyphyllos Scop. (24.53%), Valeriana officinalis L. (7.47%), Salvia officinalis L. (5.07%), Sambucus nigra L. (4.28%), and Ruta chalepensis L. (3.89%). The flowers or inflorescences (47.68%), followed by aerial part (23.49%), have been the most used plant parts, and tisane the most commonly used pharmaceutical form (78.03%). The most reported use is as sedative with 40.92%, followed by an

Premise of research. The genus Echinops is unique among the Cardueae tribe of Asteraceae for presenting two distinctive features, both related to reproductive structures: a syncephalium (=secondary capitulum) and an impressively large pollen grain with a triangular section and probably the thickest of all plant cell walls. While the syncephalium constitutes a synapomorphy for the genus, recent evidence suggests that some Echinops species have pollen similar to that of other Cardueae. This study therefore seeks to contribute insights into the spatiotemporal frame of pollen evolution within the genus. Methodology. Micromorphological characterization was provided for 35 specimens from 28 Echinops species using light and scanning electron microscopy. Pollen counts were carried out for two Echinops species and Cardopatium corymbosum. Pollen data are discussed in the context of a dated Echinops phylogeny. For comparison purposes, new and published pollen data of 622 Cardueae species and 303 taxa of Vernonieae, another tribe where syncephaly has evolved, were collated. Pivotal results. The "Perennial" Echinops pollen type of huge size and triangular section likely derived from the "Annual" Echinops pollen type, more similar in shape, size, and exine structure to that of other Cardueae. Pollen type transition took place in the genus long after syncephaly evolved. Pollen size increase did not occur at the expense of pollen quantity and could respond to warmer environmental conditions and increased male competition. Conclusions. This study of Echinops pollen evidenced the evolutionary exploration of novel phenotypic space in the genus, most certainly in response to the climatic context in which the species have diversified.

Polarimetric techniques are widely used in a vast number of applications such as remote sensing, material characterization, astronomy and biological tissue inspection. In this last scenario, different polarimetric observables have proved their potential for enhancing imaging visualization. In this work we use a set of polarimetric observables derived from the arrow decomposition of the Mueller matrix for the first time: enpolarizing, retarding and depolarizing descriptors. In particular, the mean intensity coefficient and the three indices of polarimetric purity, the absolute values and Poincaré orientations of diattenuation, polarizance, entrance retardance and exit retardance vectors are considered. Results show images with enhanced visualization or even revealing invisible structures when compared to standard intensity images. In particular, thanks to these metrics, we improve the visualization of the necrotic areas of a Vitis rupestris leaf. In the case of animal samples, boundaries between different fascicles inside a tendon of an ex vivo chicken sample are revealed, as is the directionality of fiber tracts of the subcortical white matter in an ex vivo cow brain. The experimental results show the potential for biophotonics imaging and how polarimetric techniques could be useful for biomedical and botanical applications.

Polarimetrical imaging is a noninvasive optical technique of great interest in biophotonics since it has the capability of obtaining relevant information of biological samples, being useful, for instance, for the early detection of diseases or the classification of biological structures, both on animal and vegetal tissues. Different structures produce different outcomes when interacting with light due to their polarimetric properties such as depolarization, dichroism or retardance. An exhaustive polarimetric analysis of these characteristics can unveil the relation between the tissue inherent characteristics and its polarimetric response, enabling us to find the most appropriate polarimetric parameters to describe or study a sample. These polarimetric characteristics can be obtained through the experimental measurement of the Mueller matrix (M) of a sample, from which a range of different polarimetric observables, giving physical interpretation, can be deduced. By taking advantage of these parameters, we propose a study of the suitability of different groups of metrics for the contrast enhancement in biological tissues imaging, taking special attention on some depolarization metrics and some physical parameters such as the wavelength or the angle of incidence of the illumination light. The results obtained suggest the convenience of certain parameters which may be of interest in multiple biomedical scenarios such as pathology early detection or enhanced visualization of different structures for clinical applications.

Background The right floodplain at the Llobregat river delta (Catalonia, NE Iberian Peninsula) constitutes an agricultural periurban area adjacent to Barcelona, which has remained ethnobotanically unexplored until now. This area comprises a very heavily anthropized mosaic of soil uses¿urban, industrial, natural, agricultural¿including the Agricultural Park of Baix Llobregat. The main aim of this work has been to collect and analyze the ethnoflora of this area in order to fill a gap in the ethnobotanical knowledge in industrialized areas. Methods The followed methodology has been based on semi-structured interviews. The obtained data have been qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed and compared with other studies. Results Data have been gathered from 83 informants. The interviewed informants referred 1965 use reports from 292 taxa, including both non-cultivated and cultivated species, from 85 botanical families. Among those, 451 were referred to medicinal uses, 1247 to food uses and 267 to other uses. In the present study, 779 vernacular names have been reported for 287 taxa. In addition to medicinal and food uses, this study significantly enhances our understanding of some agrosilvopastoral uses of plants, artistic use of plants and insights into folk functional foods. In this regard, we propose a novel quantitative ethnobotany index (the folk functional food index) to assess the relative significance of taxa employed as folk functional foods. Conclusions The findings of this study highlight the enduring presence of ethnobotanical knowledge in this periurban agricultural region and underscore the significance of its preservation.

Anagenetic speciation is an important mode of evolution in oceanic islands, yet relatively understudied compared to adaptive radiation. In the Macaronesian region, three closely related species of Artemisia (i.e. A. argentea, A. thuscula and A. gorgonum) are each endemic from a single archipelago (i.e. Madeira, Canary Islands and Cape Verde, respectively), representing a perfect opportunity to study three similar but independent anagenetic speciation processes. By analysing plastid and nuclear DNA sequences, as well as nuclear DNA amount data, generated from a comprehensive sampling in all the islands and archipelagos where these species are currently distributed, we intend to find common evolutionary patterns that help us explain the limited taxonomic diversification experienced by endemic Macaronesian Artemisia. Our time-calibrated phylogenetic reconstruction suggested that divergence among the three lineages occurred in a coincidental short period of time during the Pleistocene. Haplotype and genetic differentiation analyses showed similar diversity values among A. argentea, A. thuscula and A. gorgonum. Clear phylogeographic patterns¿showing comparable genetic structuring among groups of islands¿were also found within the three archipelagos. Even from the cytogenetic point of view, the three species presented similarly lower genome size values compared to the mainland closely related species A. arborescens. We hypothesize that the limited speciation experienced by the endemic Artemisia in Madeira, Canary Islands and Cape Verde archipelagos could be related to their recent parallel evolutionary histories as independent lineages, combined with certain shared characteristics of seed dispersal, pollen transport and type of habitat.

For the first time, the chromosome number was determined for 5 species of the genus Pyrus L. (Rosaceae) from Armenia, viz. P. daralaghezii, P. hyrcana var. yeghegisi, P. medvedevii, P. oxiprion, P. takhtadzhianii, and the previous count of chromosome number for P. caucasica was confirmed. All the explored species have a diploid chromosome number 2n = 34 with the basic chromosome number x = 17.

Vitis vinifera L. has been present in Ibiza and Formentera, two islands of the Balearic Islands (Spain), since the 7th century BC. In the past few years, there have been several studies and investigations on the Balearic Islands. These have focused mainly on Mallorca and Menorca with a small representation of Ibiza and none that take into account Formentera. This research aims to contribute to the knowledge of Vitis cultivars cultivated on those islands and to investigate whether there are local cultivars still being grown. To do this, using an ethnobotanical approach, 15 persons were interviewed to gather information about local grapevines, and 36 accessions from 12 plots were characterized using ampelographic descriptors and identified using SSR markers. Relationships of the accessions studied with other cultivars were also assessed. The results show 21 different genotypes profiles, where six were new genotypes: ‘Colló de gall’, ‘Grec’, ‘Maçanet’, ‘VIEIV015-Maçanet’, ‘Morzacà’, and ‘Vermelleta’. Ten new synonyms and three homonyms have been proposed. Additionally, we suggest three new relationships for the ‘Hebén’ cultivar, one new relationship for the ‘Llora’ cultivar and one new relationship for the ‘Beba’ cultivar. These results show the first reported information for Ibiza and Formentera on Vitis.

Argania is a monotypic genus belonging to the family Sapotaceae and comprising the only species Argania spinosa. This taxon, endemic to southern Morocco (northern Africa), is important in arid lands. It has a high pastoral value, numerous traditional uses, and it is an important industrial crop for food and cosmetics. A few chromosome counts are available for the species but to date, there is no information on its genome size. Apart from being a parameter useful in many aspects of plant systematic and evolutionary biology, knowing the nuclear DNA amount is a pre-requisite to any genome-sequencing program. In this paper, we present for the first time data on the nuclear DNA content in Argania spinosa, from two populations, and we confirm its chromosome number. Genome size was estimated as 2C=1.48 pg (1C=723.72 Mbp) in both studied accessions, revealing a small genome. The chromosome count (2n=20) revealed that the species has the lowest basic chromosome number (x=10) in the Sapotaceae, and suggests a descending dysploidy process in the family. The first morphological characterisation of Argania spinosa¿s karyotype is presented here. In addition, fluorochrome banding, performed with chromomycin A3 and DAPI, showed the absence of AT-rich regions and the presence of GC-rich regions located in three chromosome pairs, bringing the first molecular cytogenetic data in the genus.

The study of the interaction of biological tissue with polarized light leads to relevant information of physical properties (dichroism, retardance and depolarization) of samples. Polarimetric analysis of different characteristics in tissues is useful for applications such us tissue classification, contrast enhancement or pathology detection. By means of polarimetric imaging techniques we can characterize the polarimetric signature of biological samples in a noninvasive and nondestructive way. We have found that depolarization information is of special interest in turbid media such as plant tissue. In this manuscript we use polarimetric observables for plant inspection. In particular, we provide enhanced visualization of certain plant pathologies by constructing depolarization based pseudocolored images of pathological leaves where the pathological areas are revealed.