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This study evaluates the use of remote sensing data to improve the understanding of groundwater resources in climate-sensitive regions with limited data availability and increasing agricultural water demands. The research focuses on estimating groundwater reserve dynamics in two major river basins in Morocco, characterized by significant local variability. The study employs data from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellite (GRACE) and ERA5-Land reanalysis. Two GRACE terrestrial water storage (TWS) products, CSR Mascon and JPL Mascon (RL06), were analyzed, along with auxiliary datasets generated from ERA5-Land, including precipitation, evapotranspiration, and surface runoff. The results show that both GRACE TWS products exhibit strong correlations with groundwater reserves, with correlation coefficients reaching up to 0.96 in the Oum Er-rbia River Basin and 0.95 in the Tensift River Basin (TRB). The root mean square errors (RMSE) were 0.99 cm and 0.88 cm, respectively. GRACE-derived groundwater storage (GWS) demonstrated a moderate correlation with observed groundwater levels in OERRB (R = 0.59, RMSE = 0.82), but a weaker correlation in TRB (R = 0.30, RMSE = 1.01). On the other hand, ERA5-Land-derived GWS showed a stronger correlation with groundwater levels in OERRB (R = 0.72, RMSE = 0.51) and a moderate correlation in TRB (R = 0.63, RMSE = 0.59). The findings suggest that ERA5-Land may provide more accurate assessments of groundwater storage anomalies, particularly in regions with significant local-scale variability in land and water use. High-resolution datasets like ERA5-land are, therefore, more recommended for addressing local-scale heterogeneity in regions with contrasted complexities in groundwater storage characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The alkaloids are one of the most represented family of natural occurring biological active compounds. Amaryllidaceae are also very well known for their beautiful flower and are thus used as ornamental plants in historic and public gardens. The Amaryllidacea alkaloids constitute an important group that is subdivided into different subfamilies with different carbon skeletons. They are well known from ancient times for their long application in folk medicine, and in particular, Narcissus poeticus L. was known to Hippocrates of Cos (ca. B.C. 460–370), who treated uterine tumors with a formulate prepared from narcissus oil. To date, more than 600 alkaloids of 15 chemical groups exhibiting various biological activities have been isolated from the Amaryllidaceae plants. This plant genus is diffused in regions of Southern Africa, Andean South America and the Mediterranean basin. Thus, this review describes the chemical and biological activity of the alkaloids collected in these regions in the last two decades as weel those of isocarbostyls isolated from Amaryllidaceae in the same regions and same period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change (CC), a long-term change in the average weather patterns that determine the Earth's climate, has a large and significant impact on agricultural systems, especially in Mediterranean climate regions (MCRs), which are characterized by mild and wet winters and warm and dry summers with increased drought and high temperature events, water deficits, and changes in precipitation patterns. Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from anthropogenic activities have increased by an average of almost 1.5 % per year since 1990 reaching a level of 53.8 Gt CO 2 -eq in 2022. CC can also significantly influence the timing and methods of pesticide application through changes in pest and disease occurrence and alterations in crop characteristics in these regions. Global pesticide consumption in agriculture worldwide in 2021 was 3.54 Mt of active ingredients, an increase of 11 % in a decade and a doubling since 1990. In this study, the main variables affecting agriculture and pesticide use under CC in MCRs were assessed. It is important to note that the challenges related to the impact of CC on agricultural practices and the necessary adaptation measures to be implemented are influenced not only by climatic factors but also by other variables, such as soil type and agroclimatic zone. The data used for this review were obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) database from the beginning of the century to the present (2001–2023). Our findings show that finance, technology and international cooperation are the key enablers of accelerated climate action. Achieving deep and lasting reductions in GHG emissions and securing a livable and sustainable future for all people will require rapid and deep transformations across all sectors and systems. CC has large negative impacts on the agricultural sector, such as reduced crop quantity and quality due to temperature increases, water scarcity and other negative environmental impacts. In addition, the use of pesticides and their environmental fate may be significantly affected by CC. Therefore, agricultural adaptation should be a priority in MCRs to improve crop performance and resilience to environmental pressures caused by CC. These changes may affect the behavior and fate of pesticides in soil and water, potentially leading to environmental pollution and negative impacts on human and ecosystem health. The local climate will clearly determine which areas are suitable for growing certain crops, potentially leading to changes in agricultural practices and pest management strategies. All these findings highlight the complex and multifaceted relationships among CC, agriculture and pesticide use and emphasize the need for comprehensive strategies to address the challenges posed by changing environmental conditions on agricultural practices and pest management in MCRs. [Display omitted] • Climate change is the most dangerous natural hazard for agriculture. • Rainfall, temperature, floods and droughts changes affect agricultural production. • Global warming, water scarcity and other adverse impacts reduce crop yields. • Climate change affects efficiency and environmental fate of pesticides. • Negative impacts of climate change on agriculture highlight need to adapt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The out-of-phase rainfall and temperature and deep root system make the sequential connection between past rainfall events, soil water storage, and forest growth response complicated and temporally extended in asynchronous climates with Mediterranean-type settings. Unfortunately, these location-specific deep-soil water stores are rarely measured due to logistic and financial constraints, especially in the forest. Therefore, at a large spatio-temporal scale, forest growth relationship to growth drivers is still unknown in these ecosystems, limiting our knowledge to understand the functioning of these forests and their links with hydrological processes. Although process-based water balance models can analyze vegetation growth response to the input climate forcing, they rely upon some significant assumptions regarding plants access to deep soil water storage. Thus, this study aims to understand how the out-of-phase rainfall events affect the current ecosystem growth response, represented by the observed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), across the landscape. We have used an empirical approach on long term observed data without any assumption on access to deep-soil water stores. We estimated time lags between forest growth and rainfall events using a lagged correlation analysis applied to monthly anomalies of NDVI and rainfall against their climatological averages over 2002–2018. The study found that the forests in asynchronous climates exhibit unexpectedly long (10–25 months) memory to rain, and this memory has a systematic pattern across the landscape, which we contend has highlighted three things: 1) the forest in the middle aridity (∼3–4.5) range are relatively more sensitive to changes in the short-term rainfall than the forest in lower (5) aridity regions, could be due to rapid depletion of relatively small soil water storage in between the storms, 2) the variable memory of forest to rain across the landscape can be an indicator of soil depth/rooting depth, and 3) the variable sized location specific antecedent rainfall windows can explain significant variability in forest growth status in asynchronous climates, thus these rainfall windows can be employed to forecast forest growth with a lead time (>4 months).

• Cystic echinococcosis is still a very serious problem in mediterranean areas. • Non-regular dog deworming and providing offal to dogs are the main risky practices. • Low levels of knowledge and awareness of CE observed among north african farmers. Cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus , is a zoonotic parasitic disease that still represents a serious threat to human and animal health worldwide. The Mediterranean basin is recognized as one of the major hotspots of CE due to several factors, including the presence of diverse intermediate host species as well as socio-economic and cultural conditions of local communities. This study aims to take a closer look at epidemiological data on CE in the Mediterranean area and assess the knowledge attitudes and practices of shepherds towards this disease in four countries (Algeria, Greece, Italy and Tunisia), highly endemic for CE, with the final goal of identifying highly endemic risk areas and practices in use which might potentially allow the persistence of E. granulosus infection in these areas. To update the epidemiological scenario of CE in Mediterranean areas, a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed literature on CE prevalence data published during the 2017–2023 period was carried out and, through a geographical information system (GIS), a map displaying the current CE distribution in the Mediterranean area was generated. In addition, a questionnaire survey was conducted through in-depth interviews of the farmers to collect information on their management system as well as knowledge attitudes and practices towards CE. From the farmer-participatory survey some risky practices emerged including the non-regular deworming of dogs or the use of ineffective drugs or dosing, as well as the provision of uncooked animal viscera to dogs. Finally, lower levels of knowledge and awareness of the disease was observed among farmers from North Africa compared with those of European countries. In conclusion, the results obtained highlight that CE is still a very serious problem in Mediterranean areas and increased efforts are needed to promote awareness among farmers and to turn research results into policy in order to reduce the spread of this disease, according to the One Health perspective. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research is to present a methodological proposal for flood analysis, incorporating associated hazards, to adapt the flood assessment to the particularities of the geographical area of the Spanish Mediterranean coast as a risk region. The aim is to give a territorial approach to the analysis of flooding, following the new requirements introduced by the legislation on natural hazards and floods, directing it directly to territorial management and planning for local and regional scales, and seeking an estimate most reliable of his study in Mediterranean regions. Spanish regulations currently establish the hydrological-hydraulic study as a document that evaluates the risk of flooding in an area. The methodology proposes to incorporate into this study an analysis of the potential generation of contributions to the flow by soil erosion in the basin, as well as by mass movements, thus including both quantitative and qualitative information on the contribution of solid particles to the flood flow. The results, after its application in a pilot basin on the Malaga coast, show a better estimation of the flood plate than the methodological proposal with respect to the conventional methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Debrunia is characterized by its myophoral organisation: the left valve posterior myophore is an erect plate, the anterior is a bulge or a crest, myophores of right valve are on shell wall, the ligament groove is inconspicuous and the cardinal apparatus tends to be shifted posteriorly. Shell habit varies from low conical to elongated cylindrical, and the shape of the left valve ranges from capuloid to flat. The taxonomic revision of Debruni a species of the Mediterranean regions reveals the presence of thirteen species, among which seven are described as new. Multiple Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis document the existence of five groups of species in correspondence with the height of the left valve and the commissural diameter. The longevity of Debrunia is high, 32 Myr, whereas its species have shorter durations which account for a significant biostratigraphic potential within the Valanginian–Albian time span. Debrunia has its FO (First occurrence) in the lower Valanginian and its LO (Last occurrence) in the Albian. Its developmental phase starts in the Hauterivian, marked by an increasing species diversity and a biogeographic expansion; and peaks in the late Barremian, followed by a collapse in diversity and a specific turnover, coeval with the “ Agriopleura extinction event”. The mid-Aptian crisis is expressed by a drastic decline in species diversity, controlled by the overall restriction or demise of carbonate platforms in European regions. As elevators, Debrunia species tend to build dense monospecific aggregations and some of them possess a remarkable bioconstructional potential. The contribution of Debrunia to rudist communities is significant throughout the history of the genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City-regions in sensitive environmental spaces such as globally recognized biodiversity hotspots face the challenge of adopting land use planning strategies that facilitate the transition towards sustainability. Though landscape-scale patterns of land use changes have already been documented in central Chile, a critical spatial assessment of the dynamics and forces shaping current land use and the conservation landscape in the Valparaíso-Santiago city-region has not yet been undertaken. We applied a satellite-based survey of urban sprawl and the extension and recurrence of wildfires spanning a 35-year timeframe from 1985 to 2020. We compared their spatial occurrence with high ecological value areas (HEVA) and analyzed the resulting patterns within the framework of an ad-hoc centrifugal forces model. Results show a constant expansion of urban sprawl and direct impacts of wildfires affecting biodiversity values. La Campana-Peñuelas Biosphere Reserve emerges as a relevant spatial feature that can facilitate the transition towards sustainability at the regional scale, although the laissez-faire stance of the dominant neoliberal economic model in Chile is the most evident threat to the transition toward sustainability. We conclude that the study area, with the attributes of a social-ecological hotspot, shows strengths such as a space capable of transformative change and the potential of a regenerative city-region. • City-regions in biodiversity hotspots face the challenge of adopting sustainable land use planning strategies. • Centrifugal forces shape the regional landscape in opposing directions, from the urban centers and from the natural areas. • Social-ecological hotspots including high ecological value areas (HEVA) need a special governance scheme. • Sustainability transition and regenerative actions shall be applied and promoted in spaces such as biosphere reserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest landscapes are fundamental components of the living environment and consist of complex assemblages of forest and non-forest elements whose arrangement reflects, in part, the magnitude, intensity, and type of management. Because forests change across regions and scales, a variety of approaches have been proposed to support research and applicable goals. The most promising way to analyze forest landscapes is through the application of the landscape ecological approach, which is the study of ecological patterns and processes in heterogeneous, mostly human-modified, landscapes. In this paper, we analyze the role of landscape ecology in the context of forest landscapes. We discuss the main factors related to forest management which may affect landscape composition and configuration by referencing examples from the Mediterranean landscapes of Europe. Finally, we discuss the key issues for incorporating landscape ecological principles into forest planning and management and provide directions for future research in the emerging context of ecosystem services.

Biological invasions offer optimal scenarios to study evolutionary changes under contemporary timescales. After long-distance dispersal, exotic species have to cope with strong mate limitation, and shifts toward uniparental reproduction have been hypothesized to be selectively advantageous. Oxalis pes-caprae is a clonal tristylous species native to South Africa, and invasive in Mediterranean regions worldwide. It reproduces sexually and asexually but the importance of each strategy differs between ranges. Native populations reproduce mostly sexually while in invasive ones asexual reproduction is the prevailing strategy due to the dominance of pentaploid monomorphic populations. Nevertheless, two contrasting scenarios have been observed after introduction: transition toward clonality, and re-acquisition of sexuality fueled by multiple introductions of compatible mates. Here, we aimed to assess evolutionary changes of reproductive traits in O. pes-caprae invasive populations and evaluate whether these traits could be related with invasion success and prevalence of certain forms in the western Mediterranean basin. Sexual and asexual reproduction traits were quantified under optimal conditions in a common garden experiment including native and invasive sexual, predominately asexual, and obligated asexual individuals. Different reproductive, ecological, and genetic constraints created by long-distance dispersal seem to have generated different selective pressures in sexual and asexual traits, with our results supporting evolutionary changes in invasive populations of O. pes-caprae. Native plants had higher sexual fitness, while a transition toward clonality was clear for invasive forms, supporting clonal reproduction as a major trait driving invasion. Differences were also observed among invasive plants, with sexual forms having increased dispersal potential; thus, they are expected to be in advantage in comparison with predominantly asexual and obligated asexual plants, and may become widespread in the future. Historical processes, like the initial introduction of predominantly asexual forms followed by sexual forms more recently, could be in the origin of current distribution patterns of O. pescaprae in the western Mediterranean. This study shows that invasion processes are very dynamic and that ecological and genetic constraints determined by the invasion process may originate different reproductive strategies that are likely to determine invasion success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of both observed climate and fire data from 1970 to 2007 in a typical Mediterranean environment (i.e., the North-eastern Iberian Peninsula) shows that the warming climate forcing alone would have led to a positive trend in the Number of Fires (NF) and a slightly negative trend in the Burned Area (BA) in summer. This is in contrast to the common expectation that warming should result in larger fires. In fact, for BA, probably less favourable conditions for both fine fuel availability and fuel connectivity counterbalance the increase in fuel flammability. Climate projections from the ENSEMBLES Project indicate that warming will continue up to at least 2050, promoting more numerous fires but of similar or slightly smaller extension. These results suggest the necessity for a more intense fire management effort in order to maintain the number of fires at least at the same level as today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI) is one of the most used tools to forecast forest fire hazard. In this paper, we propose an adaptation of the FWI to take into account the Mediterranean vegetation and climate, to improve FWI performances for areas with these characteristics. In particular, the FWI has been calibrated for two Mediterranean regions (Algarve, Portugal and Peloponnese, Greece) by fitting the experimental data, collected in the field, for the forest fuel moisture content, with the values expected by the application of the original Canadian FWI. Field data were collected during the 2010 and 2011 fire seasons. The satisfactory results obtained by the adaptation of parameters from the original FWI, in spite of the small sample areas and limited time of collection, allowed us to verify the usefulness of the method in describing the fuel moisture dynamics and obtaining indexes closer to the characteristics of the Mediterranean forests considered. The adapted FWI, if further tested and extended to other sample areas, may help in a more detailed and precise application of the FWI index by improving the daily forest fire hazard forecast, to become also a better support for the Civil Protection Agency of Mediterranean countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building sector is among the largest energy users while offering cost-effective means of reducing energy use. Dynamics of energy efficiency improvements in the building stock are very slow due to the long life span of buildings and barriers such as high investment cost. A list of general policy measures to overcome the barriers to energy efficiency improvements in the Mediterranean (MED) area was proposed by regional experts in the framework of the MARIE project. These measures could be considered as a first draft of the MED buildings energy efficiency strategy. This study assesses the potential impacts of such measures, so as to inform on their effectiveness. The MARIE measures result in larger energy savings than an equally ambitious strategy based on ‘conventional measures’. However, the benefits of MARIE arrive slowly and show large variations among regions depending on the characteristics of their current building stock. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Albedo plays an important role in snow evolution modeling quantifying the amount of solar radiation absorbed and reflected by the snowpack, especially in mid-latitude regions with semiarid conditions. Satellite remote sensing is the most extensive technique to determine the variability of snow albedo over medium to large areas; however, scale effects from the pixel size of the sensor source may affect the results of snow models, with different impacts depending on the spatial resolution. This work presents the evaluation of snow albedo values retrieved from (1) Landsat images, L (16-day frequency with 30 × 30 m pixel size) and (2) SPOT VEGETATION albedo products, SV (10-day frequency with 1 × 1 km pixel size) in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in South Spain, a Mediterranean site representative of highly heterogeneous conditions. Daily snow albedo map series were derived from both sources, and used as input for the snow module in the WiMMed (Watershed Integrated Management in Mediterranean Environment) hydrological model, which was operational at the study area for snow monitoring for two hydrological years, 2011–2012 and 2012–2013, in the Guadalfeo river basin in Sierra Nevada. The results showed similar albedo trends in both data sources, but with different values, the shift between both sources being distributed in space according to the altitude. This difference resulted in lower snow cover fraction values in the SV-simulations that affected the rest of snow variables included in the simulation. This underestimation, mainly due to the effects of mixed pixels composed by both snow and snow-free areas, produced higher divergences from both sources during the melting periods when the evapo-sublimation and melting fluxes are more relevant. Therefore, the selection of the albedo data source in these areas, where snow evapo-sublimation plays a very important role and the presence of snow-free patches is very frequent, can condition the final accuracy of the simulations of operational models; Landsat is the recommended source if the monitoring of the snowpack is the final goal of the modeling, whereas the SV product may be advantageous when water resource planning in the medium and long term is intended. Applications of large pixel size albedo sources need further assessment for short-term operational objectives.

Streams and rivers in mediterranean-climate regions (med-rivers in med-regions) are ecologically unique, with flow regimes reflecting precipitation patterns. Although timing of drying and flooding is predictable, seasonal and annual intensity of these events is not. Sequential flooding and drying, coupled with anthropogenic influences make these med-rivers among the most stressed riverine habitat worldwide. Med-rivers are hotspots for biodiversity in all med-regions. Species in med-rivers require different, often opposing adaptive mechanisms to survive drought and flood conditions or recover from them. Thus, metacommunities undergo seasonal differences, reflecting cycles of river fragmentation and connectivity, which also affect ecosystem functioning. River conservation and management is challenging, and trade-offs between environmental and human uses are complex, especially under future climate change scenarios. This overview of a Special Issue on med-rivers synthesizes information presented in 21 articles covering the five med-regions worldwide: Mediterranean Basin, coastal California, central Chile, Cape region of South Africa, and southwest and southern Australia. Research programs to increase basic knowledge in less-developed med-regions should be prioritized to achieve increased abilities to better manage med-rivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise of the study: This study elucidates the phylogenetic position of a unique taxon of Graphidaceae occurring on rock in coastal desert areas, assessing its importance for our understanding of the evolution of the largest family of tropical lichenized fungi. Methods: We used maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches to reconstruct a three-gene phylogeny of Graphidaceae and a Bayesian molecular clock approach to estimate divergence dates for major clades, as well as Bayesian ancestral ecogeography state analysis. Key results: The new genus Redonographa represents a new subfamily, Redonographoideae, sister to subfamily Graphidoideae. Redonographa is exclusively saxicolous and restricted to the American Pacific coast from California to central Chile, including Galapagos. It contains four species: Redonographa chilensis comb. nov., R. saxiseda comb. nov., R. saxorum comb. nov., an R. galapagoensis sp. nov. The genus Gymnographopsis, with a similar ecogeography but differing in excipular carbonization and chemistry, is also included in Redonographoideae, with the species G. chilena from Chile and G. latispora from So Africa. Molecular clock analysis indicates that Redonographoideae diverged from Graphidoideae about 132 million years ago (Ma) in the Early Cretaceous. Conclusions: The divergence date for subfamilies Redonographoideae and Graphidoideae coincides with the early breakup of Gondwana and ancient origin of the Atacama Desert. However, the common ancestor of Redonographoideae plus Graphidoideae was reconstructed to be tropical-epiphytic. Thus, even if Redonographoideae is subtropical-saxicolous, the hypothesis that Graphidoideae evolved from a subtropical-saxicolous ancestor is not supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Since the 1970s, increase in fire frequency has been observed in all European Mediterranean regions. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the effects of wildfire frequency on the recovery at short- and long-term of soil chemical and microbial properties and (2) to identify the mechanisms underlying the recovery of these sites properties. Soils from 17 plots (Maures mountains range, Var, France) were classified into 5 wildfire regimes (i.e. not burned since at least 57 years ago, infrequently and frequently burned-with time since fire between 4 and 17 years). Soil samples from these plots were analysed for their nutrient content, chemical functions of soil organic matter (SOM) using FT-MIR spectroscopy and microbial mineralising activities. Our results showed that the frequent wildfire regime slowed down the recovery in the short term of SOM spectroscopic properties and nutrient availability. Both low quantity and low quality (i.e. high percentage of aromatic and phenolic organic forms) of soil organic matter were found to be related to soil microbial recovery at 4 years after frequent wildfires. The frequent wildfires improved the recovery in net nitrification and nitrate content, leading to an increase in catabolic evenness and a recovery in microbial C-substrate utilisation profiles between 4 and 17 years. However, frequent wildfires slowed down the recovery of hydrolytic enzyme pool (i.e. FDA hydrolases) and phenol oxidase activity, both involved in soil C cycling. Overall, our observations suggest that 4 fires in 50 years is a threshold beyond which soil quality may be endangered. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A straightforward way to map burned areas from remotely sensed imagery is to integrate partial evidence of burn provided by multiple spectral indices (SIs). Our approach relies on fuzzy set theory to generate integrated layers of overall positive evidence (PE) and negative evidence (NE) scores. In order to reduce commission errors, we propose the use of NE for revising the overall PE. Revised layers are input for a region growing algorithm to produce a map of burned areas. Thematic Mapper (TM) images, acquired over the Mediterranean area, were used to derive the SIs and to define the soft constraints (membership functions). The performance of the revision process is tested for a TM image acquired over Portugal: The revision decreases the commission error from 59.5% to 1.3% and increases the overall accuracy from 42.6% up to 91.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Summary: Once non-native species become established in a new region, they are extremely difficult to eradicate or control, suggesting an urgent need for the development of early warning systems to determine the probability of a given species becoming invasive. Risk assessment schemes are valuable tools to diminish the risk of invasion and to concentrate resources on preventing the entrance and spread of those species with higher risk of invasion. For many European countries, plant species not yet introduced to the country and with high invasive potential have not been identified. The present study aims to identify and rank non-native plant species that could potentially become invasive in Spain if introduced. As a first step, a plant data set was pre-selected for screening, containing invasive plants in neighbouring countries and in other Mediterranean regions of the world but not present in Spain. A preliminary list of 80 species was obtained, Leguminosae being the most represented family (15%) and gardening (62%) the most common pathway of introduction. As for the potential European Nature Information System (EUNIS) habitats to invade, heath land and scrubland habitats types (F; 19%), followed by constructed, industrial and artificial habitats (J; 14%) and woodland and forest habitats (G; 13%) seem to be the habitats most at risk despite F and G habitats currently being the least invaded in Spain. We ranked these potential invasive species using the Australian Weed Risk Assessment system and a Risk Assessment for Central Europe developed by Weber & Gut (2004) [Weber, E., & Gut, D. (2004). Assessing the risk of potentially invasive plant species in central Europe. Journal for Nature Conservation, 12, 171–179]. Most species received intermediate values in both tests. The species with higher scores were mainly aquatic plants and should be prohibited or kept out of trade. Chromolaena odorata (Asteraceae) obtained the highest score in both tests and therefore is the species with the highest risk to become invasive in Spain if introduced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In order to maintain small ruminant grazing systems it is necessary to know precisely how they work and what actions can be taken to improve them. The objective of this paper was to characterize, classify, analyse and propose improvements for the dairy goat grazing systems in three countries from the western Mediterranean area: Spain, France and Italy. A multivariate analysis was conducted with 21 indicators obtained from the data collected from 45 farms. As a result of the multivariate analysis, 82.5% of variance was explained by two principal components. The first component included proportion of cultivated pasture area and cultivated pasture area per goat. The second included goats present and forage supply per goat. After conducting a cluster analysis based on these two principal components, farms were classified into four groups. Group 1 was made up of French and Italian farms, which had a smaller territorial base but a high cultivated pasture area per goat, contributing to greater self-sufficiency in feed. However the concentrate per goat was too high in relation to milk production, which was medium. The difference between milk income and feed cost is also medium. Group 2 was basically made up of Italian farms. The farms in this group had the most extensive management systems, with a low use of inputs. However, the milk production was low, meaning that the difference between milk income and feed cost was also low. Group 3 was mainly made up of Spanish farms. On these farms the concentrate supply was excessive and the forage supply was low. The milk production per goat was medium and the difference between milk income and feed cost was small. Group 4 was made up mainly of French farms. The farms of this group had a moderate supply of concentrate although the forage supply was very high. They had a high milk production, which lead to a large difference between milk income and feed cost per goat. The main weaknesses observed are related to feeding management, particularly grazing, and to the goat productivity. In the former case research on the nutritional utilization of rangelands and pastures and correct feed supplementation is to be encouraged. In the latter, the production capacity of the goats present in these systems should be improved, without forgetting the balance between hardiness and general productivity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

1. Similar constraints in distant, but climatically comparable, regions may be expected to yield biotic assemblages with similar attributes. Environmental factors that constrain communities at smaller scales, however, may be different between climatically similar regions. Thus, patterns observed at large scales may differ from those detected at small scales, and international comparisons should be focussed at multiple scales. 2. Mediterranean-climate regions (MCRs) are characterized by remarkable seasonal variability in precipitation and temperature. Accordingly, rivers in these regions have seasonal and predictable floods and droughts, and temporary reaches are frequent. Present in six geographical regions of the world, MCRs have similar environmental constraints and are ideal for testing intercontinental similarities between macroinvertebrate communities. 3. We examined aquatic macroinvertebrate taxon richness and composition in MCRs at three scales: regional, reach and macrohabitat. At the regional scale, the Mediterranean Basin had the highest taxon richness at family level, and southwestern Australia the lowest. Taxonomic composition showed c. 85% similarity between the northern hemisphere MCRs of California and the Mediterranean Basin, which were followed in similarity by South Africa. The two Australian MCRs (South west and South) showed a similarity to each other of about 70% whereas the Chilean fauna was the most distinct. 4. At the reach scale, taxon richness was not significantly different between permanent and temporary reaches in any MCR, whereas taxonomic composition was significantly different among northern hemisphere MCRs. At the macrohabitat scale, taxon richness was not significantly different between lotic and lentic macrohabitats within any of the MCRs, but differences in macroinvertebrate communities were found between macrohabitats when considering regions. 5. Our results show that the strength of similarity between distant but climatically similar regions is scale-dependent, being highest at the macrohabitat scale. Although the similarities in richness and composition at the macrohabitat scale are presumed to be universal, the seasonal predictability of drought in MCRs is expected to result in characteristic macroinvertebrate responses at the reach scale. We suggest, however, that regional evolutionary history and environmental characteristics may override this general pattern of a similar response of MCRs at different scales. The Mediterranean Basin and California, having similar historical and environmental condition, thus appeared as the most similar MCRs at all scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We monitored 24 storms during the period 1998–2002 in order to elucidate whether the origin of nitrate could be inferred from water sources in the catchment. The study was performed in the Fuirosos catchment (10.5 km2) drained by an intermittent stream. Water sources were estimated through end member mixing analysis (EMMA) using chloride, sulfate and dissolved organic carbon as tracers. Three end members were identified in the catchment: event water, hillslope groundwater and riparian groundwater. Streamwater data encompassed the mixing space defined by the end members only during the 12 storms occurred during the wet period (from December to May). Water sources were related to stream nitrate concentrations during 6 of the 12 storms indicating a linkage between hydrological and nitrate sources. However, there was not a consistent pattern of a particular end member being a source of nitrate. EMMA was used to determine expected nitrate concentrations in stream water based on conservative mixing of the different water sources. The effect of the near- and in- stream zones on stream nitrate was inferred by comparing predicted nitrate concentrations to measured stream nitrate concentration. At discharges below 80 l s−1 stream nitrate concentrations were lower than expected from catchment sources in 82% of the cases suggesting nitrate retention in the near stream zones. The trend was the opposite at higher discharges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of waste water in agriculture is widespread and its impact on the environment and human health needs to be investigated. The olive oil extraction process in Mediterranean countries produces large quantities of solid and liquid waste. Despite the fact that the liquid olive mill waste (OMW) contains a large number of pollutant substances, it is spread on the soil for agricultural purposes. In this paper, we present the results of the measurement of the emission into the atmosphere of volatile substances contained in olive oil waste water, after having spread it on the soil, in a site in southern Italy (Monopoli, Bari), during the years 2000 and 2001. The study was divided into three phases: (1) a preliminary test to screen the possible measurable volatile substances contained in the OMW; (2) a first trial in which the waste was spread in the morning; and (3) a second trial in which the waste was spread in the afternoon. In the preliminary test, only phenols, sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide were found to be measurable. A micrometeorological method was used to measure the fluxes of these substances. This method involves the measurement, by means of gas tube detectors, of the concentration of gas at two levels, and the measurement of wind speed and air temperature at the same levels above the soil. Only phenols and sulphur dioxide were found to be detectable with the measurement method adopted, hydrogen sulphide was detected only in trace. In particular, when the OMW was spread on bare soil during the morning, 64.8±19.4 g ha−1 of phenols and 33.3±6.0 g ha−1 of SO2 were emitted into the atmosphere over 5 days. When OMW was spread in the afternoon 37.5±11.2 g ha−1 and 34.8±6.6 g ha−1 of phenols and sulphur dioxide were emitted over 5 days, respectively, with a decrease of about 42% in the case of phenols. Therefore, this study showed that, to limit the noxious effects of the phenols on human health, the OMW should be spread in the second part of the day (afternoon). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• We studied the anatomical structure of 300 plant species from Egyptian deserts. • 94 species had distinct ring boundaries. • Precipitation is the main limiting factor for ring formation. • Further studies on wood xylogenesis of these species are required. The formation of annual growth rings is an imperative requirement for studying the dendroecological potential of plant species. Little is known about the distinctness of growth rings in the wood of desert plants in Africa, particularly in southern Mediterranean regions. To fill this knowledge gap, we collected and anatomically analyzed about 300 perennial desert plants from different areas in Egypt. Out of the 300 studied plant species, 94 species were identified as growth-ring forming plants. They belong to 78 genera and 33 families. Trees, shrubs/subshrubs, and perennial or short-lived herbs are represented by 7, 55, and 32 species, respectively. Trees and shrubs represent 7.4% and 58.5% of the total, respectively. The distinctness of growth rings in these species was indicated either by the type of wood porosity, fibers, marginal parenchyma layers or by a mixture of these characteristics. Ring porosity, fiber layer, and parenchyma were the main indicators for growth-ring distinctness in 77.7%, 60.6%, and 33.0% of growth-ring forming plants, respectively. We conclude that some of the desert plants form distinct growth rings depending on site conditions, while precipitation is the main driver for its formation. Further studies on the annual rhythm of xylem formation are required to confirm the annual nature of growth rings and potential dendroecological use of these plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinization and sodification are important processes of soil degradation affecting irrigated lands. A large proportion of the global irrigated area is affected by some degree of soil salinity or sodicity caused by the intensification of irrigation. The increase of the frequency of adverse climatic conditions, like high temperatures and variations in precipitation patterns caused by climate change, will potentially amplify these processes in arid, semi-arid, and Mediterranean areas. The use of integrated approaches for the spatial and temporal prediction of the risk of salinization and sodification in irrigated areas is of great value, helping in the decision-making regarding land uses and choice of more suitable agricultural practices. In this study, based on key criteria for the assessment of irrigation-related salinization processes (e.g., climate, topography, soil drainage, water quality for irrigation, and crop irrigation method), we developed a methodology for the prediction of soil salinity and sodicity risk in irrigated lands, using two composite indices, the Salinization Risk (RSA) index and the Sodification Risk (RSO) index. The application of these indices to a real scenario (a Mediterranean area in Southern Portugal) showed that 67% of the potentially irrigated area presented a low risk of salinity development, 68% had a moderate risk of sodification, and 16% was of high risk of sodicity development. Areas under moderate risk of salinization (26%) were mostly characterized by low slopes and fine-textured soils, like Luvisols and Vertisols, with limited drainage conditions. Areas with high risk of soil sodification presented a large incidence of low slope terrain, moderate-to-restricted soil drainage, in high clay content Luvisols, Vertisols and Cambisols, and land use dominated by annual crops irrigated with surface or sprinkler systems. These risk prediction tools have the potential to be used for resource use planning by policymakers and on-farm management decision by farmers, contributing to the sustainability of irrigated agriculture in Mediterranean regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Spanish Mediterranean region has been affected by several factors over the years (climatic conditions of aridity, high water demands, rapid and intense urban and population growth, climate change), that have generated a negative water balance whereby water resources are unable to meet the demand. Diversifying supply sources by resorting to new resources has been a necessity that has stimulated the expansion and integration of non-conventional water sources (desalination and reuse of reclaimed water) and sustainable solutions. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the adaptation strategies that have been developed in Alicante, Benidorm and Torrevieja in order to adjust their hydrosocial cycles to development and future scenarios. The theoretical analysis developed in this paper is corroborated by the study of the hydrosocial cycle evolution of three cities in the southeast of Spain, and the adaptive measures that the different stakeholders involved in the cycle have developed in each of them. The input and output of the systems are accounted for with information provided by the management companies in each of the phases (urban consumption; treated, reused and desalinated volumes), which highlight how the diversification of resources and the incorporation of non-conventional resources have been essential for adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]