Search

Ecohydrologically suitable microsites, such as surface depressions and micro-topographical barriers acting as sink patches intercepting and infiltrating runoff, as well as nurse shrubs have largely been proposed as tools to improve the establishment of tree vegetation in Mediterranean reclaimed landscapes and other degraded dryland environments. We analyze the impact of sink patches and nurse (Genista scorpius) shrubs developed in Mediterranean-dry reclaimed mining hillslopes (Utrillas field site, central Spain) on seedling performance up to 8 years after plantation of two tree species with contrasted water-use strategies: Pinus nigra, a drought avoider species, and Quercus ilex, a drought tolerant species. Nurse shrubs enhanced early establishment of seedlings in shaded spots under its canopy. Further, sink patches ameliorated the survival of both species, although only increased plant growth during wet years that promoted source-to-sink transference of surface water resources as surface runoff. The survival and growth of P. nigra seedlings were strongly constrained during dry periods, resulting in a high cumulative mortality after 8 years regardless of microsite. Q. ilex showed a better performance during the experiment, keeping the positive effects of suitable microsites on plant survival after 8 years of plantation. Overall, our results encourage the use of ecohydrologically suitable microsites that concentrate water resources and nurse shrubs that ameliorate local conditions as key spots for introducing late-successional tree species in Mediterranean-dry reclaimed mining sites. Our results also indicate that seedling functional strategy to cope with drought is a critical factor conditioning plantation performance, therefore constituting a fundamental species selection criterion for restoration actions in Mediterranean areas, especially under effects of climate change.

The use of ecohydrologically suitable microsites, such as sink patches (i.e. zones intercepting and infiltrating runoff) and nurse shrubs, have largely been proposed as tools to improve the establishment of late-successional trees in Mediterranean reclaimed landscapes. Nonetheless, this technique needs to be accurately tested along with the influence of seedling water-use strategy. To that purpose, we monitored the short- and mid-term (i.e. 4 and 8 years, respectively) influence of sink patches and nurse shrubs (Genista scorpius) on seedlings of two species with contrasted water-use strategies, Pinus nigra, a more drought avoider and isohydric species, and Quercus ilex, a more drought tolerant and anisohydric species. In the short term, G. scorpius shrubs enhanced the establishment of seedlings planted in shaded spots under its canopy. This positive interaction was more relevant for Q. ilex in drier years, while P. nigra was more facilitated in wetter years. Sink patches ameliorated the survival of both species, but only promoted greater growth during wetter years. P. nigra seedlings showed a high sensitivity to precipitation reduction. Their survival and growth were strongly constrained in dry years, resulting in a very high cumulative mortality at the end of the 8-year study period regardless of the microsite the seedlings were planted in. Q. ilex showed better seedling performance than P. nigra in the mid-term, keeping also the positive effects of suitable microsites on plant survival in the mid-term, after 8 years of plantation. Our results support the use of suitable microsites that ameliorate ecohydrological conditions as key spots for enhancing ecological succession in reclaimed mining sites, particularly the use of G. scorpius as nurse shrub for improving Q. ilex seedling establishment and growth. Our results also suggest that seedling functional strategy to cope with drought is a critical factor conditioning the overall plantation performance in the mid-term. Thus, seedling water-use strategy should constitute a key species selection criteria in future restoration programs focused on Mediterranean ecosystems, especially under climate change. This work was funded by the project CGL2010-21754-C0-02 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. EV is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness within project ALTERACLIM (CGL2015-69773-C2-1-P). MMH is beneficiary of a Serra Hunter fellowship on Physical and Environmental Geography funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya (UB-LE-9055).

Empirical evidence of the vulnerability of dryland ecosystems to suffer abrupt changes in response to global change is highly needed to assess the applicability of threshold models, understand the underlying mechanisms and anticipate the onset of abrupt shifts. We study the onset of abrupt changes in Mediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex) woodlands, by analyzing the combined effect of past human disturbance (mainly deforestation) and aridity on the functional state of these ecosystems. We determine ecosystem state in terms of herbaceous/woody species ratio, species richness and soil properties related to carbon and nitrogen cycling and microbial activity. The influence of both drivers was determined along spatial gradients of past human disturbance (from lightly to highly disturbed areas) and aridity (three levels: sub-humid, dry-transition, semi-arid). Our results show a strong interaction between aridity and past human disturbance on soil and vegetation properties. As disturbance increased, soil function decreased linearly in semi-arid and dry-transition conditions, but the trend was non-linear in sub-humid conditions. The latter showed a sharp decline at low-to-moderate disturbance intensity followed by a gentle recovery at higher intensities. These patterns were consistent for all soil properties. Structural changes in vegetation along the disturbance gradient, from open woodlands to shrublands in semi-arid and dry-transition conditions and from dense woodlands to grasslands in sub-humid conditions accompanied the linear vs non-linear patterns in soil function, respectively. Our results evidenced the existence of a critical climatic threshold in the boundary between sub-humid and dry-transition conditions, where the ecosystem switched from a fertile grassland to a highly degraded shrubland at moderate-to-high levels of disturbance (shrub encroachment), losing its capacity to buffer the effects of increasing disturbance. We propose a conceptual model illustrating the ecological mechanisms that may be underlying the onset of such abrupt shift., This study was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MEC, project INDICAR/CGL2013-42213-R) and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCIU)/Spanish State Research Agency (AEI)/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (project caRRRascal/RTI2018-095037-B-I00).

Knowledge of the recruitment of dominant forest species is a key aspect for forest conservation and the ecosystem services they provide. In this paper, we address how the simultaneous action of climate change and the intensity of land use in the past influence the recruitment of a forest species that depends on the provision of nurse plants to recruit. We compared the number of saplings (up to 15 years old) and juveniles (16 to 50 years old) of Quercus ilex in 17, 5.3 ha plots in the Iberian System (eastern Spain). We used a gradient of past deforestation intensity crossed with two levels of average annual precipitation, one of them at the lower limit of the species' precipitation niche (semi-arid) and the other at the optimum (sub-humid). We also examined the association between recruits and nurse plants and the effect on this association of plot-scale factors, such as seed abundance (reproductive Q. ilex), microsites (nurse species and soil availability), and large herbivores. The increase in aridity in the last decades has drastically reduced the recruitment of new individuals in the forests of Q. ilex located in the lower limit of their precipitation niche, regardless of the intensity of past deforestation that they suffered. Recruitment in these climatic conditions depends almost exclusively on large trees and shrubs whose abundance may also be limited by aridity. The lack of regeneration questions the future of these populations, as the number of individuals will decrease over time despite the strong resistance of adult trees to disturbance and drought., This work was supported by Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Gobierno de España, CGL2013-42213-R, to Dr Esther Bochet; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and European Regional Development Fund, RTI2018-095037-B-I00 to EB; Conselleria d'Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport, PROMETEO 2016/021 to PG-F. The CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative gave support of the publication fee through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI).

Runoff and soil erosion in Mediterranean landscapes are affected by multiple factors that interact at a variety of spatial scales with variable degrees of connection. In these systems, connectivity has emerged as a useful concept for exploring the movement of runoff and sediments between landscape locations and across spatial scales. In this study, we examine the structural and functional controls of surface-patch to hillslope-scale runoff and sediment connectivity in three Mediterranean-dry reclaimed mining slope systems that have different long-term development levels of vegetation and rill networks. Structural connectivity, or the extent to which surface patches that facilitate the production of runoff/sediments are physically linked to one another, was assessed using a flowpath analysis of coupled vegetation distribution and surface topography. Functional connectivity, determined as the spatial continuity of surface fluxes across scales, was further explored using the ratio of surface-patch to hillslope-scale observations of runoff and sediment yield for 21 monitored hydrologically active rainfall events. Event-based (functional) runoff connectivity was found to be dynamically controlled by antecedent precipitation conditions and rainfall intensity and, at the same time, was strongly modulated by the structural connectivity of the slopes. In the absence of rill networks, both runoff and sediments for all events were largely redistributed within the analysed systems, resulting in low functional connectivity. Sediment connectivity increased with rainfall intensity, particularly in the presence of rill networks where active incision under high intensity storm conditions led to large non-linear increases in sediment yield from the surface-patch to the hillslope scales. Overall, our results demonstrate the usefulness of applying structural and functional connectivity metrics for practical applications, and for assessing the complex links and controlling factors that regulate the transference of both runoff and sediment yield across different landscape scales.

Este artículo contiene 16 páginas, 6 figuras, 2 tablas., Soil degradation by water is a serious environmental problem worldwide, with specific climatic factors being the major causes. We investigated the relationships between synoptic atmospheric patterns (i.e. weather types, WTs) and runoff, erosion and sediment yield throughout the Mediterranean basin by analyzing a large database of natural rainfall events at 68 research sites in 9 countries. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to identify spatial relationships of the different WTs including three hydro-sedimentary variables: rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield (SY, used to refer to both soil erosion measured at plot scale and sediment yield registered at catchment scale). The results indicated 4 spatial classes of rainfall and runoff: (a) northern sites dependent on North (N) and North West (NW) flows; (b) eastern sites dependent on E and NE flows; (c) southern sites dependent on S and SE flows; and, finally, (d) western sites dependent on W and SW flows. Conversely, three spatial classes are identified for SY characterized by: (a) N and NE flows in northern sites (b) E flows in eastern sites, and (c) Wand SW flows in western sites. Most of the rainfall, runoff and SY occurred during a small number of daily events, and just a few WTs accounted for large percentages of the total. Our results confirm that characterization by WT improves understanding of the general conditions under which runoff and SY occur, and provides useful information for understanding the spatial variability of runoff, and SY throughout the Mediterranean basin. The approach used here could be useful to aid of the design of regional water management and soil conservation measures., This research was supported by projects funded by the MINECOFEDER: CGL2014-52135-C3-3-R, CGL2014-59946-R, CGL2015-65569- R, CGL2015-64284-C2-2-R, and PCIN-2017-061/AEI. When this manuscript was first submitted Estela Nadal-Romero and Damià Vericat received a “Ramón y Cajal” postdoctoral contract (RYC-2013-14371 and RYC‐2010‐06264, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, MEC). Damià Vericat is now a Serra Húnter Fellow at the University of Lleida. María Fernández-Raga received a “José Castillejo” postdoctoral grant (Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports). Carla Ferreira was supported by a post-doctoral research grant from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (SFRH/ BPD/120093/2016). Mariano Moreno-de las Heras received a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral contract (IJCI-2015-26463) from the MEC. José Andrés López-Tarazón received a Vicenç Mut postdoctoral fellowship from the Autonomous Balearic Government (CAIB PD/038/2016). José Andrés López-Tarazón and Ramon Batalla also acknowledge the Secretariat for Universities and Research of the Department of the Economy and Knowledge of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia for supporting the Consolidated Research Group 2014 SGR 645 (RIUSFluvial Dynamics Research Group), and the CERCA Programme. This paper has benefited from the Lab and Field Data Pool created within the framework of the COST action CONNECTEUR (ES1306).

The present paper attempts to establish the relationship between the linguistic and cultural background of speakers of different L1 and their description of nature. Specifically, our research has an interdisciplinary foundation and investigates the relationship between language, environmental background and the contemplation of natural landscapes in the Corpus of Language and Nature (henceforth CLAN). The CLAN project is a collection of over 4,000 spoken descriptions of landscapes recorded online by 19 to 24-year-old university students from different parts of the world. The selection of the landscapes was based upon two variables: humid vs. non-humid landscapes and domesticated vs. non-domesticated landscapes. participants described 24 photographs combining the two variables, with six photographs per combination. The computer platform designed for the project presented the 24 photos in a random order and the students were instructed to freely choose the order of photos for their comments. The objective of the study is to analyze the participants’ behavior in two aspects: the selection order of the photos and the duration of the contemplation and description of the photos. The results showed that the background environment and the number of languages spoken by the participants influenced the order of photograph selection and the duration of the descriptions. In sum, our article presents for the first time the relationship between the contemplation of landscapes and emotions from a linguistic perspective, and we believe that it can open research avenues to understand the cognitive processes in the linguistic and emotional evaluation of landscapes.

This study presents a characterisation of the implementation of Adaptive Management (AM) from the analysis of 35 projects around the world. Our results reveal that AM projects are usually aimed at ecosystem management, conservation and restoration. Also, they mainly act upon forest or epicontinental water ecosystems and their goal is generally species exploitation and in most cases these projects act at a local scale. From a methodological point of view, most AM cases use an active approach and monitoring programs and were at the phase of problem identification. We found differences in the implementation of AM between developed and developing countries that were present in our samples in the following way: AM projects in developed countries were typically carried out by state agencies, and focused on solving problems concerning epicontinental waters and the public use of ecosystems. They had the support of national funds and used modelling techniques. In contrast, the AM projects from developing countries were mainly aimed at the conservation of natural protected areas and at the mitigation of environmental impacts derived from mining activities. The financial support of these projects was frequently provided by international organizations, and the use of modelling techniques was uncommon. For a better exploitation of all the possibilities of AM, we suggest the use of criteria to be customized to the specific needs of the socio-economic reality of every country and to monitor the results at a global scale to continuously improve this practice.

In an increasingly globalized world, religions have rediscovered the importance, and the urgency, of dialogue and of facing together the great challenges that affect humanity: war, poverty, care for the environment, etc. This article describes the recent history of interreligious dialogue since the meeting in Assisi, promoted by John Paul II, and the development of the Spirit of Assisi through the annual meetings for peace that the Community of Sant’Egidio has held since then. En un mundo cada vez más globalizado, las religiones han reencontrado la importancia, y la urgencia, de dialogar y afrontar en sintonía los grandes desafíos que afectan a la humanidad: la guerra, la pobreza, el cuidado del medioambiente, etc. El presente artículo describe la historia reciente del diálogo interreligioso a partir del encuentro de Asís, promovido por Juan Pablo II, y del desarrollo del «Espíritu de Asís» a través de los encuentros anuales por la paz que organiza la Comunidad de Sant’Egidio.

En su libro “Experiencias Pastorales”, Lorenzo Milani desvela el fundamento de las “raíces cristianas” de la futura “escuela laica” de Barbiana: la escuela popular es “laica”, en el sentido de que no se imparte catequesis, pero constituye una “respuesta cristiana” a la situación de injusticia social vivida en la Italia rural de la posguerra. Casi seis décadas después, la exhortación apostólica del Papa Francisco “Evangelii Gaudium”, en el mismo espíritu del Concilio Vaticano II, propone una nueva etapa evangelizadora para la Iglesia reconociendo “la íntima conexión que existe entre evangelización y promoción humana”. A lo largo del artículo se analizan los paralelismos entre ambos textos, que mantienen una profunda sintonía por su marcado espíritu misionero y porque invitan a contemplar, analizar y responder a la realidad desde la perspectiva de los pobres. Es uno de los secretos de la Escuela Popular de Barbiana, que la siguen haciendo actual y universal.

The effects of ecosystem degradation are pervasive worldwide and increasingly concerning under the present context of global changes in climate and land use. Theoretical studies and empirical evidence increasingly suggest that drylands are particularly prone to develop nonlinear functional changes in response to climate variations and human disturbance. Precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) represents the ratio of vegetation production to precipitation and provides a tool for evaluating human and climate impacts on landscape functionality. Holm oak (Quercus ilex) woodlands are one of the most conspicuous dry forest ecosystems in the western Mediterranean basin and present a variety of degraded states, due to their long history of human use. We studied the response of Iberian holm oak woodlands to human disturbance along an aridity gradient (that is, semi-arid, dry-transition and sub-humid conditions) using PUE estimations from enhanced vegetation index (EVI) observations of the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Our results indicated that PUE decreased linearly with disturbance intensity in sub-humid holm oak woodlands, but showed accelerated, nonlinear reductions with increased disturbance intensity in semi-arid and dry-transition holm oak sites. The impact of disturbance on PUE was larger for dry years than for wet years, and these differences increased with aridity from sub-humid to dry-transition and semi-arid holm oak woodlands. Therefore, aridity may also interact with ecosystem degradation in holm oak woodlands by reducing the landscape ability to buffer large changes in vegetation production caused by climate variability., This study was supported by a project (INDICAR, CGL2013-42213-R) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MEIC). MMdlH research was supported by a Beatriu de Pinós fellowship (2014 BP-B00111) co-funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Commission, and a Juan de la Cierva fellowship (IJCI-2015-26463) funded by the MEIC. We are grateful to the NASA, IGN and AEMET for granting access to the MODIS EVI data, high-resolution PNOA orthophotos and precipitation records, respectively, that were applied in this study. We also thank two anonymous reviewers and the subject-matter editor, Brandon Bestelmeyer, for their helpful comments, and Jesús Romero for language corrections.

The present article proposes a taxonomy of features to describe the grammar of natural landscapes with the parameters that can account for the preferences of speakers in the description of nature. The taxonomy is the theoretical foundation designed for the Corpus of Language and Nature (CLAN Corpus),1 compiled worldwide, whose aim is to describe the cognitive and emotional preferences in the observation of nature by speakers of different languages. For this purpose, we have delineated the basic visual features deemed essential to read natural landscapes in order to create a network of cognitive variables in the perception of nature with its various components and features. These features of landscapes are complemented with a description of the cognitive variables that mould the individual’s perception of nature and the emotions enacted after its contemplation.

Hydrological heterogeneity is recognized as a fundamental ecosystem attribute in drylands controlling the flux of water and energy through landscapes. Therefore, mosaics of runoff and sediment source patches and sinks are frequently identified in these dry environments. There is a remarkable scarcity of studies about hydrological spatial heterogeneity in restored slopes, where ecological succession and overland flow are interacting. We conducted field research to study the hydrological role of patches and slopes along an "overland flow gradient" (gradient of overland flow routing through the slopes caused by different amounts of run-on coming from upslope) in three reclaimed mining slopes of Mediterranean-continental climate. We found that runoff generation and routing in non-rilled slopes showed a pattern of source and sink areas of runoff. Such hydrological microenvironments were associated with seven vegetation patches (characterized by plant community types and cover). Two types of sink patches were identified: shrub Genista scorpius patches could be considered as "deep sinks", while patches where the graminoids Brachypodium retusum and Lolium perenne dominate were classified as "surface sinks" or "runoff splays". A variety of source patches were also identified spanning from "extreme sources" (Medicago sativa patches; equivalent to bare soil) to "poor sources" (areas scattered by dwarf-shrubs of Thymus vulgaris or herbaceous tussocks of Dactylis glomerata). Finally, we identified the volume of overland flow routing along the slope as a major controlling factor of "hydrological diversity" (heterogeneity of hydrological behaviours quantified as Shannon diversity index): when overland flow increases at the slope scale hydrological diversity diminishes.

Invasive tree Acacia dealbata was introduced in the Iberian Peninsula in the 19th century. Nowadays, it is spreading in wide areas in which native vegetation has been altered or removed by human-activities, as in the case of Quercus robur forests in the northwest of Spain. In this article we assess the impact of A. dealbata invasion on soil properties (pH, organic matter, total N, NH 4 + -N and NO 3 - -N ), light characteristics (direct and diffuse photon flux density and leaf area index) and soil seed bank and established vegetation. We selected three sites where native Q. robur forests and A. dealbata invaded patches grow nearby. Before 2008 autumn rains, we took soil samples under five trees per species (A. dealbata and Q. robur) and site to determine soil seed bank floristic composition and soil properties. In spring 2009 we monitored the floristic composition of the vegetation growing under the same trees. Our results show that A. dealbata presence increases total N, NH 4 + -N and NO 3 - -N and decreases pH in soils but does not affect light characteristics. Acacia dealbata modifies soil seed bank composition by decreasing species richness, seed density and the percentage of bryophyte and fern spores, and by increasing the percentage of Asteraceae and exotic species. Understorey of invaded A. dealbata forests shows a decrease in species richness and plant cover. Finally, A. dealbata reduces the similarity between the soil seed bank and the established vegetation. These results suggest that A. dealbata invasion produces a deep impact on Q. robur forests that hampers their regeneration, even after A. dealbata removal.

Vegetation, soil, and hydrology in drylands often collectively exhibit strong ecohydrological interrelationships in which vegetation both influences and is influenced by runoff, particularly on sites with more gradual slopes. These two-way relationships have important implications for ecological restoration of disturbed sites, such as those being reclaimed following mining, yet studies from both ecological and hydrological perspectives specifically evaluating how the strength of ecohydrological interrelationships varies for a range of natural and restored conditions are still missing. We assessed two-way relationships between vegetation and soil hydrological properties by evaluating patterns of both plant community structure and soil hydrological characteristics related to runoff for natural sites and restored sites following mining. At the plot scale, we identified eight ecohydrological units based on interrelationships between vegetation communities and hydrological properties associated with runoff along a progression from source to sink patch types. Similarly, at the hillslope scale, which included patches of different types, we found a correspondence between the proportions of source and sink patches and both vegetation community and hydrological properties. The relative strength of ecohydrological interrelationships in hillslope mosaics decreased with decreasing disturbance except for rilled hillslopes, likely because parts of the hillslope become isolated from the others. Our results highlight, in general, how ecohydrological interrelationships are related with degree of disturbance, and in particular, how rilling alters ecohydrological interrelationships, thereby precluding effective restoration.

Soil moisture is considered the main limiting factor governing the structure and dynamics of vegetation in drylands. Soil erosion is perceived as a critical process affecting these systems, especially when rill formation occurs, as rill networks can condition the availability and spatial distribution of soil moisture. To assess the impact of soil erosion processes on the dynamics of Mediterranean-dry reclaimed systems, during the 2005–06 hydrological year we monitored the soil moisture regime (temporal availability and spatial distribution) and the associated responses describing vegetation performance (plant water status and potential seed germination) and vegetation structure in five coal-mining reclaimed slopes subjected to different rill erosion rates (from 0 to about 70 t ha − 1 year − 1 ). Rill network development leads to increased runoff connectivity and to concentration of water flow along the channeling network. As a result, water loss from the slope system is maximized. Simultaneously, the spatial distribution of soil moisture is ruled by the pattern of geomorphic forms (rill and interrill units). The ecological consequences are led by the intensification of water stress and the occurrence of unfavorable conditions for plant recruitment and natural colonization, causing a non-linear decline of species richness and aboveground biomass at the slope scale level. When dense rill networks are developed, long-term effects of erosion result in a sharp ecosystem transition to a very simple and low productive plant community spatially organized in downward spots adjacent to the rills, where plants minimize simultaneously water stress and the mechanical disturbance associated to concentrated flows.

Soil erosion in reclaimed mines may affect plant colonization and performance, and may compromise restoration success; however, the magnitude of this effect has seldom been quantified. We monitored the dynamics of vegetation (seed bank density, seedling emergence, plant mortality, and seed production) during a growing season (2003-2004) in three constructed slopes with differing past erosion rates. The slopes are located in the Utrillas coalfield in Spain, which experiences a Mediterranean-continental climate. In the most eroded slope, soil water availability was lower--especially in the interrill areas--and seedling emergence rate, plant survival, and seed production were also significantly lower than on the less eroded slopes. We found that vegetation recovery is dramatically constrained when rill erosion rate is 17 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and plant cover is 30%, but this effect disappears when plant cover is higher than 60%. Soil erosion in constructed slopes appears to inhibit natural plant colonization processes by increasing runoff water loss over the long-term. Thus, when rill erosion networks develop, human intervention would be needed to minimize the loss of water and facilitate vegetation colonization.

The knowledge of the spatial patterns of species richness and, particularly, of endemic and threatened species at the scale at which management activities take place is crucial for conservation. Yet, detailed descriptions of species’ distribution areas are often lacking or incomplete, especially in the tropics. This article focuses on the African island of Bioko and uses species accumulation curves to evaluate the completeness of its biological inventory for three plant groups (ferns, monocotyledons and dicotyledons), birds and monkeys. Results showed that the current inventory is fairly complete for monkeys and birds, but only covers half of the vegetation in the island. Bioclimatic models were used to estimate the potential distribution of each species and to assemble species richness patterns for each taxa and for endemic and threatened species, revealing that montane and lowland rainforests were the richest habitats, while high altitude shrubs and subalpine meadows were the poorest ones. Predicted richness values for monsoon forests were unexpectedly low for plants and birds, probably because of insufficient sampling in these areas. Additionally, the comparison of species richness patterns with the proposed delineation of protected areas for the island shows that these will cover most hotspots of species richness, endemism and threatened species, except for dicotyledonous plants and endemic birds. The potential utility of the predicted patterns for conservation priorities and initiatives in Bioko is discussed.

Mining reclamation results obtained in the Teruel coalfield (Mediterranean-dry Spain) during the last 30 years have been quite limited. In order to improve restoration operations we conducted a study to analyse the trajectories of ecological succession and identify the main driving forces that control vegetation dynamic in reclaimed artificial slopes. A total of 87 slopes of different ages and restoration treatments were classified and characterized after recording different variables related to topography, restoration techniques, vegetation, local disturbances and soil erosion. Successional trends were inferred from gradient analysis as well as the factors, mechanisms and processes implied. We found a wide variety of plant communities and successional trajectories. Initial conditions (soil quality and revegetation treatments) as well as the environmental scenario (climatic conditions and vicinity of preserved propagule sources) were the main driving forces directing vegetation succession. Soil erosion triggered by external run-on coming from surrounding structures was also identified as a key factor determining the evolution of vegetation in these dry environments. Other local disturbances (grazing and fungal pests) can favour vegetation transition in communities dominated by highly competitive non-native sown species to more diverse shrub communities. Some practical considerations for future reclamation projects are suggested.

Semiarid and arid environments are frequently structured in vegetation patches that heterogeneously distribute water resources (water runoff and soil moisture). This redistribution is interrelated with episodes of rainfall triggering pulses of plant growth according to the Trigger–Transfer–Reserve–Pulse (TTRP) model. Spatial heterogeneity in the hydrological behaviour of surface patches has been described in Mediterranean mining restored hillslopes. Nevertheless studies describing the interactions of this hydrological heterogeneity with ecological processes on restored environments are lacking. This study investigates the relationships between overland flow running at hillslope scale and ecosystem processes at patch scale in restored hillslopes. We selected three approximately 20 year old restored hillslopes along a gradient of overland flow (hillslope runoff coefficients are 15.9%, 2.2% and 0.3% for the three experimental hillslopes). We studied environmental conditions describing the ecohydrological interactions under the TTRP approach for arid and semiarid environments. Our results indicate that in restored hillslopes: 1) soil moisture content was associated to the type of vegetation patches; 2) higher soil water content enhanced vegetation diversity and soil properties, improving vegetation performance and colonization opportunities; and 3) there was an inverse relationship between the volume of overland flow and soil moisture at the hillslope scale, influencing, in turn, ecohydrological processes at the patch scale. Overall our results highlight the importance of overland flow modifying soil moisture distribution at patch scale and hence, influencing vegetation dynamics and ecological succession in these novel ecosystems.

Large areas of abandoned cropland in the world can be reforested with native shrubs and trees to gain a number of environmental benefits. In abandoned Mediterranean croplands, establishment and growth of woody plants are limited by high radiation and low water availability during summer, and weeds are strong competitors for resources, particularly water. We conducted a 3-year experiment in central Spain to study the response of three Quercus species (Q. coccifera, Q. ilex and Q. faginea) that differ in their habitat requirements under four treatment field conditions resulting from the combination of full-light versus artificial shading and weed presence versus weed mowing. We measured seedling survival, resprouting capability and growth, weed production, microclimate (incident photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), air temperature, soil water evaporation and effective precipitation) and soil moisture. Shading and weeds reduced PAR reaching the seedlings and soil water evaporation, and shading also reduced effective precipitation. Shading and mowing increased soil moisture. We found a clear positive synergic effect of shading and mowing on seedling performance. Weed competition limited seedling survival in all species more than high radiation, whereas the relative importance of these factors in limiting growth depended on the growth measure and species. As hypothesised, the effects of stress release on plot cover, an integrated performance index that combines survival and growth, were most noticeable in Q. faginea, the most mesic species, and least in Q. coccifera, the most xerophytic species. The release of weed competition allowed Q. ilex seedlings to invest resources in above-ground and, apparently, in below-ground growth. Shading increased simultaneous growth in diameter and volume only for Q. faginea. It is important that planted Quercus seedlings in abandoned Mediterranean cropland take advantage of a low competitive environment from weeds during the period before the first dry season. Once seedlings have established, an artificially shaded environment would provide benefits in terms of plot cover by the oaks, particularly for mesic species. Studies like this will be of great interest to optimize resource investment in active restoration of other ecosystems of the world.

Retama sphaerocarpa is a Mediterranean shrub that when adult, facilitates the establishment of herbaceous plants under its canopy. We test the hypothesis that during the establishment of R. sphaerocarpa seedlings, the interaction with the herbaceous plants is negative. We carried out a greenhouse experiment in which seedlings of R. sphaerocarpa were grown under different conditions of competition with herbs, watering and date of emergence. Measurements of seedling mortality, biomass and growth were taken during the first growing season. We found a significant relationship between R. sphaerocarpa seedling mortality and competition in early spring, presumably due to higher water demand of herbaceous plants. Generally, presence of herbaceous species, lower availability of water and late emergence had negative effects on biomass and growth of Retama seedlings. Additional water compensated for the negative effects of competition, except on leaves and cladodes of Retama seedlings, suggesting that other resources, such as light, could be the subject of competition. In contrast, Retama seedlings exerted a positive influence on the herbaceous plants by increasing their survival and biomass, probably as a consequence of the high availability of nutrients provided by the Rhizobia nodules in the roots of Retama seedlings. We concluded that, at the regeneration stage of the shrub, the interaction between the herbaceous vegetation and the shrub is negative for the shrub and positive for the herbs. This suggests a shift from competition to facilitation with age of Retama, as reciprocal positive interactions have been described between herbaceous plants and adult individuals of the shrub. © 2004 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

We tested simulated effects of herb competition on the performance of planted seedlings of Quercus faginea ssp. faginea in Mediterranean abandoned cropland. We produced three types of environment with respect to herb competition: absence of competition (AC), below-ground competition (BGC), and total competition (TC). We assessed the performance of Q. faginea seedlings in each treatment in five ways: (1) seedling mortality, (2) leaf length and total plant leaf area, (3) water potential, (4) total biomass and biomass allocation, and (5) non-structural carbohydrate storage in different plant organs. We also measured (6) soil moisture at different depths and (7) biomass production of herbs. The TC treatment reduced water availability more than the BGC treatment, in agreement with the most pronounced water stress in seedlings under TC conditions. BGC and TC treatments showed a high and similar seedling mortality, which was one order of magnitude higher than that in the AC treatment. Competition treatments affected glucose concentration in both shoots and roots, and followed the rank TC > BGC > AC. Q. faginea seedlings might compensate a lower water availability through glucose accumulation in leaves to reduce the osmotic potential. There was a maximum starch concentration in the BGC treatment that hints that a moderate resource limitation would limit tissue growth but not carbon assimilation. We conclude that the negative effects of herbs on Q. faginea seedlings are mostly a result of competition for water, and that this competition is noticeable since the earliest stages of the establishment. Complete weed removal is a technique that would strongly improve seedling survivorship., This research has been funded by the projects Factores limitantes de la revegetación con especies leñosas autóctonas de áreas degradadas en ambientes mediterráneos. Rendimiento de distintas actuaciones de manejo (REN2000-745), granted by the CICYT (Spanish government) and Estrategias para la restauración de paisajes degradados en zonas secas (E040/2001), granted by the Universidad de Alcalá. We are indebted to the students Olivier Pastre and Antoine Aubeneau for their assistance in field and lab work. We acknowledge the comments on a preliminary version of this manuscript from our colleagues Fernando Valladares, Pedro Villar, and Miguel A. Zavala. Peter Buckley and an anonymous reviewer improved its final version.

Retama sphaerocarpa is a leguminous shrub whose important role in the semi-arid regions of south-eastern Spain has already been assessed: shrub canopies reduce light intensity, and thus evapotranspiration; also their extensive radical system take water and nutrients from great volumes of soil, concentrating them in the understorey. Consequently, subcanopy vegetation benefits from these facilitation processes, increasing its productivity. However, these shrublands have been rarely studied at a broader scale, i.e. as a savannah-like system composed of a variable number of shrubs scattered in a herbaceous matrix. As the microenvironmental conditions associated to the understorey are rather different from those of the open spaces among shrubs, species composition of the herbaceous matrix is expected to change accordingly. Thus, R. sphaerocarpa would be an important and still unknown source of spatial heterogeneity to the system. Our main purpose was to evaluate, through the soil seed bank, the heterogeneity in the herbaceous community induced by this shrub species. Soil samples were collected around adult shrubs from three positions relative to the canopy: near the centre of the shrubs, at the edge of the understorey, and completely outside the canopy. Floristic composition was evaluated by germination under greenhouse conditions. The results show that each position has a different floristic composition, characterised by a group of different species. The herbaceous species associated with the external position have functional traits which enable them to resist water stress and herbivore pressure, such as hairs, CAM metabolism, early flowering, horizontal growth or tiny stature. The species associated with the central position lack those traits, and are more competitive in more mesic environments, rich in nitrogen. The lowest number of seedlings and species was found in the internal position, suggesting that in our study the facilitation process may have less importance for community dynamics due to less stressful environmental conditions.

Floristic data collected from permanent plots dur- ing 14 consecutive years are used to model the frequency of the 62 most abundant species in relation to post-ploughing succession, topography and rainfall in annual Mediterranean grasslands located in a Quercus rotundifolia dehesa. The interannual dynamics of species richness are also analysed. From 1980 to 1993, presence/absence data of grassland spe- cies were noted in five 20 cm × 20 cm permanent quadrats placed at random in 1980 in 14 permanent plots on a south- facing slope along the topographic gradient. Weekly autumn rainfall data over the 14 years were analysed using a profile attributes index and Hybrid Multidimensional Scaling to ar- range the years according to their autumn rainfall pattern. Generalized Linear Models were used to fit the species rich- ness and species frequency according to topographic position, age since the last ploughing episode, total rainfall in the growing season and autumn rainfall pattern using a forward stepwise procedure. The richness model includes all of these variables, and reveals a relatively high goodness-of-fit (71 %). The fact that the meteorological factors play a key role in modelling richness forces us to include them if we wish to use richness as an indicator of the degree of disturbance in these highly fluctuating annual pastures. Models of species dynam- ics show that although roughly 33 % of the species have a successional behaviour, the majority are more dependent on temporal heterogeneity associated with rainfall or spatial het- erogeneity linked to the topographic gradient.

La conservación y la restauración del capital natural es una necesidad apremiante en el escenario de cambio global que estamos viviendo, en donde se están intensificando los impactos sobre los ecosistemas. En este contexto, el Grupo de Ecología Forestal y Restauración de la Universidad de Alcalá (>Forest Ecology and Restoration Group” FORECO (Fig.1)) ha surgido precisamente para generar el conocimiento científico necesario para afrontar los nuevos retos de gestión, conservación y restauración de los ecosistemas.

Tiscar Espigares,* Luis Merino-Martin, Mariano Moreno-de las Heras and Jose-Manuel Nicolau 1 Department of Ecology, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, E-28871, Spain 2 Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth, WA 6005, Australia 3 School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia 4 Department of Agriculture and Economy, Polytechnic School, University of Zaragoza, Huesca, E-22071, Spain

Ants may play an important role on vegetation dynamics, especially in arid and semiarid environments, where they can consume a high proportion of the produced seeds. Although some works have analysed the influence of seed predation by ants on the density of vegetation in Mediterranean pastures, there are no studies on the influence of ant activity upon the floristic composition of the vegetation and the soil seed banks in this kind of ecosystem. We have studied the effect of ant exclusion on the floristic composition of the vegetation and the soil seed bank in a Mediterranean pasture of central Spain. We sampled the floristic composition of the pasture during 2002 and 2003 springs and also we collected soil seed bank samples in autumn 2002. Floristic composition of soil seed banks was estimated by means of greenhouse germination. Cerastium semidecandrum seeds were almost four times more abundant in the plots subjected to ant exclusion than in those with ant activity. Due to the high spatial heterogeneity shown by soil seed banks, we have corrected the differences found between the autumn soil seed banks subjected to different ant treatments by using the floristic composition of the pasture community in the previous spring, as it was the primary source of the seeds collected in autumn. We found significant differences between the floristic composition of the soil seed banks subjected to ant exclusion and control treatments. However, no effects where found when the same procedure was used to detect ant effects on the spring adult community, highlighting the necessity of longer time spans for these pastures to manifest changes taking place at the soil seed bank stage

Producción Científica, Rainfall is the key factor to understand soil erosion processes, mechanisms, and rates. Most research was conducted to determine rainfall characteristics and their relationship with soil erosion (erosivity) but there is little information about how atmospheric patterns control soil losses, and this is important to enable sustainable environmental planning and risk prevention. We investigated the temporal and spatial variability of the relationships of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield with atmospheric patterns (weather types, WTs) in the western Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, we analyzed a large database of rainfall events collected between 1985 and 2015 in 46 experimental plots and catchments with the aim to: (i) evaluate seasonal differences in the contribution of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield produced by the WTs; and (ii) to analyze the seasonal efficiency of the different WTs (relation frequency and magnitude) related to rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield. The results indicate two different temporal patterns: the first weather type exhibits (during the cold period: autumn and winter) westerly flows that produce the highest rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield values throughout the territory; the second weather type exhibits easterly flows that predominate during the warm period (spring and summer) and it is located on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. However, the cyclonic situations present high frequency throughout the whole year with a large influence extended around the western Mediterranean basin. Contrary, the anticyclonic situations, despite of its high frequency, do not contribute significantly to the total rainfall, runoff, and sediment (showing the lowest efficiency) because of atmospheric stability that currently characterize this atmospheric pattern. Our approach helps to better understand the relationship of WTs on the seasonal and spatial variability of rainfall, runoff and sediment yield with a regional scale based on the large dataset and number of soil erosion experimental stations., Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad - FEDER (CGL2014 52135-C3-3-R; ESP2017-89463-C3-3-R; CGL2014-59946-R; CGL2015-65569-R; CGL2015-64284- C2-2-R; CGL2015-64284-C2-1-R; CGL2016-78075-P; GL2008-02879/BTE; LEDDRA 243857; RECARE-FP7; CGL2017-83866-C3-1-R y PCIN-2017- 061/AEI), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (FJCI-2017-33652), Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (TAD/CRP JA00088807), Junta de Castilla y León - FEDER (CLU-2018-04)

39 pages.-- Trabajo fin de grado, [EN] The circulation of Ría de Vigo is determined to a greater extent by winds. These produce upwelling during April to September and downwelling from October to March, modifying the hydrographic conditions of the estuary. In this work, the variability of the pico- and nanoplankton communities will be studied under different conditions such as the extratropical storm Ophelia, during October of 2017. From the treatment of hydrographic data (upwelling index, temperature, salinity and nutrients), chlorophyll a concentration and primary production rates; stratification was observed during the first half of the month with dominance of phytoplankton >20μm and, subsequently, a mixing of the water column occurred with phytoplankton, [ES] La circulación de la Ría de Vigo se encuentra determinada en gran medida por los vientos dominantes. Estos vientos producen afloramiento durante los meses de abril a septiembre y hundimiento de octubre a marzo, modificando las condiciones hidrográficas de la Ría. En este trabajo se estudia la variabilidad de las comunidades de pico- y nanoplancton resultantes de las condiciones hidrográficas inducidas por la tormenta extratropical Ophelia, durante el mes de octubre de 2017. A partir del tratamiento de datos hidrográficos (índice de afloramiento, temperatura, salinidad y concentración de nutrientes), concentración de clorofila a y tasas de producción primaria; se observó una estratificación durante la primera mitad del mes con dominancia del fitoplancton >20μm y, posteriormente, una mezcla de la columna de agua cuando el fitoplancton