The effects of isolation and natural park coverage for landrace in situ conservation : an approach from the Montseny Mountains (NE Spain)

Human isolation in mountain areas has an extra cost for the people living there, because they occasionally have to face harsh environmental conditions. Such adaptation to the environment can be faced in several ways, and in situ landrace conservation is a proposed strategy that concerns food acquisition and maintenance. However, human isolation could also be affected as a result of residing inside a protected area. In this paper, we assess the correlation between the in situ landraces conserved by farmers and the location of the farms inside or outside of a protected area (Montseny Mountains Biosphere Reserve and Natural Park). The variables of isolation, calculated as the time needed to reach the nearest market and the effect of altitude, were also considered. We interviewed 28 farmers, 12 inside and 16 outside of the protected area, and identified a total of 69 landraces. Those farms located inside the boundaries of the Natural Park retained more landraces than those located outside. There was also a positive and significant correlation between the landraces cultivated and the degree of isolation. The effect of altitude did not appear to be a relevant variable. Finally, a total of 38 landraces were located only on farms inside the Natural Park, 13 were found outside and 18 were cropped in both territories

Evaluación de parámetros de crecimiento en plántulas de Cedrela odorata bajo diferentes condiciones hídricas y su adaptación en sustratos degradados

La desforestación del bosque seco tropical se ha convertido en uno de los mayores problemas ambientales de Nicaragua de las últimas décadas. Esta pérdida de masas boscosas ha supuesto una reducción de los recursos naturales esenciales para la población, tales como madera, alimentos y agua. La elevada explotación de Cedrela odorata (cedro real) para su aprovechamiento maderable ha situado a esta especie como vulnerable en la lista roja de la IUCN. Este estudio pretende brindar información sobre la capacidad de C. odorata de crecer en sustratos degradados y bajo condiciones hídricas eventualmente diferentes, resultantes del cambio climático. Para ello se evaluó el efecto de dos factores sobre la germinación y el crecimiento de plántulas de C. odorata, siendo estos: tres tipos de sustrato y cinco cantidades de agua. Los sustratos que se seleccionaron fueron de finca ganadera, de finca agrícola y de bosque seco tropical (control). Los riegos establecidos fueron, en base a la precipitación media del rodal: 50%, 75%, 100% (control), 150% y 200%. En total, se establecieron quince tratamientos combinación de los dos factores. Los resultados muestran que C. Odorata tiene buena capacidad para crecer en sustratos degradados con pluviometrías de alrededor de 1200 mm/año y hasta un 50% inferiores. C. Odorata tiene dificultades para germinar con pluviometrías superiores a las actuales, especialmente en suelos con escassa capacidad de infiltración. El crecimiento de C. odorata con pluviometrías superiores a los 1200 mm/año presenta un insuficiente desarrollo radicular que le dificultaría la supervivencia durante la estación seca. Palabras clave: reforestación, cambio climático, estrés hídrico, desarrollo radicular, área foliar, anegamiento

Actividades para fomentar las competencias transversales relacionadas con el razonamiento científico-técnico

Este artículo describe dos actividades que los autores llevan a cabo desde hace unos años en asignaturas de los últimos cursos de ingeniería y del máster de investigación que imparten. Estas actividades tienen por objetivo desarrollar competencias transversales tales como el razonamiento crítico, la capacidad de análisis y comprensión de trabajos científicos, y la argumentación y debate de opiniones contrapuestas, y están encaminadas a fomentar el razonamiento científico- técnico de los estudiantes. En concreto las actividades a las que nos referimos son de dos tipos, 1) sesiones de debate de artículos científico-técnicos y 2) preparación de preguntas tipo para examen. En el artículo se describen con detalle cómo se materializan estas dos actividades, y se realiza una evaluación cualitativa y cuantitativa del resultado de la experiencia, que nos permite concluir que contribuyen decisivamente a la formación de los estudiantes en las competencias transversales arriba mencionadas y, por lo tanto a mejorar el proceso de aprendizaje en general.SUMMARY -- This article describes two activities that the authors are carrying out since a few years ago in the latest courses of the engineering degree and masters they are teaching. These activities aim to develop generic skills such as critical thinking, the ability of analysis and understanding of scientific work, and the argumentation and discussion of opposing views. All of them are aimed at encouraging scientific and technical reasoning of students. These activities are the discussion/debate sessions of scientific-technical papers and the preparation of exam-like questions. The paper describes in detail how these two activities have been materialized and a qualitative and quantitative evaluation is provided. Out of this evaluation, the usefulness of these activities can be validated, and it can be concluded that they strongly contribute to the training of students in the transversal competences focus of this work and, as a consequence to improve the learning process

An automatic correction tool for relational database schemas

A Web-based tool developed to automatically correct relational database schemas is presented. This tool has been integrated into a more general e-learning platform and is used to reinforce teaching and learning on database courses. This platform assigns to each student a set of database problems selected from a common repository. The student has to design a relational database schema and enter it into the system through a user friendly interface specifically designed for it. The correction tool corrects the design and shows detected errors. The student has the chance to correct them and send a new solution. These steps can be repeated as many times as required until a correct solution is obtained. Currently, this system is being used in different introductory database courses at the University of Girona with very promising result

Hotspots of predation persist outside marine reserves in the historically fished Mediterranean Sea

8 páginas, 4 figuras, 2 tablas.The Mediterranean Sea has sustained historically high levels of fishing since pre-Roman times. This onceabundant sea has witnessed major declines in apex predators, now largely restricted to isolated pockets within marine reserves. This depletion could critically impact macrophyte communities that are strongly structured by top-down processes.We evaluated rates of predation on the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, a key herbivore of macroalgal and Posidonia oceanica seagrass seascapes, across a large stretch of the Western Mediterranean coastline. Fish predation was generally higher inside reserves, but was equally high at several locations outside these boundaries. Although critically low at some locations compared to reserves, predation was functionally ubiquitous in most habitats, seasons and sites. Fish were still primarily responsible for this predation with no clear evidence of meso-predator release. Macroalgal habitats were consistently subject to higher predation than in seagrass meadows, functionally critical given the vulnerability of macroalgal systems to overgrazing. Predation hotspots were clearly associated with high fish predator numbers and low refuge availability. Taken together, these results suggest that long-term overfishing may not necessarily reflect a complete loss of trophic function. Pockets of fish predation may still persist, linked to habitat complexity, predator behavioral adaptations and landscape-level features. Given the essential role top-down control plays in macroalgal communities, regulating fishing at these predation hotspots is vital to effectively conserve habitats from future hysteretic shifts. Even historically fished seas may retain areas where trophic function persists; identifying these areas is critical to preserving the remaining ecological integrity of these coastlines.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (projects CTM2010-22273-C02-01-02 and CTM2013-48027-C03-R) and supported J. B. (scholarship BES-2011-043630) and CSIC- 201330E062 supported R. A.'s visitorship.Peer reviewe

L'intercanvi de llavors com a mecanisme per a la conservació de l'agrobiodiversitat. Estudi de cas : Vallès Oriental

En les últimes dècades hi ha hagut un interès creixent en la conservació de les varietats locals. En relació amb això, s'argumenta que els horts domèstics tenen un paper fonamental en el manteniment de la diversitat genètica. Pel que fa a l'objectiu, consisteix a analitzar la conservació de l'agrobiodiversitat a la comarca del Vallès Oriental mitjançant una anàlisi de la xarxa d'intercanvi, el nombre de varietats locals i el coneixement que hi està associat. Aquest còmput d'informació ha permès realitzar un inventari de totes les varietats locals, el seu coneixement associat, una anàlisi del context social dels hortelans i una anàlisi de les xarxes d'intercanvi, que evidencien si aquests factors afecten de forma directa o indirecta la millora i el manteniment de l'agrobiodiversitat.En las últimas décadas ha crecido el interés en la conservación de las variedades locales. Con referencia a ello, se afirma que los huertos familiares o domésticos juegan un papel fundamental en el mantenimiento de la diversidad genética. En cuánto al objetivo,consiste en analizar la conservación de la agrobiodiversidad en el Vallès Oriental a partir del número de variedades locales, el conocimiento ecológico asociado y la red de intercambios entre los productores. Este cómputo de información ha permitido realizar un inventario de las variedades locales, su conocimiento asociado, un análisis del entorno social de los productores y un análisis de la red de intercambio y el efecto de estos factores en la mejora y conservación de la agrobiodiversidad.During recent years, the role of homegardens in the conservation of agrobiodiversity has become incresingly important. This kind of research studies have been focussed on the in situ conservation in Tropical areas. This research project aims to analyse the situation of the local varieties in the council of Vallès Oriental, in Catalonia, the ecological knowledge of these local varieties, the exchange network between the producers and if that network has contributed in the amount of local varieties preserved. These data collection permitted us to inventory all the local varieties and its knowledge, to analyse the socioeconomical milieu, to analyse the exchange network and finally, to analyse the effect of these factors on the improvement and maintenance of the agrobiodiversity

Experiencia docente en diseño de bases de datos con la ayuda de herramientas de e-learning

Una de las competencias básicas en torno a la materia de bases de datos consiste en realizar el diseño conceptual y lógico de una base de datos relacional. En este artículo se presenta la experiencia realizada en el diseño de una base de datos con un número considerable de tablas y en relación a la organización y gestión de una empresa real. Para facilitar las tareas de corrección y evaluación a los profesores implicados se ha utilizado una plataforma de e-learning que corrige diagramas entidad/relación y los esquemas de bases de datos generados.Peer Reviewe

Immanent conditions determine imminent collapses: nutrient regimes define the resilience of macroalgal communities

Este artículo contiene 9 páginas, 5 figuras.Predicting where state-changing thresholds lie can be inherently complex in ecosystems characterized by nonlinear dynamics. Unpacking the mechanisms underlying these transitions can help considerably reduce this unpredictability. We used empirical observations, field and laboratory experiments, and mathematical models to examine how differences in nutrient regimes mediate the capacity of macrophyte communities to sustain sea urchin grazing. In relatively nutrient-rich conditions, macrophyte systems were more resilient to grazing, shifting to barrens beyond 1 800 g m22 (urchin biomass), more than twice the threshold of nutrient-poor conditions. The mechanisms driving these differences are linked to how nutrients mediate urchin foraging and algal growth: controlled experiments showed that low-nutrient regimes trigger compensatory feeding and reduce plant growth, mechanisms supported by our consumer–resource model. These mechanisms act together to halve macrophyte community resilience. Our study demonstrates that by mediating the underlying drivers, inherent conditions can strongly influence the buffer capacity of nonlinear systems.The Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation funded this research (projects CMT2010-22273-C02-01-02 and CMT2013- 48027-C03-R) and supported J.B. (scholarship BES-2011-043630) and D.A. (Ramon y Cajal fellowship). The Spanish National Research Council supported R.A.’s visitorship (CSIC-201330E062).Peer reviewe