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Abstract. Study of the transition from Quercus petraea forest to Quercus ilex forest in the area of Marmolers (Montseny Natural Park) The Montseny massif is an area of great biodiversity interest, where forests can be found of sessile oak... more
Abstract. Study of the transition from Quercus petraea forest to Quercus ilex forest in the area of Marmolers (Montseny Natural Park) The Montseny massif is an area of great biodiversity interest, where forests can be found of sessile oak (Quercus petraea); a eurosiberian deciduous tree that grows in the montane zone. Holm oak forests (Quercus ilex) are also found growing beside the sessile oak forests at this altitudinal level. In the area of Marmolers this transition can be observed between the two forests, making it an ideal place for a study of this type. The main objective of this article is to study the ecotone between the Eurosiberian and Mediterranean vegetation in Marmolers. The main issues we address are how the Quercus petraea forest interacts with the Quercus ilex forest, how floristic diversity varies along the transition, which forest structure presents Marmolers forest, the recruitment dynamics in Marmolers, and how this transition is expected to evolve. The juvenile ...
Noves contribucions a les espècies aŀlòctones de Ludwigia (Onagraceae) a Catalunya
Aims: Our aims are threefold: 1) to determine whether global change has altered the composition and structure of the plant community found in the sessile oak forests on the NE Iberian Peninsula over the last decades, 2) to establish... more
Aims: Our aims are threefold: 1) to determine whether global change has altered the composition and structure of the plant community found in the sessile oak forests on the NE Iberian Peninsula over the last decades, 2) to establish whether the decline in forest exploitation activities that has taken place since the mid-20th century has had any effect on the forests and 3) to ascertain whether there is any evidence of impact from climate warming. Methods: We assess changes in the plant community by comparing a current survey of sessile oak forest with a historical dataset obtained from previous regional studies dating from 1962 to 1977. We analyse the regional changes in the community in terms of biodiversity variables, species composition and plant traits. Furthermore, plants traits 2 such as plant life forms and chorological groups, are used to discern any effects from land use changes and climate warming on the plant community. Important Findings: There has been a loss of diversity in the community and, in the hottest region there is also a loss of species richness. The composition of the community suggests that, although significant changes have taken place over recent decades, these changes differ between regions as a result of the low impact global change has had in the western regions. For instance, while the tree canopy cover in the western sessile oak forests remains stable, the eastern sessile oak forests are still recovering from the former exploitation that led to a loss of their rich and abundant herbaceous stratum. In fact, the recovery process in the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range has constituted an increase in the Euro-Siberian plants typical to this community. Moreover, in the eastern forests there is evidence that climate warming has impacted the thermophilization of the sessile oak forests found on the Coastal Range.
Euphorbia duvalii Lecoq & Lamotte is an endemic species from the Catalan-Occitan territory ―western Mediterranean area― and is usually found in the south of France. Euphorbia duvalii has been cited from some localities of the Iberian... more
Euphorbia duvalii Lecoq & Lamotte is an endemic species from the Catalan-Occitan territory ―western Mediterranean area― and is usually found in the south of France. Euphorbia duvalii has been cited from some localities of the Iberian Peninsula, but in later reviews all of these citations were finally identified as other species of Euphorbia L. One of these citations, from the Alt Empordà ―Girona, Spain―, was of specific interest because not all the sources agreed on what the species was. To clarify whether or not this species is really present in the Iberian Peninsula, we examined new material from this population in order to establish whether the species is in fact E. duvalii. Once the morphology of the specimens from the Serra de Bac Grillera population had been analysed, we were able to confirm that they were indeed E. duvalii. This means that this is the only area on the Iberian Peninsula where this endemic species has been identified. The population is located in a rocky meadow that contains some scrub and is surrounded by pinewoods. Because this is the one and only Iberian population, a management and conservation plan needs to be drawn up to ensure its preservation.
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There is a distribution limit of sessile oak (Quercus petraea) in the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula, with its southernmost populations located at the xeric limit for the species. We present here the current distribution of these... more
There is a distribution limit of sessile oak (Quercus petraea) in the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula, with its southernmost populations located at the xeric limit for the species. We present here the current distribution of these populations in the Montseny Massif (N.E. Catalonia) and how the surface area they cover has developed over the last 50 years. Using a new high-resolution map (1:5000) we have calculated that Q. petraea currently covers 64.1 ha, and is found between 450 and 1150 m above sea level with a predominantly southern exposure, with the north-facing slopes being dominated by beech forests. With regard to its recent development, 44% of what is now dense forest was, in 1956, much more dispersed while 11% of it consisted of open spaces or shrubs. Such changes clearly show that, in Montseny, Q. petraea is well capable of regenerating its forest canopy as well as colonising adjacent environments.
Research Interests:
Notes on alien plants in NE Catalonia, with special attention to weeds of rice fields
Situation in Catalonia of Ludwigia peploides (Onagraceae)
Anagyris foetida (Leguminosae), rediscovered in Baix Empordà (Catalonia
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Research Interests:
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Abstract. Study of the transition from Quercus petraea forest to Quercus ilex forest in the area of Marmolers (Montseny Natural Park) The Montseny massif is an area of great biodiversity interest, where forests can be found of sessile oak... more
Abstract. Study of the transition from Quercus petraea forest to Quercus ilex forest in the area of Marmolers (Montseny Natural Park) The Montseny massif is an area of great biodiversity interest, where forests can be found of sessile oak (Quercus petraea); a eurosiberian deciduous tree that grows in the montane zone. Holm oak forests (Quercus ilex) are also found growing beside the sessile oak forests at this altitudinal level. In the area of Marmolers this transition can be observed between the two forests, making it an ideal place for a study of this type. The main objective of this article is to study the ecotone between the Eurosiberian and Mediterranean vegetation in Marmolers. The main issues we address are how the Quercus petraea forest interacts with the Quercus ilex forest, how floristic diversity varies along the transition, which forest structure presents Marmolers forest, the recruitment dynamics in Marmolers, and how this transition is expected to evolve. The juvenile ...