Alejandro Valdecantos

University of Alicante | UA · Ecology

The conservation of biodiversity from the genetic to the community levels is fundamental for the continual provision of ecosystem services (ES), the benefits that ecosystems provide to people. Genetic and genomic diversity enhance the resilience of populations and communities that underpin the provision of ecosystem functions and services. We show...

El pinar de carrasco (Pinus halepensis) es una de las formaciones vegetales más abundantes en la cuenca mediterránea. Sin embargo, presenta escenarios de vulnerabilidad respecto a perturbaciones como el fuego y la sequía prolongada que, además, se verán acentuados en las próximas décadas. En este informe se presenta una revisión de la ecología de e...

Drylands functioning depends on water fluxes and the retention of resources. The restoration of degraded areas should mimic the natural arrangement of vegetation in the landscape in a source-sink pattern. Reintroducing key woody seedlings through planting is a major concern in ecological restoration as these areas often exceed degradation threshold...

One of the most challenging issues in Mediterranean ecosystems to date has been to understand the emergence of discontinuous changes or catastrophic shifts. In the era of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which encompass ideas around Land Degradation Neutrality, advancing this understanding has become even more critical and urgent. The aim of...

The spatial structure reflects the pattern of arrangement of trees on the ground and is a basic element to understand the dynamics of forest ecosystems. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the bivariate structural characteristics of five different associations of Pinus durangensis forests, identifying the similarities and dif...

Recent observations suggest that repeated fires could drive Mediterranean forests to shrublands, hosting flammable vegetation that regrows quickly after fire. This feedback supposedly favours shrubland persistence and may be strengthened in the future by predicted increased aridity. We assessed how fires and aridity combined modulated the dynamics...

Antecedentes y Objetivos: Los estudios de comunidades vegetales permiten conocer los impactos causados por las actividades agrícolas y pecuarias, especialmente en las zonas áridas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue contrastar la diversidad, composición y estructura de los estratos arbóreo y arbustivo de tres áreas (Agroforestal, Regenerada y Referenc...

In Mediterranean forests and rangelands, the supply of important ecosystem services can decrease or cease as a consequence of disturbances and climatic oscillations. Land managers can sometimes prevent or mitigate the negative effects of disturbances through appropriate land management choices. In this study, we assess the contribution of land mana...

Through litter decomposition enormous amounts of carbon is emitted to the atmosphere. Numerous large-scale decomposition experiments have been conducted focusing on this fundamental soil process in order to understand the controls on the terrestrial carbon transfer to the atmosphere. However, previous studies were mostly based on site-specific litt...

Through litter decomposition enormous amount of carbon is emitted to the atmosphere. Numerous large-scale decomposition experiments have been conducted focusing on this fundamental soil process in order to understand the controls on the terrestrial carbon transfer to the atmosphere. However, previous studies were mostly based on site-specific litte...

Soils of Mediterranean drylands are characterized by a low fertility and organic matter content because of past land use and disturbances regime. The restoration of these degraded lands faces at the same time problems related to water scarcity and the unpredictability of precipitations with problems with soil physical, chemical and microbiological...

Through litter decomposition enormous amounts of carbon is emitted to the atmosphere. Numerous large-scale decomposition experiments have been conducted focusing on this fundamental soil process in order to under-stand the controls on the terrestrial carbon transfer to the atmosphere. However, previous studies were mostly based on site-specific litt...

What are the changes at individual and community level derived from altered climatic regime in a typical secondary Mediterranean shrubland?

Drylands cover about 31% of the European landmass, and are the home of around 25% of its population, thereby making the lives of a substantial part of the European population directly or indirectly dependent on the wellbeing of these drylands. Research done by the European Environmental Agency (EEA), shows that especially the area around the Medite...

La asignatura “Iniciación a la investigación en Biología” de primer curso del Grado de Biología tiene un marcado carácter multidisciplinar. La asignatura aspira a facilitar el desarrollo de habilidades y la adquisición de destrezas en el uso las de metodologías y herramientas básicas de obtención de información y comunicación científica, en coordin...

The patchy distribution of semiarid ecosystems determines productivity and controls the retention of resources within the system. Resource fluxes depend on a number of biophysical and soil variables, besides the amount and intensity of particular rainfall events. At two Mediterranean experimental sites with contrasted composition and spatial vegeta...

Pinus pinaster (maritime pine) is widely planted in the Mediterranean Basin. Maritime pine forests’ carbon stocks are dynamic because of the effect of wildfires and timber activities. Management practices offer an opportunity to mitigate climate change via increasing carbon storage in various ecosystems. In this work, we quantified carbon pools in...

How do seedlings of key Mediterranean semiarid species perform in a gradient of water stress? Do the biotic relationships between plant seedlings change depending on the degree of stress?

Plant form and physiological pathways respond to resource availability which, in turn, determines individual plant survival and growth. Studies in environments where soil resources limit plant growth may offer insight into root behaviour. Changes in root morphology have been often observed as plant-responses in nutrient-rich patches (Hodge 2004). I...

Restoration efforts in the Mediterranean Basin have been changing from a silvicultural to an ecological restoration approach. Yet, to what extent the projects are guided by ecological restoration principles remains largely unknown. To analyse this issue, we built an on-line survey addressed to restoration practitioners.

Wildfires have always been a part of the history of Mediterranean forests. However, forests are not always certain to regenerate after a wildfire. Whether they do depends on many factors, some of which may be influenced by land management activities. Failure to regenerate will cause a regime shift in the ecosystem, reducing the provision of ecosyst...

Soil indicators may be used for assessing both land suitability for restoration and the effectiveness of restoration strategies in restoring ecosystem functioning and services. In this review paper, several soil indicators, which can be used to assess the effectiveness of ecological restoration strategies in dryland ecosystems at different spatial...

Un equipo multidisciplinar de profesores y profesoras que imparten docencia en la asignatura Iniciación a la Investigación en Biología, constituyen la Red Docente INVES con el fin de desarrollar una metodología propia de trabajo en equipo, en coordinación con el profesorado de la asignatura Estadística, con la que se comparten objetivos de aprendiz...

Soil indicators may be used for assessing both land suitability for restoration and the effectiveness of restoration strategies in restoring ecosystem functioning and services. In this review paper, several soil indicators, which can be used to assess the effectiveness of ecological restoration strategies in dryland ecosystems at different spatial...

This study was conducted in a burned Pinus-Quercus forest in Chipinque Ecological Park (NE Mexico), where several restoration measures were implemented after a wildfire. The main objectives of the study were to evaluate the establishment of planted Pinus pseudostrobus (Lindl.) seedlings, and analyze the effect of contour-felled logs on soil retenti...

It is crucial to raise awareness about the goods and services that forests provide, and the risks that they face in an increasingly harsh climate to boost support for restoration programs in southern Europe. Forest landscape restoration (FLR) is a planned process that aims to regain ecological integrity and enhance human well-being in deforested or...

This study evaluates the diversity and composition of the scrub vegetation (Rosette Desert Scrub, Microphyll Desert Scrub and Submontane Scrub) of Santa Catarina Valley (northeastern Mexico) along an altitudinal gradient. To obtain a census of shrubs, trees, succulents and grasses of the area, 32 square sampling sites of 100 m2 were established ran...

Reforestation projects in semiarid lands often yield poor results. Water scarcity, poor soil fertility, and structure strongly limit the survival and growth of planted seedlings in these areas. At two experimental semiarid sites, we evaluated a variety of low-cost planting techniques in order to increase water availability to plants. Treatments inc...

Land degradation and desertification are widespread in drylands, highlighting the need to restore them to reverse their negative effects. The restoration of degraded drylands is commonly initiated by restoring the vegetation using plantations of tree/shrub seedlings. We conducted a meta-analysis of published field experiments in drylands to analyze...

The current chapter describes the ecological context and post-fire management practices for the most important and fire-prone coniferous tree species in the Mediterranean Basin, the serotinous pine trees. The state of art about evolution, habitat and adaptive strategies of Pinus halepensis Mill, Pinus brutia Ten. and Pinus pinaster Aiton are includ...

We evaluated the natural regeneration of woody species at the mid-term in a Pinus-Quercus mixed forest affected by frequent medium-to-high intensity wildfires (1972, 1984 and 1998) in northeastern Mexico. The objective was to determine the recovery of vegetation from recurrent fires, and whether it depends on slope exposure (NE vs. NW). The results...

The term biosolids was introduced in the early 1990s by the Water Environment Federation to define the solid, semisolid, or liquid residues generated during primary, secondary, or advanced treatment of domestic and industrial sanitary sewage sludge through one or more controlled processes that reduce pathogens and attractiveness to vectors. Althoug...

Reforestation efforts in dryland ecosystems frequently encounter drought and limited soil productivity, although both factors usually interact synergistically to worsen water stress for outplanted seedlings. Land degradation in drylands (e.g. desertification) usually reduces soil productivity and, especially, soil water availability. In dry sub-hum...

The current chapter describes the ecological context and post-fire management practices for the most important and fire-prone coniferous tree species in the Mediterranean Basin, the serotinous pine trees. The state of art about evolution, habitat and adaptive strategies of Pinus halepensis Mill, Pinus brutia Ten. and Pinus pinaster Aiton are includ...

An inland mountainous location in eastern Spain was selected for reforestation studies based on the fog water collection potential prevailing in the area and the high level of land degradation resulting from recurrent forest fires in the past. Bulk fog-water catches were stored and used in a micro-irrigation network to provide summer emergency wate...

Land degradation and desertification is a common feature in Mediterranean landscapes due to extensive and intensive land use and natural or man induced disturbances. The ecosystem may need external inputs to recover its composition and function as soils are often impoverished and vegetal key stone species lost. We evaluated the effects of the appli...

La presente investigación caracteriza la regeneración de la vegetación leñosa recuperada postfuego ocurrido en el año de 1998 que afectó 500 ha de bosques templados en el Parque Ecológico Chipinque (NE de México). Los objetivos planteados fueron estimar la riqueza y diversidad de la vegetación leñosa (¿ 1cm de diámetro) regenerada post fuego y esti...

The present investigation characterizes the post–fire woody regeneration recovered after the fire that occurred in 1998 and affected 500 ha of temperate forests in the Chipinque Ecological Park (NE Mexico). The objectives were to estimate the richness and diversity of woody vegetation (≥ 1 cm diameter) regenerated after the fire and assess the ecol...

Planting woody vegetation is frequently a first step towards the restoration of degraded drylands. Seedling establishment on unfertile soils may be favoured by applying organic amendments such as biosolids. But the outcome of such a practice is strongly dependent on the type of amendment and the application rate used. High application rates may hav...

Previous studies carried out by the authors have shown the potential of fog water collection at several mountain locations in the Valencia region (western Mediterranean basin). This coastal region features typical conditions for a dry Mediterranean climate characterized by a pluviometric regime ranging from 400 to 600 mm with a strong annual depend...

A mountainous plot located in the interior of the Valencia region (east coast of the Iberian Peninsula) was identified for reforestation using the fog-water collection potential prevailing in the area. Fog data were obtained by means of an instrument ensemble consisting of a passive cylindrical fog-water collector, a rain gauge, a wind direction an...

Ecological restoration represents an important tool for combating land degradation and increasing ecosystem resistance and resilience to disturbance, thus favoring the recovery of functions and services. Degraded drylands constitute very harsh conditions for the natural regeneration and rangeland restoration of the ecosystems. Scarcity of rainfall...

Long-term post-fire restoration not only aims to restore the ecosystem structure and function, but also endeavors to recover ecosystem fire resilience and reduce future fire propogation potential. This generally requires restoration strategies that promote secondary succession towards more mature, more resilient plant communities at a landscape sca...

Dense shrublands constitute highly hazardous fuels in Mediterranean countries. The combination of agricultural land abandonment and fire occurrence in many Mediterranean areas has led to a landscape dominated by shrublands where resprouter species are scarce or absent. Major goals in the management of these areas are to reduce both the fuel loads a...