Paulo Alves

Floradata - Biodiversidade, Ambiente e Recursos Naturais

We present a comprehensive taxonomic and nomenclatural review of the Portuguese oaks (Quercus), issuing from thorough biogeographical, historical, bibliographic, field and herbarium data. We propose a new annotated checklist for all taxa and nothotaxa belonging to Quercus L. genus in the Portuguese national territory, extending the analysis to the...

Educational gardens can be a significant resource in the promotion of environmental education, engaging both the school population and the general public. The main goal of the present study was to implement and assess a hands-on interventional program to promote knowledge and awareness of plant-related topics at a basic school level. We report on a...

The spatial monitoring of plant diversity in the endangered species-rich grasslands of European mountain pastoral systems is an important step for fairer and more efficient Agri-Environmental policy schemes supporting conservation. This study assessed the underlying support for a spatially explicit monitoring of plant species richness at parcel lev...

Senecio brasiliensis (Spreng.) Less., native to South America (Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina), is reported for the first time as a naturalized alien species from Europe (near Porto; Portugal). The species' taxonomy and nomenclature were analysed based on literature data. Its ecology, habitat, biology and possible vector of introd...

An overview of 27 sites of botanical interest in mainland Portugal.

Lista vermelha da flora vascular de Portugal Continental. Os autores apresentados foram os autores das fichas que deram origem ao livro

In 2018 the Intermunicipal Community of Alto Minho - CIM Alto Minho (comprising its 10 municipalities) launched the development of the Regional Strategy for the Landscape of Alto Minho, to foster nature conservation and connectivity between Natura 2000 sites while creating new socioeconomic opportunities grounded in the landscape resources of this...

Rivers are amongst the most threatened ecosystems in Europe. To prevent further degradation and to improve their ecological status, effective mitigation and restoration actions are needed. Those actions are primarily based on the precision of the ecological assessment results. This study aims to assess the ecological status of two small Mediterrane...

Coastal sand dunes are dynamic ecosystems, with vegetation and biota responding to continuous changes in its typical environmental severity. Understanding vegetation patterns is relevant to early detect shifts in prevailing coastal dynamics and to refine monitoring strategies, especially in secondary sand dunes, which are under legal protection in...

The Peneda-Gerês National Park in northeast Portugal has been home to wild ponies for around 2500 years. Today, it also provides a rich habitat for wolves, foxes, wild boars, ibex, and deer. It also hosts otters, fish, frogs, salamanders, 147 different bird species (many migratory) and 15 bat species. Data from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites...

Alien plant species have been essential for farming and agro-forestry systems and for their supply of food, fiber, tannins, resins or wood from antiquity to the present. They also contributed to supporting functions and regulating services (water, soil, biodiversity) and to the design of landscapes with high cultural and scenic value. Some of those...

The importance of environmental heterogeneity for biodiversity across scales is widely recognized in ecological theory and profusely supported by evidence. However, our understanding of the effects of spatiotemporal patterns of landscape functional properties on biodiversity is still rather limited. We examined the relationship between common passe...

Although invasive animals can compete with natives for resources, detrimental competition for food is seldom reported in the avian invasions literature. In temperate climates, food limitation and energetic stress are higher during winter and, thus, winter diets might reveal competition that is not apparent during the rest of the year. We compared a...

Global environmental changes are rapidly affecting species’ distributions and habitat suitability worldwide, requiring a continuous update of biodiversity status to support effective decisions on conservation policy and management. In this regard, satellite-derived Ecosystem Functional Attributes (EFAs) offer a more integrative and quicker evaluati...

Iris boissieri presence data at NW extent and 1km cell size, and joined values for each selected predictor to each occurrence data. (CSV)

Multicollinearity test of predictor variables used in model fitting Peneda-Gerês National Park (NP-1km) for Iris boissieri (Ib) and Taxus baccata (Tb), by calculating the Variance Inflation Factors (VIF) as implemented in the R package car using function vif(). Legend. For each predictor, the VIF shows the collinearity degree among at least one ind...

Multicollinearity test of predictor variables used in model fitting North-western Iberian Peninsula (NW-1km) for Iris boissieri (Ib) and Taxus baccata (Tb), by calculating the Variance Inflation Factors (VIF) as implemented in the R package car using function vif(). Legend. For each predictor, the VIF shows the collinearity degree among at least on...

Variables importance for the best traditional (climate and land-cover)-based and satellite-derived Ecosystem Functional Attribute (EFA)-based models for Iris boissieri. Legend. Mean ± standard deviation variable importance of each predictor considered for the best-performed models (through all individual combinations of pseudoabsences, model runs a...

Correlation matrix for predictor variables used in model fitting in the Peneda-Gerês National Park (NP) extent and 1km cell size combinations for Iris boissieri. Legend. Spearman’s correlation matrix for all the variables used in model fitting (Note: the lowest absolute pairwise-correlation values were highlighted in green). (TIF)

Spatial projections for Iris boissieri. Legend. Presence-absence maps for Iris boissieri from ensemble forecasting modelling calibrated by traditional predictors and satellite-derived ecosystem functional attributes (EFAs). (TIF)

Correlation matrix for predictor variables used in model fitting in the Peneda-Gerês National Park (NP) extent and 1km cell size combinations for Taxus baccata. Legend. Spearman’s correlation matrix for all the variables used in model fitting (Note: the lowest absolute pairwise-correlation values were highlighted in green). (TIF)

Correlation matrix for predictor variables used in model fitting in the North-western Iberian Peninsula (NW) extent and 1km cell size combinations for Taxus baccata. Legend. Spearman’s correlation matrix for all the variables used in model fitting (Note: the lowest absolute pairwise-correlation values were highlighted in green). (TIF)

Variables importance for the best traditional (climate and land-cover)-based and satellite-derived Ecosystem Functional Attribute (EFA)-based models for Taxus baccata. Legend. Mean ± standard deviation variable importance of each predictor considered for the best-performed models (through all individual combinations of pseudoabsences, model runs an...

Taxus baccata presence data at NW extent and 1km cell size, and joined values for each selected predictor to each occurrence data. (CSV)

Correlation matrix for predictor variables used in model fitting in the North-western Iberian Peninsula (NW) extent and 1km cell size combinations for Iris boissieri. Legend. Spearman’s correlation matrix for all the variables used in model fitting (Note: the lowest absolute pairwise-correlation values were highlighted in green). (TIF)

Model performance based on TSS (True Skills Statistics) for different extent (IP: Iberian Peninsula, NW: North-western IP and NP: Peneda-Gerês National Park) and spatial resolution (1km and 5km) combinations for Iris boissieri and Taxus baccata. Legend. Performance of the individual models (boxplots) showing the TSSmedian, two hinges (first and thi...

Regression models among the median values of the Area Under the Curve (AUC) and the True Skills Statistics (TSS) of the ensemble models for Iris boissieri and Taxus baccata. Legend. Regression analysis among the AUCmedian and TSSmedian values for the ensemble models considering all extent (IP: Iberian Peninsula, NW: North-western IP and NP: Peneda-...

Spatial projections for Taxus baccata. Legend. Presence-absence maps for Taxus baccata from ensemble forecasting modelling calibrated by traditional predictors and satellite-derived ecosystem functional attributes (EFAs). (TIF)

Significant advances have been made in identifying, quantifying and valuing multiple urban ecosystem services (UES), yet this knowledge remains poorly implemented in urban planning and management. One of the reasons for this low implementation is the insufficient thematic and spatial detail in UES research to provide guidance for urban planners and...

Due to highly heterogeneous edaphoclimatic features, Iberian Southwest Mountains are a major laboratory for essays on biogeography, concerning Atlantic remnant vegetation. Following a decade of PhD fieldwork in Serrano-Monchiquense District, namely facing West Iberian and Portuguese Divisorian Sub-Provinces, this work intends to clarify and propose...

The Iberian Cantabrian Atlantic biogeographical territory is a narrow strip of land, fallen L-shaped, which runs parallel to the coast from Pamplona (Spain) to near Aveiro (north Portugal), characterized by a wet and warm climate, with smooth winters and slight or absent drought in summer. Its relief is very varied and includes from coastal and inl...

As representative of climacic stages in forest dynamics, Quercus represents the arboreal layer in the Mediterranean Region. A long history of efforts and studies in Iberian Peninsula and Western Mediterranean Basin iconic biogeographic landmark, led to the proliferation of taxonomic uncertainties and nomenclatural inflation. This work reflects the...

Baccharis spicata, a species native to South America, was reported for the first time with-in European territory in 2015. A couple of naturalized populations were detected in the surroundings of Porto suspected of being unintentionally introduced with goods arriving through the harbor of Leixões. A recent risk assessment using two types of protocol...

Context Urban areas are traditionally overlooked by ecologists, but contain a wide range of biodiversity. The existing procedures for consistent recording of habitats and biodiversity are not sufficient to adequately describe urban environments in a fine scale. Objectives A method is required to provide information on biodiversity and its spatial...

Baccharis spicata, a species native to South America (southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern and central Argentina) is reported for the first time from Europe. In September 2015, two naturalized populations were detected in the surroundings of Porto (Matosinhos and Vila do Conde) in Portugal. Based on literature data, the species’ tax...

Knowledge regarding Ecosystem Services (ES) delivery and the socio-ecological factors that influence their proficiency is essential to allow cities to adopt policies that lead to resource-efficient planning and greater resilience. As one of the matrix elements of urban ecological structure, vegetation may play a major role in promoting ES proficien...

Background Attention has recently been drawn to the issue of transboundary invasions, where species introduced and naturalized in one country cross international borders and become problematic in neighbouring countries. Robust modelling frameworks, able to identify the environmental drivers of invasion and forecast the current and future potential...

Ongoing declines in biodiversity caused by global environmental changes call for adaptive conservation management, including the assessment of habitat suitability spatiotemporal dynamics potentially affecting species persistence. Remote sensing (RS) provides a wide-range of satellite-based environmental variables that can be fed into species distri...

Recent fieldwork in the western part of the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal: mainly in the coastal area north of Coimbra; Spain: mainly in the valley of river Minho), mostly in 2015, yielded numerous new chorological data, especially of non-native taxa. The following naturalized or (potentially) invasive taxa are reported for the first time from Portug...

Local ecosystem resilience to fire disturbance can be influenced by multiple factors, from topography and climate, to fire history and pre-fire structure of biotic communities. Here we investigated the factors affecting post-fire recovery of scrub vegetation in areas under Mediterranean climate affected by frequent fires. We hypothesized that, unde...

Understanding the major ecological drivers that set transitions between large biogeographical regions constitute a major issue for ecologists. Marcescent forests are remnants of the mid-Tertiary vegetation, that act as biogeographic bridges between Temperate and Mediterranean areas in Southern Europe. These forests host taxa of both adjoining regio...

Agricultural abandonment is a major driver of change in rural landscapes. Assumed to provide beneficial results to the environment and the conservation of biota, rural abandonment triggers landscape and biotic homogenization and loss of valuable species and habitats. This article focuses on the ecological effects and conservation challenges of shif...

Climate and land-use changes are among the most relevant determinants of future persistence of rare plant species in rural landscapes. We analysed the structure of populations of a rare plant, Narcissus pseudonarcissus subsp. nobilis, and of their respective plant communities against several environmental variables (climate-, topography-, land-use-...

Question Can very high-resolution colour orthophotography and digital surface models (DSMs) from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) be effectively used for assessment of habitat extent and condition in fine-scale disturbance-dependent mosaics? Location Serra de Arga mountain range, a Natura 2000 protected site in the NW region of Portugal where dra...

Two species of the genus Carpobrotus of a South African origin (C. acinaciformis and C. edulis, commonly known as ice plant), were introduced in many parts of the world as an ornamental plant and for erosion control. However, due to their exceptional adapt ability to extreme environmental conditions and their reproductive strategies, this led to th...

The on-going declines in biodiversity caused by global and local environmental changes call for improved monitoring and conservation schemes. Remote-sensing (RS) of earth surface stands at the forefront to tackle this challenge, by providing data at different spatial and temporal resolutions that can be related with a wide range of environmental va...

Agriculture constitutes a dominant land cover worldwide, and rural landscapes under extensive farming practices acknowledged due to high biodiversity levels. The High Nature Value farmland (HNVf) concept has been highlighted in the EU environmental and rural policies due to their inherent potential to help characterize and direct financial support...

To successfully protect native biodiversity from the effects of biological invasions, local conservation priorities must be established. For this purpose, fine-grained species distribution data is required but often unavailable. We present a new approach to obtain fine-grained predictions of invasion through the development of downscaled invasion m...

Species distribution models (SDMs) are increasingly used to understand rare and endangered species distributions, as well as the environmental pressures affecting them. Detailed knowledge of their distribution is critical for reporting its conservation status, and SDMs are potential tools to provide the relevant information to conservation practiti...

"Esta publicação permite admirar o Parque de Serralves para além do que naturalmente se consegue observar a olho nu, um mundo escondido, misterioso e fascinante à espera de ser descoberto e que a macrofotografia - uma vertente da fotografia destinada a captar detalhes de pequenos objetos ou de pequenos seres vivos, muitas vezes invisíveis à vista d...

Abstract Background: Coastal dunes are dynamic ecosystems, with vegetation seen as a key element in the response to a continuously changing environment. Aims: We explored co-occurrence patterns of plant species within dune ecosystems along a regional climatic and a local sea–inland gradient. Methods: Five habitat types were surveyed along a sea–...

Species distribution models (SDMs) studies suggest that, without control measures, the distribution of many alien invasive plant species (AIS) will increase under climate and land-use changes. Due to limited resources and large areas colonised by invaders, management and monitoring resources must be prioritised. Choices depend on the conservation v...

Resumo: Após ter na última década elaborado os Planos de Ordenamento da Orla Costeira e considerando que os novos desafios que se colocam à gestão integrada da zona costeira na Região Autónoma dos Açores (RAA) requerem a avaliação desta experiência, face aos novos paradigmas associados à prossecução dos objetivos de planeamento e de desenvolvimento...

Os livros vermelhos são essenciais na identificação e monitorização de táxones ameaçados e assumem uma importância acrescida quando são produzidos nos níveis hierárquicos mais baixos, já que permitem aos gestores priorizar as medidas de conservação da biodiversidade a nível local. No entanto, existem algumas dificuldades relativas à produção de liv...