Susana Gómez-González

• phD Biological Sciences, Botany
• Professor (Associate) at Universidad de Cádiz

Aim Macaronesian cloud forests are insular ecosystems subjected to local environmental variability, but the responses of their tree species to climate variations have never been studied. Our aim was to assess how the variation in environmental conditions associated with the geographical location of several islands in three Macaronesian archipelagos...

Wildfires are important natural disturbances with profound ecological impacts. However, our understanding of how to restore plant–soil microbiome interactions following wildfires remains limited, revealing a key knowledge gap in post‐wildfire ecosystem restoration. To assess the restoration of plant‐microbiome interactions in fire‐affected ecosyste...

In most ecosystems, the increasingly strong effects of climate change on biodiversity co-occur with other anthropogenic pressures, most importantly land-use change. However, many long-term studies of population dynamics focus on populations monitored in protected areas, and our understanding of how climate change will affect population persistence...

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a genetically determined disorder, the most frequent cause of early onset obesity, is associated with physical and cognitive dysfunctions and behavioural disturbances; these disturbances are frequently treated with psychotropic medication. The aim of this cross sectional study was to describe the characteris...

Ambiguous information on conservation actions threatens biodiversity. Communication between science, practice, and diffusion is critical.

Large-scale, abrupt ecosystem change in direct response to climate extremes is a critical but poorly documented phenomenon¹. Yet, recent increases in climate-induced tree mortality raise concern that some forest ecosystems are on the brink of collapse across wide environmental gradients2,3. Here we assessed climatic and productivity trends across t...

Jornada sobre la Herriza: Valores y amenazas de un hábitat olvidado. Con el objetivo de establecer el primer foro de intercambio de conocimiento y debate sobre la ecología y biodiversidad de este hábitat, el pasado 15 de abril de 2023, investigadores del grupo FEBIMED (https://www.febimed.org) de la Universidad de Cádiz celebraron la I Jornada sobr...

Laurel forests are quite relevant for biodiversity conservation and are among the island ecosystems most severely damaged by human activities. In the past, Canary laurel forests have been greatly altered by logging, livestock and agriculture. The remains of laurel forests are currently protected in the Canary Islands (Spain). However, we miss basic...

Background Wildfires have shaped plant traits and ecosystems worldwide. Most research on the relevance of fire on plant evolution comes from Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MTEs), where a great proportion of the studied species have fire-stimulated germination. However, seed fire ecology is widely unknown for the woody flora of the Chilean matorral,...

Macaronesian laurel forests are the only remnants of a subtropical palaeoecosystem dominant during the Tertiary in Europe and northern Africa. These biodiverse ecosystems are restricted to cloudy and temperate insular environments in the North Atlantic Ocean. Due to their reduced distribution area, these forests are particularly vulnerable to anthr...

Ecosystem collapse in direct response to climate change is a critical but poorly documented phenomenon. By assessing the climate context and productivity trends in Mediterranean ecosystems worldwide, we found a large-scale, abrupt forest decline in Chile (>90% in <100 days) as response to a sustained, acute drought unprecedented in the recent histo...

The growing demand for timber and the boom in massive tree-planting programs could mean the spreading of mismanaged tree plantations worldwide. Here, we apply the concept of ecological intensification to forestry systems as a viable biodiversity-focused strategy that could be critical to develop productive, yet sustainable, tree plantations. Tree p...

As president of the Climate Change Conference of the Parties, Chile has advocated for developing ambitious commitments to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050. However, Chile’s motivations and ambitious push to reach carbon-neutrality are complicated by a backdrop of severe drought, climate change impacts (i.e., wi...

Understanding why alien species become dominant in recipient communities requires a biogeographical perspective comparing the ecology of native and introduced populations. The genus Centaurea (Asteraceae) is well-known in invasion ecology because several aggressive invaders, including Centaurea melitensis L., belong to this genus. We compared the c...

Understanding why alien species become dominant in recipient communities requires a biogeo-graphical perspective comparing the ecology of native and introduced populations. The genus Centaurea (Asteraceae) is well-known in invasion ecology because several aggressive invaders, including Cen-taurea melitensis L., belong to this genus. We compared the...

En este articulo discutimos cómo el cambio de uso del suelo ha afectado al régimen de incendios forestales en Chile.

Some fire ecology studies that have focused on garrigue-like vegetation suggest a weak selective pressure of fire in the Mediterranean Basin compared to other Mediterranean-type regions. However, fire-prone Mediterranean heathland from the western end of the Mediterranean Basin has been frequently ignored in the fire ecology literature despite its...

Multiple ecosystem functions need to be considered simultaneously to manage and protect the several ecosystem services that are essential to people and their environments. Despite this, cost effective, tangible, relatively simple and globally relevant methodologies to monitor in situ soil multifunctionality, that is, the provision of multiple ecosy...

Los resultados presentados en este informe son parte del trabajo interdisciplinario que realiza el Centro de Ciencia del Clima y la Resiliencia (CR)2. El (CR)2 es un centro de excelencia financiado por el programa FONDAP de CONICYT (Proyecto 15110009) en el cual participan cerca de 60 científicos asociados a la Universidad de Chile, la Universidad...

En el siglo XXI, el desarrollo de Chile está en juego debido a las amenazas planteadas por el Antropoceno. Esta época se caracteriza por la influencia humana sobre el sistema terrestre. Sin embargo, si se enfrenta con audacia, ofrece una oportunidad para un desarrollo sostenible. Independientemente de si hemos entrado en una nueva era geológica, el...

RESUMEN Drosophyllum lusitanicum (Drosophyllaceae) es una planta carnívora endémica del brezal mediterráneo del oeste de la península ibérica y norte de África (herriza), especialmente presente en Portugal y España (principalmente en la región del estrecho de Gibraltar). Esta especie es el paradigma de singularidad de la herriza por su rareza geogr...

Forest fire activity has increased in recent years in central and south‐central Chile. Drought conditions have been associated with the increase of large wildfires, area burned and longer fire seasons. This study examines the influence of drought on fire regimes and discusses landscape management opportunities to decrease fire hazard. Specifically,...

Resumen El fuego no parece haber sido un factor evolutivo relevante en la formación de los caracteres de las plantas en el matorral mediteráneo de Chile central. Aunque mu-chas de sus especies leñosas pueden rebrotar, la germinación estimulada por fuego es menos frecuente que en otros ecosistemas mediterráneos. Las señales del fuego (humo y/o calor...

The recent catastrophic wildfires in Portugal and Chile shared similar features, not just because they developed under extreme weather conditions but also because extensive forest plantations were involved. Dense forest plantations of flammable pine and eucalypt species favor the development of high-intensity large fires, threatening people and the...

In fire-prone ecosystems, many plant species have specialized mechanisms of seed dormancy that ensure a successful recruitment after fire. A well-documented mechanism is the germination stimulated by fire-related cues, such as heat shock and smoke. However, less is known about the role of inhibitory germination signals (e.g. allelopathy) in regulat...

Fire is a selective agent shaping plant traits and community assembly in fire-prone ecosystems. However, in ecosystems with no fire history, it can be a cause of land degradation when it is suddenly introduced by humans, as plant species may not be able to respond to such novel disturbance. Unlike other Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MTE) of the wo...

List of species, localities of seed sampling, date of seed collection and experiments, seed storage time, number of seeds per Petri dish (block) and number of blocks used in the experiments. NP = National Park; NR = Natural Reserve; NrP = Natural Park; SN = Sanctuary of Nature. (E) = Endemic to Chile. Nomenclature follows Zuloaga et al. [42]. (DOCX...

Statistical results of the Glz analyses evaluating the effect of seed storage time on the seed responses to the heat shock treatments across species. Significant P values are highlighted in bold. Wald-z tests were performed in the cases of binomial family and Wald-t test in the cases of quasibinomial family. Probability values (0,1) of stimulation...

Experiment on Cryptocarya alba seeds. (DOCX)

Example of differential fungal infection of Peumus boldus seeds in control and heated samples. (TIF)

Statistical results of the GLMM analyses evaluating the effect of heat-shock (100°C and 120°C, 5 min) on the probability of seed germination and survival of 21 common woody species from the Chilean matorral. Significant P values are highlighted in bold. (E) = endemic to Chile. NC = Not converged model due to zero germination only under heat shock t...

Additional information on matorral woody species for which the effect of heat or smoke on seed germination has been addressed in previous studies. (E) = endemic to Chile; (H) = Heat shock treatment; (S) = Smoke treatment; (+) Positive response; (-) Negative response; (0) No response; (NG) = No germination. See references in the main text. Nomenclat...

Excel file with the raw data. (XLSX)

Post-fire recruitment by seeds is regarded as an adaptive response in fire-prone ecosystems. Nevertheless, little is known about which heritable seed traits are functional to the main signals of fire (heat and smoke), thus having the potential to evolve. Here, we explored whether three seed traits (pubescence, dormancy and shape) and fire regime mo...

Interactive effects of fire cues and seed pubescence on the percentage of survival of H. aromaticum populations. Crosses represent plant individuals and there is one regression line per population (with different colours). Population codes in the box are in decreasing order of fire frequency (see codes in Fig 1 legend). (TIF)

Interactive effects of fire cues and seed shape (length-to-width ratio) on the percentage of survival of H. aromaticum populations. Crosses represent plant individuals and there is one regression line per population (with different colours). Population codes in the box are in decreasing order of fire frequency (see codes in Fig 1 legend). (TIF)

Relationship between the level of dormancy of H. aromaticum populations and the percentage of germination after fire cues (80°C, 100°C and smoke). Crosses represent plant individuals and there is one regression line per population (with different colours). Population codes in the box are in decreasing order of fire frequency (see codes in Fig 1 leg...

Interactive effects of fire cues and fire frequency on the percentage of survival of H. aromaticum populations. Dots represent the mean value of populations and error lines are 2SE. There is one regression line per treatment (different colours). (TIF)

Excel file with the raw data. (XLS)

Description of the 10 study sites, located in the Metropolitan County (Central Chile) and where the seeds of H. aromaticum were collected. (a) Number of fires per year, in 26 years (extracted from Gómez-González et al. 2011). (b) Personal observation of land owners and managers in relation to the fire history of the sites (modified from Gómez-Gonzá...

Correlation matrix for the seed traits included in the phenotypic selection analysis. Significant correlations between traits are highlighted in bold (P < 0.05). There is no colinearity between pairs of traits (r< 0.8 in all cases, Pearson correlations, n = 67 individuals). (DOC)

Aims Climate and human impacts are changing the nitrogen ( N ) inputs and losses in terrestrial ecosystems. However, it is largely unknown how these two major drivers of global change will simultaneously influence the N cycle in drylands, the largest terrestrial biome on the planet. We conducted a global observational study to evaluate how aridity...

Geographic, climatic, and soil factors are major drivers of plant beta diversity, but their importance for dryland plant communities is poorly known. This study aims to: i) characterize patterns of beta diversity in global drylands, ii) detect common environmental drivers of beta diversity, and iii) test for thresholds in environmental conditions d...

The biogeochemical cycles of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are interlinked by primary production, respiration and decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems1. It has been suggested that the C, N and P cycles could become uncoupled under rapid climate change because of the different degrees of control exerted on the supply of these elemen...

The biogeochemical cycles of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are interlinked by primary production, respiration and decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. It has been suggested that the C, N and P cycles could become uncoupled under rapid climate change because of the different degrees of control exerted on the supply of these element...

Is the macrolichen Usnea antarctica a ‘nurse’ species to Antarctic flora? Are positive plant–plant interactions more frequent than negative interactions in Antarctic ecosystems? Are microclimatic modifications by cushions of U. antarctica responsible for the nurse effect? Two sites in Antarctica: King George Island, South Shetland (62°11′ S, 58°56′...

Experiments suggest that biodiversity enhances the ability of ecosystems to maintain multiple functions, such as carbon storage, productivity, and the buildup of nutrient pools (multifunctionality). However, the relationship between biodiversity and multifunctionality has never been assessed globally in natural ecosystems. We report here on a globa...

Fire is a major disturbance affecting ecosystems worldwide. Phylogenetic studies have shown that the evolution of seed persistence (fire resistance) is associated with fire frequency or severity. However, the existence of specific seed traits resulting from natural selection mediated by fire remains a key question in plant evolution. We evaluated t...

The “niche opportunity” hypothesis proposes that alien plant establishment is generally driven by the integrated effects of environmental conditions, changes in resource availability and reduced herbivory pressure, but there is yet little evidence supporting such a complex interaction in nature. We evaluated the interactive effects of soil disturba...

High-elevation ecosystems are traditionally viewed as environments in which predominantly autogamous breeding systems should be selected because of the limited pollinator availability. Chaetanthera renifolia (Asteraceae) is an endemic monocarpic triennial herb restricted to a narrow altitudinal range within the high Andes of central Chile (3300-350...

Aim We tested the hypothesis that anthropogenic fires favour the successful establishment of alien annual species to the detriment of natives in the Chilean coastal matorral. Location Valparaíso Region, central Chile. Methods We sampled seed rain, seedbank emergence and establishment of species in four paired burned and unburned areas and compared...

Colonising populations do not always exhibit founder effects. Common explanations are high levels of immigration and/or reproduction, but few empirical tests have been done. We measured genetic diversity of Nassauvia argentea in terms of variation and divergence of plant populations that have colonised Volcán Lonquimay, Chile, following its latest...

Se evaluó el efecto de la temperatura y el humo sobre la germinación de Helenium aromaticum; una planta anual abundante en matorrales incendiados. Encontramos que las semillas son resistentes a la alta temperatura (100°C) y al humo, pero su germinación no es estimulada por estos factores. Otras señales del fuego deben ser evaluadas.

The effect of colonization on the distribution of genetic diversity within and among populations in relation to species characteristics remains an open empirical question. The objective of this study was to contrast genetic diversity within and among established and colonizing populations of Nassauvia lagascae var. lanata on Volcán Lonquimay (Arauc...

Central Chile differs from other areas with Mediterranean-type climate by the scarcity of natural wildfires. The Chilean matorral is highly invaded by alien plant species from other Mediterranean zones of the world, where natural, recurrent wildfires have been one of their ecological features at least since the Pliocene. This suggests that anthropo...

We studied the effect of heat shock and wood-fueled smoke on the emergence of native and exotic plant species in soil samples obtained in an evergreen shrubland of central Chile, located on the eastern foothills of the Coastal Range of Lampa. Immediately after collection samples were dried and stored under laboratory condition. For each two transec...

Several studies have revealed a variety of mechanisms of invasion of alien plant species. However, little is known on how those mechanisms and their associated effects on native species change across different life-cycle stages. Under controlled conditions, we assessed the interactions between the alien invasive species Centaurea solstitialis L. (A...

Studies performed in the fire-prone Mediterranean-type climate shrublands of Australia, California, and South Africa have shown that plant-derived smoke enhances seed germination in many species. Unlike other areas with similar climate, central Chile stands out for the absence of natural fires, suggesting that smoke may not be expected to promote g...

El matorral de Chile central es una de las cinco regiones de clima mediterráneo en el mundo, y es una región considerada un “punto caliente” de biodiversidad debido al alto grado de endemicidad de su biota. Sin embargo, el matorral de Chile central ha sido altamente invadido por especies alóctonas que proceden de la Cuenca Mediterránea. A diferenci...

In alpine habitats, positive interactions among plants tend to increase with elevation as a result of altitudinal increase in environmental harshness. However, in mountains located in arid zones, lower elevations are also stressful because of scarce availability of water, suggesting that positive interactions may not necessarily increase with eleva...

Aim To analyse quantitatively the biogeographical distribution pattern of species of the Cytiseae Bercht. & J. Presl (= Genisteae Benth.) tribe in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, and to identify environmental variables related to the distributional patterns. Location Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands, using the 61 administrativ...