The role of saltbushes (Atriplex spp.) in arid land rehabilitation in the Mediterranean Basin: a review

1992 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. N. Le Houérou
Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 748
Author(s):  
Susana Gómez-González ◽  
Maria Paniw ◽  
Mario Durán ◽  
Sergio Picó ◽  
Irene Martín-Rodríguez ◽  
...  

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 high proportion of pyrogenic species. Here, we explore the evolutionary ecology of seed traits in the generalist rockrose Cistus salviifolius L. (Cistaceae) aiming to ascertain the role of the Mediterranean heathland for fire adaptations in the Mediterranean Region. We performed a germination experiment to compare the relationship of seed size to (i) heat-stimulated germination, (ii) dormancy strength, and (iii) heat survival in plants from ‘high-fire’ heathland vs. ‘low-fire’ coastal shrubland. Germination after heat-shock treatment was higher in large seeds of both ‘high-fire’ and ‘low-fire’ habitats. However, dormancy was weaker in small seeds from ‘low-fire’ habitats. Finally, seed survival to heat shock was positively related to seed size. Our results support that seed size is an adaptive trait to fire in C. salviifolius, since larger seeds had stronger dormancy, higher heat-stimulated germination and were more resistant to heat shock. This seed size–fire relationship was tighter in ‘high-fire’ Mediterranean heathland than ‘low-fire’ coastal shrubland, indicating the existence of differential fire pressures and evolutionary trends at the landscape scale. These findings highlight the Mediterranean heathland as a relevant habitat for fire-driven evolution, thus contributing to better understand the role of fire in plant evolution within the Mediterranean region.


2006 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 333-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ll. Fita ◽  
R. Romero ◽  
C. Ramis

Abstract. A large number of high impact cyclones all over the Mediterranean basin have been reported on the data base of the MEDEX project (http://medex.inm.uib.es). A numerical study on the impacts and interactions of baroclinic and diabatic factors is carried out through a PV-based system of prognostic equations for 11 intense MEDEX cyclone episodes occurred in different zones of the basin (Western, Central and Eastern Mediterranean). The main aim of the study is to investigate the possible similarities and differences among the selected cases of the relative weight of the considered cyclogenetic factors on the cyclone evolutions as function of cyclone type and geographical area. A crucial role of the baroclinicity over the Mediterranean zone is obtained in most of the cases. A certain distinction can be also established in terms of the cyclogenesis areas (Africa, Mediterranean Sea, and Alpine region), and between west-central and eastern Mediterranean basins. It is generally observed that the considered baroclinic and diabatic factors cooperate most strongly for the cyclone deepening process when the disturbance reaches the Mediterranean sea.


2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 754-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Angelini ◽  
A. Batmaz ◽  
T. de Caro ◽  
F. Faraldi ◽  
S. Grassini ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-521
Author(s):  
Francesco Lovino

Abstract In the early twentieth century, art dealers tailored their activities to the demands of a new generation of collectors who had turned to Byzantine art. The attention paid to Byzantium reached its peak with the Exposition Internationale d’Art Byzantin, at which more than 800 artefacts were displayed in the Pavillon de Marsan at the Musée du Louvre in 1931. This paper aims to investigate the role of private lenders to the exhibition, and particularly that of art dealers, who were instrumental in the founding of many collections of medieval and Byzantine pieces, selecting and importing from the Mediterranean basin fine objects for American and European collectors. The Exposition thus represented for them a prime occasion for the display of goods in a formal and officially recognized environment, and an opportunity to expand their network of clients.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daria Di Sabatino ◽  
Rossana Bruno ◽  
Francesca Sauro ◽  
Maria Luisa Danzetta ◽  
Francesca Cito ◽  
...  

West Nile virus (WNV) transmission has been confirmed in the last four years in Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin. An increasing concern towards West Nile disease (WND) has been observed due to the high number of human and animal cases reported in these areas confirming the importance of this zoonosis. A new epidemiological scenario is currently emerging: although new introductions of the virus from abroad are always possible, confirming the epidemiological role played by migratory birds, the infection endemisation in some European territories today is a reality supported by the constant reoccurrence of the same strains across years in the same geographical areas. Despite the WND reoccurrence in the Old World, the overwintering mechanisms are not well known, and the role of local resident birds or mosquitoes in this context is poorly understood. A recent new epidemiological scenario is the spread of lineage 2 strain across European and Mediterranean countries in regions where lineage 1 strain is still circulating creating favourable conditions for genetic reassortments and emergence of new strains. This paper summarizes the main epidemiological findings on WNV occurrence in Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin from 2009 to 2013, considering potential future spread patterns.


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