Integrating stakeholders’ demands and scientific knowledge on ecosystem services in landscape planning

The conflict between conservation and timber production is shifting in regions such as Biscay (Basque Country, northern Spain) where planted forests are no longer profitable without public subsidies and environmentalist claim that public subsidies should be reoriented to the regeneration of natural forest. This paper develops an approach that integrates scientific knowledge and stakeholders’ demands to provide decision-making guidelines for the development of new landscape planning strategies while considering ecosystem services. First, a participatory process was conducted to develop a community vision for the region’s sustainable future considering the opportunities and constrains provided by the landscape and its ecosystems. In the participatory process forest management was considered an important driver for the region`s landscape development and forest multi-functionality was envisioned as a feasible attractive alternative. The participatory process identified a knowledge gap on the synergies and trade-offs between biodiversity and carbon storage and how these depend on different forest types. Second, to study the existing synergies and trade-offs between biodiversity and carbon storage and disentangle the identified knowledge gap, a GIS-based research was conducted based on spatially explicit indicators. Our spatial analysis results showed that natural forests’ contribution to biodiversity and carbon storage is higher than that of the plantations with exotic species in the region. The results from the spatial analysis converged with those from the participatory process in the suitability of promoting, where possible and appropriate, natural forest ecosystems restoration. This iterative learning and decision making process is already showing its effectiveness for decision making, with concrete examples of how the results obtained with the applied approach are being included in planning and decision-making processes.     

Mapping recreation and aesthetic value of ecosystems in the Bilbao Metropolitan Greenbelt (northern Spain) to support landscape planning

This paper presents a method to quantify cultural ecosystem services (ES) and their spatial distribution in the landscape based on ecological structure and social evaluation approaches. The method aims to provide quantified assessments of ES to support land use planning decisions. A GIS-based approach was used to estimate and map the provision of recreation and aesthetic services supplied by ecosystems in a peri-urban area located in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Data of two different public participation processes (frequency of visits to 25 different sites within the study area and aesthetic value of different landscape units) were used to validate the maps. Three maps were obtained as results: a map showing the provision of recreation services, an aesthetic value map and a map of the correspondences and differences between both services. The data obtained in the participation processes were found useful for the validation of the maps. A weak spatial correlation was found between aesthetic quality and recreation provision services, with an overlap of the highest values for both services only in 7.2 % of the area. A consultation with decision-makers indicated that the results were considered useful to identify areas that can be targeted for improvement of landscape and recreation management.     

Characterization of cod liver oil by spectroscopic techniques. New approaches for the determination of compositional parameters, acyl groups, and cholesterol from 1h nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectral data

Six samples of cod liver oil were studied using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR). These techniques provide information simply and rapidly about the global features of the cod liver oil main components, showing their potential as routine techniques for evaluating certain parameters of the quality of the cod liver oil. FTIR spectroscopy provides information about the molar percentage of polyunsaturated acyl groups in the sample and also about the ratio between unsaturated and saturated structures. (1)H NMR provides information about the proportions or concentrations of certain acyl groups and also of some minor compounds such as cholesterol. Both techniques are simple and fast. New approaches are presented to evaluate the molar proportions or concentrations of some acyl groups such as the molar percentages of omega-3, docosahexaenoic, and eicosapentaenoic acyl groups; furthermore, some novel approaches for evaluating the molar percentages of unsaturated and saturated acyl groups are also given. Results obtained from both spectroscopic techniques are in total agreement.     

Anti-proliferative Effect of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melissa officinalis</Emphasis> on Human Colon Cancer Cell Line

Melissa officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) is consumed as a traditional herbal tea in the Mediterranean region. The cytotoxic effect of the 50% ethanolic and aqueous extract, determined by the MTT and NR assays, was evaluated in vitro on Human Colon Cancer Cell Line (HCT-116), using Triton 10% as positive control. The 50% ethanolic extract showed significant differences after 72 h of treatment, reducing cell proliferation to values close to 40%, even the lowest dose tested (5 μg/ml). In the MTT assay, the same extract caused the lowest cell viability with 13% at a concentration of 1,000 μg/ml after 72 h of treatment, being a value lower than Triton 10%. The antioxidant activity was also confirmed evaluating the capacity of the extracts to scavenge ABTS and DPPH radicals, and IC₅₀ values were highly correlated with the total phenolic and flavonoid content. Bioassay guided fractionation led to the isolation of an anti-proliferative compound, rosmarinic acid. Its structural elucidation was performed by HPLC/DAD/ESI/MS analysis. High dose of rosmarinic acid (1,000 μg/ml) was clearly cytotoxic against HCT-116 cells, with a significant decrease in cell number since the earliest time point (24 h).     

Comparison of DOP and DRIS Methods for Leaf Nutritional Diagnosis of Vitis vinifera L., Cv. Tempranillo

Deviation from optimum percentage (DOP) and Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) are methodologies for leaf analysis interpretation. DOP calculates the deviation as a percentage for each essential element while DRIS calculates the average deviation for different ratios that include each element. A vine survey was undertaken for 11 years in La Rioja, northeastern Spain, to establish nutritional references for cv. ‘Tempranillo’ (Vitis vinifera L.). Diagnosis of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium were performed by DRIS and DOP on the dataset for leaf blade and petiole, at both flowering (n = 684) and veraison (n = 801) with a moderate-yield criterion (3,800–10,000 kg·ha^?1). Important differences between DOP and DRIS were found when a diagnosis using the same dataset was performed. In spite of the differences, the regression equations obtained are an acceptable adjustment between both methods for phosphorus (P) and magnesium (Mg) in blades and petioles, and for potassium (K) in blades.