Los planos del concurso para la ciudad de vacaciones Playa de San Juan en 1933

En 1933 se celebra el concurso de anteproyectos para la primera ciudad turística de España. Las bases de la convocatoria exigían una extensa documentación: planes, planos y perspectivas. El análisis de la propuesta vencedora —muy sensible a las preexistencias— pone de relieve la secuencia que liga la geografía con la ordenación urbana gracias al pensamiento y a las herramientas gráficas. Primero, se dibuja el territorio levantando acta del mismo recurriendo a los diagramas. Segundo, los datos y las vocaciones del suelo se transforman en una trama urbana zonificada en el espacio y programada en el tiempo. Y tercero, la fotografía del paisaje sugiere los enclaves panorámicos y algunas de las arquitecturas clave. En este hito de la planificación se dan cita las modernas técnicas gráficas y fotográficas que interactúan con el urbanismo moderno del zoning.

Main ecological gradients and landscape matrix affect wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Mammalia: Leporidae) abundance in a coastal region (South-East Spain)

Landscape analysis with transects, in the Marina Baja area (province of Alicante, Spain), has contributed to establish the influence of different landscape matrices and some environmental gradients on wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Mammalia: Leporidae) abundance (kilometric abundance index, KAI). Transects (n = 396) were developed to estimate the abundance of this species in the study area from 2006 to 2008.Our analysis shows that rabbits have preferences for a specific land use matrix (irrigated: KAI = 3.47 ± 1.14 rabbits/km). They prefer the coastal area (KAI = 3.82 ± 1.71 rabbits/km), which coincides with thermo-Mediterranean (a bioclimatic belt with a tempered winter and a hot and dry summer with high human density), as opposed to areas in the interior (continental climate with lower human occupation). Their preference for the southern area of the region was also noted (KAI = 8.22 ± 3.90 rabbits/km), which coincides with the upper semi-arid area, as opposed to the northern and intermediate areas (the north of the region coinciding with the upper dry and the intermediate area with the lower dry). On the other hand, we found that the number of rabbits increased during the 3-year study period, with the highest abundance (KAI = 2.71 ± 1.30 rabbits/km) inMay. Thus, this study will enable more precise knowledge of the ecological factors (habitat variables) that intervene in the distribution of wild rabbit populations in a poorly studied area.

Situación del arruí — Ammotragus lervia (Pallas, 1777)— en la sierra de Mariola (SE español): Distribución y aspectos ecológicos

El principal objetivo de esta investigación es conocer aspectos ecológicos y distribución del arruí — Ammotragus lervia (Pallas, 1777)— dentro de la sierra de Mariola. El área de estudio es un parque natural de 17.500 hectáreas situado en el sur de la Comunidad Valenciana. Un mejor conocimiento de su distribución será de interés para la definición de medidas de gestión de fauna del parque. En 2009, utilizando técnicas de fototrampeo, se recopilaron 29.941 imágenes con algún contacto animal. De estas imágenes, el 0,09% de las fotografías registradas son de arruí y se ha detectado su presencia en 7 de las 63 cuadrículas (2 × 2 km) del Parque Natural de la Sierra de Mariola (el 11,11%). El periodo de muestreo se prolongó desde agosto de 2008 hasta mayo de 2010. Este estudio ha permitido integrar la información recopilada en campo con las bases de datos existentes para confirmar la colonización y la expansión del arruí en la sierra de Mariola.

Distribución del tejón – Meles Meles (Linneo, 1758) en el Parque Natural de la Sierra de Mariola (Comunidad Valenciana)

Este trabajo de investigación es pionero y original ya que nunca antes se ha realizado un estudio del tejón (Melesmeles) dentro del ámbito valenciano y más concretamente sobre la relación de su distribución con los factores geográficos que la condicionan en el Parque Natural Sierra de Mariola. Un mejor conocimiento de su ocupación en el espacio será de interés para la definición de medidas de gestión de fauna del Parque. En 2009, utilizando técnicas de fototrampeo se recopilaron 29.941 imágenes con algún contacto animal. De estas imágenes, el 0,16% de las fotografías registradas son de tejón y se ha detectado su presencia en 6 de las 63 cuadrículas (4 Km2) del Parque Natural Sierra de Mariola (9,38%). Este estudio ha permitido integrar la información recopilada en campo con las bases de datos existentes para concluir que la situación del tejón en Sierra de Mariola no es preocupante.

Colonización y formación de un paisaje agrario. El caso de San Antonio (Requena). 1750-1920

San Antonio, actual pedanía de 2.100 hb situada a 5 km de la ciudad de Requena, es un ejemplo de transformación del paisaje por efecto de la colonización humana. En 1752 poblaban esta partida dos docenas de familias de labradores, jornaleros y pastores repartidos en una veintena de casas dispersas por la campiña. La propiedad de la tierra estaba en manos de una docena de terratenientes forasteros y del concejo municipal de Requena. La superficie cultivada ascendía a uno 600 almudes de regadío y 1.000 de secano. Cien años más tarde había 730 en riego y 3.700 en secano. Este incremento estuvo acompañado de una expansión del viñedo y los cereales, a costa de pastizales y baldíos, y de una distribución y traspaso parcial de la propiedad de la tierra a manos de los colonos que se multiplicaron por diez en poco más de un siglo. Las causas que propiciaron aquella transformación fueron básicamente dos: la desamortización y venta de bienes concejiles y eclesiásticos, y la proliferación de contratos de plantación de viña a medias, mediante los cuales decenas de jornaleros lograron hacerse con una pequeña propiedad vitícola.

Aprendiendo a mirar a través de nuestro paisaje cotidiano

The way we understand landscape shows how we interpret reality and perceive everything around us. The first step in learning about concepts related to both landscape study and planning is to be proactive about how do we use our senses. This means becoming aware of the feelings and attitudes awakened by the spatial configuration of the places we frequent. Our introduction to Landscape Urbanism begins with a specific practical activity aimed at awakening the senses, with a two-fold purpose: analytical and design-based.

El paisaje, su patrimonialización y el beneficio económico

Desde hace dos décadas se viene asistiendo a un renovado interés por el paisaje en distintas disciplinas e instituciones políticas y administrativas. Algunos autores lo interpretan desde una perspectiva neorromántica, como reacción a los efectos destructores de la modernidad. El Convenio Europeo del Paisaje (CEP) estableció en Florencia en el año 2000 una definición de paisaje ampliamente aceptada y unas pautas de intervención sobre el mismo que pretenden ser el marco para las leyes nacionales y regionales de los países firmantes. El presente trabajo se propone explicar la recuperación del interés por el paisaje desde la perspectiva de la valorización económica del territorio, como externalidad que permite generar rentas. En mi opinión esa es la verdadera orientación de la CEP.

Prólogo

Prólogo al libro de actas de la Jornada Multidisciplinar sobre las Bases Ecológicas y Culturales del Oasis de Figuig (Marruecos), Oujda, Marruecos, 24 de febrero de 2012

Diet of Common Chiffchaffs Phylloscopus collybita wintering in a wetland in south-east Spain

The diet of Common Chiffchaffs Phylloscopus collybita wintering in a Mediterranean wetland (El Hondo Natural Park, SE Spain) was studied by analysing the gizzard content of 17 individuals that died accidentally when trapped for ringing. Prey availability was assessed via water-trap sampling over two winters. The bulk of the diet was composed of midges (Chironomidae), which were found in all the gizzards and represented approximately 95% of the prey. Brachycera flies were one of the most captured taxa in the water-traps but represented less than 0.5% of the total number of prey consumed. Compositional analysis revealed very strong prey selection, with Chiffchaffs selecting clumped and less mobile prey, such as chironomids, and avoiding abundant but fast-escaping prey, such as Brachycera.

Influence of characteristics of irrigation channels on the breeding bird community of a wetland zone in southeast of Spain

The “El Hondo Nature Park” is mainly composed of a series of irrigation channels and water reservoirs, subjected to various regimes of management as well as reed and vegetation control, thus creating a great variety of habitats and situations. To determine the influence of these habitats and management regimes on the local bird community, a set of characteristics of these channels and their surrounding area were analysed with a Correspondence Analysis (CA). The degree of reed development in channels and the presence in the surroundings of orchards and other reed formations were the most decisive factors to explain the probability of occurrence of reed birds and waterbirds, as well as bird species richness and abundance. Other bird species were not directly influenced by channel variables, but only by those of surrounding land uses.

The relationship between plants used to sustain finches (Fringillidae) and uses for human medicine in southeast Spain

We analyzed plants that are traditionally used by wild bird hunters and breeders to capture and promote captive breeding of Fringillidae (finches or songbirds) in the province of Alicante, Spain. The majority of plants used in songbird breeding have medicinal properties in traditional human medicine (48 different uses); thus, another main goal was to show their relationships with human medical uses. We compiled a list of 97 plant species from 31 botanical families that are used to attract finches and identified 11 different use categories for these plants in finch keeping. The most common uses were for trapping birds and as a source of food for birds in captivity. Cannabis sativa has the greatest cultural importance index (CI = 1.158), and Phalaris canariensis (annual canary grass or alpist) was the most common species used to attract Fringillidae and was used by all informants (n = 158). Most of the 97 species are wild plants and mainly belong to the families Compositae, Gramineae, Cruciferae, and Rosaceae and also have medicinal properties for humans. In the study area, the intensification of agriculture and abandonment of traditional management practices have caused the population of many songbirds to decline, as well as the loss of popular ethnographic knowledge.

Ethnobotanic importance of plants used in pigeon-breeding in Eastern Spain

Background: The importance that birds of the Columbidae family have had throughout history is visible on the Mediterranean coast. Pigeon fancying is the art of breeding and training carrier pigeons and currently, several breeds exist. The sport of racing pigeons consists in covering a distance at maximum possible speed. However, pigeon breeding has another modality called “sport pigeon”, where several males follow a female. This study focusses on ethnobotanical knowledge of native and exotic plant species that are used for diet, breeding, stimulation, healing illnesses and staining the plumage of pigeons bred in captivity. Methods: Using semi-structured interviews, we gathered information about the different plant species traditionally used for pigeon-breeding in the region of Valencia. Background material on remedies for bird illnesses was gathered from folk botanical references, local books and journals. The plant species were collected in the study area, then identified in the laboratory using dichotomous keys and vouchered in the ABH (Herbarium of Alicante University). We used Excel ® 2003 to perform a simple statistical analysis of the data collected. Results: We collected 56 species of plants (and one variety) that included 29 botanical families. The total number of species was made up of 35 cultivated and 21 wild plants. The most common were Gramineae (14 species), Leguminosae (6 species), and Compositae (4 species). Conclusions: Pigeon breeding is an immensely popular activity in Eastern Spain, and ethnobiological knowledge about breeding pigeons and caring for them is considerable. The names and traditional uses of plants depend on their geographical location, vernacular names serve as an intangible heritage. Feeding, environmental features, and genetic makeup of individuals are relevant aspects in the maintenance of avian health.

Census of breeding birds and population trends of the Dupont’s lark Chersophilus duponti in eastern Spain

We present the results of a breeding census of Dupont’s Lark carried out in the Autonomous Community of Valencia in 2011 using the mapping method and an analysis of the recent trend for this population. The population was estimated at 44-47 males, located in five habitat patches of the Rincón de Ademuz, in zones where the species had been detected previously. Density in these patches fits within values expected according to the relation between patch size and density found in the populations of the nearby provinces. Comparison to previous studies reveals that population of Valencia has suffered an annual decline rate of around 10% on average, thus the implementation of a conservation plan is required to ensure the survival of the species in the study area.

Jardinería popular en el norte de Alicante (L’Alcoiá y El Comtat): las plantas tradicionales de huertos, patios y balcones

Se presenta el catálogo y análisis de la flora ornamental popular del norte de Alicante, entendiendo por ello, las plantas dispuestas en macetas distribuidas por balcones, umbrales, terrazas, pequeños huertos, etc. La riqueza total del territorio es dos tercios superior, a la de otros estudios de comarcas próximas, superando algunas poblaciones las 200 especies y variedades ornamentales. El elemento autóctono y de introducción antigua es claramente mayoritario, aunque se han observado síntomas recientes de inversión de esta tendencia. Para el mantenimiento de este cultivo tradicional, rico en recursos fitogenéticos, ha quedado patente el papel fundamental de la mujer. Su experiencia acumulada en técnicas y modos de multiplicación y cultivo vegetal han permitido el mantenimiento del paisaje rural autóctono, confiriéndole un valor patrimonial elevado, que debería mantenerse como seña de identidad y calidad, para potenciar el turismo de interior.

Fish diversity and traditional fishing methods in semiarid irrigated system in the Bajo Vinalopó region, Southeastern Spain

The aim of this paper is to obtain a comprehensive picture of the importance of the fish fauna in the wetlands and coastal lagoons of the Bajo Vinalopó region (Alicante, South eastern Spain) and the ecological, historical and cultural value of the traditional knowledge on fishing maintained by local people. We have compiled data from different information sources: (1) the revision of historical archives, (2) personal interviews and collaborative research, and (3) ecological and water quality data. The results show that the area sustains important fish fauna diversity (17 species) and that local people have inherited a considerable traditional knowledge on fishing methods (11 modalities), on the maintenance and sound management of the water system and on the ecology and behaviour of fish. We conclude that a comprehensive consideration of all these ecological, historical and socio-cultural aspects related to fish and fishing shows clearly the value of this ecological and cultural heritage and provides a necessary base for a sustainable management of the area.