Biodiversity of Archaea and floral of two inland saltern ecosystems in the Alto Vinalopó Valley, Spain

Background. The extraction of salt from seawater by means of coastal solar salterns is a very well-described process. Moreover, the characterization of these environments from ecological, biochemical and microbiological perspectives has become a key focus for many research groups all over the world over the last 20 years. In countries such as Spain, there are several examples of coastal solar salterns (mainly on the Mediterranean coast) and inland solar salterns, from which sodium chloride is obtained for human consumption. However, studies focused on the characterization of inland solar salterns are scarce and both the archaeal diversity and the plant communities inhabiting these environments remain poorly described. Results. Two of the inland solar salterns (termed Redonda and Penalva), located in the Alto Vinalopó Valley (Alicante, Spain), were characterized regarding their geological and physico-chemical characteristics and their archaeal and botanical biodiversity. A preliminary eukaryotic diversity survey was also performed using saline water. The chemical characterization of the brine has revealed that the salted groundwater extracted to fill these inland solar salterns is thalassohaline. The plant communities living in this environment are dominated by Sarcocornia fruticosa (L.) A.J. Scott, Arthrocnemum macrostachyum (Moris) K. Koch, Suaeda vera Forsk. ex Gmelin (Amaranthaceae) and several species of Limonium (Mill) and Tamarix (L). Archaeal diversity was analyzed and compared by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based molecular phylogenetic techniques. Most of the sequences recovered from environmental DNA samples are affiliated with haloarchaeal genera such as Haloarcula, Halorubrum, Haloquadratum and Halobacterium, and with an unclassified member of the Halobacteriaceae. The eukaryote Dunaliella was also present in the samples. Conclusions. To our knowledge, this study constitutes the first analysis centered on inland solar salterns located in the southeastern region of Spain. The results obtained revealed that the salt deposits of this region have marine origins. Plant communities typical of salt marshes are present in this ecosystem and members of the Halobacteriaceae family can be easily detected in the microbial populations of these habitats. Possible origins of the haloarchaea detected in this study are discussed.

Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in the Serra de Mariola Natural Park, South-eastern Spain

The present study aims to inventory and analyse the ethnobotanical knowledge about medicinal plants in the Serra de Mariola Natural Park. In respect to traditional uses, 93 species reported by local informants were therapeutic, 27 food, 4 natural dyes and 13 handcrafts. We developed a methodology that allowed the location of individuals or vegetation communities with a specific popular use. We prepared a geographic information system (GIS) that included gender, family, scientific nomenclature and common names in Spanish and Catalan for each species. We also made a classification of 39 medicinal uses from ATC (Anatomical, Therapeutic, Chemical classification system). Labiatae (n=19), Compositae (n=9) and Leguminosae (n=6) were the families most represented among the plants used to different purposes in humans. Species with the most elevated cultural importance index (CI) values were Thymus vulgaris (CI=1.431), Rosmarinus officinalis (CI=1.415), Eryngium campestre (CI=1.325), Verbascum sinuatum (CI=1.106) and Sideritis angustifolia (CI=1.041). Thus, the collected plants with more therapeutic uses were: Lippia triphylla (12), Thymus vulgaris and Allium roseum (9) and Erygium campestre (8). The most repeated ATC uses were: G04 (urological use), D03 (treatment of wounds and ulcers) and R02 (throat diseases). These results were in a geographic map where each point represented an individual of any species. A database was created with the corresponding therapeutic uses. This application is useful for the identification of individuals and the selection of species for specific medicinal properties. In the end, knowledge of these useful plants may be interesting to revive the local economy and in some cases promote their cultivation.