Impacts of projected maximum temperature extremes for C21 by an ensemble of regional climate models on cereal cropping systems in the Iberian Peninsula

Crops growing in the Iberian Peninsula may be subjected to damagingly high temperatures during the sensitive development periods of flowering and grain filling. Such episodes are considered important hazards and farmers may take insurance to offset their impact. Increases in value and frequency of maximum temperature have been observed in the Iberian Peninsula during the 20th century, and studies on climate change indicate the possibility of further increase by the end of the 21st century. Here, impacts of current and future high temperatures on cereal cropping systems of the Iberian Peninsula are evaluated, focusing on vulnerable development periods of winter and summer crops. Climate change scenarios obtained from an ensemble of ten Regional Climate Models (multimodel ensemble) combined with crop simulation models were used for this purpose and related uncertainty was estimated. Results reveal that higher extremes of maximum temperature represent a threat to summer-grown but not to winter-grown crops in the Iberian Peninsula. The study highlights the different vulnerability of crops in the two growing seasons and the need to account for changes in extreme temperatures in developing adaptations in cereal cropping systems. Finally, this work contributes to clarifying the causes of high-uncertainty impact projections from previous studies.

Clay-mineral composition and biogenic opal content of Late Neogene to Quaternary sediments of the Antarctic Peninsula region

Clay-mineral composition and biogenic opal content in upper Miocene to Quaternary drift sediments recovered at two Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites from the continental rise in the Bellingshausen Sea had been analyzed in order to reconstruct the climatic and glacial history of the Antarctic Peninsula. The clay mineral composition at both sites is dominated by smectite, illite, and chlorite, and alternates between a smectite-enriched and a chlorite-enriched assemblage throughout the last 9.3 my. The spatial distribution of clay minerals in Holocene sediments west of the Antarctic Peninsula facilitates the identification of particular source areas, and thus the reconstruction of transport pathways. The similarity to clay mineral variations reported from upper Quaternary sequences suggests that the short-term clay-mineralogical fluctuations in the ODP cores reflect glacial-interglacial cyclicity. Thus, repeated ice advances and retreats in response to a varying size of the Antarctic Peninsula ice cap are likely to have occurred throughout the late Neogene and Quaternary. The clay minerals in the drift sediments exhibit only slight long-term variations, which are caused by local changes in glacial erosion and in supply of source rocks, rather than by major climatic changes. The opal records at the ODP sites are dominated by long-term variations since the late Miocene. We infer that the opal content in the drift sediments, although it is influenced by dissolution in the water column and the sediment column and by the burial with lithogenic detritus, provides a signal of paleoproductivity. Because the annual sea-ice coverage is regarded as the main factor controlling biological productivity, the opal signal helps to reconstruct paleoceanographic changes in the Bellingshausen Sea. Slightly enhanced opal deposition during the late Miocene indicates slightly warmer climatic conditions in the Antarctic Peninsula area than at present. During the early Pliocene, enhanced opal deposition in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean and coinciding high opal concentrations in sedimentary sequences from the Atlantic and Indian sectors document a strong reduction of sea-ice cover and relatively warm climatic conditions. Thereby, the early onset of the Pliocene warmth in the Bellingshausen Sea points to a positive feedback of regional Antarctic climate on the global thermohaline circulation. A decrease of opal deposition between 3.1 and 2.6 Ma likely reflects sea-ice expansion in response to reduced supply of northern-sourced deep-waters to the Southern Ocean, caused by the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation. Throughout the Quaternary, a relatively constant level of opal deposition on the Antarctic continental margin indicates relatively stable climatic conditions.

Strength of the Iberian intraplate lithosphere: Cenozoic deformations and seismicity

Previous studies about the strength of the lithosphere in the Iberia centre fail to resolve the depth of earthquakes because of the rheological uncertainties. Therefore, new contributions are considered (the crustal structure from a density model) and several parameters (tectonic regime, mantle rheology, strain rate) are checked in this paper to properly examine the role of lithospheric strength in the intraplate seismicity and the Cenozoic evolution. The strength distribution with depth, the integrated strength, the effective elastic thickness and the seismogenic thickness have been calculated by a finite element modelling of the lithosphere across the Central System mountain range and the bordering Duero and Madrid sedimentary basins. Only a dry mantle under strike-slip/extension and a strain rate of 10-15 s-1, or under extension and 10-16 s-1, causes a strong lithosphere. The integrated strength and the elastic thickness are lower in the mountain chain than in the basins. These anisotropies have been maintained since the Cenozoic and determine the mountain uplift and the biharmonic folding of the Iberian lithosphere during the Alpine deformations. The seismogenic thickness bounds the seismic activity in the upper–middle crust, and the decreasing crustal strength from the Duero Basin towards the Madrid Basin is related to a parallel increase in Plio–Quaternary deformations and seismicity. However, elasto–plastic modelling shows that current African–Eurasian convergence is resolved elastically or ductilely, which accounts for the low seismicity recorded in this region.

Mitochondrial demographic history of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), an expanding carnivore in the Iberian Peninsula

Describing the genetic patterns and the demographic history of expanding species is essential for providing insights into the processes linked with range dynamics. We analysed the mitochondrial diversity of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) across the Iberian Peninsula, where the species is currently expanding northwest. A total of 242 individuals were analysed, together with nine representatives from the North African dispersal source. Haplotype segregation and strong differentiation between Iberian and North African populations confirmed the longterm presence of the species in the Iberian Peninsula. The distribution of mitochondrial diversity fitted the pattern of a historically diversified population in southern Iberia, from which the recent dispersals into northern areas may have occurred. Higher levels of haplotype and nucleotide diversities in the northern areas, together with the heterogeneous distribution of pairwise population differentiations and the weak signal for isolationbydistance suggest the existence of longdispersal migrants across the Iberian Peninsula. Sudden and spatial expansion scenarios of H. ichneumon in the Iberian Peninsula were supported by mismatch analysis and marginally supported by neutrality tests. However, the precise time of occurrence of the detected expansion remains unclear. Future studies should incorporate additional markers in order to further clarify the population dynamics of the Egyptian mongoose in its Iberian range.

The Evolution of Population Distribution on the Iberian Peninsula: A Transnational Approach (1877–2001)

Surpassing the national perspective usually adopted, the authors confirmed the existence of a pattern of population distribution common to the whole Iberian Peninsula in the long run. This pattern is clearly associated with geographical factors. These variables seem to have more weight in explaining changes between 1877/78 and 1940 than in the period from 1940 to 2001. The observation of the cross-border region has shown that proximity to the frontier has not generated any distinct pattern of population density on either side of the boundary line. The spatial coherence of the observed phenomena throughout the Peninsula and of its evolution, independent of the border between states, reinforces the importance of geographic factors in their explanation. At the same time, this verification opens up new issues related to the effect of national political and economic policies.

Chemical characterization of tin-lead glazed pottery from the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands: initial steps toward a better understanding of Spanish Colonial pottery in Americas

Majolica pottery was the most characteristic tableware produced in Europe during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Because of the prestige and importance attributed to this ware, Spanish majolica was imported in vast quantities into the Americas during the Spanish Colonial period. A study of Spanish majolica was conducted on a set of 186 samples from the 10 primary majolica production centres on the Iberian Peninsula and 22 sherds from two early colonial archaeological sites on the Canary Islands. The samples were analysed by neutron activation analysis (NAA), and the resulting data were interpreted using an array of multivariate statistical approaches. Our results show a clear discrimination between different production centres, allowing a reliable provenance attribution of the sherds from the Canary Islands.

Disclosure of Intangible Assets: an Empirical Study of Financial Corporations in the Iberian Peninsula

The purpose of this paper is to analyse, firstly, to what extent intangible assets in the consolidated accounts of seven Portuguese banks and seven Spanish banks between 2006 and 2009 are disclosed and, secondly, to analyse what the most influential factors are in the above mentioned disclosure. In order to do this, before reviewing the existing literature and on the basis of other studies on this topic, a disclosure index has been created based on the requirements related to the intangible assets as stated in IAS 38. Then, two statistical analyses have been made: a univariate one for each of the explanatory variables and a multivariate one, in which all variables have been analysed. Both analyses led to the conclusion that the disclosure index of intangible assets is 0.96, where the bank dimension and the internationalization degree are the variables that are considered explanatory of the variation of the disclosure index in the regression analysis.

Temporal variability and trends of the downward solar radiation over Europe during the 20th century, with regional focus in the dimming/brightening phenomena on the Iberian Peninsula

Proyecto de investigación elaborado a partir de una estancia en el Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, a Alemanya, entre 2010 y 2012. La radiación solar que alcanza la superficie terrestre es un factor clave entre los procesos que controlan el clima de la Tierra, dado el papel que desempeñan en el balance energético y el ciclo hidrológico. Establecer su contribución al cambio climático reciente supone una gran dificultad debido a la complejidad de los procesos implicados, la gran cantidad de información requerida, y la incertidumbre de las bases de datos disponibles en la actualidad. Así, el objetivo principal del proyecto ha consistido en generar una base de datos de insolación incluyendo las series más largas (desde finales del siglo XIX) disponibles en toda Europa. Esta base de datos complementa para nuestro continente el Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA) que mantiene y gestiona el grupo que ha acogido al receptor de la ayuda postdoctoral, y permite extender espacial (especialmente en países del sur de Europa) y temporalmente las series climáticas disponibles de mediciones de irradiancia solar. Como la insolación es un proxy de la irradiancia solar, el proyecto actual también ha tratado de calibrar de forma exhaustiva ambas variables, a fin de generar una nueva base de datos reconstruida de esta segunda variable que esté disponible desde finales del siglo XIX en Europa. Un segundo objetivo del proyecto ha consistido en continuar trabajando a escala de mayor detalle sobre la Península Ibérica, con el fin de proporcionar una mejor comprensión del fenómeno del “global dimming/brightening” y su impacto en el ciclo hidrológico y balance energético. Finalmente, un tercer objetivo del presente proyecto postdoctoral ha consistido en continuar estudiando los posibles ciclos semanales a gran escala de diferentes variables climáticas, línea de investigación de interés para la detección de posibles efectos de los aerosoles antrópicos en el clima a escalas temporales breves, y consecuentemente estrechamente vinculado al fenómeno del “global dimming/brightening”.

On the spread of the European catfish (Silurus glanis) in the Iberian Peninsula: first record in the Llobregat river basin

The first record of the European catfish (Silurus glanis L. 1758) introduced to the Llobregat river basin (NE Spain) is reported. We captured one individual of this silurid fish species (of a total of 541 fish) in La Baells reservoir on 30 August 2006. Given the low catchability of this fish species, the popularity among some anglers, and old rumours on this introduction, we hypothesize that this species has been present in the reservoir since a few years ago, despite we did not capture it in two previous surveys. The illegal introduction of this and other exotic species to other Iberian river basins should be prevented by the Spanish administration

Chemical characterization of majolica from 14th-18th century production centers on the Iberian Peninsula: a preliminary neutron activation study

Majolica pottery is one of the most characteristic tableware produced during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Majolica technology was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by Islamic artisans during Medieval times, and its production and popularity rapidly spread throughout Spain and eventually to other locations in Europe and the Americas. The prestige and importance of Spanish majolica was very high. Consequently, this ware was imported profusely to the Americas during the Spanish Colonial period. Nowadays, Majolica pottery serves as an important horizon marker at Spanish colonial sites. A preliminary study of Spanish-produced majolica was conducted on a set of 246 samples from the 12 primary majolica production centers on the Iberian Peninsula. The samples were analyzed by neutron activation analysis (NAA), and the resulting data were interpreted using an array of multivariate statistical procedures. Our results show a clear discrimination between different production centers. In some cases, our data allow one to distinguish amongst shards coming from the same production location suggesting different workshops or group of workshops were responsible for production of this pre-industrial pottery.

A comparison of rapid bioassessment protocols used in 2 regions with Mediterranean climates, the Iberian Peninsula and South Africa

Abstract. The ability of 2 Rapid Bioassessment Protocols (RBPs) to assess stream water quality was compared in 2 Mediterranean-climate regions. The most commonly used RBPs in South Africa (SAprotocol) and the Iberian Peninsula (IB-protocol) are both multihabitat, field-based methods that use macroinvertebrates. Both methods use preassigned sensitivity weightings to calculate metrics and biotic indices. The SA- and IB-protocols differ with respect to sampling equipment (mesh size: 1000 lm vs 250 300 lm, respectively), segregation of habitats (substrate vs flow-type), and sampling and sorting procedures (variable time and intensity). Sampling was undertaken at 6 sites in South Africa and 5 sites in the Iberian Peninsula. Forty-four and 51 macroinvertebrate families were recorded in South Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, respectively; 77.3% of South African families and 74.5% of Iberian Peninsula families were found using both protocols. Estimates of community similarity compared between the 2 protocols were .60% similar among sites in South Africa and .54% similar among sites in the Iberian Peninsula (BrayCurtis similarity), and no significant differences were found between protocols (Multiresponse Permutation Procedure). Ordination based on Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling grouped macroinvertebrate samples on the basis of site rather than protocol. Biotic indices generated with the 2 protocols at each site did not differ. Thus, both RBPs produced equivalent results, and both were able to distinguish between biotic communities (mountain streams vs foothills) and detect water-quality impairment, regardless of differences in sampling equipment, segregation of habitats, and sampling and sorting procedures. Our results indicate that sampling a single habitat may be sufficient for assessing water quality, but a multihabitat approach to sampling is recommended where intrinsic variability of macroinvertebrate assemblages is high (e.g., in undisturbed sites in regions with Mediterranean climates). The RBP of choice should depend on whether the objective is routine biomonitoring of water quality or autecological or faunistic studies.

Taxonomy of the genus Chamaesyce S.F. Gray in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands

A taxonomic study is undertaken of the ten taxa (nine of them specific) belonging to the genus Chamaesyce S.F. Gray (Euphorbiaceae) which are present in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands and a dichotomic key is provided. The taxonomic chacarcteristics of ecology are given. The presence of Chamaesyce humifusa (Willd.) Prokh. in the Iberian Peninsula is confirmed and Chamaesyce humistrata (Gray) Small is recorded for the first time from Europe.

Coastal salina evaporites of the Triassic-Liassic boundary in the Iberian Peninsula: the Alacón borehole

The evaporite unit (the Lécera Formation), which was formed at the Triassic¿Liassic boundary in the Aragonian Branch of the Iberian Chain, was studied at the 01 Alacón borehole (Alacón village, Teruel province), where it is mainly constituted by a thick (>e and reflect deeper water settings, whereas in the upper part they correspond to shallower water settings. The evaporite sedimentation mainly occurred in a subsiding coastal basin of the salina or lagoon type. In this setting, the subaqueous precipitation of the carbonate and gypsum lithofacies was followed, in each cycle, by the interstitial growth of anhydrite in exposed conditions. As a whole, the evaporite succession reflects an infilling process. The conversion into anhydrite of the selenitic gypsum -probably also of the rest of depositional gypsum lithofaciesstarted under synsedimentary conditions and followed during shallow to moderate burial diagenesis.

Description of a rare isopod crustacean, Arcturella poorei sp. nov. (Isopoda: Valvifera: Arcturidae), from the Atlantic seaboard of Cadiz (Iberian Peninsula)

This paper describes a new species of arcturidean isopod, Arcturella poorei, from the Atlantic seaboard of Cadiz (Spain). A diagnosis and description of the species is presented, and a comparison with other species of the genus from the area.

Presence of the alien chinese pond mussel Anodonta woodiana (Lea, 1834) (Bivalvia, Unionidae) in the Iberian Peninsula

Nota sobre les conseqüències de la invasió del mol·lusc d'aigua dolça, Anodonta woodiana, a la Península Ibèrica