Floristic composition and community structure of a seasonally deciduous forest on limestone outcrops in Central Brazil

The objective of this study was to analyze the floristic composition and structure of the tree component in a seasonally deciduous forest on limestone outcrops, located in the northeast region of Goiás State, Brazil. A sample composed of 25 randomly sampled plots of 20 x 20 m (400 m²) within a 50 ha forest, was measured. All woody individuals > 5 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) had their diameter and height measured. The tree community was composed of 39 species with a density of 734 individuals ha-1; the richest families were Leguminosae (11 species), Bignoniaceae (4 species) and Apocynaceae (4 species). The forest had a basal area of 16.37 m² ha-1, with the most important species Cavanillesia arborea (3.26 m² ha-1), Pseudobombax tomentosum (2.35 m² ha-1), Dilodendron bipinnatum (1.84 m² ha-1), Tabebuia impetiginosa (1.36 m² ha-1) and Myracrodruon urundeuva (1.26 m² ha-1) occupying 61.5% of the total basal area of the forest. Several species grew on rocks, or in rock fissures or in places with a shallow layer of soil or even in litter over rocky layers. The floristic composition showed links with the "Caatinga" flora, with other patches of seasonal forests in Central Brazil and in the Pantanal, and with the Chiquitano forests of Bolivia too, containing even two species considered as endemic to the "Caatinga".

Variació temporal de paràmetres de qualitat del sòl ocasionada per l’ús i abandó agrícola del Cap de Creus

Estudi i avaluació de les principals propietats del sòl i la dinàmica erosiva relacionades amb l’ús del sòl i l’abandó agrícola en diferents ambients de la península del Cap de Creus. Per dur a terme aquest estudi s’han seleccionat 7 ambients diferents representatius d’una seqüència d’usos fins l’abandó en diferents etapes de successió vegetal. Els ambients són diferenciats entre sòls cultivats (vinya i olivera), sòls forestals (sureda i pineda), pastures (prats) i matollars (Cistus monspeliensis i d’Erica arborea) respectivament cremat reiteradament i no cremat durant 25 anys. En cada ambient s’han instal.lat parcel.les d’erosió que permeten avaluar la producció de sediments i la mobilització de nutrients (carboni i nitrogen) durant els episodis de precipitació que generen escolament superficial

Estudo de caso das levadas agrícolas da Madeira

O ecoturismo é, hoje, uma tendência relevante no Turismo Mundial. Sendo a Região Autónoma da Madeira tão rica em recursos naturais, distinguida pela sua Laurissilva, como Património Mundial Natural da UNESCO, desde 1999, impõe-se a necessidade de explorar sustentadamente parte integrante da Ilha, de que a Levada Nova, situada no concelho da Calheta, é um exemplo significativo. Temos como objetivos principais promover o aproveitamento dos recursos físicos (casas de abrigo do IGA) e naturais já existentes, bem como dinamizar a Levada Nova na vertente turística, no pressuposto de que existem condições para a continuidade deste produto turístico no futuro, tendo em vista a sua sustentabilidade económica. Na metodologia empregue distinguem-se dois âmbitos, o teórico e o prático. Em termos teóricos, recorremos à revisão bibliográfica da temática em estudo. A componente prática baseou-se no trabalho de pesquisa, efetuado no campo, a fim de reconhecer, recolher dados para caraterização do espaço e elaborar o levantamento dos recursos suscetíveis de potenciação ecoturística. Num segundo momento, os dados foram organizados, através do programa de georeferenciação ArcGis, de modo a elaborar um roteiro turístico no espaço definido. Os dados obtidos através da observação direta no terreno - ao longo da Levada Nova - permitem-nos afirmar que a vegetação predominante engloba núcleos florestais de eucaliptos e pinheiros, existindo também pequenos bosquetes de Laurissilva, onde se destacam espécies como o til (Ocotea foetens), o loureiro (Laurus novocanariensis), o perado (Ilex perado), o folhado (Clethra arborea) e o vinhático (Persea indica). Os terrenos abaixo da Levada apresentam variedade nos produtos cultivados (banana, cana-de-açúcar, batata, feijão, vinha e pomares), em consequência de uma irrigação regular e do clima. Como conclusão verificamos a necessidade de uma maior dinamização turística no concelho da Calheta, que contribua para suster a decadência do comércio tradicional e o abandono do património.

Atividade antimalárica de plantas medicinais da biorregião do Araripe-CE em modelo murino - Plasmodium berghei

Malaria, also popularly known as maleita , intermittent fever, paludism, impaludism, third fever or fourth fever, is an acute infectious febrile disease, which, in human beings, is caused by four species: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. ovale. Malaria, one of the main infectious diseases in the world, is the most important parasitoses, with 250 million annual cases and more than 1 million deaths per year, mainly in children younger than live years of age. The prophylactic and therapeutic arsenal against malaria is quite restricted, since all the antimalarials currently in use have some limitation. Many plant species belonging to several families have been tested in vivo, using the murine experimental model Plasmodium berghei or in vitro against P. falciparum, and this search has been directed toward plants with antithermal, antimalarial or antiinflammatory properties used in popular Brazilian bolk medicine. Studies assessing the biological activity of medicinal plant essential oils have revealed activities of interest, such as insecticidal, spasmolytic and antiplasmodic action. It has also been scientifically established that around 60% of essential oils have antifungal properties and that 35% exhibit antibacterial properties. In our investigation, essential oils were obtained from the species Vanillosmopsis arborea, Lippia sidoides and Croton zethneri which are found in the bioregion of Araripe-Ceará. The chemical composition of these essential oils was partially characterized and the presence of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. The acute toxicity of these oils was assessed in healthy mice at different doses applied on a single day and on four consecutive days, and in vitro cytotoxicity in HeLa and Raw cell lines was determined at different concentrations. The in vivo tests obtained lethal dose values of 7,1 mg/Kg (doses administered on a single day) and 1,8 mg/Kg (doses administered over four days) for 50% of the animals. In the in vitro tests, the inhibitory concentration for 50% of cell growth in Hela cell lines was 588 μg/mL (essential oil from C. zethneri after 48 h), from 340-555 μg/mL (essential oil from L. sidoides, after 24 and 48 h). The essential oil from V. arborea showed no cytotoxicity and none of the essential oils were cytotoxic in Raw cell lines. These data suggest a moderate toxicity in the essential XVIII oils under study, a finding that does not impede their testing in in vivo antimalarial assays. Was shown the antimalarial activity of the essential oils in mice infected with P. berghei was assessed. The three species showed antimalarial activity from 36%-57% for the essential oil from the stem of V. arborea; from 32%-82% for the essential oil from the leaves of L. sidoides and from 40%-70% of reduction for the essential oil from the leaves of C. zethneri. This is the first study showing evidence of antimalarial activity with these species from northeast Brazil. Further studies to isolate the active ingredients of these oils are needed to determine if a single active ingredient accounts for the antimalarial activity or if a complex integration of all the compounds present occurs, a situation reflected in their biological activity

Leaf anatomy as a contribution to the taxonomy of Salacioideae N.Hall, ex Thorne & Reveal (Celastraceae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Systematic review of the frog family Hylidae, with special reference to Hylinae: Phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision

Hylidae is a large family of American, Australopapuan, and temperate Eurasian treefrogs of approximately 870 known species, divided among four subfamilies. Although some groups of Hylidae have been addressed phylogenetically, a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis has never been presented. The first goal of this paper is to review the current state of hylid systematics. We focus on the very large subfamily Hylinae (590 species), evaluate the monophyly of named taxa, and examine the evidential basis of the existing taxonomy. The second objective is to perform a phylogenetic analysis using mostly DNA sequence data in order to (1) test the monophyly of the Hylidae; (2) determine its constituent taxa, with special attention to the genera and species groups which form the subfamily Hylinae, and c) propose a new, monophyletic taxonomy consistent with the hypothesized relationships. We present a phylogenetic analysis of hylid frogs based on 276 terminals, including 228 hylids and 48 outgroup taxa. Included are exemplars of all but 1 of the 41 genera of Hylidae (of all four nominal subfamilies) and 39 of the 41 currently recognized species groups of the species-rich genus Hyla. The included taxa allowed us to test the monophyly of 24 of the 35 nonmonotypic genera and 25 species groups of Hyla. The phylogenetic analysis includes approximately 5100 base pairs from four mitochondrial (12S, tRNA valine, 16S, and cytochrome b) and five nuclear genes (rhodopsin, tyrosinase, RAG-1, seventh in absentia, and 28S), and a small data set from foot musculature. Concurring with previous studies, the present analysis indicates that Hemiphractinae are not related to the other three hylid subfamilies. It is therefore removed from the family and tentatively considered a subfamily of the paraphyletic Leptodactylidae. Hylidae is now restricted to Hylinae, Pelodryadinae, and Phyllomedusinae. Our results support a sister-group relationship between Pelodryadinae and Phyllomedusinae, which together form the sister taxon of Hylinae. Agalychnis, Phyllomedusa, Litoria, Hyla, Osteocephalus, Phrynohyas, Ptychohyla, Scinax, Smilisca, and Trachycephalus are not monophyletic. Within Hyla, the H. albomarginata, H. albopunctata, H. arborea, H. boons, H. cinerea, H. eximia, H. geographica, H. granosa, H. microcephala, H. miotympanum, H. tuberculosa, and H. versicolor groups are also demonstrably nonmonophyletic. Hylinae is composed of four major clades. The first of these includes the Andean stream-breeding Hyla, Aplastodiscus, all Gladiator Frogs, and a Tepuian clade. The second clade is composed of the 30-chromosome Hyla, Lysapsus, Pseudis, Scarthyla, Scinax (including the H. uruguaya group), Sphaenorhynchus, and Xenohyla. The third major clade is composed of Nyctimantis, Phrynohyas, Phyllodytes, and all South American/West Indian casque-headed frogs: Aparasphenodon, Argenteohyla, Corythomantis, Osteocephalus, Osteopilus, Tepuihyla, and Trachycephalus. The fourth major clade is composed of most of the Middle American/Holarctic species groups of Hyla and the genera Acris, Anotheca, Duellmanohyla, Plectrohyla, Pseudacris, Ptychohyla, Pternohyla, Smilisca, and Triprion. A new monophyletic taxonomy mirroring these results is presented where Hylinae is divided into four tribes. Of the species currently in Hyla, 297 of the 353 species are placed in 15 genera; of these, 4 are currently recognized, 4 are resurrected names, and 7 are new. Hyla is restricted to H. femoralis and the H. arborea, H. cinerea, H. eximia, and H. versicolor groups, whose contents are redefined. Phrynohyas is placed in the synonymy of Trachycephalus, and Pternohyla is placed in the synonymy of Smilisca. The genus Dendropsophus is resurrected to include all former species of Hyla known or suspected to have 30 chromosomes. Exerodonta is resurrected to include the former Hyla sumichrasti group and some members of the former H. miotympanum group. Hyloscirtus is resurrected for the former Hyla armata, H. bogotensis, and H. larinopygion groups. Hypsiboas is resurrected to include several species groups - many of them redefined here - of Gladiator Frogs. The former Hyla albofrenata and H. albosignata complexes of the H. albomarginata group are included in Aplastodiscus. New generic names are erected for (1) Agalychnis calcarifer and A. craspedopus; (2) Osteocephalus langsdorffii; the (3) Hyla aromatica, (4) H. bromeliacia, (5) H. godmani, (6) H. mixomaculata, (7) H. taeniopus, (8) and H. tuberculosa groups; (9) the clade composed of the H. pictipes and H. pseudopuma groups; and (10) a clade composed of the H. circumdata, H. claresignata, H. martinsi, and H. pseudopseudis groups. Copyright © American Museum of Natural History 2005.

Essential oils from medicinal and aromatic plants: A review of the gastroprotective and ulcer-healing activities

Gastric ulcer is an excoriated area of the gastric mucosa. It is among the predominant gastrointestinal chronic diseases. The essential oils represent an important part of the traditional pharmacopoeia in many countries and have been successfully used for gastroprotection and ulcer healing. Thus, this review presents the experimental activity of essential oils traditionally used in the gastric ulcer prevention and treatment, considering their families, part of the plant studied, bioassays, and their mechanisms of gastroprotection and ulcer healing, with the aim of stimulating novel studies in the search for a new phytomedicine to treat gastric diseases. © 2012 The Authors Fundamental and Clinical Pharmacology © 2012 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.

Composição e estrutura fitossociológica da regeneração natural na floresta de restinga alta em Picinguaba (Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar) município de Ubatuba, SP, Brasil

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Vegetal) - IBRC

Espécies arbóreas que ocorrem na região do Bolsão Sul-Mato-Grossense e variação genética para caracteres silviculturais em um teste de progênies com três espécies em consórcio

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Documentação química de espécies do gênero Casearia (Salicaceae) de importância ecológica, econômica e medicinal

The Casearia genus (Salicaceae) is well known because of the medicinal use of its species. Among them, a noteworthy one is the C. sylvestris specie because it already has studies concerning its antiproliferative and/or cytotoxic activity in tumor cells. Furthermore, this specie is popularly used against snake bites, in gastric ulcers treatment and as anti-inflammatory. As well as this, there are other species from this same genus which have been poorly studied, such as the following species: C. decandra, C. grandiflora, C. javitensis, C. arborea, C. lasiophylla and C. ulmifolia. However, several biological activities have been reported for them. In this context, the aim of this project, besides of contributing to the Casearia genus studies, is to study those six species through the analysis and documentation of their leaves' chemical composition (aqueous, ethanolic and hexanic extracts), using analytical separation techniques coupled with spectroscopic techniques, such as UHPLC-DAD, GC-MS and NMR 1H, which will assist the identification of new secondary metabolites in this genus. Moreover, another goal of this present work is aiming the bioprospection of substances with medicinal and economical potential and finally promote the systematic study of some biological activities, such as antimicrobial and cytotoxicity bioassays. A wide variety of metabolites was identified in those three types of extracts, being most of them detected for the first time in Casearia genus, highlighting C. lasiophylla and C. decandra for featuring antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus.

Documentação química de espécies do gênero Casearia (Salicaceae) de importância ecológica, econômica e medicinal

The Casearia genus (Salicaceae) is well known because of the medicinal use of its species. Among them, a noteworthy one is the C. sylvestris specie because it already has studies concerning its antiproliferative and/or cytotoxic activity in tumor cells. Furthermore, this specie is popularly used against snake bites, in gastric ulcers treatment and as anti-inflammatory. As well as this, there are other species from this same genus which have been poorly studied, such as the following species: C. decandra, C. grandiflora, C. javitensis, C. arborea, C. lasiophylla and C. ulmifolia. However, several biological activities have been reported for them. In this context, the aim of this project, besides of contributing to the Casearia genus studies, is to study those six species through the analysis and documentation of their leaves' chemical composition (aqueous, ethanolic and hexanic extracts), using analytical separation techniques coupled with spectroscopic techniques, such as UHPLC-DAD, GC-MS and NMR 1H, which will assist the identification of new secondary metabolites in this genus. Moreover, another goal of this present work is aiming the bioprospection of substances with medicinal and economical potential and finally promote the systematic study of some biological activities, such as antimicrobial and cytotoxicity bioassays. A wide variety of metabolites was identified in those three types of extracts, being most of them detected for the first time in Casearia genus, highlighting C. lasiophylla and C. decandra for featuring antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus.

A Revision of Hortia (Rutaceae)

A taxonomic revision of the genus Hortia (Rutaceae) is presented. Hortia is a Neotropical genus with most of the species occurring in the Amazonian region. The species are woody, nearly all trees, with simple leaves crowded near the apices of the branches, showy broad corymbose terminal inflorescences, reddish to pink flowers, and berries with abundant oil glands. Ten species are recognized here, most of them occurring in Brazil. A key to the species, descriptions, synonyms, illustrations, as (yell as comments on the geographic distribution, ecology, and economic uses of each species are presented.

Caracterização de uma floresta estacional semidecidual em Varginha, MG. E comparação com remanescentes da região.

Foi realizado o levantamento florístico e fitossociológico na porção mais extensa de mata no Parque Florestal Municipal São Francisco de Assis, na cidade de Varginha, sul de Minas Gerais. A área tem cerca de 10 ha e é cortada por um pequeno córrego. Foram lançadas 25 parcelas de 20m x 20m e medidos e cadastrados todos os indivíduos arbóreos com DAP > 5cm. Foram encontrados 1568 indivíduos que, juntos, somaram área basal de 23,65 m2, sendo registrados 102 espécies, 72 gêneros e 42 famílias no levantamento fitossociológico e 111 espécies, 77 gêneros e 43 famílias no levantamento florístico. As famílias com maior número de espécies foram Myrtaceae, Fabaceae e Melastomataceae. As espécies de maior valor de importância foram Casearia arborea, Copaifera langsdorffii, Tachigali rugosa e Myrcia splendens. Os resultados encontrados são os esperados para as Florestas Estacionais Semideciduais da região.

Analisi dei parametri vegetazionali e dei caratteri funzionali di specie guida come strumenti di studio di comunità prative

Lo studio condotto si propone l’approfondimento delle conoscenze sui processi di evoluzione spontanea di comunità vegetali erbacee di origine secondaria in cinque siti all’interno di un’area protetta del Parco di Monte Sole (Bologna, Italia), dove, come molte aree rurali marginali in Italia e in Europa, la cessazione o riduzione delle tradizionali pratiche gestionali negli ultimi cinquant’anni, ha determinato lo sviluppo di fitocenosi di ridotto valore floristico e produttivo. Tali siti si trovano in due aree distinte all’interno del parco, denominate Zannini e Stanzano, selezionate in quanto rappresentative di situazioni di comunità del Mesobrometo. Due siti appartenenti alla prima area e uno appartenente alla seconda, sono gestiti con sfalcio annuale, i rimanenti non hanno nessun tipo di gestione. Lo stato delle comunità erbacee di tali siti è stato valutato secondo più punti di vista. E’ stata fatta una caratterizzazione vegetazionale dei siti, mediante rilievo lineare secondo la metodologia Daget-Poissonet, permettendo una prima valutazione relativa al numero di specie presenti e alla loro abbondanza all’interno della comunità vegetale, determinando i Contributi Specifici delle famiglie principali e delle specie dominanti (B. pinnatum, B. erectus e D. glomerata). La produttività è stata calcolata utilizzando un indice di qualità foraggera, il Valore Pastorale, e con la determinazione della produzione di Fitomassa totale, Fitomassa fotosintetizzante e Necromassa. A questo proposito sono state trovate correlazioni negative tra la presenza di Graminacee, in particolare di B. pinnatum, e i Contributi Specifici delle altre specie, soprattutto a causa dello spesso strato di fitomassa e necromassa prodotto dallo stesso B. pinnatum che impedisce meccanicamente l’insediamento e la crescita di altre piante. E’ stata inoltre approfonditamente sviluppata un terza caratterizzazione, che si propone di quantificare la diversità funzionale dei siti medesimi, interpretando le risposte della vegetazione a fattori globali di cambiamento, sia abiotici che biotici, per cogliere gli effetti delle variazioni ambientali in atto sulla comunità, e più in generale, sull’intero ecosistema. In particolare, nello studio condotto, sono stati proposti alcuni caratteri funzionali, cosiddetti functional traits, scelti perché correlati all’acquisizione e alla conservazione delle risorse, e quindi al trade-off dei nutrienti all’interno della pianta, ossia: Superficie Fogliare Specifica, SLA, Tenore di Sostanza Secca, LDMC, Concentrazione di Azoto Fogliare, LNC, Contenuto in Fibra, LFC, separato nelle componenti di Emicellulosa, Cellulosa, Lignina e Ceneri. Questi caratteri sono stati misurati in relazione a tre specie dominanti: B. pinnatum, B. erectus e D. glomerata. Si tratta di specie comunemente presenti nelle praterie semi-mesofile dell’Appennino Settentrionale, ma caratterizzate da differenti proprietà ecologiche e adattative: B. pinnatum e B. erectus sono considerati competitori stress-toleranti, tipicamente di ambienti poveri di risorse, mentre D. glomerata, è una specie più mesofila, caratteristica di ambienti produttivi. Attraverso l’analisi dei traits in riferimento alle diverse strategie di queste specie, sono stati descritti specifici adattamenti alle variazioni delle condizioni ambientali, ed in particolare in risposta al periodo di stress durante l’estate dovuto a deficit idrico e in risposta alla diversa modalità di gestione dei siti, ossia alla pratica o meno dello sfalcio annuale. Tra i caratteri funzionali esaminati, è stato identificato LDMC come il migliore per descrivere le specie, in quanto più facilmente misurabile, meno variabile, e direttamente correlato con altri traits come SLA e le componenti della fibra. E’ stato quindi proposto il calcolo di un indice globale per caratterizzare i siti in esame, che tenesse conto di tutti questi aspetti, riunendo insieme sia i parametri di tipo vegetativo e produttivo, che i parametri funzionali. Tale indice ha permesso di disporre i siti lungo un gradiente e di cogliere differenti risposte in relazione a variazioni stagionali tra primavera o autunno e in relazione al tipo di gestione, valutando le posizioni occupate dai siti stessi e la modalità dei loro eventuali spostamenti lungo questo gradiente. Al fine di chiarire se le variazioni dei traits rilevate fossero dovute ad adattamento fenotipico dei singoli individui alle condizioni ambientali, o piuttosto fossero dovute a differenziazione genotipica tra popolazioni cresciute in siti diversi, è stato proposto un esperimento in condizioni controllate. All’interno di un’area naturale in UK, le Chiltern Hills, sono stati selezionati cinque siti, caratterizzati da diverse età di abbandono: Bradenham Road MaiColtivato e Small Dean MaiColtivato, di cui non si conosce storia di coltivazione, caratterizzati rispettivamente da vegetazione arborea e arbustiva prevalente, Butterfly Bank 1970, non più coltivato dal 1970, oggi prateria seminaturale occasionalmente pascolata, Park Wood 2001, non più coltivato dal 2001, oggi prateria seminaturale mantenuta con sfalcio annuale, e infine Manor Farm Coltivato, attualmente arato e coltivato. L’esperimento è stato condotto facendo crescere i semi delle tre specie più comuni, B. sylvaticum, D. glomerata e H. lanatus provenienti dai primi quattro siti, e semi delle stesse specie acquistati commercialmente, nei cinque differenti tipi di suolo dei medesimi siti. Sono stati misurati quattro caratteri funzionali: Massa Radicale Secca (DRM), Massa Epigea Secca (DBM), Superficie Fogliare Secca (SLA) e Tenore di Sostanza Secca (LDMC). I risultati ottenuti hanno evidenziato che ci sono significative differenze tra le popolazioni di una stessa specie ma con diversa provenienza, e tra individui appartenenti alla stessa popolazione se fatti crescere in suoli diversi. Tuttavia, queste differenze, sembrano essere dovute ad adattamenti locali legati alla presenza di nutrienti, in particolare N e P, nel suolo piuttosto che a sostanziali variazioni genotipiche tra popolazioni. Anche per questi siti è stato costruito un gradiente sulla base dei quattro caratteri funzionali analizzati. La disposizione dei siti lungo il gradiente ha evidenziato tre gruppi distinti: i siti più giovani, Park Wood 2001 e Manor Farm Coltivato, nettamente separati da Butterfly Bank 1970, e seguiti infine da Small Dean MaiColtivato e Bradenham Road MaiColtivato. L’applicazione di un indice così proposto potrebbe rivelarsi un utile strumento per descrivere ed indagare lo stato della prateria e dei processi evolutivi in atto, al fine di meglio comprendere e dominare tali dinamiche per proporre sistemi di gestione che ne consentano la conservazione anche in assenza delle tradizionali cure colturali.

1200 years of decadal-scale variability of Mediterranean vegetation and climate at Pantelleria Island, Italy

A new sedimentary sequence from Lago di Venere on Pantelleria Island, located in the Strait of Sicily between Tunisia and Sicily was recovered. The lake is located in the coastal infra-Mediterranean vegetation belt at 2 m a.s.l. Pollen, charcoal and sedimentological analyses are used to explore linkages among vegetation, fire and climate at a decadal scale over the past 1200 years. A dry period from ad 800 to 1000 that corresponds to the ‘Medieval Warm Period’ (WMP) is inferred from sedimentological analysis. The high content of carbonate recorded in this period suggests a dry phase, when the ratio of evaporation/precipitation was high. During this period the island was dominated by thermophilous and drought-tolerant taxa, such as Quercus ilex, Olea, Pistacia and Juniperus. A marked shift in the sediment properties is recorded at ad 1000, when carbonate content became very low suggesting wetter conditions until ad 1850–1900. Broadly, this period coincides with the ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA), which was characterized by wetter and colder conditions in Europe. During this time rather mesic conifers (i.e. Pinus pinaster), shrubs and herbs (e.g. Erica arborea and Selaginella denticulata) expanded, whereas more drought-adapted species (e.g. Q. ilex) declined. Charcoal data suggest enhanced fire activity during the LIA probably as a consequence of anthropogenic burning and/or more flammable fuel (e.g. resinous Pinus biomass). The last century was characterized by a shift to high carbonate content, indicating a change towards drier conditions, and re-expansion of Q. ilex and Olea. The post-LIA warming is in agreement with historical documents and meteorological time series. Vegetation dynamics were co-determined by agricultural activities on the island. Anthropogenic indicators (e.g. Cerealia-type, Sporormiella) reveal the importance of crops and grazing on the island. Our pollen data suggest that extensive logging caused the local extinction of deciduous Quercus pubescens around ad1750.