LEIVA MORALES , María José

Los objetivos son determinar si son los factores físicos del medio o las fuertes presiones de pastoreo las causas principales de la escasez de gramíneas perennes en los pastos mediterráneos, centrándonos en los de la sierra norte de Sevilla. Se estudia la respuesta a la disponibilidad de recursos en perennes representativas (Phalaris aquatica y...

Hydrothermal carbonization and dry pyrolysis transform sewage sludge (SS) into nitrogen- (N) and phosphorus- (P) rich hydrochars (Hyd) and pyrochars (Py), respectively, which may act as slow-release fertilizers with carbon (C) sequestration potential. Whereas this has been mostly studied with short-term experiments, this study focused on the...

This study aims to determine whether the application of cattle manure and associated bioturbation by dung beetles and other invertebrates can increase oak seedling establishment in the high biodiversity Mediterranean silvopastoral systems known as "dehesas", which are comprised of scattered oaks and a grassland layer and are used for livestock...

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Se estudia el efecto del pastoreo sobre la composición del pasto, la frecuencia de plantas y suelo (descubierto y/o cubierto de acículas de pino), la producción, la biomasa acumulada y el tamaño del banco de semillas, en tres tipos de vegetación (alcornocal adehesado, pinar adehesado y pinar con sotobosque de matorral y claros herbáceos) en una...

Variance in edibility among plant genotypes is expected to be a key driver of plant genetic diversity (PGD) effects on abundance of insect herbivores and resulting herbivory. Yet, herbivore foraging behavior and leaf consumption may be also context-dependent and, in particular, influenced by herbivore density, which remains unexplored. We used...

Se ha estudiado la depredación o infección de bellotas de encina por insectos y la depredación de bellotas y plántulas por vertebrados. También se ha estudiado la germinación de las bellotas en suelos de dehesas y de monte y la supervivencia de las plántulas en distintos ambientes (dehesa y monte). Los resultados indican que la infección de...

Many plant species are being threatened by increasingly drought conditions due to current climate change at planetary scale. This global trend is leading to the scientific community to investigate the potential role of local adaptations through intraspecific differences in functional traits that may boost conservation strategies by modulating...

Iberian holm oak meadows are savannah-like ecosystems that result from traditional silvo-pastoral practices. However, such traditional uses are declining, driving changes in the typical tree—open grassland structure of these systems. Yet, there are no studies integrating the whole ecosystem—including the arboreal and the herbaceous layer—as...

The introduction of exotic species to new regions offers opportunities to test fundamental questions in ecology, such as the context-dependency of community structure and assembly. Annual grasslands provide a model system of a major unidirectional introduction of plant species from Europe to North America. We compared the community structure of...