Application of a naturalness index for the hills of the Tandilia System. The low hills in the Tandilia system are considered important sites for biodiversity conservation. Since they are immersed in the agricultural matrix, the hills depend on farmers' management decisions. A simple tool to assess their degree of intervention could be useful for territorial planning. We developed a naturalness index for these hills that includes the main plant communities and current productive management and applied it to thirteen hills. This index is based on eight variables: dominant native species, dominant endemic species, exotic woody species for commercial purposes, grazing, overgrazing, soil and rock extraction, crops, and intentional fire. The following five degrees of naturalness were established: Natural, Sub-Natural, Semi-intervened, Sub-intervened, and Intervened. More than half of the hills (53.84%) were linked to the Semi-intervened degree, followed by the Sub-natural (38.46%) and the Sub-intervened (7.69%) degrees. The Natural and Intervened degrees were not represented in this sample. The agricultural intensification of the region can lead farmers to intensify their management to maximize their income. Thus, the hills representing the Semi-intervened and Sub-intervened degrees would easily move to the Sub-Intervened and Intervened categories, respectively. This index is a valuable resource to know the hill' state of intervention and guide not only the farmers toward pro-sustainability decision-making but also the social actors involved in comprehensive land management.
Numerosas familias producen silicofitolitos en sus tejidos, los cuales constituyen una herramienta de importancia taxonómica y paleobotánica. Una de las morfologías producidas en dicotiledóneas son los cistolitos, definidos como concreciones de carbonato de calcio con un esqueleto silíceo. Este esqueleto silíceo puede quedar preservado en suelos y sedimentos, constituyendo una morfología diagnóstica para estudios fitolíticos paleoambientales y arqueológicos. En este trabajo se analizaron silicofitolitos de seis especies de las familias Cannabaceae, Moraceae y Urticaceae, todas productoras de cistolitos. Los silicofitolitos se extrajeron mediante técnicas de calcinación; se describieron las morfologías y realizaron mediciones a los cistolitos, bajo microscopios óptico y electrónico de barrido. Se aplicaron tests estadísticos para evaluar diferencias. Todas las especies estudiadas producen silicofitolitos, reportándose las primeras descripciones en tres especies de Urticaceae y una de Moraceae. Se describieron cistolitos de variada forma, pelos y fitolitos poliédricos, y fue posible la diferenciación, al menos a nivel de familia. Celtis spp (Cannabaceae) y Morus alba L.(Moraceae) producen cistolitos diferentes a las especies de Urticaceae y presentan una protuberancia o pelo asociado, son más angostos y más cortos. Estas características, así como las variables morfométricas medidas, podrían ser utilizadas para la diferenciación de estos taxa en el registro fitolítico fósil.
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