<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Costa, Augusta</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Madeira, Manuel</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Plieninger, Tobias</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Cork oak woodlands patchiness: A signature of imminent deforestation?</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Applied Geography</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Forest degradation</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Fractional canopy cover</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">mediterranean landscape</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Patch size–frequency distribution</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Power-law function</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Quercus suber L.</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2014</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2014///</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0143622814001623</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">54</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">18 - 26</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The cork oak (Quercus suber L.) woodlands of the agroforestry landscapes of Southwestern Iberia are undergoing drastic change due to severe natural and anthropogenic disturbances. These may eventually result in woodland loss or deforestation, the final step of an ongoing process of woodland degradation. Monitoring changes in the spatial patterns of woodlands – especially fractional canopy cover of woodlands and/or their patchiness in the landscape mosaic – potentially enables forecasting of loss and responding to it at an early stage. We examine the degradation process in two cork oak woodlands, resulting from distinct disturbances, wildfire and oak mortality, aimed at evaluating the changes, trends and deviations of the spatial attributes of these woodlands as they move from an initial (less disturbed ecosystem) to a final state (more disturbed ecosystem). While undergoing disturbances, both woodlands exhibited similar trends of decreasing fractional canopy cover and decreasing number of larger patches. Patchiness rather than fractional canopy cover seems, however, to be potentially more useful as a signature of imminent oak woodlands deforestation, given that its contrast before and after disturbance was much higher. The structural dynamics of oak woodlands is a crucial but neglected issue that needs greater attention from policy forums working toward their conservation and restoration as well as from stakeholders and society as a whole.</style></abstract></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Costa, Augusta</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Madeira, Manuel</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Lima Santos, José</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Plieninger, Tobias</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Seixas, Júlia</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Fragmentation patterns of evergreen oak woodlands in Southwestern Iberia: Identifying key spatial indicators</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Journal of Environmental Management</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Forest change</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Forest spatial pattern</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">mediterranean forest</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Oak woodlands</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Quercus rotundifolia</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Quercus suber</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2014</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2014///</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479713007196</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">133</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">18 - 26</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Abstract Mediterranean evergreen oak woodlands (composed of Quercus suber L. and Quercus rotundifolia Lam.) are becoming increasingly fragmented in the human-modified landscapes of Southwestern Portugal and Spain. Previous studies have largely neglected to assess the spatial changes of oak woodlands in relation to their surrounding landscape matrix, and to characterize and quantify woodland boundaries and edges. The present study aims to fill this gap by analyzing fragmentation patterns of oak woodlands over a 50-year period (1958–2007) in three landscapes. Using archived aerial imagery from 1958, 1995 and 2007, for two consecutive periods (1958–1995 and 1995–2007), we calculated a set of landscape metrics to compare woodland fragmentation over time. Our results indicated a continuous woodland fragmentation characterized by their edge dynamics. From 1958 to 2007, the replacement of open farmland by shrubland and by new afforestation areas in the oak woodland landscape surrounding matrix, led to the highest values for edge contrast length trends of 5.0 and 12.3, respectively. Linear discriminant analysis was performed to delineate fragmented woodland structures and identify metric variables that characterize woodland spatial configuration. The edge contrast length with open farmland showed a strong correlation with F1 (correlations ranging between 0.55 and 0.98) and may be used as a proxy for oak woodland mixedness in landscape matrix. The edge dynamics of oak woodlands may result in different patterns of oak recruitment and therefore, its study may be helpful in highlighting future baselines for the sustainable management of oak woodlands.</style></abstract></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Facilitation of holm oak recruitment through two contrasted shrubs species in Mediterranean grazed woodlands</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Journal of Vegetation Science</style></secondary-title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2012</style></year></dates><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">n/a--n/a</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Question: Regeneration failure and gradual tree dieback are major threats for the persistence of savanna-like grazed oak woodlands. Current research has argued that the scarcity of ‘safe sites’, in particular shrubs, is the main cause of the lack of effective tree recruitment. But can different shrub species be considered as safe sites generally? Do two distinct shrub species, with contrasted life strategies, affect several life stages of tree regeneration in similar ways or do they speciﬁcally inﬂuence the recruitment process? Location: Holm oak woodlands of SW Iberian Peninsula (40°02′ N, 06°06′ W). Methods: We surveyed densities of recently emerged and surviving seedlings as well as small and large saplings over two consecutive years in 40 sites that were independently managed, comparing plots encroached by either Cistus ladanifer (a shallow-rooted shrub, forming dense populations, with reported allelopathic compounds) or Retama sphaerocarpa (a N2-ﬁxing, deep-rooted shrub that forms scattered populations) vs their respective control plots (without shrubs). To assess the effect of mature trees and both shrub species on the performance and survival of recently emerged oak seedlings, we established an acorn sowing experiment in the same surveyed microhabitats (open spaces, shrub, tree and tree–shrub). Results: The survey showed that both shrubs species had a positive effect at early recruitment stages. At later life stages, this effect weakened under Cistus whereas it strengthened under Retama. The acorn sowing experiment showed that both shrub species buffered abiotic conditions and enhanced seedling functioning similarly, but Retama enhanced seedling survival to a higher extent than Cistus. Conclusions: The two shrub species impose a speciﬁc template that is able to affect the long-term dynamics of Mediterranean oak woodlands. Cistus shrubs are effective in protecting seedlings physically against herbivores and facilitate early survival, but may compete with older stages of oak regeneration. In contrast, Retama shrubs exert stronger biological facilitation and guarantee longterm persistence of surviving seedlings. We argue that improved understanding of the effectiveness of different nurse plants and their contrasting factors is of major interest for the conservation and restoration of degraded oak woodlands</style></abstract></record></records></xml>