Spanish Journal of Rural Development

The Spanish Journal of Rural Development (SJRD) is a quarterly scientific journal published by the Galician Association of Researchers for Rural Development Asociación Gallega de Investigadores para el Desarrollo Rural (AGAIDERU).

Span. j. rural dev. is a multidisciplinary journal which publishes original research articles of practical application in the fields of forestry, agronomy, the environment, rural planning, international cooperation and socioeconomic issues. The overall focus is on the sustainable rural development of local populations, within identified Priority Lines

The journal also applies a policy of exchange with various scientific journals, at both national and international levels, and it is indexed in important scientific databases.

• Introduction

  Editor SJRD

  Intro Full Text Original language : Spanish

  A little over a year that a group of colleagues, or better, “adventurous” we launched a project as uncertain and, in principle complicated, as is the launch of a new scientific journal. Thank God, here we, with the publication of the number “2” of Spanish Journal of Rural Development (SJRD). All this, despite the “elements” and said Felipe II as well as what happened to Don Quixote when he saw windmills and said to his squire: “Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we could to desire, for look there, friend Sancho Panza, where thirty or so monstrous giants with whom I do battle, and take away all their lives, with whose spoils we shall begin to enrich, that this is righteous warfare, and is a great service of God to sweep so evil a breed from off the face of the earth”.
  
  Therefore, on behalf of the Editorial Board, is an honour for me to present a new number of the journal, which, of course, it will not be the last. And, he says, a good Castilian proverb that my father taught me, “well born is to be grateful”, therefore, first of all, I want to thank the institutions and individuals who have made that this project exciting continue. In this year, we have published the number “0”, thanks to financial support from the Spanish Association of Agroingeniería, the number “1” where we have the support of the Department of Agroforestry Engineering, University of Santiago de Compostela, the institution has also collaborated in the current issue. If we talk about people, of course all members of the Editorial Board and Scientific Committee, as well as others who have been there, if regrettable, his name does not appear anywhere, as they have been Lucía Rego Vázquez and Eva Barcala Pérez. I left for the end to a great friend Oscar García, author of the prologue to this issue.
  
  I do not want to say too much, only saying that the “future is ours”, the phrase is from my friend Carlos, in fact we are already working in a special issue of the journal, dedicated to the III International Conference of Yew, held in Ponferrada in the last March, and we signed an agreement with the Organizing Committee of the IV Iberian Congress of Soil Science to be celebrated next September in Granada, to publish another special issue.
  
  Finally, to reiterate once again that SJRD is a journal that was born without limitations, with an idea of the future potential and the claim of being a vehicle of exchange for the international scientific community, being our main goal, take part in the future, hopefully this is not too distant, in the database Journal Citation Reports (JCR).

• Prologue

  Óscar García

  Intro Full Text Original language : Spanish

  Rural development aims at improving the quality of life of people in the countryside on a sustainable basis, enhancing their contribution to the wider community through an efficient management of natural resources. Development strategies need to address the enhancement and adaptation of the human potential, as well as of the physical potential.  Although conditions and priorities vary from place to place, rural issues are important in both developing and developed countries.  In its document establishing the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the European Union specified as objectives: (a) improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry by supporting restructuring, development and innovation; (b) improving the environment and the countryside by supporting land management; (c) improving the quality of life in rural areas and encouraging diversification of economic activity.
  
  Existing journals specializing in Rural Development deal primarily with the socioeconomic aspects.  Without neglecting the contribution of the social sciences, there has been a need for a research journal covering also the physical side: agroforestry, environmental science, natural resource management, engineering. From the first issue of Spanish Journal of Rural Development already exhibits an impressive and truly interdisciplinary array of high quality contributions.
  
  The Editorial Board of the journal should be congratulated for this valuable initiative. It's in perfect position for leading the edition of the same, as is made by renowned researchers, located in a region where the challenges and opportunities for rural development are particularly important: Galicia in particular and the Atlantic zone of southern Europe in general. The bilingual nature of the publication contributes to its relevance, and may facilitate the dialogue with Latin American researchers. Undoubtedly, researchers from other countries will soon join to make this journal a prime international outlet for Rural Development research.
   

• The Vegetation of Altınbeşik Cavern National Park (İbradı-Akseki /Antalya-Turkey). A Synecological Study.

  Çinbilgel, I., Gökçeoglu, M.

  Intro Full Text Original language : English

  Altınbeşik Cavern National Park, where eco-tourism is very important, is located in the Western Taurus Mountains between the İbradı and Akseki districts in the east and northeast of Antalya. World Wild Fund For Nature (WWF) has identified in 1999 the 100 forest areas, which are the most valuable in terms of biodiversity in Europe and which must urgently be protected, and it has been pointed out that one of these areas, which are identified as “The Hot Spots of European Forests” and nine of which are found in Turkey, is the natural areas around Íbradi-Akseki. Within the area 9 different kinds of communities belonging to the forest, maquis, hygrophilic, rock and scree vegetations have been diagnosed, namely Crataegus monogyna-Pinus brutia, Tordylium ketenoglui-Juniperus excelsa, Pistacia terebinthus-Quercus coccifera, Phillyrea latifolia-Arbutus andrachne, Nerium oleander-Platanus orientalis, Onosma frutescens basis community, Arabis davisii-Alkanna oreodoxa, Bupleurum erubescens-Pelargonium endlicherianum, Geranium lucidum-Ricotia sinuata. Within the area, a clear dominance of Quercetea ilicis, Quercetalia ilicis and Quercion calliprini has been identified.

• Landscape integration of devices of free in fishing preserve of Cabe River, Monforte de Lemos (Lugo)

  Cuadrado, V., Cuesta, T.S., Neira, X.X.

  Intro Full Text Original language : Spanish

  All fish management policy is based on identifying what are the limiting factors affecting the population. Between these limiting factors are the discontinuities of the river system. These discontinuities are formed by small dams for irrigation. Moreover, these discontinuities genetically isolate populations and prevent their reproductive migration. In recent years, scientists are paying special attention to fish passes. This element creates a bypass that connects the area downstream of the dam downstream, creating an artificial river naturalized. In this paper we propose the use of these elements to restore continuity to the river Cabe in Monforte de Lemos (Lugo).

• Ecology and silviculture of sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) in Romania

  Nicolescu, V. N

  Intro Full Text Original language : English

  Sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) is the most important Quercus species in Romania, covering over 700000 ha. It is located in the hill and low mountain ranges, and forms either pure or mixed stands with other broadleaved tree species such as European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), common ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.), sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.), linden (Tilia sp.), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.), etc. Sessile oak in Romania is established by natural seeding following a mixed uniformgroup shelterwood system as well as by manual seeding or planting (1.5 x 1.0 m or 2.0 x 1.0 m). After the regeneration phase, lasting usually for 15-20 years, pure or mixed sessile oak stands are successively tended through a series of release cutting, cleaningrespacing, and thinning, that halt at the age of 70-80 years (sawtimber as target wood assortment) or 100-120 years (stands for veneer wood production). The rotation age of sessile oak-dominated stands depends on the two wood assortments and varies between 120-140 years (sawtimber production) and 160-200 years (veneer production).

• 
  Considerations on water resources management in Central Asia.
  

  Rahimov, O. Abdughaniyev, A., Oripov, M., Neira, X.X., Álvarez, C.J.,Cuesta, T.S.

  Intro Full Text Original language : English

  The following article analyses the utilisation and management of the water resources of the Central Asian region which is one of the most significant issues existing in this part of the world. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, countries of the region dealt with several conflicts concerning the division and management of water resources. Main cause of the conflicts is the situation of those countries in the same river basin and the absence of the signed legal agreements in advance. In the article the history and the elements causing this problem are discussed. As a result it gives some solutions according to the efficient usage of the water in respect with the points of views of the each country in the region.

• When forest private ownership turns into collective-choices property rights

  Bouriaud, L., Nichiforel, L.

  Intro Full Text Original language : English

  When analyzing the structure of the ownership in a country, usually two forms of ownership are mentioned, the public and the private forest ownership. However, due to the cultural, historical and political meaning of ownership in each country, the reference to only the form of ownership is not informative enough to understanding forest-related practices in different countries. To enlighten the content of the private ownership on forests, the paper implements an analytical frame combining both the legal and the economic approach of ownership and property rights. Using a qualitative approach, harvesting and management rights over forests are analyzed in a strong regulatory context of policies for sustainable forest management in Romania. The results show that legal constrains from forest laws may determine an alteration of the economic content of the ownership at the point that the management and decision system turned into collective-choice decision system. Therefore forest owners share their management rights on timber harvesting with the State, the main instrument for this joint decisionmaking being the forest management plan. The findings indicate that the forest owners are those who bear the costs of institutional re-organization and long learning processes.

• Proposal of Public Use Plan of the Nature Park “Monte Aloia” (Tui, Pontevedra)

  Barcala-Pérez, E., Díaz-Maroto, I.J., Vila-Lameiro, P. , Rodríguez-Campos, A.

  Intro Full Text Original language : Spanish

  The law 42/2007 of December 13, Natural Heritage and Biodiversity points out in its article 35: "The declaration of Parks and Reserves will demand the previous elaboration and approval of the Plan for Natural Resources Management Area”. According to the article 30, the competent authority of each Autonomous Community should develop and approve the Plan for Use and Management once time declared a natural space as protected. In most cases, this document does not provide a sufficient level of retail, which justifies the development of Sector Plans, among which included the Public Use Plan. These Plans are addressed to residents and/or visitors to the Natural Protected Areas, they establish a set of guidelines and objectives stating the importance played by information, interpretation and environmental education. The wealth of natural and cultural resources of Mountain Aloia joined the great pressure that produces the increase in visitor numbers justify the writing of the Plan for Public Use of this Nature Park.

• Performance of mechanical forest vegetation clearing technique and litter decomposition

  Carvalho, J.P.F.

  Intro Full Text Original language : English

  A mechanical technique for forest vegetation treatment is presented and analysed. A brush-cutting machine was used with Mediterranean-type vegetation in a forest vegetation management program to enhance wildlife habitat by promoting vegetation resprouting and grass reestablishment in mature shrublands. The performance of working time components was evaluated. Equipment components are described as well as benefits and applications of the technique. Two sites were compared in terms of vegetation composition and biomass, mechanical working performance, and litter decomposition rates. Litter decomposition was followed over a 2-year period. Changes in litter mass and nutrient content through time are evaluated and discussed. A working productivity between 3 and 4 h.ha^-1 was obtained for different site and vegetation conditions. A major reduction of litter dry mass happens in the first 6 month after vegetation cutting. Litter decomposition rates range from -0.32 to -0.14 year^-1 and the time for total decomposition ranges between 4 to 6 years. Litter nutrient composition presents the following order N>Ca>K>Mg>P. The relative mobility of these nutrients follows the order N>K>Ca>Mg>P. The estimated annual nutrient net release is about 91.8 kg N.ha^-1, 4.5 kg P.ha^-1, 52.8 kg K.ha^-1, 39.5 kg Ca.ha^-1 and 13.7 kg Mg.ha^-1 . Different litter decomposition rates and nutrient release on both sites and are discussed.

• Evaluation of the sustainability of the Araucaria araucana forest: Production, Harvest and comsuption of pine nuts.

  Donoso, S., Peña-Rojas, K., Pacheco, C., Perry, F., Espinoza, C.

  Intro Full Text Original language : Spanish

  Araucaria araucana, long-lived species, slow growing and present from the Mesozoic Era. In Chile, inhabits the mountain ranges of the Andes and Nahuelbuta. Logging and fires have reduced significantly the area of these forests. It is currently forbidden to cut, and is declared as a vulnerable species and Natural Monument, but it has slowed its degradation. The great danger to these forests today is the excessive harvest of pine nuts and animal overload, which have been growing with population growth and economic valuation of the pinion. Based on the above, the objective is to evaluate the production of cones, pine nuts predation and regeneration, in four localities of the municipality of Lonquimay, monitoring permanent plots and marked sprockets. It was counted cone production and participation, the collection and consumption of pine nuts, and the regeneration of Araucaria. Cone production is heterogeneous and synchronous between locations. There is a strong collection and consumption of nuts, related to population density. The regeneration of Araucaria is related to the collection and consumption levels. Currently, there are not mechanisms to regulate the harvest and predation of pine nuts, depending on production.