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Context: Mediterranean landscapes are undergoing severe transformations (land-use change and homogenization) that threatens biodiversity and the services these ecosystems provide. These effects can differ amongst biodiversity facets (plants vs. birds, taxonomic vs. functional) and ecosystem functions (e.g., seed dispersal, forest regeneration, pest control), although these are still poorly understood in Mediterranean landscapes. Objectives: Our study aims at understanding how Mediterranean landscape characteristics and land use (tree croplands, shrublands and pine, oak and mixed forest) affect the diversity of birds and plants, and how these changes in biodiversity could affect ecosystem functioning. Methods: In 2020–2021, we sampled 49 (5 × 5 m) plots in South-eastern Spain and from five different land uses: tree croplands, shrublands, and pine, oak and mixed forests. We measured land use, habitat diversity and size, together with birds and plant diversity. We assessed both direct and indirect (via bird and plant diversity) effects of landscape characteristics on 6 different ecosystem functions related to forest regeneration, predation, herbivory or aboveground biomass, which imply interactions between birds, plants and their environment. Results: Plant communities responded mainly to local features (land use), whereas birds did so to habitat size and landscape diversity (within 500 m radius). Seed and caterpillar predation were more affected by bird's diversity, whereas regeneration capacity of woody species was driven by both plants and birds. Land use was amongst the most important drivers of all measured functions, with generally higher functioning levels in oak and mixed forests than in the rest of land uses. Conclusions: Our results emphasize the complementary information obtained when considering multiple biodiversity facets in studying the consequences of landscape transformation. We also show that these multiple biodiversity changes can be as important as those of land-use or landscape characteristics for ecosystem functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drylands cover ~41% of the terrestrial surface. In these water-limited ecosystems, soil moisture contributes to multiple hydrological processes and is a crucial determinant of the activity and performance of above- and belowground organisms and of the ecosystem processes that rely on them. Thus, an accurate characterisation of the temporal dynamics of soil moisture is critical to improve our understanding of how dryland ecosystems function and are responding to ongoing climate change. Furthermore, it may help improve climatic forecasts and drought monitoring. Here we present the MOISCRUST dataset, a long-term (2006–2020) soil moisture dataset at a sub-daily resolution from five different microsites (vascular plants and biocrusts) in a Mediterranean semiarid dryland located in Central Spain. MOISCRUST is a unique dataset for improving our understanding on how both vascular plants and biocrusts determine soil water dynamics in drylands, and thus to better assess their hydrological impacts and responses to ongoing climate change. Measurement(s) soil moisture Technology Type(s) soil moisture sensors Factor Type(s) temporal interval Sample Characteristic - Environment semi-arid grassland Sample Characteristic - Location Central Spain Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16951723 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the high relevance of communities dominated by lichens, mosses and cyanobacteria living on the soil surface (biocrusts) for ecosystem functioning in drylands, no study to date has investigated the decomposition of biocrust-forming lichen litter in situ. Thus, we do not know whether the drivers of its decomposition are similar to those for plant litter (for example, importance of abiotic degradation through UV radiation), the magnitude of lichen decomposition rates and whether they will be affected by ongoing climate change. Here we report the results from a litter decomposition experiment carried out with two biocrust-forming lichens (Diploschistes diacapsis and Cladonia convoluta) that differ in litter chemical quality (C:N ratio) in central Spain. We evaluated how lichen decomposition was affected by warming, rainfall exclusion and their combination. We also manipulated the incidence of UV radiation using mesh material that blocked 10% or 90% of incoming UV radiation. Our results indicate that lichens decompose as fast as some plants typical of the study area (k ~ 0.3 y−1). We observed differences among the species studied in line with what is expected according to their chemical composition. Warming increased decomposition rates of both lichen species by 28% and mediated the effects of photodegradation. Although UV exposure accelerated the decomposition of D. diacapsis, it slowed that of C. convoluta. Our results indicate that biocrust-forming lichens can decompose in the field at a rate similar to that of vascular plants and that this process will be affected by warming. The findings presented emphasize the need of considering biocrusts and the decomposition of their tissues when honing ecosystem models aiming to forecast carbon cycling responses to climate change in drylands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aedes albopictus mosquitoes have been experimentally demonstrated to be a competent vector for Zika virus (ZIKV) in different countries, but there are still some gaps related to the importance of Ae. albopictus in ZIKV transmission. Recent studies on Spanish Ae. albopictus populations showed controversial results for ZIKV transmission and no studies have been performed yet to detect infectious ZIKV in saliva of progeny of infected female mosquitoes. Herein, the horizontal transmission (HT) and vertical transmission (VT) of ZIKV in field-collected Ae. albopictus mosquitoes from Spain were evaluated for ZIKV strains (African I and Asian lineages) to better estimate the risk of ZIKV transmission by Ae. albopictus . The two field-collected Ae. albopictus populations assayed were infected by all tested ZIKV strains, however differences in terms of vector competence were detected depending on strain-population combination. Moreover, a higher susceptibility to the African I lineage strain than to the Asian lineage strain was observed in both mosquito populations. On the other hand, VT was demonstrated for both ZIKV lineages, detecting the virus in both males and females of the progeny of infected females, although importantly ZIKV dissemination and transmission were not detected in the infected females from the offspring. The results of the present study demonstrate that Spanish Ae. albopictus populations could sustain virus transmission in case of ZIKV introduction, but VT would play a poor role in the ZIKV epidemiology. Overall, our results provide helpful information to health authorities to establish efficient surveillance and vector control programmes for ZIKV.