The scientific committee of the World Congress of the International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE) accepted the presentation of a poster on the international enlargement of the Plant Microreserve (PMR) initiative, by means of the LIFE-Nature CE's funds. Co-autors of the poster presentation belong to the teams of LIFE projects developed in the Valencian Community, Minorca (Balearic Islands), Krst Edge (Slovenia) and Western Crete (Greece). This poster will be displayed in the workshop organised by Dr. Andrew Hull on the role of the LIFE funds for the conservation of the European Union's landscapes, where close to 35 presentations will be held. The congress will be done in Wageningen (Netherlands) 8-12 july 2007, and it will hold the cellebration of the 25th aniversary of IALE congresses. More information can be found at the congress website http://www.iale2007.com/. On the PMR presentation, interested people can download it during the next weeks from www.uv.es/elalum/wageningen1.pdf
Dr Daniel Montesinos (left) receives a gift from his co-director Dr Patricio Garcia-Fayos, in behalf of the CIDE's researchers, during the cellebration party of the doctorate.Dr Daniel Montesinos, formerly cooperant of the Valencian PMR programme, obtained recently his PhD degree in Biological Sciences, after a brilliant defence of his work reporting the reproductive efectiveness and resource uses in the Spanish Juniper (Juniperus thurifera). This 4-years work has been developed in the CIDE (Centre for Research on Desertification and Erosion, CSIC, Albal, Valencia) under the direction of Dr. Patricio García-Fayos (currently director of the CIDE) and Dr. Miguel Verdú. The doctoral lecture demonstrated that males and females of this masting tree seem to show a differential behaviour to employ and movilize their resources for reproductive functions. To obtain more information, please contact Dr Montesinos at daniel.montesinos@uv.es
Joan Pérez-Botella (first at right) visits SKP sites, guided by local rangers and specialists in the knowledge of wild medicinal plants. As indicated in former messages, the Valencian PMR team, represented by the botanist Joan Pérez-Botella, visited the St.-Katherine Protectorate (SKP) at Sinai peninsule, Egypt, in order to assess the establishment of a future small network of plant microreseves, focused on endangered medicinal plants. The visit was scheduled by the end of May and first days of June 2007, and the mission report is being drafter to incorporate to the documentation of the Medicinal Plant Conservation Project (MCPC, see http://www.mcpcegypt.org/), funded by the GEF and the UNEP. This mission opens the door for future collaborations and the enlargement of the PMR philosophy to Northern Africa.
