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Analysis of institutional authors

Rello, CarmenCorresponding AuthorRodriguez-Calcerrada, JesusAuthorPerea, RamonAuthor

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November 25, 2025
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Spectral indices to evaluate the physiological response of Mediterranean shrubs to browsing

Publicated to: ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS. 180 114367-114367 - 2025-11-01 180(), DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.114367

Authors:

Rello, Carmen; Serrano, Emmanuel; Rodriguez-Calcerrada, Jesus; Filella, Iolanda; Penuelas, Josep; Perea, Ramon
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Affiliations

UAB, CSIC, Global Ecol Unit, CREAF, Bellaterra, Spain - Author
UAB, Dept Med & Cirurgia Anim, Serv Ecopatol Fauna Salvatge SEFaS, Barcelona, Spain - Author
UAB, Dept Med & Cirurgia Anim, Wildlife Ecol & Hlth Grp WE & H, Bellaterra, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Ctr Conservac Biodiversidad & Desarrollo Sostenibl, Plant & Anim EcoL LAb PAELLA, ETSI,Montes Forestal & Medio Nat, C Jose Antonio Novais 10, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, FORESCENT Res Grp, ETS, Ingn Montes Forestal & Medio Nat, C Jose Antonio Novais 10, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author
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Abstract

Herbivory by large ungulates may cause important physiological and spectral changes in plants, which may serve as ecological indicators of herbivore overabundance. This study examines the physiological and spectral response of plants to recent and prolonged browsing through remote sensing techniques. We selected 30 plants from two Mediterranean shrub species with contrasting palatability: Cistus ladanifer (non-palatable) and Phillyrea angustifolia (highly palatable). Plants were subjected to three treatments: 1) no browsing (deer exclosure), 2) simulated recent browsing (clipping 30% of branchlets), and 3) intense, long-life natural browsing by deer (Cervus elaphus). Leaf physiological variables (chlorophyll, flavonols, anthocyanins, Nitrogen Balance Index (NBI), chlorophyll fluorescence, and stomatal conductance) were measured, and 27 spectral indices were calculated from reflectance data. The less herbivore-adapted Cistus showed lower chlorophyll (-27.7%), nitrogen (-26.8%), and stomatal conductance (-19.24%) when browsed compared to non-browsed plants, while no differences were found in the more palatable Phillyrea. Reflectance indices R750/R800 and R740/R800 related with chlorophyll fluorescence, were significantly lower for the intense, long-life browsing treatment in both species. Other indices such as R690/R600 only showed significant differences between species. NDPI and SRPI indices, related to carotenoid/chlorophyll ratio, showed seasonally variable responses to browsing, with higher levels in spring for both herbivory treatments. We conclude that some spectral indices related to chlorophyll/carotenoids were able to detect physiological stress from deer herbivory, with key seasonal and species-specific variations for both, palatable and non-palatable shrubs. This demonstrates the potential and context-dependent use of spectral indices for the ecology and management of herbivore-dominated environments.
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Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2025, it was in position 46/376, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Environmental Sciences.

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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-26:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 6.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 5 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 4.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 2 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/92683/

As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

  • Views: 41
  • Downloads: 23
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (RELLO SANCHEZ, CARMEN) and Last Author (PEREA GARCIA-CALVO, RAMON).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been RELLO SANCHEZ, CARMEN.

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Awards linked to the item

Carmen Rello has received a scholarship for an Industrial Doctorate from the Region of Madrid (reference: IND2023/AMB-28816 from Comunidad de Madrid) . This study has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and European Union Next Generation funds through the MULTI-SPECTRAL project (Reference: TED2021-129923B-I00) .
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