Manuel Rodríguez Guitián: «In Galicia we have very little surface occupied by forests»

Alders, yew trees, arnica, natural spaces... Talking to Manuel Rodríguez Guitián about his work as a teacher and researcher brings us closer to a fascinating world. One that needs much more care than society administers.

Today, on the International Day of Forests, we interviewed the professor and researcher of the Department of Vegetation Production and Engineering Projects of the Escola Politécnica Superior de Enxeñaría at Campus Terra, a reference in the study of different tree formations, as well as in the field of the management of natural spaces.

There is a lot to talk about. But perhaps today, this thought that he leaves in the air is more relevant than ever: "It is urgent to persevere in the message that we must stop the pace of technological development (the famous "progress") and reflect, as a society, about how we will face the near future."

-Today is the International Day of Forests. What does this day suggest to you? What is the first thing that comes to your mind?

-Well, a worrying piece of evidence: in Galicia, we have a tiny area occupied by forests (a term not synonymous with woodland), and a small proportion of them have characteristics of what, in forest ecology, we could call "mature forests." Available statistics place the area covered by forests in Galicia at 14-20% of our territory, depending on the sources, although these values should be subjected to a critical review.

-Working with and for Nature. I can think of few professions as beautiful from a distance. And especially at this time, with the number of environmental challenges facing the planet. I say this from the point of view of a 17 or 18-year-old boy who right now, in any corner of the peninsula, is thinking about what to do with his life.

-Yes, it is a subject that can be discussed at length. From the labor point of view, however, it is a field that has a low valuation by the general population, mainly because the results obtained do not have a direct translation in economic terms or, in some cases, lead to the need to limit the use of specific ecological environments; another thing is that our governments are receptive to the conclusions and recommendations that we make and legislate in this regard.

In any case, the probability of success in deciding to use biological resources is very low if it is not adequately based on knowledge of their constituents and functioning. This leads me to affirm that field research on these aspects is essential, no matter how much the media and certain lobbies try to convince us that technology and AI will soon solve all our problems.

AI without knowledge provided by basic sciences (forest ecology can be considered one of them) is a house of cards. One example is remote sensing methods and automated image recognition, which have been used for environmental assessments for over 50 years.

However, even today, they do not adequately identify the distribution of ecological units and their main biological components (plants among them) at the scale required for detailed territorial planning: fieldwork by experts specifically trained in this field (botanists, foresters or forest engineers) is still necessary for their determination. Considering the degrees taught at the EPSE in Lugo, Campus Terra should be a reference center.

-One of your last research projects focused on the genetic characterization of older populations. What were the conclusions of this work?

-The idea of doing this work came from a meeting of botanical colleagues who have been working for four years (with the COVID pandemic in between) to make a review of the vegetation of the Ibero-Atlantic territories, which culminated last year, 2023, with the publication of a first volume in a series of manuals published by the University of the Basque Country, freely accessible on the Internet.

In one of the first working sessions of this group, the results of a 2017 publication were discussed, in which a review of the European species of alder was made. It was concluded that in the Iberian Peninsula, there were two groups genetically differentiated from what, until that moment, was called Alnus glutinosa (the alder that grows next to our rivers). This led to a protocol for collecting plant samples from different alder populations within the NW Iberian quadrant, to which others of various origins were added.

The results of this work confirmed the genetic originality of the alders of the western Iberian Peninsula compared to those of the rest of the European continent. This issue adds to other evidence obtained recently for the case of yew or arnica in the sense that the genetic history of the Iberian populations of certain species (possibly many others) is much more complex than was thought until a few years ago.

However, the case of the alders has a special significance since they are affected by a fungal disease imported from Asia (another example of how badly we humans are doing things), which is killing them little by little. In this situation, we know that this different genetic constitution of the alders of the Iberian W should be taken into account when making decisions about plantations or ecological restoration work on the banks of our rivers, as the importation of plant material from other parts of Europe contributes to this genetic peculiarity disappearing more quickly if possible. Something similar is happening with another emblematic species of our rural area: the European chestnut tree.

-In March last year, they presented research on the conservation and restoration of yew forests in Europe. These forests are beautiful because the tree is an aesthetic delight, but anyone would say they are also a bit cursed because of the black legend claiming that the yew is a highly poisonous tree. Does this fact hinder the conservation of these forests? What were the main lines of this project?

-The project started from the consideration that European environmental legislation (I am referring to the Community Directive DC 92/43/EEC) establishes that forests dominated by yew (Taxus baccata) are ecological environments in need of urgent protection within the EU, given the scarce representations that exist on the continent and the tendency to decline observed in its characteristic tree species in various parts of the continent.

IBADER, together with administrative bodies from other territories of the Cantabrian coast, presented a Life candidacy to the EU to improve the level of knowledge of this type of forest in the north of the Iberian Peninsula and propose management guidelines that had guided the conservation efforts that the different Autonomous Communities involved should put into practice to guarantee the future persistence of this type of forest.

Indeed, in the geographical areas where populations of this species are maintained, there is knowledge of its toxic Nature for humans (the alleged "black legend" is not such, but a complete truth). Still, it is no less accurate that it is also attributed to a magical and protective character.
Proof of this is, for example, the ancient custom of planting yew trees in the vicinity of the houses that are observed along the eastern fringe of Galicia, where it is expected that the oldest known feet of this species are located precisely in inhabited places or places of worship, such as churches or cemeteries. Customs such as these make us understand that the yew is a positively valued element in the traditional culture of this area, as is the case in many other parts of Europe.

-You also worked on characterizing the genetics of arnica populations, a valuable asset for the pharmaceutical industry. What can we learn from this study?

-The interest in this plant, once collected throughout Galicia for the preparation of home remedies and sale to pharmacists in the country's main towns, is growing exponentially in the 21st century, and its collection and cultivation need to meet the demand.

The loss of the habitats in which this plant grows naturally, due to the intensification of production and changes in use, and the increase in its exploitation, led the EU to declare it in 1992 as a protected species, on which its exploitation could be legislated so that the natural populations would not end up being depleted.

The biochemical and genetic characterization work that we started years ago showed that in Galicia, there is a variety of arnica unique in Europe, the so-called "Iberian chemotype" in the pharmacological literature. This variety is particularly attractive to companies that market it because it is less allergenic than the usual variety in the rest of Europe.
At present, we are still working on determining the genetic variability of this species to have a method for identifying the geographical origin of the material sent to the pharmaceutical industries.

-You collaborate actively with the Institute of Agricultural Biodiversity and Rural Development (IBADER) of USC. What are this entity's objectives?

-This university institute's primary mission is to promote scientific and technical research in the rural field from a holistic and sustainable perspective through two main lines: the Environmental (focused on the characterization of biodiversity, land planning and management, the application of geographic information systems and the use of remote sensors to rural development, and sustainable economy); and the Agrosystems (aimed at the evaluation of agricultural, livestock and forestry resources, soil and water resources and characterization and valuation of waste).

-Your research work and proposals on managing natural areas have been widely cited. If you had to highlight some of them, what are the main challenges that society faces in managing this collective heritage?

There is a broad consensus in the scientific community that these challenges are not exclusive to natural areas but are present throughout our environment, affecting the entire planet. To think that with a model of "reserve territories," subject to specific regulations that limit the use that humans can make of the territory to favor biological processes, everything is already solved is to display absolute ignorance.

Turning the reasoning around, if we continue to implement and spread (ultra) productive models in territory that is not declared protected, these will end up having a negative influence on the protected areas since the legal "barriers" and administrative limits do not prevent the development of biological processes. This was demonstrated four years ago when the so-called "COVID pandemic" started.

On the other hand, nowadays, there is an accepted idea, advocated among others by our administrations, that Natural Spaces are the last remaining strongholds of Nature, that they are there for humans lacking in vital experiences to expose their bodies to adrenaline "highs" and "selfies." But if we were to survey visitors to these places about what they learned concerning the natural values that persist in these spaces or the effects that certain activities allowed in them have on the environment, the vast majority would check the "don't know/no answer" box.

With this philosophy, the future could look more promising. It is urgent to persevere with the message that we must stop the pace of technological development (the famous "progress") and reflect, as a society, on how we will face the near future.

-Are people the main threat to these spaces today?

-The unregulated use of protected areas is the main problem. But for the rest of the territory, too, without a doubt, together with the lack of awareness of the consequences of our actions.

-You presented a study on the Atlantic Islands National Park in February 2022. Is the Park very valuable in terms of biodiversity? Is there anything that makes it unique?

-In this work, prepared jointly with the Park's management, we tried to present to a broad audience the values of this Protected Natural Area and its main management problems. Given the level of environmental degradation in Galicia, having places dedicated mainly to the maintenance of biological processes and monitoring their changes, which are one of the main tasks of the Spanish Network of National Parks, is essential.

From this perspective, this Park is the only reference site in an Atlantic marine area within the Spanish peninsular territory. However, politicians and specific social sectors around this area only see it as a place for leisure or to stock up on certain goods without control to trade them.

-What projects are you currently working on?

-There are several, but I can't devote as much time to them as I would like. In the short term, to finish, in the remainder of the year, a review and update of the knowledge on the vegetation of Galicia, a project in which Javier Amigo, a fellow professor at USC and an old colleague in the study of the plant world, proposed me to collaborate.

In the medium term, to bring to light information about the characteristics and conservation status of various little-studied ecological environments, such as several types of forests that are in danger of disappearing in our territory or the vegetation complexes that are part of the dune systems of Galicia, on which we are working in the framework of another European Life project. We are also advancing in the knowledge of the arnica genome and the possible identification of specific markers associated with the chemotypes already known.

-And the last one. Allow me the license, but given the density of your research in forestry, we cannot resist asking you this question: Do you have a favorite tree? And if so... Why?

-Actually, I find all living beings fascinating. Still, perhaps because of the number of hours I have spent in their shade, I find beech trees beautiful for the shady atmosphere they create, for the other species (animals, plants, fungi, etc.) that usually accompany them and for the spectacular chromatism that their canopies acquire when autumn arrives.

Unfortunately, the deforestation caused by our ancestors restricted their presence to a few places in the mountains of eastern Lugo. In our capital, we have a small group in the background of the Plaza Mayor, which replaced the old Alameda that was there, and some other feet more in the Rosalía de Castro Park and the green areas of the Campus.