The different physicochemical and colorimetric parameters which de®ne fruit quality were evaluated in 12 varieties of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) from several localities in SE Spain, using three widely grown commercial (F 1 ) hybrids as controls. Several local varieties were identi®ed with better scores for speci®c quality parameters (fruit ®rmness, soluble solids content, pH, citric and malic acids and lycopene) than the commercially grown hybrids. These may ®nd a place in the market as distinctive quality fruits or as source material for optimal quality characteristics in breeding programmes. The correlations obtained in the overall study of the results point to the advantages and disadvantages of choosing certain quality parameters. The colorimetric study showed that the ratio between the chromatic co-ordinates of the CIELAB system (a*/b*) separated the fruits of the different varieties as a function of their external colour better than the tomato colour index (TCI).

Treatments involving vegetation thinning have become more frequent in Mediterranean forest ecosystems. Under extreme climate conditions, this practice can affect the balance between physicochemical, microbiological and biochemical soil properties, modifying the soil quality and the ability of these forest ecosystems to regenerate. The aim of this study was to use principal component analysis (PCA) to develop a multivariable soil‐quality index (SQI) applicable to the Mediterranean forest ecosystems of the Cuenca mountain range in central‐eastern Spain. To achieve this, seven physicochemical properties (moisture, pH, electrical conductivity, carbonate, total organic carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphorus) and six microbiological properties (basal respiration and microbial biomass carbon, as well as the activity of dehydrogenase, urease, phosphatase and β‐glucosidase enzymes) were measured seasonally between 2011 and 2012. Soil samples were obtained from seven unmanaged and undisturbed forest areas and these data were used to create the SQI. Subsequently, we applied this SQI to soil samples from other forests in the Cuenca mountain range, which had been affected by different thinning treatments. Our analysis showed that the greater was the canopy present in these treated forests, the larger were the average values for all 13 variables. The smallest SQI values were in areas that had been intensively thinned. Therefore, our results suggest that this SQI is an important tool for the development of appropriate measures to maintain the quality of forest soil in Spanish Mediterranean forest ecosystems. Highlights We developed a multivariable soil quality index (SQI) to assess status of Mediterranean forest ecosystems. This index is adequate to detect changes quickly in forest soil of Mediterranean ecosystems. The SQI helped to assess the effects of thinning treatments on forest soil. The SQI enabled establishment of different levels of soil quality (very high, high, medium and low).

The colour loss occurring in a paprika made from the dehydrated fruits of pepper, Capsicum annuum L. var. Ocal (control), was compared with the colour lost by a similar paprika submitted to an industrial sanitation process involving water vapour. The heat treatment resulted in a considerable greater loss of colour when the paprika was stored at 25°C in different relative humidities (0, 23, 57 and 75%) compared with the control paprika. The study also analysed the effect of adding a natural antioxidant (rosemary extract at 1%) to the heat-treated product. In this case, colour stability increased significantly in all the conditions assayed; the lower the humidity, the greater the increase in stability.

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