Festuca rubra plants maintain associations with the vertically transmitted fungal endophyte Epichloë festucae. A high prevalence of infected host plants in semiarid grasslands suggests that this association could be mutualistic. We investigated if the Epichloë-endophyte affects the growth and nutrient content of F. rubra plants subjected to drought. Endophyte-infected (E+) and non-infected (E−) plants of two half-sib lines (PEN and RAB) were subjected to three water availability treatments. Shoot and root biomass, nutrient content, proline, phenolic compounds and fungal alkaloids were measured after the treatments. The effect of the endophyte on shoot and root biomass and dead leaves depended on the plant line. In the PEN line, E+ plants had a greater S:R ratio than E-, but the opposite occurred in RAB. In both plant lines and all water treatments, endophyte-infected plants had greater concentrations of N, P and Zn in shoots and Ca, Mg and Zn in roots than E- plants. On average, E+ plants contained in their shoots more P (62%), Zn (58%) and N (19%) than E- plants. While the proline in shoots increased in response to water stress, the endophyte did not affect this response. A multivariate analysis showed that endophyte status and plant line impose stronger differences in the performance of the plants than the water stress treatments. Furthermore, differences between PEN and RAB lines seemed to be greater in E- than in E+ plants, suggesting that E+ plants of both lines are more similar than those of their non-infected version. This is probably due to the endophyte producing a similar effect in both plant lines, such as the increase in N, P and Zn in shoots. The remarkable effect of the endophyte in the nutrient balance of the plants could help to explain the high prevalence of infected plants in natural grasslands.

In the present work we determined the chromatic coordinates (L*,a*,b*) and ultrasound propagation speeds on the three spatial planes (V x ,V y ,V z ) of three ornamental granites (Aqueduct of Segovia, Spain) before, during, and after being subjected to 70 cycles of two types of accelerated ageing (typical of cold regions): a) freezing/thawing and cooling/heating (T1), and b) freezing/thawing and cooling/heating + salt crystallization (T2). A multivariate technique (Canonical Biplot) was applied to the data obtained, with the observation of significant variations between the two types of accelerated artificial ageing as compared with those obtained in quarry rock in the three chromatic *Manuscript Click here to view linked References 2 coordinates (L*,a*,b*). With regard to the ultrasound propagation speed, we only detected differences in the results of the T2 artificial ageing treatment with respect to those of quarry rock. This fact is confirmed by the estimated data of resistance to compression.

SUMMARYIn this work, the canonical biplot (CB) method (Vicente-Villardón, 1992;Gower and Hand, 1996) is used to determine the origin, distribution, conservation and pollution state of the different types of stones used in the construction and restoration of monuments of great historical interest. The stone materials (sandstones) used in the Cathedral of Ciudad Rodrigo (Salamanca, Spain) have been used to assess the usefulness of the method. The age of this monument (eight centuries), together with the surrounding environmental conditions, have especially contributed to the pollution of the stone masonries, in comparison to the same stones identified in the original quarries. The CB method has allowed us to: (a) identify the sandstone varieties used in the construction; (b) locate the original quarries of these sandstones; (c) locate these materials in the building, and (d) detect the pollution and deterioration affecting the stones in the monument, in comparison to the stones of the original quarries.

Colour is one of the parameters currently used to monitor the quality of a conservation treatment of ornamen

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