{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,31]],"date-time":"2025-10-31T07:15:20Z","timestamp":1761894920069,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,29]],"date-time":"2025-10-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761696000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"ISA Energ\u00eda","award":["503043-12"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["503043-12"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Recalcitrant species are highly sensitive to drought and climate stress, posing urgent challenges for their conservation. Propagation for ex situ management and habitat restoration depends on adequate fruit handling, yet postharvest protocols remain insufficiently examined to support practical implementation. Cryptocarya alba, a dominant tree of the Chilean Mediterranean biome, reflects this gap. Despite its ecological relevance and central role in forest planning, the biological basis of its recalcitrant behavior has yet to be fully elucidated, constraining informed decision-making on its propagation. Accordingly, this study examined the progressive breakdown of fruit integrity under two contrasting storage conditions\u2014refrigeration (5 \u00b0C) and room temperature (20 \u00b0C)\u2014over 150 days, using a multiscale approach combining physical measurements, histology, and scanning electron microscopy. Fruit weight, moisture, pericarp thickness, and cotyledon starch exhibited a significant linear decline over time. The rate was consistently higher at room temperature\u2014except for starch, which showed no quantitative differences across treatments, though the severity of granule alterations was greater. Overall evidence indicates a close association among these variables, suggesting that desiccation and metabolism-driven degradation result in the structural collapse of C. alba fruits. These findings highlight the need to integrate environmental conditions alongside complementary strategies targeted at physiological regulation, guiding the development of robust, science-based handling protocols to support the species\u2019 conservation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants14213307","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,30]],"date-time":"2025-10-30T00:50:19Z","timestamp":1761785419000},"page":"3307","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Storage-Induced Fruit Breakdown in Cryptocarya alba: Implications for the Conservation of a Keystone Mediterranean Recalcitrant Species"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-4120-5506","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Viviana","family":"Darricarrere","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Escuela de Agronom\u00eda, Facultad de Ciencias Agron\u00f3micas y de los Alimentos, Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Valpara\u00edso, Quillota 2260000, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3632-4950","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Javier","family":"Santa Cruz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escuela de Ciencias Agr\u00edcolas y Veterinarias, Universidad Vi\u00f1a del Mar, Vi\u00f1a del Mar 2520000, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-5713-8602","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diego","family":"Calbucheo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Ecoinform\u00e1tica, Instituto de Conservaci\u00f3n, Biodiversidad y Territorio, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia 5090000, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-5290-1543","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Samuel","family":"Valdebenito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escuela de Ciencias Agr\u00edcolas y Veterinarias, Universidad Vi\u00f1a del Mar, Vi\u00f1a del Mar 2520000, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-6533-5260","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mayra","family":"Providell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escuela de Tecnolog\u00eda M\u00e9dica, Universidad de Valpara\u00edso, Vi\u00f1a del Mar 2520000, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8684-5164","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mauricio","family":"Cisternas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, INIA La Cruz, La Cruz 2280000, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Victoria","family":"Muena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, INIA La Cruz, La Cruz 2280000, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9618-7185","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patricia","family":"Pe\u00f1aloza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escuela de Agronom\u00eda, Facultad de Ciencias Agron\u00f3micas y de los Alimentos, Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Valpara\u00edso, Quillota 2260000, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"188","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1472-4642.2008.00518.x","article-title":"Threats and biodiversity in the mediterranean biome","volume":"15","author":"Underwood","year":"2009","journal-title":"Divers. 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