Jan 11, 2021 16:34
3 yrs ago
35 viewers *
Spanish term

tesela

Spanish to English Science Environment & Ecology Conservation status
I'm translating a document which is discussing the conservation status of the dehesa in Extremadura, mostly in terms of trees and shrubs, and it uses the term "tesela" regularly throughout the document, seemingly to refer to dividing up the land into sections for analysis. I can find numerous examples of the term used within this context in Spanish, but I'm really struggling to find the correct equivalent English term. I can see that someone else has asked this question on Proz previously, and the term agreed on was "tessera". However, I have my doubts as I really don't get any reliable hits when I search for this term within the context of conservation. Here are some example sentences that include the term:

Metodología del estado de conservación a nivel de tesela combinando los estados de conservación arbolado y de arbustos.

Indice de estructura poblacional de árboles a nivel de tesela.

El hábitat 6310, Dehesas perennifolias de Quercus spp en Extremadura comprende una superficie total de Superficie teselada de 1.452.228,5 ha y Superficie de hábitat neto de 1.428.918,5 ha (teniendo en cuenta el % de presencia del hábitat en cada tesela).

Any help would be much appreciated!

Discussion

Mark Harris (asker) Jan 12, 2021:
After some further research it appears Phil might be right, the term "tessera" does appear to be used occasionally in an ecological context, specifically to describe a "unit of soil-vegetation cover", which fits perfectly within the context of my text. Thanks so much for all the advice!
Muriel Vasconcellos Jan 11, 2021:
Cognate Since there's a cognate in English, it seems wiser to stick to it than to introduce another term that might not be as accurate.
neilmac Jan 11, 2021:
PS: Most of the times the word appears, you could replace it by "area"...
neilmac Jan 11, 2021:
Can't see the map... But if it's not grid squares, I'd go for "plots", simply because it's less recondite. And anyway, "squares" on a grid might not always be perfectly quadrilateral, but hey, you decide.
philgoddard Jan 11, 2021:
Tesela means tessera, and it gets plenty of hits in an ecology context. It seems the most likely answer.
Mark Harris (asker) Jan 11, 2021:
Thanks for the suggestion, but as Steven mentioned, if you look at the map on the PDF I posted it is divided into completely irregular shapes, with no straight lines (more similar to a mosaic, so perhaps tessera is the right term after all!). I suppose "plot" could be a suitably generic term.
Steven Huddleston Jan 11, 2021:
The asker has provided a sample map. All of the areas are irregular. There is not a single square in any of them.
neilmac Jan 11, 2021:
@Mark I'd say the map is divided into a grid, usually consisting of squares.
Mark Harris (asker) Jan 11, 2021:
This PDF uses the term numerous times and there is a map of an area divided into "teselas" (figura 8) - http://oa.upm.es/33431/1/PFC_INES_ALCOLEA.pdf. Does that give anyone a clue?

Proposed translations

+1
9 mins
Selected

tessella

This is not my area of expertise but it seems that it is used in a book called 'The Vegetation of the Iberian Peninsula" and it is defined on page 87.

Tessella This word is used differently in different contexts and has a specific meaning in the context of succession. A tessella is an ecologically homogenous area in which only one type of Potential Natural Vegetation can be distinguished (Bolos, 1963....

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4Zo3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA87&lpg...
Peer comment(s):

agree Muriel Vasconcellos : Better to go with the cognate.
4 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Many thanks!"
10 mins

polygon

I think they are making reference to the GIS units for specific properties or segregated parcels of land. Perhaps in that region, they prefer "tesela" to "polígono." (Given that we are clearly not talking about mosaics.)

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Note added at 13 mins (2021-01-11 16:48:17 GMT)
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This unit is commonly used to produce reports "at the polygon level."

From the ARCGIS website:
(https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/extensions/3d-an...

A polygon feature is a GIS object that stores its geographic representation—a series of x and y coordinate pairs that enclose an area—as one of its properties (or fields) in the row in the database.
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+2
21 mins

plot

Peer comment(s):

agree neilmac : I prefer this option...
3 hrs
thanks
agree Z-Translations Translator
4 hrs
thanks
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1 hr

grid square

An option, The map is divided up like a grid, of squares (or plots or polygons… etc.)

One of the links below from a published article refers to butterflies and moths, but the idea is the same.

https://anotherbobsmith.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/smith_01...

http://www.adu.org.za/pdf/Hurford_Jeanne_1993_MSc_CB_thesis....

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Note added at 3 hrs (2021-01-11 20:20:06 GMT)
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Having found the map, I'd say you could just use "area". I haven't scanned the whole thing but "tesela" appears roughly 150 times and it looks like you could replace them all by "area", unless of course, you're using the word elsewhere in the translation.
Basically, I'm bending over backwards to avoid "tessera", which evokes Doctor Who to me…
Example sentence:

... extent of each type of habitat in each grid square, in order to calculate an estimated density term for each species in each grid square.

Additionally, as the most vulnerable habitat in each grid square is used

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