The concept of relict is used in the legal field.
Relict is a term that comes from the Latin word relictus , which in turn derives from the verb relinquere . The Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) recognizes its use in the field of law , although it does not provide a definition of the term.
What the RAE mentions is the concept of relict assets or relict estate . These ideas are associated with what a person leaves when they die . This relict estate is made up of the assets , obligations and rights that result from the death of an individual.
The estate can be divided into the entire estate (includes both the assets and liabilities of the deceased person) and the liquid estate (the assets resulting after deducting debts). This heritage can be the center of an inheritance or a legacy .
Relict in biology
The notion of relict is also used in the context of biology . Living beings whose distribution is limited or that managed to survive some natural phenomenon or human action are classified as relict.
We speak of relict species , therefore, when the number of specimens is declining and limited to a small geographical space. This can occur due to the arrival of a new predator in its area, due to a change in climate or due to human activity, among other reasons.
Relict species are distinguished by their limited presence on the planet, unlike others, which are abundant, or those that simply enjoy the space that naturally corresponds to them. In addition to the aforementioned causes, a species can reach this point if competition (a type of interspecific relationship ) harms it, something that can occur in different ways and at various levels.
For the number of individuals of a species to decrease, it is not always necessary for another to use it as the basis of its diet, but certain changes in the environment generated by competitors can leave it without the nutrients necessary for its subsistence, or deprive it of the means that they previously used to take refuge from their natural predators. This occurs especially in small or highly fragmented populations .
A relict forest is the remnant of a larger one that was losing its surface.
a type of forest
In this sense, a relict forest is called a forest that is a remnant of a much larger forest that has lost a large part of its surface. To be classified as relict, a comparison is made with some time in the past, which allows us to determine that the forest in question has receded.
One of the most prominent examples of these vestiges of flora is the Fray Jorge forest, located in the Chilean province of Coquimbo , more precisely in the Altos de Talinay , a range of hills. It is a space characterized by semi-desert vegetation (such as sclerophyllous and xeric shrublands) and a Mediterranean climate. To the south it borders the Limarí River, while to the west is the Pacific Ocean .
The feature of this relict forest that most admires its visitors is that it is an authentic green spectacle in a rather desert area, which leads them to wonder how it is possible for them to survive and how they got there in the first place. Some experts suggest that the origin of the flora of the Fray Jorge forest is mixed, found in diversified, southern and boreal ancestors from the center and south of the country.
Palmar de Ocoa is another well-known relict forest in Chile, and is located southeast of Quillota . Some of the Chilean palms ( jubea chilensis ) that live there are three centuries old and grow very close to each other. For more than a hundred years, its various owners have been in charge of preserving it, and for this reason it is considered a conservation sanctuary.