The recovery and conservation of the rockrose of Cartagena is the objective of an initiative that the University of Cartagena has launched.

The recovery and conservation of the rockrose of Cartagena is the objective of a project that the University of Cartagena has launched thanks to the call for grants from the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment.

The initiative includes actions that will work on the recovery and conservation of this plant species, trying to increase the number of population centers and safeguarding the genetic diversity of the species.

Another aspect of the project is that of raising awareness to publicize the situation in which this plant is found, whose only known wild populations are found in the Region of Murcia and in areas of the Valencian Community, specifically in the Llano del Real and La Pobla de Valbona. In fact, it is an endangered species that has experienced a situation of continuous decline for decades.

To safeguard the rockrose of Cartagena, the project includes various actions such as the molecular characterization of the wild population or the production of the plant in a nursery, through the development of in situ conservation strategies such as reintroductions and introductions. On the ground, habitat improvement actions will also be launched with selective clearing of the pasture. Seed conservation is another conservation task that will be carried out.

In addition, the project includes the publication of informative materials, including a monograph, a children’s publication and the edition of audiovisual material. Environmental volunteering actions and the celebration of a technical conference for the scientific community are other actions that seek to raise awareness of the delicate situation in which the conservation of this plant is located.