Line of action:

Terrestrial ecosystems

Status:

Finalizado

Execution date:

2021

Project web page:

http://biogeoconevo.bioucm.es/sosflora/index.html

Livestock and habitat loss have traditionally been identified as two of the most serious threats to Spanish flora, with a percentage that exceeds 35% for the species of the Red Book of threatened vascular flora. However, its direct effect is far from known, which prevents the establishment of precise measures or the development of joint strategies for the protection of flora. In addition, the increase in urbanization that has occurred in recent decades in Spain has not yet been considered in the evolution of endangered flora.

The project developed by the Complutense University of Madrid aims to make up for this lack of knowledge by updating the methods for quantifying the effect of these threats. Therefore, the result of the research, according to the entity, is relevant to improve the general strategies for the management of the flora, the specific measures for the species treated, and the monitoring systems of the national inventory.

The main objective of the project has been to assess the risk of extinction and the effect of the main threats on threatened plant species included in the National Catalogue of Threatened Species.

The specific objectives are:

• To measure the effect of herbivory on protected flora and the National Catalogue of Threatened Species.
• To measure the effect of fragmentation on the flora included in the Catalogue.

• Study of the problems and management of livestock and wild ungulates in protected areas, contacting a group of protected area managers, government conservation agencies and researchers. They provided information on which threatened species present herbivory problems in their respective areas, the type of threats they present and the type of measures that should be implemented. The results of the survey show 45 threatened plants, which would be more representative in northern Catalonia, Baetics, the Central System, the Balearic Islands, the eastern Canary Islands and parts of the Sierra Morena.
• Quantification of the effect of herbivory on selected populations of the flora of the National Catalogue, sampling 9 species of threatened flora (Aquilegia cazorlensis, Delphinium montanun, Femeniasia baleárica, Glandora nitida, Naufraga balearica and Plantago algarbiensis, Adenocarpus gibbsianus, Ranunculus weyleri and Solenanthus reverchonii). In total, a total of 18 populations have been sampled to obtain demographic data and incidence of herbivory.
• Preparation of cartography and analysis of occupied and empty patches for the different species studied in different territories.
• Contact with the managers of the conservation agencies and the Protected Natural Areas, presentation of the project and consultation of the detailed cartography available of the species.
• Critical review of 106 scientific studies on the effect of herbivory on threatened flora in general and on the species studied in the project.
• Critical review of 67 works on the effect of fragmentation on the species under study.
• Dissemination and communication of the project in the technical-professional and social field, through the creation of a website and specific profiles of the project on social media, the realization of face-to-face dissemination conferences, participation in two scientific congresses (SEBOT Toledo, and AEET Plasencia), and the preparation of a scientific article for the journal Conservation Science and Practice.

The project has carried out a study on the status of some species of Spanish flora in the face of two of their most important threats, herbivory and fragmentation, contributing to the improvement of knowledge for the development of recovery and management plans for species and providing measures for the treatment of threats.

Regarding herbivory, cartography has been obtained on the hotspots of this threat in Spain. Thus, the map shows where there is greater richness of wild herbivores and another that shows where there is a greater density of domestic livestock. In addition, a group of experts made up of 14 managers of protected areas, conservation agents of the Administration and researchers were involved to obtain information on the threat of herbivory in their area to endangered species. Finally, to quantify the effect of herbivory in the field, in situ sampling was carried out in 7 natural areas of Andalusia, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia of 9 species of threatened flora: Adenocarpus gibbsianus, Aquilegia cazorlensis, Delphinium montanun, Femeniasia balearica, Glandora nitida, Naufraga balearica, Plantago algarbiensis, Ranunculus weyleri and Solenanthus reverchonii.

The main conclusions of the analyses of the patterns of herbivory affection in the biogeographical regions have been the following:

• In the Mediterranean region, there is a lower probability of threat from herbivory than from other threats. There is an inverse relationship between the threat of herbivory and the density of domestic livestock. This can be explained by the millenary presence of cattle in this region.
• In the Macaronesian region, there is a great threat due to herbivory but little richness of wild herbivore species and livestock. Due to the isolation of oceanic archipelagos.
• In the Atlantic region there is a greater probability of other threats than of the threat of herbivory. There is more homogeneity in the distribution of livestock density.
• In the alpine region the probability among other threats and the threat from herbivory is the same.
• In the Protected Natural Areas (ENP) intensive livestock farming is incompatible with these places. On the contrary, ENPs concentrate the greatest richness of wild herbivore species and present a higher probability of threat from herbivory, which represents a possible conservation conflict of interest.

With respect to fragmentation, metapopulation models have been developed for the incidence of 5 species of threatened flora: Centaurea citricolor, Euphorbia gaditana, Glandora nitida, Pseudomisopates rivas-martinezii and Silene sennenii, with which the effect that the increase and reduction of the size of the different nuclei that make up their populations would have on the survival of the species was obtained.

On the other hand, a working group made up of 21 people involved in the conservation of threatened flora has been formed to promote the incorporation of the results of the project into management measures. Thus, the working group drew up a decalogue of proposals for the restoration of artificial habitats resulting from the fragmentation and isolation of natural populations, through conservationist measures aimed at renaturation in the treatment of herbivory and fragmentation for threatened wild plants.