Selection of an endemic flora reserve network and its biogeographical significance in the Baetic ranges (Southern Spain)

Abstract

Abstract.-The Baetic mountains are a very important centre of plant diversity and endemicity. The current environmental legislation includes many of these localities. In order to assess the current reserves network and to propose a selection of protected areas, and to examine the biogeographic distinctiveness of that selection, we applied to the orophilous endemic flora a variety of algorithms (some of which were never used for Europe before) on the Baetic ranges. In order to preserve this natural heritage, it would be necessary to protect at least twelve massifs, considering the siliceous portion of Sierra Nevada as a great priority area. The most notable gaps in the legislation are the ranges of Gádor, Revolcadores and La Pandera. The selected localities were characterized by their great biogeographical distinctiveness. The distinctiveness of the obtained selections stresses their reliability and also emphasizes the suitability of the biogeographic researches of the flora of the Baetic ranges for conservation objectives.Key words : biodiversity hot-spot -phytogeography -plant conservation -plant endemism -Tabu search.Résumé.-Les montagnes bétiques sont un centre très important de diversité de végétaux et d'endémicité. La législation environnementale actuelle inclut plusieurs de ces localités. Afin d'évaluer le réseau de réserves actuel, le choix des secteurs protégés et d'examiner les particularités biogéographiques de ce choix, nous avons appliqué à la flore endémique de la haute montagne quelques algorithmes (dont certains jamais employés pour l'Europe) aux cordillères bétiques. Afin de préserver cet héritage, il serait nécessaire de protéger au moins douze massifs, la partie siliceuse de la Sierra Nevada etant un grand secteur prioritaire. Les lacunes les plus notables dans la législation sont les chaînes de Gádor, de Revolcadores et de La Pandera. Les localités choisies ont été retenues pour leurs grandes particularités biogéographiques. La particularitié du choix obtenu indique son ajustement et montre la valeur des investigations sur la flore des montagnes bétiques pour des objectifs de conservation.Mots clés : hotspot de biodiversité -phytogéographie -conservation -endé-misme -Tabu search.

Areas of floristic relevance for the conservation of the biodiversity in the ecotone of the NE end of the Betic ranges and neighbouring areas (South of Spain)

“…much less surface area than the one suggested for the of all SCIs togheter. As already highlighted by Kelly et al (2002) or Pérez-García et al (2007), the combined implementation of algorithms with different mathematical approaches strongly supports the solutions obtained. The ranking provided by the heuristic algorithm constitutes the main discrepancy between the solutions yielded by the different programmes.…”

“…Since the selection of reserves shows as irreplaceable some of the grids belonging to the three biogeographical units included in the area under study, biogeographical distinctness is admittedly necessary for an adequate development of a network of reserves aiming at the conservation of biodiversity, as Humphries et al (1995) and Pérez-García et al (2007), among many others have already pointed out. Our work reveals that this statement is also true not only on a fine scale but also in an ecological and biogeographical transition area.…”

“…In order to efficiently work out an adequate network of reserves, we used a combination of different mathematical approaches, a strategy which has proved to be a powerful tool in the past (Kelly et al, 2002;Pérez-García et al, 2007). ResNet is a software package which implements a hierarchically controlled, rarity-complementarity-based selection heuristic algorithm (Aggarwal et al, 2000;.…”

Is the endangered flora of the Iberian southeast adequately protected? Gaps in the Network of Protected Natural Areas of Andalusia (RENPA): the case of the province of Almería

“…It is not surprising that these territories comprise most of the more outstanding zones: they are not only extremely rich in flora but also many of the taxa under study are also endemic species which only grow in these sectors. The remarkable biogeographical meaning revealed in the solution thus obtained provides supportive evidence for the new discipline called « Conservation biogeography » (Greham, 1993;Whittaker et al, 2005;Pérez-García et al, 2007).…”

“…The combination of software programmes based on different (heuristic and meta-heuristic) operative strategies and able to catalogue natural areas has proved extremely helpful in the selection of natural reserves (Kelly et al, 2002;Pérez-García et al, 2007). The index is the final result of combining the approaches provided by two of these software programmes, SITES v1.0 and ResNet, and the values of Rarity for the species under study and Complementarity for the sites in order to preserve all the species involved on the minimum possible area.…”