¿Son compatibles la conservación de plantas y las guerras? El papel de las áreas en disputa, las áreas militares y las reliquias militares como reservas naturales

Abstract

Las guerras y las actividades militares en general tienen un gran impacto en los humanos y en la biodiversidad, que se resume aquí brevemente. Algunos efectos adversos, aunque no éticamente aceptables en principio, producen sin embargo algunas oportunidades que, en última instancia, dieron lugar a acciones beneficiosas para la conservación de las plantas. Una breve revisión de diferentes casos de estudio alrededor del mundo y en diferentes períodos históricos muestran cómo las zonas y actividades militares pueden actuar de reservas naturales si se toman las decisiones administrativas apropiadas (con base científica) en un marco más amplio de conservación coordinada con otras áreas de la intervención humana en la biosfera.

Are Mediterranean Island Mountains Hotspots of Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Biodiversity? The Case of the Endemic Flora of the Balearic Islands

“…The summit of Puig Major (the highest peak in the Balearic Islands) was blown up in 1958 to enable the installation of military radar facilities, and an access road was built. Although the Spanish Ministry of Defence has reduced the size of the radar installations, and is involved in the conservation of the natural heritage of the mountain [108], the road embankments and the blowing-up of the summit buried large areas, causing severe impacts on the populations of endemic and rare species [7,47,109]. On the other hand, in recent years, the presence of hikers and climbers in the highest areas of Mallorca has increased, which has caused the direct (voluntary or involuntary) destruction of specimens of threatened endemic species, as well as a loss of quality in the habitat.…”

Flora richness of a military area: discovery of a remarkable station of Serapias neglecta in Corsica

“…Its location explains this richness since Mediterranean islands have high biodiversity ( Medail and Quezel 1997 , Kier et al 2009 , Médail and Diadema 2009 ). It is also explained by the nature of the area since military areas often have a high level of species richness ( Warren et al 2007 , Zentelis and Lindenmayer 2015 , Massó et al 2019 ), but also because this is an airbase: airports generally harbour a high level of biodiversity, particularly of orchids ( Seitre 2017 ). Airports are usually mown regularly for safety reasons related to aircraft traffic; this mowing, especially near runways, favours species with little competition, such as orchids.…”

“…Military activities (napalm use, nuclear weapons, conflicts) are often considered as threats to biodiversity ( Lawrence et al 2015 , Massó et al 2019 ). However, despite these negative impacts, military areas can be an opportunity for biodiversity conservation.…”

“…We are interested in a military base in Corsica. Indeed, military bases are important areas for biodiversity because they are closed to the public, are not heavily impacted and these areas have soils that are often poorly fertilised and untreated due to old installations, so they often have high biodiversity ( Warren et al 2007 , Seitre 2017 , Massó et al 2019 ). Military bases represent a significant part of the surface of the Earth (1-6%) ( Zentelis and Lindenmayer 2015 ).…”