Iberian Baetic endemic flora and the implications for a conservation policy

Abstract

The Baetic ranges in the Iberian Peninsula are extremely rich and outstanding in biological terms. Based on the existing literature, herbarium sheets and our own field research, we provide a checklist of the endemic flora growing in the Baetic chorological province. The checklist includes 418 taxa belonging to 43 families, with the species pool concentrated within large families. The highest number of endemic species is recorded in the altitudinal range of 1300–1500 m a.s.l. Hemicryptophytes represent the most frequent life form (45.5%). Conservation priorities should concentrate on non-woody life forms (particularly on hemicryptophytes), and on high mountain areas. Most of the taxa can be ascribed to serial shrublands (36.87%), or rock- or scree-dwelling formations (26.25%), with climactic forest formations playing a minor role (3.24%). This successional position has important implications for conservation programmes. Therefore, a clear distinction should be made between serial or plagioclimactic formations (e.g. dolomite thyme-scrub communities) and degraded communities of little interest for the preservation of biodiversity (e.g. synanthropic vegetation). Astragalus nevadensis subsp. andresmolinae (Díez-Garretas & Asensi) Mota & F.J. Pérez-García is proposed as a new combination.