The Relict Ecosystem of Maytenus senegalensis subsp. europaea in an Agricultural Landscape: Past, Present and Future Scenarios
Metadatos
Mostrar el registro completo del ítemEditorial
MDPI
Materia
Conservation Ecosystem management Endangered species Extinction Habitat loss MaxEnt Mediterranean flora
Fecha
2020Referencia bibliográfica
Mendoza-Fernández, A.J.; Martínez-Hernández, F.; SalmerónSánchez, E.; Pérez-García, F.J.; Teruel, B.; Merlo, M.E.; Mota, J.F. The Relict Ecosystem of Maytenus senegalensis subsp. europaea in an Agricultural Landscape: Past, Present and Future Scenarios. Land 2021, 10, 1. https:// dx.doi.org/10.3390/land10010001
Patrocinador
CEI.MAR, Integrated study of coastal sands vegetation (AREVEG I and II) CEIJ-012 CEIJ-009Resumen
Maytenus senegalensis subsp. europaea is a shrub belonging to the Celastraceae family,
whose only European populations are distributed discontinuously along the south-eastern coast of
the Iberian Peninsula, forming plant communities with great ecological value, unique in Europe.
As it is an endangered species that makes up plant communities with great palaeoecological significance, the development of species distribution models is of major interest under different climatic
scenarios, past, present and future, based on the fact that the climate could play a relevant role in the
distribution of this species, as well as in the conformation of the communities in which it is integrated.
Palaeoecological models were generated for the Maximum Interglacial, Last Maximum Glacial and
Middle Holocene periods. The results obtained showed that the widest distribution of this species,
and the maximum suitability of its habitat, occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum, when the
temperatures of the peninsular southeast were not as contrasting as those of the rest of the European
continent and were favored by higher rainfall. Under these conditions, large territories could act
as shelters during the glacial period, a hypothesis reflected in the model’s results for this period,
which exhibit a further expansion of M. europaea’s ecological niche. The future projection of models
in around 2070, for four Representative Concentration Pathways according to the fifth report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, showed that the most favorable areas for this species
would be Campo de Dalías (southern portion of Almería province) as it presents the bioclimatic
characteristics of greater adjustment to M. europaea’s ecological niche model. Currently, some of
the largest specimens of the species survive in the agricultural landscapes in the southern Spain.
These areas are almost totally destroyed and heavily altered by intensive agriculture greenhouses,
also causing a severe fragmentation of the habitat, which implies a prospective extinction scenario in
the near future.