First Updated Checklist of the Vascular Flora of Andalusia (S of Spain), One of the Main Biodiversity Centres in the Mediterranean Basin
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Phytotaxa 339 (1): 001–095 ISSN 1179-3155 (print edition) http://www.mapress.com/j/pt/ PHYTOTAXA Copyright © 2018 Magnolia Press Monograph ISSN 1179-3163 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.339.1.1 PHYTOTAXA 339 First updated checklist of the vascular flora of Andalusia (S of Spain), one of the main biodiversity centres in the Mediterranean Basin MIGUEL CUETO1,*, MANUEL MELENDO2, ESTHER GIMÉNEZ1, JULIÁN FUENTES3, ENRIQUE LÓPEZ CARRIQUE4 & GABRIEL BLANCA5 1 Departamento de Biología y Geología, CECOUAL, Universidad de Almería, Crta. Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de S. Urbano, ES- 04120 Almería, Spain; e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 2 Departamento de Biología Animal, Biología Vegetal y Ecología. Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, ES-23071 Jaén, Spain; e-mail: [email protected] 3 C/ Castillo 5, bajo F, ES-18140 La Zubia, Granada, Spain; e-mail: [email protected] 4 Departamento de Educación, CECOUAL, Universidad de Almería, Crta. Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de S. Urbano, ES-04120 Almería, Spain; e-mail: [email protected] 5 Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, C/ Fuentenueva s/n, ES-18001 Granada, Spain; e-mail: [email protected] *author for correspondence Magnolia Press Auckland, New Zealand Accepted by Manuel B. Crespo: 24 Dec. 2017; published: 20 Feb. 2018 MIGUEL CUETO, MANUEL MELENDO, ESTHER GIMÉNEZ, JULIÁN FUENTES, ENRIQUE LÓPEZ CARRIQUE & GABRIEL BLANCA First updated checklist of the vascular flora of Andalusia (S of Spain), one of the main biodiversity centres in the Mediterranean Basin (Phytotaxa 339) 95 pp.; 30 cm. 20 February 2018 ISBN 978-1-77670-310-4 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-77670-311-1 (Online edition) FIRST PUBLISHED IN 2018 BY Magnolia Press P.O. Box 41-383 Auckland 1346 New Zealand e-mail: [email protected] http://www.mapress.com/j/pt/ © 2018 Magnolia Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, transmitted or disseminated, in any form, or by any means, without prior written permission from the publisher, to whom all requests to reproduce copyright material should be directed in writing. This authorization does not extend to any other kind of copying, by any means, in any form, and for any purpose other than private research use. ISSN 1179-3155 (print edition) ISSN 1179-3163 (online edition) • Phytotaxa 339 (1) © 2018 Magnolia Press CUETO ET AL. Abstract Andalusia, together with Morocco, is considered part of one of the two main biodiversity centres existing in the Mediterrane- an Basin; the other one is in the east and includes part of Turkey and Greece. The Andalusian flora has a fundamental role in this recognition, having been studied since the 1st century A.D. Despite Andalusia having been visited by a myriad of Iberian and foreign botanists, there is still no synthetic work on this subject. In this contribution, we present the first checklist of the Andalusian vascular flora, listing 4437 taxa distributed in 171 families, 1107 genera, 4091 species, and 346 subspecies, of which 3958 are native and 479 alien. Therophytes predominate (1516, 34.2%), followed by hemicryptophytes (1219, 27.5%) and chamaephytes (628, 14.1%). In addition, 462 (10.4%) are endemic or sub-endemic to the territory, and 595 (13.4%) are subject to some degree of threat (135 critically endangered, 137 endangered, and 323 vulnerable). Key words: Endemic species, Iberian Peninsula, plant biodiversity hotspot, threatened flora Introduction Andalusia is the southernmost region (autonomous community) in peninsular Spain and, together with the Portuguese district of Faro, it is also the southernmost point of Europe (Fig. 1). Tectonically and structurally, it is a heterogeneous territory, formed with fragments of lithosphere of diverse origin. Its history began some 600 million years ago from the fragmentation of Rodinia (the great subcontinent prior to Pangaea). The rocks of Andalusia that formed in the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic have undergone two great orogenies, the Variscan or Hercynian and the Alpine ones, giving rise to the Variscan Massifs (Sierra Morena) and the Alpine Chains (the Betic Cordillera). Other materials from the Cenozoic not affected by any orogenesis constitute the Neogene Basins: the Guadalquivir Basin, post-orogenic basins (the Guadalquivir Basin and intramontane basins) and, related to these latter, the outcrop of volcanic rocks of the Miocene which extend from Cabo de Gata to Carboneras (Vera Torres 2008). The current climate is Mediterranean (Walter 1985, Strahler & Strahler 1989) or temperate climate with dry summers, “Cs” according to Köppen (1918), of the arid type III (Martonne 1926), or Mediterranean macroclimate (Rivas Martínez & Loidi 1999). This is characterised by a hot, dry summer and a temperate winter. The mean annual temperature of the area, based on the period of 1971−2000, ranges from 2.8ºC minimum to 19ºC maximum. The rains occur mainly between November and April, 70−80% of the annual total in the western half of the territory and part of the eastern one, with a coefficient of annual variation of 30−40%; and 60−70% in the rest of the eastern part, with a coefficient of annual variation of 40−50%, with areas exceeding 50% (Couchoud Gregori 2003). Rainfall is clearly influenced by the pronounced relief of the region, with a declining gradient from west to east, annual values ranging from 194 mm to 1940 mm. However, the climate has also undergone great changes over its history. Between the Upper Permian and the Middle Triassic, there was a dry period whereas afterwards during the Lower Tertiary or Palaeogene (Palaeogene, Eocene, and Oligocene) the predominant type was tropical or subtropical, warm and uniform. During the Miocene, the climate became continental, temperatures fell, and later the aridity accentuated. This last event, together with the connection of North Africa with the Iberian Peninsula resulted in the drying of most of the Mediterranean, leaving a number of interior seas; during the Quaternary, with the glaciations, ice reached the temperate latitudes of Europe and North America, the Andalusian territories becoming a refuge areas for flora (Blanca 1993). The Holocene began with the establishment of the last postglacial period, which evolved to the current climatic conditions. Lithologically, a great variety of substrates are found that have brought about a broad repertory of soil types. Taking into account the great difficulty of mapping soils due to their variability, Dorronsoro Fernández & Aguilar Ruiz (2008) drew a synthetic soil map for Andalusia, identifying 15 of the 32 soil groups listed by the FAO (IUSS Working Group WRB 2006). In Andalusia, humans have gone from being an integral part of the natural equilibrium between fauna and flora to becoming the main destabilising agent of that equilibrium. Evidence of hominids in the territory date to the Palaeolithic, although their presence may have been earlier (Toro et al. 2013). From the Neolithic, there are also archaeological remains of human presence, first in caves and settlements in the open that gradually grew into small villages of the Los Millares culture (4th−3rd millenniums B.C.). From this period on, the settlements of successive cultures have increased in size and number. The census of inhabitants in the region in July 2017 registered 8403350 inhabitants (95.93 inhabitants/km2 on average; INE 2017). CHECKLIST OF THE VASCULAR FLORA OF ANDALUSIA Phytotaxa 339 (1) © 2018 Magnolia Press • 3 FIGURE . Geographic position of Andalusia (Spain) and Faro (Portugal) regions in the Mediterranean Basin. At present, Andalusia has 334 protected natural spaces, occupying 25751 km2 terrestrial and 684 km2 marine (INE 2017), this representing 18.8% of the total in Spain. After the work of Médail & Quézel (1997), Myers et al. (2000) listed the Mediterranean Basin as one of the 25 biodiversity global hotspots, stressing the importance of sites of the Mediterranean type in five of such areas. Médail & Quézel (1999) underscored the importance of Andalusia, together with Morocco, as part of one of the main biodiversity centres existing in the Mediterranean Basin; the other in the east included part of Turkey and Greece. Andalusia is one of the richest regions in plant biodiversity within the hotspot of the Mediterranean Basin due to several factors: 1) its geological history has provided this territory with extraordinary geomorphology; 2) it has a high variety of substrates; 3) its geographic position has made it a sanctuary both for Holarctic flora during the glaciations, as well as for North African flora in the period of the Messinian salinity crisis; and 4) in addition to the historical climatic variation it has undergone, at present this region shows a broad range of precipitation and temperature (Blanca 1997). Within this framework, humans have exerted a strong influence for thousands of years, degrading the environmental conditions and reducing the biodiversity (e.g. introducing exotic taxa and driving native ones extinct), but in recent years conservation activity has begun with sustainable development. The floristic importance of Andalusia has long been known. The first works written on plants, as in other areas, focused on those that had agricultural or medicinal value. Thus, according to Pezzi Ceretto (1995), the first written references to Andalusian plants were by the Roman agricultural writer Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella in the 1st century A.D., but the Flemish Humanist