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)

Abstract

The southern Iberian Peninsula is an area of great floristic interest. This paper deals with the transition area between the Baetic ranges, the Manchean high barren plateaus and the semiarid steppes. A variety of algorithms are applied to the endangered flora to elucidate the distribution patterns and the possible dependence on biogeographical and/or bioclimatic variables. The final objective is to evaluate the protection status to be awarded. The results indicate that the most important areas are located in the Baetic setion of the area under study. The suggested solution includes, however, sites belonging to all the biogeographical units and climatic zones. Chorological and climatic groups are almost coincidental. The results also confirm that the greater the environmental heterogeneity, the greater the importance for conservation purposes. The current networks of reserves present considerable gaps which could be filled to some extent by the SCIs. © 2009, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.