Biodiversity Conservation: Habitats and Plant Communities

Abstract

The CORINE programme and the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) are the two pillars on which conservationist policy is sustained in the European Union, currently composed of 28 member states. In the European context, Spain's environmental diversity is the cause of its great biological diversity (habitats, flora and fauna). A large part of this diversity is found in the Natura 2000 national network. The list of natural habitats in Spain reaches almost 350; these correspond to more than 1600 plant communities. The basis for the definition of the habitats included in annex I of Directive 92/43/EECis primarily based on phytosociological units, specifically alliances. The degree of accuracy of the alliances to define the vegetation and habitats can be improved. This is why a definition of the habitats through partnerships is proposed, instead of the definitions provided by alliances, in order to ensure efficiency and adequacy of the reality of the conservation policies. Regarding the criteria and ranks used in the risk extinction analysis in plant communities, many of existing proposals are based on the Extent of Occurrence, Area of Occupancy and the rate of decline of these parameters. When it comes to ranks, the ones used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are generally followed. The criteria proposed by Izco (Plant Biosyst. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2014.10009, 2015) are applied to this analysis. As a model for this proposal about the risk of extinction in plant communities, data about the application to the Spanish gypsum bushes of the Gypsophiletalia struthium are provided.