Coastal Vegetation

Abstract

The coastal vegetation of the Iberian Peninsula (including the Balearic Islands) is represented by a set of plant communities that colonize biotopes as diverse as sea cliffs, beaches, dunes, marshes and estuaries. From a geographical point of view, we have differentiated the following sections: in the north, the coastal strip extending from the mouth of the Bidasoa River, the political border with France, up to Ría de Aveiro in Portugal integrates into the Atlantic-European bio- geographic Province (covering the sectors Cantabrian-Basque, Galician-Asturian and Galician-Portuguese) and exhibits a great diversity in the vegetation of coastal cliffs. Dune vegetation is well represented in Corrubedo, Liencres, Somo, Zarautz and other places; communities of marshes and estuaries also show strong contrasts (Galician Rías Bajas, Santoña, Urdaibai) and constitute biogeographic boundaries of species and plant communities with the rest of the Iberian coasts. From the Ría de Aveiro southwards up to Gibraltar, the diverse coastal landscape includes beaches and dunes alternating with estuaries and rugged coasts; we high- light some important and well preserved areas such as the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, the Tagus and Sado estuaries, the Portuguese southwestern coast, Ría Formosa, Doñana (Huelva), that are home to a wide range of species and plant communities. The Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula runs from Gibraltar to the bor- der with France. This stretch comprises the following biogeographical provinces: Baetic, Murcian-Almerian and Balearic-Catalan-Provençal. The coastline between Gibraltar and Cape Sacratif (Granada) reflects the orogeny of the Baetic Ranges, where cliffs alternate with small pebble beaches. The semiarid and arid ombrotypes that dominate the coastline between Cape Sacratif and the foothills of Sierra de Bernia (Alicante) are determining factors in the composition of the plant communi- ties there. This section presents interesting coastal ecosystems, such as Punta Entinas-Sabinar and the volcanic cliffs of Cabo de Gata (Almería), Mar Menor (Murcia), Albufera de Valencia, Delta del Ebro, Es Trenc and Ses Covetes (Mallorca), Albufera des Grau Natural Park (Minorca), Las Salinas Natural Park (Ibiza and Formentera), as well as numerous cliffs that harbour a wide range of species and plant communities.