This project systematizes the information available on vascular flora (plants which have conductor vessels, including brackens, conifers and plants with flowers). This way the study on Andalusian flora will get finished. Researchers are updating the already existing information in bibliography and herbariums, in besides compiling new data by fieldwork, especially in those areas which have been less studied.
The flora will include keys to identify families, genus, species and subspecies. For each of the two last ones, there will be an indication of their scientific designation and their common designation, their appearance and a brief description of their distinguishing features, flowering period, habitat where they grow, distribution and data on their abundance and threat degree. The project does not limit to preparing a manual on the flora of the region; all the information will be included in a database that will be suitable for preparing the cartography of vascular flora distribution in eastern Andalusia.
Biological islands
The variety of climates and soil types, as well as the large height differences in eastern Andalusia, generates a large number of ecological niches, environments that “allow the conservation of plants from different places which require different ecological conditions”, the Professor explains. “Andalusian mountains can be considered to be real biological islands”, he sums up.
Since they rose from sea level, these mountain ranges have been a passing place for migratory currents. Although plants can not move, in the course of time they modify their distribution areas thanks to sedd and fruit dispersion. Thus, thanks to the large variety of environments of these Andalusian mountains a lot of species could take root hear. Some of them started an adaptation process which has turned them into unique specimens.
“Eastern Andalusia flora is very important, not only for its large number of species, but because it registers a high percentage of exclusive flora”, Blanca states. Sierra Nevada is an outstanding case: in these mountains there are 80 classified plants that can not be found in any other place in the world.
This project is financed by the Andalusian Council, and the four studied universities take part in it: Almería, Jaén, Málaga and Granada. The classification of the vascular flora of the region will be important to direct all the efforts to conserve the biological richness of the autonomous region.
Reference: Prof. Gabriel Blanca López.
Professor of the Department of Botany of the University of Granada.
Researcher in charge of the group ‘Biology, Biosystematics and Taxonomy of Vascular Flora’.
Phone numbers: 958-243394 – 243254.
E-mail: gblanca@ugr.es
