The 2,100 vascular plants that have been catalogued so far in Sierra Nevada are almost the 30 per cent of the Spanish peninsular flora, in an area of the 0.4 per cent and the 7 per cent of the Mediterranean flora, in an area of less than a 0.01. Sierra Nevada is most important centre of plant diversity in the western Mediterranean region, according to the work carried out by Professor Gabriel Blanca López, of the Department of Botany of the University of Granada, and a team of collaborators like María Rosa López Onieva, Juan Lorite, María José Martínez Lirola, Joaquín Molero Mesa, Susana Quintas, Mario Ruiz Girela, María de los Ángeles Varo and Santiago Vidal. Their works hace been published in the book “Endangered and endemic flora of Sierra Nevada”, published by the Publishing House of the University of Granada, in collaboration with the Environment Department of the Andalusian Council.
In the catalogue of European endangered species which must be protected, included in the Berne convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and promoted by the Council of Europe, there are 39 Andalusian species, 13 of which, this is to say, the 30 per cent, can only be found in Sierra Nevada. 147 species with different degrees of danger, 82 of which are not specifically protected, although they actually are since most of them live in the National and Natural Reserve of Sierra Nevada are included in the book published by the University of Granada. In this sense, it would be worth pointing out that the adding of endemic species of countries like Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Germany, Belgium and United Kingdom, does not reach the amount of Sierra Nevada.
According to Gabriel Blanca López, Professor of the Department of Botany of the Faculty of Sciences, “such floral diversity is the result of ecological factors and evolutionary events that have turned Sierra Nevada into an exceptional mountainous range. From a biological point of view –the professor of the University of Granada goes on to say–, its elevation and its southern location in the continent allow the existence of semiarid and Alpine habitats, while termophile Mediterranean species turn up in basal areas zonas and many plants typical of Arctic latitudes do at summits. This way, 5 of the 6 thermoclimatic belts distinguished in the Mediterranean region are represented.”
On the other hand, the strategic location of Sierra Nevada is essential concerning the floral richness of the mountainous range. In this sense, Professor Gabriel Blanca indicates that: The floral richness of Sierra Nevada is also due to its geographical location, so it has become a strategic place for the numerous migratory currents that go through here. Unlike animals, vascular plants are unable to move by themselves; for this reason, vascular plants migrate by means of the descendants, using their seeds or fruit to colonize new environments suitable for their development. On the other hand –Professor Gabriel Blanca goes on to say–, all species do not have the same possibility to migrate; it varies according to diffussion capacity, ecologic exigences, suitable migration routes, capacity to settle and compete with other species, etc.”
Different degrees of danger are distinguished among endangered species of Sierra Nevada, known as vulnerable (VU), endangered (EN), critically endangered (CE), and lower risk (LR), in accordance wih the criteria of the the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Among the 147 species with different degrees of danger, the willow, the arenaria, the Swedish whitebeam, the camomile of Sierra Nevada, the cineraria and the narcissus of Sierra Nevada are critically endangered.
Further information:
Gabriel Blanca López. Department of Botany. Faculty of Sciences.
Phone number: 958 243394. E-mail: gblanca@ugr.es
