Recovery of areas of threatened flora in Sierra Nevada

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The Sierra Nevada Natural Park around Granada covers Europe's second highest, and most southerly, mountain range, which, because of this wide range of altitudes, has the greatest variety of plants in the western Mediterranean. In all, 2,100 species occur, many of them endemics, but 115 of these, including 35 endemics, are threatened with extinction. Most of them, as well as the majority of their habitats, are protected by the Habitats Directive.

The contraction and fragmentation of the area's habitats is the main reason for this state of affairs, as this process renders these habitats very sensitive to the effects of overgrazing, pollution and to the effects of land use and leisure activities in general. The Sierra Nevada was listed as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1986 and has been designated pSCI for the Natura 2000 network; the upper peaks' area was designated as National Park in 1999.

OBJECTIVES

This project was the second phase of a LIFE project which ran from the end of 1994 to December 1996. It targeted the restoration and conservation of 6 sites in the Sierra Nevada which host 11 very theatened plant species. A first set of measures aimed at safeguarding the habitats of these plants, in particular the high-lying screes, stony wastes and meadows as well as pine and oak woods. This involved drawing up and applying management plans, carrying out restoration work and setting up surveillance for certain areas. A second set was more specifically oriented to species, dealing with the collection of seed material from the aforementioned eleven species, and growing it elsewhere in order to build up a stock for re-introduction to their natural habitat.

The work towards these goals was complemented by information campaigns to improve awareness on these species and habitats, using folders, maps and a video.

RESULTS

This project achieved its main objective, i.e. to contribute to the restoration and conservation of 6 sites in the Sierra Nevada considered as reserves of endangered and threatened flora, including 11 plant species of the Habitats Directive (Narcisus nevadensis, Arenaria nevadensis, Artemisia granatensis, Centaurea gadorensis, Erigeron frigidus, Senecio elodes, Senecio nevadensis, Erodium astragaloides, Erodium rupicola, Odontites granatensis, Laserpitium longiradium).

The main results attained were the following:

Management plans were made for each of the six flora reserve areas. This allowed the implementation of restoration and conservation measures during the project and paved the way for their future conservation.

The six target localities were included within the National Park of Sierra Nevada as areas of restricted use, therefore enjoying a high protection status.

Seeds and other vegetative material from the 11 species but also from other 192 threatened species in Sierra Nevada were stored in Germplasm banks, and propagation protocols were obtained for 56 of them.

Trials for the production of ex situ specimens were made and succeeded for most of the project species.

A diverse set of awareness raising activities were carried out (e.g. courses, seminars and presentations at various fora) and the abundant and attractive information materials produced were effective in achieving the objective of increasing knowledge and awareness about flora conservation among the general public and also specialist sectors like botanists, surveillance personnel and foresters.

A high altitude Botanical Garden was created through the project and was included in the Andalusian network of local Botanical Gardens, a very interesting regional initiative of high conservation and social value.

The incentives generated through contacts and exchange of information with other initiatives for the conservation of flora and habitats (including all LIFE-Nature flora projects in the EU) were also noteworthy during the project implementation. Among these, the Andalusian germplasm bank, the Spanish project of threatened flora or even the forestry sector (participation to the III (2001) Spanish Forestry Congress) should be highlighted.

Finally, the local interest raised on the cultivation programme for Artemisia granatensis, a species threatened by over-collection due to attributed healthy properties, is also a remarkable outcome, for it generated co-operation with local farmers and LEADER programmes and showed the way for the conservation of plant species facing the same situation.

The conservation benefits for the Natura 2000 site were evident. Thanks to this project, the basis for the conservation of habitats and flora were set up in this pSCI, which is known internationally because of the richness and diversity of flora species. The main tool obtained was the implementation of the management plans for the 6 important flora reserve areas. In fact, the first investments in flora conservation, such as the stepping-stones to establish the germplasm bank and the first specific surveys, were made through a former LIFE-Nature project (Conservation of Andalusian Flora Species, 94/E/222/01203/AND), but the consolidated guidelines for conservation management and the bulk of direct conservation actions were made through this project. As regards the project species, the situation of each one considerably improved and the first steps were made to reduce their endangered status.

Moreover, thanks to the implementation of this project, the flora and habitats conservation component of the Sierra Nevada National Park was considerably reinforced, just in the very moment of the creation of the National Park in 1999, and all the flora reserve areas were included within its limits.

The habitats approach devised for the conservation of flora in Sierra Nevada could be mentioned as an innovation at the regional level. This project was originally inspired by the Flora microreserves project of the Valencian Regional Government(LIFE93NAT/E/011100). However, the fact that all flora reserve areas were included in a National Park just when the project started led to a slight change in the original approach. Nonetheless, the demonstration value was clear, and the methodology devised and the conclusions of the works carried out were useful for other professionals in Botanical Gardens and other conservation projects elsewhere.

As to the socio-economic effects resulting from the project, the most outstanding was the attraction of more specialised visitors to the high mountains of Sierra Nevada, interested by the information available about their habitats and flora species and guided by the itineraries devised, of which a brochure was produced within this project. The same can be applied to the Botanical Garden created by the project, which has a high conservation component but was also created to attract visitors and raise awareness on flora and habitats conservation.

Another important socio-economic outcome resulted from the experience initiated for the cultivation of Artemisia granatensis in co-operation with local farmers associations. The production and trade of this plant by the farmers is contributing to the eradication of the most important threat upon the species, i.e. its collection in the wild, and is also improving the local economies. The project also contributed to job creation at the local level (e.g. by employment of botanists and specialised personnel for the nurseries and Botanical Garden).

As regards the prospects after the project, the works initiated with LIFE support were continued by the Andalusian Regional Government by means of the implementation of three new projects: Conservation of flora diversity in Mediterranean high mountains (Granada); Recovery of endangered flora in Eastern Andalusia; and Recovery of threatened flora in the province of Granada. Therefore, not only the implementation of the management plans was continued in the project area, but also flora conservation outside the project pSCI. In all, about 48 threatened species were targeted by these new initiatives, 10 of which were included in the LIFE project.