Content uploaded by Emilio Laguna
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Emilio Laguna
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
A pioneer project: The Valencian Plant Micro-reserves network.
Figures
Figures - uploaded by Emilio Laguna
Author content
All figure content in this area was uploaded by Emilio Laguna
Content may be subject to copyright.
... In this respect, it is worth noting that a significant number of PMR are established within Natural Parks. The main legal and technical issues of Valencian PMRs have been summarized by Laguna et al. (2011Laguna et al. ( , 2013a and Laguna (2014) and also, an extensive analysis of the controversial debate regarding the optimal size for nature reserves (single large or several small) is developed in Laguna et al. (2016). ...
... It is important to expose that the main aim of PMR network is not to preserve the species, but to protect their study and active conservation. More information on the procedures to select, landmark and management can be found in several books and articles published by Laguna (Laguna, 2001(Laguna, , 2014Laguna and Deltoro, 2013;Laguna et al., 2004Laguna et al., , 2013a. ...
The Valencian Community (eastern Spain) was the pioneer territory establishing plant micro-reserves (PMRs). Its model to protect small sites for endemic and endangered plants has been exported to several countries around the globe. This paper highlights 1) the role of PMRs to complement the protection provided by large protected areas, 2) how the establishment of PMRs fosters the increase of floristic knowledge, and 3) the fact that continuous monitoring of PMRs also yields new records of endangered species found within the same PMRs. The flexibility of the PMR approach -it can be adapted to other national and regional legislations-allows its transfer to other rich-biodiversity regions and countries such as China.
Plant Micro-Reserves in the Valencian Region (E of Spain): are we achieving the expected results? Passive conservation of relevant vascu-lar plant species Abstract Fos, S., Laguna, E. & Jiménez, J.: Plant Micro-Reserves in the Valencian Region (E of Spain): are we achieving the expected results? Passive conservation of relevant vascular plant species. — Fl. Medit. 24: 153-162. 2014. — ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. The Valencian Plant Micro-reserves network comprises 298 protected sites, and considerable experience has been progressively accumulated during 15 years of continued management. However, an evaluation of its effectiveness as a tool to protect wild rare, endemic or endangered plants has not yet been made. As part of a larger evaluation effort, this paper assesses the effec-tiveness of the Valencian PMR network to incorporate the most relevant plants species target-ed for conservation in the Valencian region. The results show that 77% of endemic, about 50% of rare and 57% of threatened species are represented in the PMR network. However, a com-parison of these results is not possible today due to the lack of good analysis of networks of small protected sites focused on plant protection.
Dos fueron los justificantes de la creación de la figura legal de las microrreservas vegetales 1 con el Decreto 218/1994 del 17 de octubre (DOGV 3/11/94): la riqueza florística de la Comunidad Valenciana, desde el punto de vista de la fitodiversidad y de la endemicidad, y el desarrollo urbanístico. El segundo aspecto continúa poniendo en peligro al primero; de ahí, la vigencia y la importancia de la protección de la flora valenciana desde el nivel de la especie. La necesidad de medidas preventivas para la protección de la vegetación es evidente en nuestro territorio, aunque la mayoría de las veces no tengan la repercusión legal, ni la funcionalidad con las que se hayan creado. Pese a ello, no se puede negar y es preciso reconocer que, en concreto, esta figura de protección ha sido una novedad en el marco legislativo europeo y nacional, por el tamaño reducido del área que se protege, inferior a las veinte hectáreas; por la importancia que cobra la especie vegetal, catalogada como flora rara, endémica o amenazada (criterio UICN); por la agilización del proceso legislativo, puesto que los límites de la microreserva y el plan de gestión científico-técnico se establecen y aprueban al tiempo que su declaración; y por garantizar el desarrollo de actividades técnico-científicas, conservación ex situ, es decir, convertirlas en banco de germoplasma vegetal. Por lo tanto, hasta la fecha de la promulgación del Decreto 218, se puede afirmar que no existía, al menos en territorio español, ninguna normativa de protección a nivel de especie. Si, como ya se ha puesto de manifiesto en otras publicaciones (Crespo, 2000; Padilla, 2002; Padilla & Such, 2000), la diversidad en flora vascular y el número de endemismos sitúa a la Comunidad Valencianaen quinto lugar dentro de una relación de países de la Unión Europea, se entiende la urgencia en la propuesta y declaración de las microrreservas vegetales (tabla 1). Sirva como ejemplo la cifra de 50 propuestas 2 para la provincia de Alicante en 1994 y las 95 declaradas en la actualidad (Padilla & Ramón, 1997: 122). Por otra parte, hay que tener en cuenta que estas especies, catalogadas como flora endémica, rara o amenazada, suelen ocupar áreas restringidas y/o diseminadas por el territorio valenciano, coincidiendo, por lo general, con formaciones arbustivas que pueden llegar a ser calificadas como "matorral degradado", caso del que coloniza las margas y yesos triásicos, y, por lo tanto, encontrarse en el punto de mira del proceso urbanizador. de Alicante 1 Figura de protección legal a escala de detalle de la flora catalogada como rara, endémica o amenazada. Afecta a áreas inferiores a las 20 hectáreas de extensión. El fin no es únicamente la conservación y protección, sino también la investigación botánica. 2 De las 50 microrreservas propuestas para su declaración en 1997 para la provincia de Alicante, sólo 32 fueron declaradas finalmente.
Resumen: El presente trabajo resume los principales resultados obtenidos con
el desarrollo de la red de microrreservas de flora de la Comunidad Valenciana,
pionera en la protección coordinada de plantas singulares a través de pequeños
enclaves naturales. Los fundamentos para generar esta red se propusieron hace
ahora 20 años.
Palabras clave: microrreserva de flora, flora amenazada, conservación, flora
endémica.
Abstract: This work sumarizes the main results yielded by the development of
the Plant Microreserves Network of the Valencian Community, the pioneer of the
in situ coordinated protection of singular plants through this king of small natural
sites. The basis to set up this network was proposed just 20 years ago.
Key words: plant microrerserve, threatened flora, conservation, endemic
plants.
The book contains a tri-lingual edition. Please notice that pictures are only available in the Spanish (pp 11-67) and Slovenian (pp 68-127) versions. The English version (pp 128-160) only contains the translated text.
The establishment and evolution of the Plant Micro-reserves Network of the Valencian Community
(Spain) is explained. By mid 2008, the Valencian Community holds 273 PMRs legally declared, the most
dense network of small botanical reserves worldwide. Populations for ca. 70% of the Iberian endemic flora
living in the Valencian Community has been catched by this network. During the last years, the Valencian
model has been exported to other Spanish regions and European and Mediterranean countries.
The Valencian region, in eastern Spain, is home to ≈3050 vascular plant species, 68 of which are listed under the critically endangered IUCN category. To afford protection to our endangered, rare and endemic flora, a network of small (2–20 ha) statutory reserves has been created by the Regional Wildlife Service. These are termed “micro-reserves” and encompass a large number of individual species and natural habitats. The objective is to monitor long term changes in the plant populations and to carry out active management of the protected plants. In the selection of plots, criteria of distinctiveness and endangerment of plants was followed. Eight years after the onset of this initiative, plant micro-reserves have become an essential tool for the effective protection of the diverse flora of this Mediterranean region.
In this, the latest in the "People and Plants" series, plant conservation is described in the context of livelihoods and development, and ways of balancing the conservation of plant diversity with the use of plants and the environment for human benefit are discussed. A central contention in this book is that local people must be involved if conservation is to be successful. Also examined are ways of prioritizing plants and places for conservation initiatives, approaches to in situ and ex situ conservation, and how to approach problems of unsustainable harvesting of wild plants. Roles for botanists, foresters, sociologists, development workers and others are discussed. This book acts as a unifying text for the series, integrating case studies and methodologies considered in previous volumes and pointing out in a comprehensive, accessible volume the valuable lessons to be learned