Rocky Gardens of endemic flora: a new initiative in the valencian region (Spain)

Abstract

The experience gathered by the environmental department of the Valencian Government (Valencian region, East Spain), in the construction of network of rocky gardens, suitable for holding permanent collections of rare, endemic or threatened wild plants is explained. Since 1994, 10 new small rocky gardens have been built. Together they hold over 200 wild, native plant species.

Full text

Rocky Gardens of endemic flora: a new initiative in the valencian region
(Spain)
A. OLIVARES, V.I. DELTORO, S. FOS, J. PÉREZ-BOTELLA, L. SERRA, E. LAGUNA, G. BALLESTER & P.
PÉREZ-ROVIRA.
Generalitat Valenciana – Conselleria de Territorio y Vivienda. Servicio de Conservación de la
Biodiversidad. c/ Francesc Cubells 7. E-46011 Valencia, SPAIN. floraval@gva.es
Abstract
The experience gathered by the environmental department of the Valencian Government
(Valencian region, East Spain), in the construction of network of rocky gardens, suitable for
holding permanent collections of rare, endemic or threatened wild plants is explained. Since
1994, 10 new small rocky gardens have been built. Together they hold over 200 wild, native plant
species.
Introduction
Gardens have successfully been used as effective sites to promote plant conservation, by
increasing public awareness and knowledge of wild plants and as preferred sites to develop
educational activities (LEAL-FILHO & PALMER, 1992; PALMER & NEAL, 1994; SARBU, 2001). Back in
1994, the Service of Biodiversity Conservation of Generalitat Valenciana (autonomous
government of the Valencian region, East Spain), set going a programme to build up public
rocky gardens to hold rare, threatened and endemic species of wild plants. This programme is
partially supported by the European Union through two funds:
-LIFE funds, through projects LIFE93 NAT/E/000766 and LIFE99 NAT/E/006417
-EAGFF/FEOGA funds (actions on biodiversity conservation, Operative Integrated Plan of the
Valencian Community); the projects supported by this fund are also co-funded by the Spanish
Ministry of Environment.
Most endemic and endangered plants living in Eastern Spain are small perennials –
chamaephytes, geophytes- which live on rocky places and/or on hard soils (v. LAGUNA, 1994).
Thus they can be easily grown in rocky gardens. These types of gardens became popular in the
Valencian towns during the XVI-XIXth centuries, but their construction and maintenance was fully
abandoned during the past century (BALLESTER-OLMOS, 1992, 1998). Besides, these gardening
technique allows the combination of a high number of mediterranean species, adapted to poor
–underfertilized- natural sites and able to be managed under rules of xero-gardening techniques
(ZOFÍO, 2001), so they represent a useful tool to explain additional concepts for environmental
education (i.e., ways of saving water, organic cultivation, etc.).
Aims and Objectives
The main goal is to approach the plant world to the people, facilitating the popular knowledge
and the development of environmental education tasks, trough the integration in the urban
landscape. Simultaneously, the recovery of ancient gardening styles –rocky gardens- is proposed.
To achieve these targets, the regional government develops 2 different actions:
-Building up and planting rocky gardens, on sites owned by the Generalitat Valenciana and/or
on sites owned by public entities –after an agreement-.
-Giving and/or planting specimens of wild plants to entities –i.e. municipalities- or NGOs which
have built up rocky gardens on their own properties.
In both cases, the regional government propagates plants in their public nurseries those species
which are not commercially available –i.e. protected or endangered species-. Since 1997, small
amounts of over 200 species have been produced, including the most representative rare or

endangered plants. Additionally, the new gardened areas are complemented with explanatory
boards and/or the edition of specific leaflets.
Results and Discussion
Since 1994, 10 rocky gardens have been built up with active financial and/or technical
participation of the Generalitat Valenciana –see orientative data at table nr. 1-. Gardens vary in
style, surface, plant composition patterns, etc. depending both on the initial status of the site
(ownership, public use of the area, etc.) and the pursued goals. Each garden has specific uses,
from basic ornamental purposes –passive knowledge of plants- to the intensive use for
environmental education –i.e., garden of vicariances, Botanic Garden of Valencia-. 3 gardens
have been built on sites owned by universities or research centres, mostly focused on higher
education projects; 1 of them, in the Botanic Garden of the University of Valencia, has also been
intensively used for environmental education programmes with children. One of the last built up
gardens, ‘Rincón de la Olivera’, is placed on an area specially adapted to allow the access of
disabled people.
No specific programmes have been established to test the utility of these gardens, except for the
Botanical Garden of Valencia, whose specialized team of environmental educators develop
several experimental projects focused on the knowledge of basic concepts of botany and plant
conservation, applied to different educative levels (primary and secondary education).
However, the indirect effect of the rocky garden for public awareness –i.e. facilitating the
knowledge of popular and scientific names of the local plants- is easily noticed, and a large
amount of municipalities are interested to hold future similar gardened areas.
In a first phase, each garden has hold a high variety of wild species, trying to include some of the
most endangered and rare plants. However, the effectiveness of these gardens as tools for public
awareness could be enhanced through the exhibition of ‘common endemics’ –endemic species,
sometimes exclusive of the Valencian Community, but relatively abundant and easy to be
detected in wild habitats-. The endemic plants attract the attention of the local population, and
are often closely linked to ethnobotanical uses or popular traditions; most of them are
additionally useful plants (i.e. aromatic or medicinal plants).
The environmental administration of the Valencian Community aims to establish in the future, a
large network of rocky gardens, planted mostly with ‘common endemics’ in each county or
municipality. To achieve this goal, a new programme to select and domesticate endemic
species belonging to appealing and striking genus –i.e., Antirrhinum, Dianthus, Narcissus, etc.- has
been started in 2004.
References
BALLESTER-OLMOS, J.F. -1992- Aproximación histórico-botánica al estilo valenciano en jardinería.
Agrícola Vergel 11 (129): 496-502
BALLESTER-OLMOS, J.F. -1998- El jardín valenciano. Origen y caracterización estilística. Universidad
Politécnica de Valencia. Valencia.
LAGUNA, E. (ed.) -1994- Libro de la flora endémica, rara o amenazada de la Comunidad
Valenciana. Conselleria de Medio Ambiente, Generalitat Valenciana. Valencia.
LEAL-FILHO, W. & J.A. PALMER -1992- Key issues in Environmental Education. Bradford University.
Bradford.
PALMER, J.A. & P. NEAL. -1994- The handbook of Environmental Education. Routledge. London.
SÂRBU, A. (coord.) -2001- Diversitatea Plantelor în contextul strategiei europene da conservare a
biodiversitatii. Ed. Alo Bucaresti. Bucarest.
ZOFÍO, J.B. (coord.) -2001- Jornadas Internacionales de Xerojardinería Mediterránea.
Alcobendas, Madrid, 25-26 octubre 2000. WWF/Adena. Madrid.

TABLE 1.- Basic data of the rocky gardens built up by the programme of the Generalitat Valenciana (1994-2004)
Acronyms: BGUV: Botanic Garden of the University of Valencia; FUNDEM: Foundation Enrique Montoliu ; GV: Generalitat Valenciana (Service of Biodiversity
Conservation); IVIA: Generalitat Valenciana, Valencian Institute for Agronomic Research; MMA: Spanish Ministry of Environment; UPV: Polytechnical University of
Valencia
Name / Place Site Owner Financement Plant producer Year of
building Observations
Recovery Centre for
Wild Fauna ‘La Granja’,
Valencia
GV GV GV 1994 Over 30 spp. Placed in a recovery centre of wild fauna, this garden was
designed to show to the main users of the centre (ornithologists and ohter
zoologists) the main species of the Valencian matorral.
Foundation Enrique
Montoliu, L’Albarda,
Pedreguer (Alicante)
FUNDEM FUNDEM FUNDEM and GV 1995 Ca. 100 spp. Built up on an ancient abandoned field, integrating wild
species with planted endemic and threatened plants.
IVIA (Moncada) GV GV IVIA and GV 1997 Over 120 spp. The garden shows the species produced by the in vitro
propagation programmes of the IVIA, complemented with other
representative endemic and threatened plants of the region.
Garden of vicariances /
Botanic Garden
(Valencia)
BGUV GV BGUV 1998 Ca. 200 spp. This garden is integrated in programmes of environmental
education of the BG and is used to explain the phenomena of vicariance,
j
oinin
g
sets of species of the same
g
enus comin
g
from different sites of the
Mediterranean bassin.
Rincon de la Olivera,
Titaguas (Valencia) Municipality
of Titaguas GV and MMA GV 2002 90 spp. A garden placed on a recreative area adapted for disabled
people, holding the most representative endemic plants of the Valencian
Community; an additional garden holds representative species of local
heathlands (Erica), rockroses (Cistus) and aromatic plants.
Coves de Sant Josep,
Vall d’Uixo (Castellon) Municipality
of Vall d’Uixo Municipality of Vall
d’Uixo GV 2003 Ca. 80 spp. A set of 3 garden sectors (wet rocks, matorral, and laurel
forests) placed on a high-frequence visited touristic site.
Information Centre,
Nature Park La
Calderona, Naquera
(Valencia)
Municipality
of Naquera GV GV 2003 Ca. 30 spp. This small garden shows the main arbustive species of
subcoastal matorral, formin
g
the local ve
g
etation of the Nature Park Serra
Calderona.
Information Centre,
Nature Park Desert de
les Palmes, Benicassim
(Castellon)
GV GV GV Under
construction Over 60 spp. Includes sections of rocky and aquatic ve
g
etation, as well as
local matorraL and grasslands of the Nature Park Desert de les Palmes.
Rocky Garden ‘El
Montgo’, L’Albarda,
Pedreguer (Alicante)
FUNDEM FUNDEM FUNDEM and GV Under
construction Over 120 spp. A big rocky garden devoted to represent the main
ecosystems and wild flora of the Nature Park el Montgo, designed to be
integrated in educative programmes.
Garden ‘Cavanilles’,
Campus UPV-Gandia
(Valencia)
UPV GV GV Under
construction Over 80 spp. A garden to be used in educative trails for alumni studying
forest sciences. Coastal dunes and wetlans, matorral and thermophile
forests are represented.