Gap Analysis and selection of reserves for the threatened flora of eastern Andalusia, a hot spot in the eastern Mediterranean region

The Betic ranges are recognised as one of the hot spots of biodiversity in the Mediterranean region. The greater part of this territory is in Andalusia and is very rich in vascular plants, some of them endemic. The territory exhibits enormous orographical and geological complexity. This is, in short, a mosaic, fragmented landscape with extremely high beta-diversity. This scenario is ideal for monitoring the efficiency of reserve areas. The main aim of this research is to see whether the Network of Natural Protected Areas of Andalusia, extended with the SCIs, is sufficient to safeguard the plant biodiversity, represented in this case by the threatened vascular flora. The analysis includes also the areas corresponding to the priority habitats as defined in the Directive 92/43/EEC. Considering that the presence of priority habitats was a guideline in the drafting of the SCIs, this last inclusion is logical. The results reveal that SCIs are the most efficient strategy for the preservation of the flora, although almost 30% of the flora occur outside these sites. By contrast, the areas with priority habitats failed to cover over 70% of the threatened flora.