The westernmost European nucleus of the 5220* Habitat of Community Interest (HCI) is located in the province of Málaga (Andalusia). In this area, the 5220* HCI is characterized by the presence of scrublands of Gymnosporia senegalensis subsp. europaea. This is a relict species in Europe, with inhabits only in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. The westernmost Iberian nuclei of the 5220* HCI are constituted by three isolated nuclei (Málaga–Rincón de la Victoria; Torremolinos; and Pizarra). These nuclei have been only partially mapped. The objectives were: to map the 5220* HCI characterized by G. senegalensis subsp. europaea in detail; to evaluate its degree of conservation (DC); and to identify the chronosequences of the evolution of this habitat from 1957 to 2021, and its fragmentation. Our results have contributed to generating a 1:10,000 scale cartography of the habitat. In general, the DC obtained was from good to excellent. With an excellent DC value, one inland locality (Pizarra) was highlighted. However, the highest reduction in the value of DC was observed in the localities of Torremolinos and Málaga–Rincón de la Victoria which, in addition, have reduced the area of occupancy (AOO) and are fragmented. It is important to note that some areas of Málaga–Rincón de la Victoria reached excellent values of DC, indicating the need to carry out protection.
In the ultramafic area of Spain, a high quantity of petrographic entities is present. Data on the variability between populations of hyperaccumulation are scarce. We investigated Alyssum serpyllifolium subsp. malacitanum for variation in eleven elements between populations growing in different ultramafic massifs across different petrographic entities (dunites, harzburgite-pyroxenic dunite, harzburgite-lherzolite, pyroxenite and serpentinites).Samples of leaves and soils were collected from the ultramafic outcrops of Sierra Bermeja and Sierra de Mijas (Andalusia, Spain). Concentrations of Ni, Fe, Mg, Si, Cr, Co, Sr, Mn, Cu, Zn and Ba and the Bioaccumulation factors (BAF) were determined.Although analysis of variance of data for each element revealed considerable variation in the soil chemistry (for Fe, Mg, Sr and Ba) across different petrographic entities, population-level variation with regard to the hyperaccumulation in the leaves was not detected. BAF values greater than one were obtained for Sr and Ni depending on the petrographic entities. The correlation detected between the concentration of Ni in the leaves and its concentration in the soil is relevant.The population-level variation obtained in the BAF for Sr and Ni provide comprehensive information on the natural variation of hyperaccumulation. The BAF obtained for Ba is an important result for phytomining.
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