A new method to set conservation priorities in biodiversity hotspots

Abstract

Prioritization of endemic, threatened species and the habitats where they live is a crucial\ud point of conservation actions, particularly in areas with rich endemic floras. In this\ud study we have developed a new procedure to define the conservation priorities among\ud endemic plants and habitats by evaluating eight criteria. Five criteria deal with the\ud geographic and ecological range of the evaluated species, whereas the other three refer\ud to threats. After the evaluation of each criterion, we combined the partial scores to\ud obtain a Priority Index (PI). Finally, we characterized the EU habitat categories of\ud conservation concern on the basis of the average PI value of the plants living in each\ud habitat. We tested the method on a list of 260 endemic plants from a biodiversity\ud hotspot (Sardinia), that had an average PI of 3.66 ± 0.16. Even if the habitat categories\ud that are most rich in endemic plants were rocky habitats, and coastal/ halophytic\ud habitats, the most endangered habitat was coastal sand dunes (PI = 6.75 ± 1.15). The\ud method herein presented is complementary with the application of IUCN criteria.This\ud integrated approach is a concrete solution that adapts IUCN criteria and categories to\ud local contexts

Floristic Traits and Biogeographic Characterization of the Gennargentu Massif (Sardinia)

“…The 11 taxa in common with Corsica and the Tuscan Archipelago justify the biogeographical identity of an Italo-Tyrrhenian Superprovince, as proposed by LADERO ALVAREZ & al. (1987) and followed by BACCHETTA & al. (2012a).…”

A checklist of the exclusive vascular flora of Sardinia with priority rankings for conservation

“…biogeographical province, see Bacchetta & al., 2011b) should be preferred due to biogeographic and cultural diversity and regional threats (Médail & Quezel, 1999). Moreover, when working in such speciesrich areas, "priority lists" should be created in order to identify the target species for conservation measures, since biodiversity conservation policies have to operate with only limited resources (Balmford & al., 2005).…”

Habitats on the grid: The spatial dimension does matter for red-listing

“…the capacity of communities to support their whole diversity of species and to sustain their functional roles in landscapes (Nicholson et al, 2009), with some remarkable exceptions giving special importance to species diversity or to the presence of threatened taxa in the evaluation of habitat quality (e.g. Andreas & Lichvar, 1995;Bacchetta, Farris, & Pontecorvo, 2012;Berg et al, 2014;Gauthier, Debussche, & Thompson, 2010).…”