Agricultural development vs biodiversity conservation: the Mediterranean semiarid vegetation in El Ejido (Almer�a, southeastern Spain)

Abstract

The development of a greenhouse agriculture in the traditionally impoverished region of Poniente de Almeria, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, has caused an enormous rise in living standards. However, the environmental impact of this badly-planned growth threatens the very dynamics of the exploitation system. A special examination must be made of the use of the three major resources responsible for the functioning of greenhouse production and its impact on the ecosystems and particularly on the vegetation. These resources are: clayey soils, sand from fossil dunes and ground water. While the use of the clayey soils and sand have negative effects on the conservation of ecologically valuable communities found nowhere else in Europe, ground water overexploitation has produced an increase in salinity in most of the aquifers. Of these, sand has been by far the best monitored resource and restoration programmes have been implemented in the extraction zones. This survey deals with the recent evolution of areas where the arto (Maytenus senegalensis subsp. europaeus) and the sabina (Juniperus phoenicea subsp, turbinata) have long been the dominant species, although the presence of the former is nowadays notoriously diminished. The study is based on aerial photographs taken in 1957, 1977 and 1985, together with our own field work. Curiously enough, all this man-made process of degradation has stimulated ornithological diversity. Finally, we propose here some measures which aim to preserve the most important enclaves of these Mediterranean shrub formations, specially those of the arto, since sabina-dominated communities already belong to existing conservation areas.

Evaluating riparian vegetation in semi-arid Mediterranean watercourses in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula

“…Paradoxically, in some instances, the zones disturbed by the extraction of sand from the riverbeds can give rise to helophyte communities that harbour important species of birds (Mota et al 1995). One of these sandpits, which was abandoned after reaching the phreatic layer of the central aquifer Balanegra-Las Marinas, consisted of a large lagoon, which currently harbours one of the most important cenosis for riparian birds and ducks in the southern Iberian Peninsula (López-Martos et al 1992).…”

Territory, Cluster and Competitiveness of the Intensive Horticulture in Almería (Spain)

“…The economic model based on this intensive agriculture has allowed growth of both the economy and the population of Almería which is unprecedented in the recent history of Spain. The socioeconomic change that the sector has induced has been such that it has been described as a "miracle" [4][5][6].…”

A Thorny Dilemma: Testing Alternative Intrageneric Classifications within <I>Ziziphus</I> (Rhamnaceae)

“…Population size ranges from 10 to thousands (typically less than 100) of individuals depending on the alteration status. In fact, European Z. lotus populations are seriously threatened by severe habitat destruction and fragmentation due to agriculture intensification and land-use change (Mota et al, 1996;Tirado, 2009;Mendoza-Fernández et al, 2015).…”