Format: ORAL

Ignacio Ramos-Gutirrez1,2,3, Sebastian Pipins2,4,5, Rafael Molina-Venegas3,6, Mario Fernndez-Mazuecos1,3, Pedro Jimnez-Mejas7, Juan Carlos Moreno-Saiz1,3, Flix Forest2

1. Department of Biology (Botany), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. 2. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, UK. 3. Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM) 4. Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College, London, UK 5. On the Edge, London, UK 6. Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. 7. Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering (Botany), Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain

Determining the species or regions to prioritize for preservation stands as a key topic in Conservation Biology. Traditionally, this assessment relies on specific criteria such as the threat risk to a particular taxon or the richness of species for defining protected areas. However, incorporating an evolutionary variable into these analyses can be achieved through the utilization of mega-phylogenies. The EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) metric combines how evolutionary unique a species is, along with how likely it is to become extinct. Thus, a comprehensive global EDGE analysis allows the creation of a priority list, offering a quantitative measure of the importance of preserving each individual species. The Iberian Peninsula is a major center of plant richness and endemism within the Mediterranean hotspot, and the recent publication of the AFLIBER atlas with the distributions of all Iberian angiosperms using a 10 km grid, enabled the use of an EDGE analysis for the first time for a regional flora. We then determined which areas presented a higher conservation value, calculated as the sum of the EDGE scores of all occurring species in each area. Lastly, a prioritization list of areas for preservation was established using complementarity methods, maximizing EDGE conservation in a minimum area. Many selected areas where located in coastal or mountainous enclaves, often absent from national networks of protected spaces.