Format: ORAL

Katy V. Rondinel-Mendoza1, Matilde Garci´a-Valdecasas Ojeda2, Eva Can~adas1, Juan Lorite1

1 Department of Botany, University of Granada 2 Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada

Mediterranean mountains are extraordinarily diverse and host a high plant diversity, especially of endemic plants. However, these mountain ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to climate change, and significant changes in plant communities and the life cycle of many species are expected. Plant phenology is considered one of the most important bioindicators of climate change, as trends can provide considerable temporal and spatial information on changes in species and ecosystems. This work aimed to analyze the phenological trends of 89 endemic and conservation-important plant species of Sierra Nevada (SE Spain) over period of 187 years. A total of 5,262 records were obtained from herbarium samples. Phenological variability was analyzed considering: altitudinal gradient and climatic data series (temperature and precipitation) extracted from raster layers with temporal climate models from 1950 to 2020. As preliminary results, we found a clear tendency to advance the flowering and fruiting events at the massif scale. And, at the species level, the response was more significant in one than in the others. These results may improve the understanding of phenological changes in endemic plants under the current climate change scenario in a Mediterranean water-limited mountain. Thus, serving as early warning indicators, providing appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies and measures at the species level. Moreover, the study highlights the crucial role that historical records harboured in herbarium sheets have for monitoring the effects of climate change on biodiversity.