Format: ORAL

Goncalves Estefany1, Javier Garca Caballero1; Federico Casimiro-Soriguer1, Hidalgo-Triana Noelia1.

1 Department of Botany and Plant Physiology (Botany Area), University of Málaga, Blvr. Louis Pasteur, 33, 29010 Málaga, Spain; fsoriguer@uma.es

The coastal regions of the Alboran Sea in southern Spain, bathed by the Mediterranean sea, are celebrated for their remarkable biodiversity and contain several Habitats of Community Interest (HCI), a designation under the European Union Council Directive. Although those HCIs host various ecosystems and numerous endemic species whose conservation is the shared responsibility of EU member states, many of them face significant risks. In our study, we analysed the degree of conservation (DC) of terrestrial habitats along the coasts of Mlaga and Granada, in order to provide key information for prioritising conservation measures. To that end, vegetation inventories were conducted to assess the DC of HCIs, current coverage, the presence of typical species from a phytosociological perspective, and the invasion of non-native species. Our findings suggest that HCI Groups 1 and 2 (i.e. 1150, 1210, 1240, and 2210), including dunes, halonitrophilous vegetation, and cliffs, were the most impacted due to displaying diminished plant coverage and a proliferation of invasive species. Enhanced management is therefore urgently needed to ensure the preservation and protection of those unique ecosystems. We also propose that the comprehensive evaluation method used in our study and the creation of a conservation index have the potential for extrapolation to other HCIs across Europe.