Abstract
Sparsely vegetated habitats of cliffs and screes act as refugia for many regional and local endemic specialized plant taxa most of which have evolved precisely for that type of habitat. The interplay between taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional plant diversity on rock and scree habitats of extreme environmental conditions, enlightens the relations of plant communities and ecosystems and facilitates management planning for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The identification of biodiversity patterns and hotspots (taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional) contributes to the integration of the ecosystem services (ES) approach for the mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services (MAES) implementation in Greece and the creation of thematic maps based on the MAES reporting format. The overlap among the protected areas’ network revealed that almost all areas of cliffs and screes of medium, high, and very high taxonomic and phylogenetic plant endemism are included in the Natura 2000 area network. The results of this study provide the baseline information for ES assessments at sparsely vegetated land of cliffs and screes. Our results contribute to the implementation of certain indicators of the national set of MAES indicators in Greece such as (a) floristic diversity and (b) microrefugia of endemic diversity and support of decision-making.
Highlights
Within the conceptual framework of mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services (MAES) [1], various studies on ecosystem services (ES) of different ecosystem types, from the local to national level, have been conducted in Greece (e.g., [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9])
Vegetated land of cliffs and screes act as reservoirs of relict biodiversity [54], as they have unchanging climates and properties that buffer against climatic fluctuations [41]
Cliffs and screes function as evolutionary dead-ends sites because the future specialization dynamics of any taxon, once it becomes specialized for extreme site conditions, will be favored by very strong selection pressure of growth factors against the biological competition [55]
Summary
Within the conceptual framework of mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services (MAES) [1], various studies on ecosystem services (ES) of different ecosystem types, from the local to national level, have been conducted in Greece (e.g., [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]). Integrated Project with the acronym “LIFE-IP 4 NATURA”, led by the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy, incorporates MAES implementation Actions at the local and national level [10]. Following the ongoing progress on (a) drafting species’ and habitats’ action plans and area-prioritization efforts inside the Natura 2000 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and (b) “LIFE-IP 4 NATURA” actions, the first national, fine-scale, and phylogenetically informed identification of biodiversity hotspots and endemism centers (ECs) has been recently accomplished in Greece [11]. The preservation of evolutionary heritage, trait diversity, and future ecosystem services for human well-being [17,18,19] could be ensured
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