XII International Symposium on vulcanospeleology. Tepoztlan, Morelos, Mexico, July 2-7, 2006.In this contribution the software ATLANTIS Tierra 2.0 is described as a promising tool to be used in the conservation management of the animal and plant biodiversity of caves in Macaronesia. In the Azores, the importance of cave entrances to bryophytes is twofold: i) since these are particularly humid, sheltered habitats, they support a diverse assemblage of bryophyte species and circa 25% of the Azorean brioflora is referred to this habitat and ii) species, either endemic or referred in the European red list due to their vulnerability (19 species) or rarity (13) find refuge there. Cave adapted arthropods are also diverse in the Azores and 21 endemic obligate cave species were recorded. Generally these species have restricted distributions and some are known from only one cave. ATLANTIS Tierra 2.0 allows the mapping of the distribution of all species in a 500 x 500 m grid in a GIS interface. This allows an easy detection of species rich caves (hotspots) and facilitates the interpretation of spatial patterns of species distribution. For instance, predictive models of species distribution could be constructed using the distribution of lava flows or other environmental variables. Using this new tool we will be better equipped to answer the following questions: a) Where are the current “hotspot caves” of biodiversity in the Azores?; b) How many new caves need to be selected as specially protected areas in order to conserve the rarest endemic taxa?; c) Is there congruence between the patterns of richness and distribution of invertebrates and bryophytes?; d) Are environmental variables good surrogates of species distributions
