Serra Serra, Núria

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Facultat de Biociències

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PEIN 25 years later: are threatened plant species in Catalonia truly protected?Núria Serra SerraIntroductionA protected area is a clearly defined geographicalspace, recognised, dedicated and managed, throughlegal or other effective means, to achieve the long-termconservation of nature with associated ecosystemservices and cultural values (Dudley, 2008).The System of Protected Areas in Catalonia wasinitiated in 1985 with the publication of Law 12/1985 ,which defined all types of protected areas andlaunched the idea of PEIN (Pla d’Espais d’InterèsNatural). In 1992 PEIN Order (Decret 328/1992) wascompletely published, and the System of ProtectedAreas in Catalonia became true. The third Annex of thisOrder comprised a list of protected plant species inPEIN areas. Lately, a small modification of it was made,with the release of the Catàleg de flora amenaçada deCatalunya in 2008.The main aim of this report is to evaluate the efficiencyof PEIN system, focusing on the protection of plantthreatened species, as well as the assessment of activeplant species management in areas that contain aManagement Entity.ResultsReferences:	Catàleg	de	flora	amenaçada	de	Catalunya.	(2008).	Diari	Oficial	de	La	Generalitat	de	Catalunya,	172,	15.Chape,	S.,	Spalding,	M.,	&	Jenkins,	M.	(2008).	The world’s protected areas:	status,	values and prospects in	the 21st	century.	University	of	California pressCommission,	I.	S.	S.	(2000).	IUCN	Red	List Categories	and Criteria.	IUCN	Bulletin.	Decret	328/1992.	(1992).PEIN areas are more or less uniformly distributed across Catalonia. Nevertheless, not all protected areas have protected plant species. In all regions ofCatalonia, PEINs that don’t contain protected species are more abundant than those which contain them, with the higher difference in the regioncomprising the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees Thus, on average, there is only one protected species in every PEIN area.1. Plant protected species relative to the number of PEIN areas3. Protection according to species’ threaten levelThe IUCN Red List Categories are the standardised and most widely used system of classifying species at high risk of global extinction. When classifyingprotected species in Catalonia into one of the threaten categories, there is an undoubtedly predominance of Least-Concern (LC) species protected,which are not endangered at all. Vulnerable (VU) species comprise a mere 8% of the list, while endangered (EN) species are absent. Only one CriticallyEndangered (CR) species is protected in Catalonia.2. Protection according to species biogeographyComparing protected species considering their biogeography there is a predominance of Mediterranean ones, which corresponds with theirpreponderance throughout Catalonia.When dividing PEIN areas into the same three regions as before, there is a logical protection in them. Boreal-alpine species are over-represented in thePyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees region, while Mediterranean ones form the majority of protected plant species in the centre and coastal part of Catalonia.14%49%25%12%EurosiberianMediterraneanBoreal-AlpinePlurirregional0102030405060708090100PYRENEES	AND	PRE-PYRENEES CENTRAL	DEPRESSION COASTAL	AND	PRE-COASTAL	RANGES	AND	DEPRESSIONS25 years is a reasonable time to assess the consequences of PEIN Order, and this report has focused on plant species’ protection.On the whole, the results show that:• The majority of protected areas don’t contain protected species.• On average, there is only one protected plant species in every area.• There are 10 protected species which are either introduced in that PEIN or not present there at all.• Protection of plant species throughout Catalonia according to their biogeography is fairly adequate.• Protection regarding the threaten level is not reasonable at all. Nearly all protected species are not threatened at all, whileendangered species are not protected by the PEIN Order.Conclusions0% 1%8%91%Critically	EndangeredEndangeredVulnerableLeast	concernMaterials	and	MethodsAn Excel document was created with Pteridophyta andSpermatophyta species that are protected in one ormore PEINs. For each of them, several characteristicswere analysed.PEIN areas were divided into one of the subsequentcategories: Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, CentralDepression and Coastal and Precoastal Ranges andDepressions.There were 10 species in the list that were eitherintroduced in the area of interest, or they were notpresent there at all. In consequence, they wereexcluded for the subsequent analysis.Future perspectives:ü Exclude species that are introduced in the area of interestü Exclude species that are not present in that areaü Exclude common species that don’t need protectionü Include	endangered	and	endemic	species	that	need	special	protectionEEA.	(2012).	Protected areas in	Europe	— an overview.	Hein,	L.	(2011).	Economicbenefits generated by protected areas:	The case of	the Hoge Veluwe Forest,	the Netherlands.	Ecology and Society,	16(2).Llei	12/1985.	(1985).	Mallarach i	Carrera,	J.	M.,	&	Comas,	E.	(2008).	Protegits,	de	fet	o	de	dret?	Institució	Catalana	d’Història	Natural.149283821340510152025303540PYRENEES	AND	PRE-PYRENEES. CENTRAL	DEPRESSION COASTAL	AND	PRE-COASTAL	RANGES	AND	DEPRESSIONSAreas	with	protected	species Areas	without	protected	species

PEIN 25 years later : are threatened plant species in Catalonia truly protected?

https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/tfg/2016/164292/TFG_nuriaserraserra.pdf

PEIN 25 years later : are threatened plant species in Catalonia truly protected?

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