Flora and vegetation of the Atlantic dunes of the northwest coast of Portugal

• Type: Article in International Conference Proceedings Book
• Date: 2001

Authors

Caldas, FB (Author) Other; Honrado, JJ (Author) FCUP

Conference proceedings International

Title: COASTAL DUNE MANAGEMENT: SHARED EXPERIENCE OF EUROPEAN CONSERVATION PRACTICE

Pages: 337-342

European Symposium on Coastal Dunes of the Atlantic Biogeographical Region

SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND, SEP, 1998

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Earth and related Environmental sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-000-WX8

Abstract (EN): The northwest coast of Portugal includes the southernmost Atlantic dune system in Europe. As part of the site selection process for the Natura 2000 network, we studied the flora and the vegetation of this critical coastal dune area and assessed the conservation value of the dune ecosystem. The most significant botanical features of the area are presented in this paper. This dune system contains several species which are endemic to different degrees: Rhynchosinapis johnstonii is a Portuguese endemic, Jasione lusitanica (Annex H of the Habitats Directive) is endemic to the northwestern Iberian Peninsula, and Corema album is a plant of the western Iberian Peninsula and a very good indicator of the Mediterranean influence on the vegetation, The plant communities occurring in the area are the following, identified according to the Braun-Blanquet phytosociological approach: Salsola kali-Cakile maritima community (drift vegetation); Euphorbio paraliae-Agropyretum junceiformis (embryonic shifting dunes); Otantho maritimi-Ammophiletum australis (white dunes); Scrophulario frutescentis-Vulpietum alopecuris (grey dunes); Cisto salvifolii-Ulicetum humilis (decalcified fixed dunes). The Scrophulario-Vulpietum and Cisto-Ulicetum communities are endemic to the northwest coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 6