Prunus lusitánica L.: An endangered plant species relict in the central region of mainland Portugal

12 páginas, 9 figuras, 3 tablas.

Prunus lusitanica L. is a paleotropical relic species with an Ibero-Maghrebian distribution, which is presently considered as an endangered species, recognized by the Natura 2000 Network (92/43/EEC) as a priority habitat for conservation in Europe. The mountains in the Portuguese mainland central region offer the best location for this species to occur. The main objective of this study is to measure the current conservation status of the communities of P. lusitanica, through the collection of field data, such as the number of existing individuals of each population and their location, which will then be comparatively analyzed based on the previous literature, published at least 15 years ago. Soil characterization analysis was carried out and the main threats to conservation were identified. As a result, a decline of approximately 40% was observed in the number of individuals and in the quality of their habitat. The main threats to their conservation were found to be the seasonal occurrence of rural fires and the expansion of invasive species, such as Acacia dealbata Link and Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle. Finally, we present the main management methodologies that should be considered

This work is funded by National Funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the Project UIDB/05183/2020. L.J.R.N. was supported by Prometheus—Research Unit on Energy, Materials and Environment for Sustainability, UIDP/05975/2020, funded by national funds through FCT

This research received a contribution from the European Commission’s LIFE program, through the Life-Relict Project (NAT/PT/000754), to the municipalities of Mação, Pampil hosa da Serra and Freguesia de Vide e Cabeça for their collaboration in the fieldwork. We would like to thank researcher Helena Ribeiro from the Department of Geosciences, Environment and Spatial Plannings of the Faculty of Sciences University of Porto for her contributions to pollen characterization.

Peer reviewed