Floristic notes of Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve (Spain, Madrid province)

New records of vascular plants from Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve and surroundings (Spain, Madrid province) are provided. It is noteworthy the presence of atlantic flora in this continental area and the different shrubby communities in different sectors with different litology: in areas with gneiss they are dominated by leguminous genisteae; where it is schistous, shale or quartzite they are heathlands.

Diversity of functional groups in the vegetation sandy seashore of the Grande, Anclitas and Caguamas Cays (Jardines de la Reina Archipelago, Cuba)

Sandy shores are known to be extreme ecosystems where the vegetation has evolved many morphological and physiological adaptations for its survival. With the aim of identify possible relationships between the vegetation´s functional diversity with abiotic factors and its corresponding quantification, we collected data on the abundance and richness of the sandy coast vegetation complex in Grande, Anclitas and Caguamas keys. Its flora is largely characterized by the dominance of hemicryptophytes and chamaephytes plants with nanophyllous leaves and displaying dispersal syndromes such as zoochory and anemochory. However, the functional groups´ richness, in the present study, varies from one key to another. Functional diversity is similar between the wet and dry seasons, and its spatial variation is influenced by the interplay of the set of abiotic factors herein studied.

La vegetación del Valle del Paular (Sierra de Guadarrama, Madrid), I

Primera parte de un estudio fitosociológico del valle del Paular (Sierra de Guadarrama, Madrid, España), que incluye (véase Apéndice sintaxonómico) la vegetación potencial (clases Juncetea trifidi, Pino-Juniperetea, Quercetea ilicis y Querco-Fagetea), las orlas forestales arbustivas (subclase Rhamno-Prunenea y clase Cytisetea scopario-striati) y herbáceas (clase Trifolio-Geranietea), y los matorrales seriales (clases Cisto-Lavanduletea y Ononido-Rosmarinetea). Tras una breve introducción sobre la geología, bioclimatología y biogeografía del territorio, se describen las asociaciones reconocidas con sus correspondientes tablas de inventarios (un total de 392). La relaciónde nuevos sintáxones propuestos se expone en el resumen en inglés. Se lectotipifican las asociaciones Melico uniflorae-Betuletum celtibericae y Santolino-Cistetum laur¡folii. También se aporta un mapa de series de vegetación, tres catenas de la vegetación potencial y dos cuadros con la distribución bioclimática de los sintáxon estratados y las relaciones dinámicas y seriales apreciadas entre ellos.

Phytogeographic characterization of Gran Canaria Island (Canary Islands-Spain)

Studies on the flora and fauna of the Canary Islands show that this Archipelago is one of the planet’s diversity hot spots. However, an analysis of the differences in the phytogeographic characteristics of each of the islands that make up this Archipelago is lacking. This article focuses on the phytogeographic characterization of the island of Gran Canaria. This island exhibits geological and climatic characteristics resulting in a rich vascular flora, including endemic species and genera that are significantly different from the other islands of the Archipelago. These differences are verified through statistical analysis of the existing similarity between the floras of the members of the Canary Islands. This study also analyses the subdivision of Gran Canaria Island, indicating that there are three well-differentiated areas on the island itself. Finally, this study argues that these areas, themselves, should be considered biogeographic sectors.