Vascular flora of the Sierra de las Nieves National Park and its surroundings (Andalusia, Spain)

Abstract

The Sierra de las Nieves National Park, declared by the Spanish Government in July 2021, is part of the Serranía de Ronda (Western Baetic mountains), which is considered one of the main centres of biodiversity and endemicity of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Andalusia, Spain) and the Mediterranean Basin. The park and its surroundings have an important diversity of vascular plants, mainly due to the orographic, climatic and geological diversity of the area, which is divided into three biogeographical sectors: Rondeño sector (limestones, dolomites and clays), Bermejense sector (peridotites and serpentines) and Aljíbico sector (gneisses and micaschists). This contribution presents the first catalogue of the vascular flora of this national park and its surrounding area, with 1,387 taxa distributed in 104 families and 542 genera. An amount of 79 taxa are endemic to Andalusia and 57 are endangered: 4 are Critically Endangered (CR), 17 are Endangered (EN) and 36 are Vulnerable (VU).