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The use of large databases to characterize habitat types: the case of Quercus suber woodlands in Europe

  • Vegetation Science and Habitats Directive
  • Published:
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Abstract

The conservation of habitat types has been recognized to be of relevant importance for the conservation of biodiversity and is a major concern in the European Union. With the 92/43/EEC Habitats Directive, the European Commission targeted these habitat types, which conservation must be ensured by Member States. In this context, the Habitat type 9330 “Quercus suber forests” is intended to ensure the conservation of cork oak woodlands in Europe. To support the enhancement of nature conservation policies, in this study we provide a classification of cork oak woodlands in Europe using a large vegetation database. We identify four major groups with clear biogeographic differences and characterize them by lists of indicator species. We also provide distribution maps based on occurrence data and the modelled potential area of distribution as an additional tool for conservation. This study offers a contribution to the comparative description of the European Q. suber woodlands subtypes and to establish a protocol for habitat monitoring and assessment.

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Acknowledgements

Special thank to all the co-authors for patience and their suggestions. We also thank to the two anonymous reviewers for helpful and constructive comments on a previous version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Roma, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Emiliano Agrillo & Fabio Attorre

  2. Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, P.zza Università 5, 39100, Bozen-Bolzano, Italy

    Nicola Alessi

  3. Research Unit of Biodiversity (CSIC/UO/PA), Oviedo University, C/Gonzalo Gutiérrez Quirós s/n, 33600, Mieres, Spain

    Borja Jiménez-Alfaro

  4. Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Via Vitaliano Brancati, 60, 00144, Rome, Italy

    Laura Casella & Pierangela Angelini

  5. Conservatoire botanique national méditerranéen de Porquerolles, Parc scientifique Agropolis-B7-2214, boulevard de la Lironde, 34980, Montferrier sur Lez, France

    Olivier Argagnon

  6. Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45071, Toledo, Spain

    Guillermo Crespo & Federico Fernández-González

  7. Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal

    Tiago Monteiro-Henriques

  8. Centre for Geographical Studies, IGOT (Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning), Universidade de Lisboa, Rua Branca Edmée Marques, 1600-276, Lisbon, Portugal

    Carlos Silva Neto

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  1. Emiliano Agrillo
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  2. Nicola Alessi
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  3. Borja Jiménez-Alfaro
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  4. Laura Casella
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  8. Federico Fernández-González
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  9. Tiago Monteiro-Henriques
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Contributions

AE designed the research; AN, BJA and CL developed the initial aims; AN, BJA prepared the data set and did the analyses; AE, AN, BJA and CL wrote the manuscript; all the other authors contributed vegetation data, improved the aims of this research and critically revised the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emiliano Agrillo.

Additional information

This peer-reviewed contribution is from the European Vegetation Survey working group established in 1992 by Alessandro Pignatti and colleagues in Rome.

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Agrillo, E., Alessi, N., Jiménez-Alfaro, B. et al. The use of large databases to characterize habitat types: the case of Quercus suber woodlands in Europe. Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei 29, 283–293 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-018-0703-x

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