European Red List of Vascular Plants - European Commission

a global “biodiversity hotspot” (Mittermeier et al. 2004,
Cuttelod et al. 2008).
Europe has arguably the most highly fragmented
landscape of all continents, and only a tiny fraction
of its land surface can be considered as wilderness.
For centuries, most of Europe’s land has been used by
humans to produce food, timber and fuel and to provide
living space, and currently in western Europe, more than
80% of land is under some form of direct management
(European Environment Agency 2007). Consequently,
European species are to a large extent dependent upon
semi-natural habitats created and maintained by human
activity, particularly traditional, non-intensive forms of
land management. These habitats are under pressure from
agricultural intensification, urban sprawl, infrastructure
development, tourism pressure, land abandonment,
acidification, eutrophication and desertification.
Many species are directly affected by overexploitation,
persecution and impacts of alien invasive species, as well
as climate change being set to become an increasingly
serious threat in the future. Europe is a huge, diverse
region and the relative importance of different threats
varies widely across its biogeographic regions and
countries. Although considerable efforts have been made
to protect and conserve European habitats and species
(e.g. see Sections 6.3, 6.4, 6.5), biodiversity decline and
the associated loss of vital ecosystem services (such as water
purification, crop pollination and carbon sequestration)
continues to be a major concern in the region.
1.2 European vascular plants: diversity
and endemism
Plants are a fundamental part of ecosystems, forming
their physical structure, and are of essential importance to
the functioning of the planet’s atmosphere. The majority
of plants conduct photosynthesis, a process that by using
sunlight energy, converts carbon dioxide and water into
organic compounds (such as sugar), water and most
importantly into oxygen. Plant species provide habitat,
enable the life of animal species and are primary producers
for the food web. Plant cover significantly influences the
climate, water resources and soil stability and composition
(Hamilton and Hamilton 2006). Humankind has relied
on plants for thousands of years for food, shelter, fuel,
fibre, clothing, for medicinal purposes and for their
ornamental and cultural value.
The publication on Centres of Plant Diversity (WWF
and IUCN 1994) stated that there are 12,500 vascular
plant species in Europe with 28% of the plants being
endemic to the region. More recent figures indicate that
the total number of vascular plant taxa in Europe is 20-
25,000 (Euro+Med Plantbase 2006-2011). Twenty four
centres of plant diversity have been identified of which
nine occur on the Iberian Peninsula and 14 are mountain
ranges (e.g. Alps, Pyrenees, Troodos Mountains and
Carpathians) (WWF and IUCN 1994). The main natural
vegetation is mixed forests. Agricultural expansion and
human settlements have reduced the forest cover to 30%
in Europe (Sharrock and Jones 2009).
The areas with the highest plant richness in Europe are
in the Mediterranean region. The Iberian Peninsula and
Balearic Islands have around 7,500 taxa (species and
subspecies) (Castroviejo 2010), followed by Italy with
6,711 species (Conti et al. 2005). In Greece, the total
number of species is around 5,700 (Strid and Tan 1997)
and in France, it reaches 4,630 species (Walter and Gillett
1998). However, per unit area Greece is the country with
the highest concentration of native plant species.
The Iberian Peninsula is an important area of plant diversity in Europe. Two threatened plant species that are endemic to Spain: Silene hifacensis (left) and Helianthemum alypoides.
Photographs © Javier Fabado Alós and Juan Mota Poveda/Proyecto AFA.
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