Representativeness of the Natura 2000 network for preserving plant biodiversity in the European Union
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The Natura 2000 (N2K) network of protected areas is one of the main tools for area-based conservation in the European Union (EU), yet its role in preserving plant biodiversity requires better understanding. We examined data kept in the European Vegetation Archive from over 1.2 million vegetation plots and obtained over 14.2 million plant species occurrences. To test the N2K network's representativeness of plant species gamma diversity, we compared the number and percentage of native and conservation priority species in- and outside the N2K network throughout the EU and for individual countries, biogeographical regions, and combinations thereof. We then determined whether N2K sites hosted more species than sites outside the network with the species-area relationship. Overall, almost 90% of the native vascular plant species occurred at least once in the N2K network. Yet, significant variation exists across countries and biogeographical regions-from 0% of species in the Boreal region of Lithuania, to 98% in the Alpine region of Croatia-indicating that local N2K sites are not equally representative of the regional gamma diversity. Nonetheless, the N2K network contains more species than land outside the network when area is taken into account. The planned expansion of the N2K network, as mandated by the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, should prioritize areas with currently underrepresented elements of the EU vascular flora.
Source: Conservation Biology
DOI: 10.1111/cobi.70158
Authors: Michele Di Musciano, Piero Zannini, Riccardo Testolin, Francesco Maria Sabatini, Diletta Santovito, Borja Jiménez‐Alfaro, Florian Jansen, Milan Chytrý, Lorenzo Ricci, Emiliano Agrillo, Fabio Attorre, Idoia Biurrun, Gianmaria Bonari, Hans Henrik Bruun, Luigi Cao Pinna, Andraž Čarni, Maria Laura Carranza, Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Jürgen Dengler, Michele De Sanctis, Úna Fitzpatrick, Anna Rita Frattaroli, Emmanuel Garbolino, Stephan Hennekens, Ute Jandt, Jan Jansen, Zygmunt Kacki, Ilona Knollová, Jonathan Lenoir, Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund, Tomáš Peterka, Nataša Pipenbaher, Duccio Rocchini, Eszter Ruprecht, Solvita Rūsiņa, Urban Šilc, Sonja Škornik, Grzegorz Swacha, Milan Valachovič, Kiril Vassilev, Wolfgang Willner, Alessandro Chiarucci
Institutions: University of L'Aquila, University of Bologna, LifeWatch – Niclas Öberg Foundation, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Universidad de Oviedo, University of Rostock, Masaryk University, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Sapienza University of Rome, University of the Basque Country, University of Siena, University of Copenhagen, Roma Tre University, University of Glasgow, University of Nova Gorica, Jovan Hadži Institute of Biology, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, University of Molise, University of Palermo, University of Bayreuth, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Institut Supérieur d'Ingénierie et Gestion de l'Environnement - ISIGE, École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Radboud University Nijmegen, University of Wrocław, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Aarhus University, University of Maribor, Babeș-Bolyai University, University of Latvia, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, University of Vienna, Vienna Institute for Nature Conservation & Analyses
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,400
OpenAlex ID: W4415096390