Sierra Nevada Flora

The “Hoya de la Mora” is at about 2500 m of altitude sinceit was established in 1965, is part of the Botanical Garden University ofSierra Nevada, and specializes in all endemic species in the Sierra Nevada.

Causes of Biological Diversity

The origin of the unusual number of endemic species presenthas been placed at the end of the Tertiary for almost two million years. Duringthis era and the advent of the Quaternary period, the weather across Europesuffered a gradual cooling that allowed plant species in northern latitudes andthe Arctic to move progressively toward the south of Europe and occupy much ofthe interior uplands and the Iberian Peninsula.

Flora of Sierra Nevada

After the end of the last ice age, the peculiar situation of Sierra Nevada enabled it to become a haven forcountless species of endemic and improper northern midlatitudes.

According to sources from the Ministry of Environment of Spain, there are 66 endemic vascular plantspecies, which represents the greatest biodiversity of the Iberian Peninsulaand Europe. The total number of higher plantsis around 2,100, which represents one-quarter of all known species in Spain and one-fifth of Europe.

The Botanical Garden of the Cortijuela, situated on theslopes of Cerro del Trevenque about 1600 m above sea level, is responsible forthe protection, conservation, generation, and investigation of the plants ofthis mountain range, particularly of its nearly 100 vulnerable species that arethreatened or critically endangered.

Soils are more advanced Enebrales and Piornal, formingcommunities rich in chamaephytes fruticosa hemicryptophytes (Arenariaimbricata, Festuca indigestible). There is also an abundance of endemic plants,including Genista versicolor, Arenaria pungens, and Potentilla nevadensis.

In limestone areas at higher elevations (Durcal riverheadwaters, Dornajo) with a scarcity of land, are spine with juniper andjuniper mixed with padded thyme and species such as carbonellis Sideritis,Astragalus, and granatesis.

The end of the Wurm Glaciation and the arrival of the Holoceneperiod marked the beginning of a gradual rise in temperatures, and northernspecies found refuge in the high region of Sierra Nevada,quartered in the massif, and adjusted to the characteristics of the climate ofthe area during its summer drought.

Thus many species have developed their own characteristicsor have been developed independently because of its isolation, thereforecreating a greater number of endemics in the mountains that exist in countriessuch as Belgium, Germany, Austria, United Kingdom, Sweden , Denmark, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland.

Examples of endemic species are: chamomile real (granatensisArtemis), Sierra Nevada daffodil (Narcissus nevadensis), and the star of thesnow (Plantago nivalis), the latter being one of the great symbols of themassif, equivalent to the Pyrenees or edelweiss in the Alps.Furthermore, in Sierra Nevada there are alsospecies that are endemic to the Betic System or are present in the AtlasMountains of Morocco.

This environment develops Borreguiles (name given in the Granada nevadenses highmountain pastures or mountain pastures). This type of vegetation (which alsopartially takes place in stadiums Mediterranean Gold top floor) has certainsimilarities to the Arctic tundra, with cervuno (Aurantium stricta) as therepresentative plant and a high number of endemics.

Vegetation

Depending on the area, in areas of carbonate rocks(limestone, for example), the vegetation consists mainly of river Olmedo (Ulmusminor), poplar (Populus alba), and Sauceda (Salix spp.).

On acidic soils are alder grove (Alnus glutinosa), Sauceda(Salix atrocinerea), and ash (Fraxinus angustifolia). Unfortunately,degradation of riparian (river) vegetation in Sierra Nevada is very remarkable and rather difficult to find reasonableriparian vegetation in a state of preservation

The vegetation of the Sierra Nevadacan be divided into different bioclimatic floors:

Vegetation in LowlandAreas

Below 700 meters, only on the south side of the mountain, isthe Thermo floor. On this floor there are very hot summers and frosts arevirtually nonexistent in winter. Few parts of this strip of land have notgrown, but studies say that this area would be combined with an oak scrublentiscus (Pistacia lentiscus), junipers, lamps (Aristolochia baetica), andsarsaparilla (Smilax aspera). Soil has degraded because of phenomena such asforest fires and Romeral (Rosmarinus officinalis), Ulex parviflorus, andaulagares of Jarales.

Low Mountain Vegetation

In this range of heights is the mesomediterranean floor,which is between 700 and 1300 m. On this floor the summers are still warm butwinter frosts occur. There are many lentiscus (Pistacia lentiscus), Acebuche,and sarsaparilla (Smilax aspera). The oak floors are silicious, with oak,juniper, Torviscas, and honeysuckle (Lonicera Etruscan).

Vegetation Mountain

Between 1300 and 1900 meters is flat land. On this floor thesummers are mild and winters are slightly colder, with frequent frosts andsnow. The predominant species are melojo and, to a lesser extent, the oak andmaple.

More common is the oak, which is generally between 1300 and1750 m. Oak has to develop both on carbonate soils and on acid rocks. The oakforests are dominated by oak and, depending on soil type and altitude, shrubssuch as juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus), agracejo (Berberis hispanica), Torviscas(Daphne gnidium), Rusco (Ruscus aculeatus), and Majuelo (Crataegus monogyna).

Vegetation of High Mountains

From 1900 m to 2,700 m, the floor is Mediterranean Gold. Itis from this point where you strip the majority of species that make Sierra Nevada a botanical paradise.

On this floor are bioclimatic pines and juniper. Thevegetation consists of species of tree and shrub habitat (Scots pine (Pinussylvestris), creeping juniper (Juniperus sabina), J. communis subsp.(Hemisphaerica, Prunus ramburii), and a scrub pulvinular (Vella spinosa,Anthyllis Erinacea, Bupleurum spinosum).