Happy new year 2008

'Micro' starts with the smaller forms of wild plants: seeds and seedlings!!. Here you are the Christmas card sent by Dr Costas Thanos including the logo of the CRETAPLANT project.

Christmas card sent from Dr. Costas Thanos, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

The blog unit of 'Plant Microreserves' wishes to all the visitors a happy new year 2008, waiting for new PMR proposals.
Some news?, go on with: In a few time, the Generalitat Valenciana will protect 14 new plant micro-reserves (so raising a network of 273 protected PMRs). In addition, by April 2008, the Frederick Institute of Technology (Nicosia, Cyprus) will hold a technical meeting on PMRs. The blog will inform you during the next moths!!!

Recent Greek presentations on PMRs

The Greek PMRs team leaded by Dr. Costas Thanos (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) has recently presented a couple of communications to the international conferences MEDECOS XI and SEED ECOLOGY II. Please find here temporary links to the extended abstracts:
*Thanos C.A., Fournaraki C., Georghiou K., Dimopoulos P., Bergmeier E. (2007). The Establishment, Monitoring and Management of a Pilot Network of Micro-Reserves in Western Crete for the Conservation of European Threatened Plants (CRETAPLANT Project, EU-LIFE), pp. 249-250, Conference Proceedings, MEDECOS XI, the International Mediterranean Ecosystems Conference, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, September 2-5, 2007. Abstract available at http://www.uv.es/elalum/ThanosMedecosXI.pdf
*Fournaraki C., Remoundou I., Thanos C.A. (2007). Ex situ Conservation of European Threatened Plants in Western Crete, Greece (CRETAPLANT project, EU-LIFE), p. 24, Conference Proceedings, SEED ECOLOGY II - The 2nd International Society for Seed Science Meeting on Seeds and the Environment, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, September 9-13, 2007. Abstract available at http://www.uv.es/elalum/FournarakiSeedEcologyII.pdf

The Greek researchers Ch. Fournaraki (Mediterranean Agronimic Institute of Chania, MAICh) and C. Thanos (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), during the meeting on PMRs cellebrated in the MAICh (Chania, Crete), in the framework of the LIFE-Nature project Cretaplant. © E. Laguna 25.11.2005

For additional information, you can contact Dr. Thanos at his email address cthanos@biol.uoa.gr ; website http://www.biology.uoa.gr/~cthanos/ Other presentations issued in 2007 on PMRs are available at http://www.uv.es/elalum/cluj.htm

Cyprus' supporter of PMRs Dr Costas Kadis appointed as Minister of Health

Prof. Dr. Costas Kadis, the main promoter of the Plant Micro-reserves ideas in Cyprus, has been recently appointed as Minister of Health in his country. Dr. Kadis is one of the most brilliant botanists in Cyprus, maintaining a fluent collaboration with his magister Dr. Costas Thanos (Kapodistrian and National University of Athens, Greece), responsible for the development of the LIFE-Nature CRETAPLANT project, to create a network of PMRs in Western Crete. From our blog, we'd like to express our congratulations to Dr. Kadis, and of course we hope that his stay in the Cyprus' Ministry of Health will ensure an improvement of the funds for applied research -don't forget that the human health is still mostly depending on the wild plants!!-.

A new article on plant micro-reserves available on-line

A few weeks ago, the Botanical Garden of the University of Valencia (BGUV) edited the second issue of the newsletter ENSCONEWS, on behalf of the European Network of Germplasm Banks ENSCONET. Main editors of this issue are A. Amblar, D. Lázaro and Drs E. Estrelles and A.M. Ibars, from the BGUV; an international board of associated editors has been formed by Drs. S. Linington, J. Müller and D. Aplin. This issue includes amongst other an article on the concept and development of the plant micro-reserve (PMR) initiative. The address to download the issue is:
http://www.ensconet.eu/PDF/ENSCONET_2nd_Annual_Bulletin.pdf
Of course, you'll also find lots of interesting articles, not only on PMRs!!

Dr Elena Estrelles (Botanical Garden of the University of Valencia), main editor of ENSCONEWS, during the meeting of the scientific committee of the LIFE-Muntanya project (www.lifemuntanya.com), Valencia, February 2006 © E. Laguna 2006

The draft of the 'Review of the European Plant Conservation Strategy' already available

A few days before starting the next European Conference on the Conservation of Wild Plants, Planta Europa V (Cluj-Napoca. Romania, 5-9th September 2007), the secretariat of Planta Europa has advanced the draft of the Review of the EPCS (European Plant Conservation Strategy), to be discussed and enriched during the congress. Informnation is available at the webpage:
http://www.plantlife.org.uk/portal/assets/European%20Strategy/EPCSFulltermreview.pdf

See more information on the EPCS in the Planta Europa's website www.plantauropa.org , and at the area of international projects of Plantlife International, http://www.plantlife.org.uk/international/plantlife-policies-strategies-epcs.html

The TOP50 list on Mediterranean Island Plants in Spanish and Greek

Please read below the news on the presentation of the 'Top 50 Threatened Mediterranean Plants', transmetted from the e-bulletin of the IUCN's Species Survival Commission, issued in june 2007:

Top 50 Threatened Mediterranean Plants in Greek and Spanish: An effective tool for raising conservation awareness, The Top 50 Mediterranean Island Plants, has just been translated into Greek and Spanish by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The Spanish version was officially launched at an event in the Balearic islands on 15 June, and the Greek version, the Union’s first publication in Greek, and will be officially launched on Cyprus on 6 July, at an event to be attended by the Cypriot Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment, Mr Fotis Fotiou.
Top 50 Greek: http://www.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/2005-025-El.pdf
Top 50 Spanish: http://www.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/2005-025-Es.pdf

Medicago citrina (Font Quer) Greuter. ©E. Laguna 2006

You can download the initial versions (English and French) from the SSC's website at

http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/our_work/plants/mediterranean_top50.htm

The translation into Spanish has been coordinated by Dr Emilio Laguna, who also collaborated in the original version (English) and drafted the sheet for the Valencian-Balearic endemic Medicago citrina, providing information on its protection by means of plant micro-reserves:

http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/our_work/plants/Top50/English/Medicago_citrina_EN.htm

Poster on the PMR initiative for the World Congress of IALE

The scientific committee of the World Congress of the International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE) accepted the presentation of a poster on the international enlargement of the Plant Microreserve (PMR) initiative, by means of the LIFE-Nature CE's funds. Co-autors of the poster presentation belong to the teams of LIFE projects developed in the Valencian Community, Minorca (Balearic Islands), Krst Edge (Slovenia) and Western Crete (Greece). This poster will be displayed in the workshop organised by Dr. Andrew Hull on the role of the LIFE funds for the conservation of the European Union's landscapes, where close to 35 presentations will be held. The congress will be done in Wageningen (Netherlands) 8-12 july 2007, and it will hold the cellebration of the 25th aniversary of IALE congresses. More information can be found at the congress website http://www.iale2007.com/. On the PMR presentation, interested people can download it during the next weeks from www.uv.es/elalum/wageningen1.pdf

Dr Daniel Montesinos (left) receives a gift from his co-director Dr Patricio Garcia-Fayos, in behalf of the CIDE's researchers, during the cellebration party of the doctorate.

Dr Daniel Montesinos, formerly cooperant of the Valencian PMR programme, obtained recently his PhD degree in Biological Sciences, after a brilliant defence of his work reporting the reproductive efectiveness and resource uses in the Spanish Juniper (Juniperus thurifera). This 4-years work has been developed in the CIDE (Centre for Research on Desertification and Erosion, CSIC, Albal, Valencia) under the direction of Dr. Patricio García-Fayos (currently director of the CIDE) and Dr. Miguel Verdú. The doctoral lecture demonstrated that males and females of this masting tree seem to show a differential behaviour to employ and movilize their resources for reproductive functions. To obtain more information, please contact Dr Montesinos at daniel.montesinos@uv.es

Plant microreserves assesment in SKP, Egypt

Joan Pérez-Botella (first at right) visits SKP sites, guided by local rangers and specialists in the knowledge of wild medicinal plants.

As indicated in former messages, the Valencian PMR team, represented by the botanist Joan Pérez-Botella, visited the St.-Katherine Protectorate (SKP) at Sinai peninsule, Egypt, in order to assess the establishment of a future small network of plant microreseves, focused on endangered medicinal plants. The visit was scheduled by the end of May and first days of June 2007, and the mission report is being drafter to incorporate to the documentation of the Medicinal Plant Conservation Project (MCPC, see http://www.mcpcegypt.org/), funded by the GEF and the UNEP. This mission opens the door for future collaborations and the enlargement of the PMR philosophy to Northern Africa.

The Valencian PMR programme will assess the exportation of the PMR model to Egypt

By the end of April and early May 2007, the biologist Joan Pérez-Botella, representing the expertises' team working for the Generalitat Valenciana in the Plant Micro-Reserves programme, will visit the St.-Katherine Protectorate (SKP), Sinai peninsule (Egypt) to assess the 'Medicinal Plants Conservation Project' (MPCP), leaded by Dr. Mohamed El-Demerdash (University of Mansouri). The MPCP is supported by the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Information Facility, and is devoted to ensure and make in value the relationship between the local communities and the wild and cultivated medicinal plants in the SKP territory. One of the phases of this project includes the adaptation of the Plant Micro-reserves model to the SKP, so Dr. El-Demerdash requested the cooperation of the Valencian team, which will provide in situ assessment on the reserve location and choice, landmarking, management and planning. Information on the Medicinal Plants Conservation Project is available at the webpage www.mpcpegypt.com

The Valencian PMR programme held a training visit of Madeiran expertises

The Generalitat's Valencian Plant Microreserves (PMR) programme held the last week a training visit of botanic expertises coming from the University of Madeira (Portugal), in order to know and get skills on PMR designation and management. Sónia Catanho and Rúben Paz, both belonging to the research team of Dr. Miguel Menezes de Sequeira, one of the most enthusiastic supporters of th PMRs, received information and training instructions from Drs. Simon Fos and Emilio Laguna, added by other Valencian expertises during the field excrusions. During the next months, Sónia and Rúben will finish the selection of a local network of PMR to be developed in Funchal (Madeira), where the urban development has generated a model of metapopulational, small patches of native vegetation, to be protected following the Valencian model.

Lupinus mariae-josephi has a new PMR in Valencia

The recently described new species Lupinus mariae-josephi, thought to be extinct in wild but finally re-discovered by the Generalitat Valenciana's botanist team by mid 2006, is nowadays more protected, a time the Valencian councilior of Environment (Conseller de Territorio y Vivienda) passed an Order to create a new Plant Microreserve named 'Lloma del Tramussar'. This one is the PMR nr 259 and it is compound of well-conserved steppes of Sparto Grass (Stipa tenacissima L.) and enclose the first re-discovered population of the Valencian lupin L. mariae-josephi. The PMR sizes 20 ha, and also encloses populations of several interesting endemic species like Urginea undulata subsp. caeculi.

The Valencian PMR nr 258 is already passed

A few minutes after we posted the former message, a new on the Valencian plant micro-reserves (PMR) arrived: the PMR 'Alt del Senabre', promoted by the municipality of Beniarrés (Province of Alicante) has been officially created, being published in the regional gazette of the Valencian Community. The rules can be consulted (in Spanish and Valencian languages) at https://www.docv.gva.es/portal/portal/2007/01/16/pdf/2006_14550.pdf *

*Orden de 30 de octubre de 2006, de la Conselleria de
Territorio y Vivienda, por la que se declara una microrreserva
vegetal en la provincia de Alicante. [2006/14550]
DOCV (Diari Oficial de la Comunitat Valenciana) nr 5.429, 16.01.2007, pp. 2233-2235.

Information on the Cretan microreserves

Some months ago, the LIFE-Mature CRETAPLANT to create a plant microreserves network in Western Creta opened its renewed website at http://cretaplant.biol.uoa.gr
This website offers complete information on the project, as well as a good set of pubications and presentations in PDF format. The section on 'News' is regularly updated. Don't forget to visit it and send us your opinions

New plant microreserves in Valencia, Spain

Through the order of 17th july 2006, 16 new plant microreserves (PMRs) have been legally protected in the Valencian Community. The sum of Valencian PMR achieves 257 protected sites, the most dense network of protected natural areas for wild plants.The complete text in Valencian and Spanish languages are available at http://www.gva.es/cidaj/pdf/5343.pdf

A global introduction to the PMR model can be found visiting http://es.geocities.com/microreserves