Fagus sylvatica forests are considered to be of Community interest according to Directive 92/43/EEC. Climate change predictions for Spain point to a warming scenario, coupled with decreasing rainfall, which may have an impact on their future distribution particularly at the extremes of its distribution area. Species distribution models incorporating bioclimatic, topographic and phytogeographic variables were used as predictors to assess their habitat suitability under current conditions and a climate change projection. Ten single models were generated and an ensemble-forecasting model was subsequently built by computing a consensus of single-model projections. The results revealed that ombrothermic indices are the main factors controlling the distribution of Spanish beech forests. They are highly vulnerable to climate change and could suffer a decline in their habitat suitability if climate trends observed are maintained in the future. The least favoured areas for them will be located close to the limit between the Temperate and Mediterranean climates, where they could suffer a loss of habitat suitability. Conversely, suitable new areas could be found mainly in western areas of the Cantabrian Range and in the Central Pyrenees.

This paper, which deals with the geological history of Hispaniola in the general framework of Central America and particularly the Caribbean Sea, aims at revealing the influence of it on other areas. The paper studies the distribution of 675 species of Melastomataceae family, a family which has been used to establish the biogeographical ranges of Superprovince and biogeographical Province. The research also carried out a floristic and distributional study of 1.582 endemic species on Hispaniola. Nineteen working areas were defined and plant samples were taken in most of them following the Central European phy- tosociological method. With these datas, we plotted a map with the biogeogra- phical Subprovinces and another one with the Sectors. The Superprovinces of Western Antilles, Central—Eastern Antilles have been established. This latter includes the Provinces of Eastern Antilles and Hispaniola. We propose a comprehensive biogeographical typology of the island. Due to its high endemicity and the great diversity of its habitats is moved to a upper range called biogeographical Province encompassing two Subprovinces: Central (one Sector) and Caribbean—Atlantic (Bahoruco-Hottense, Neiba-Metheux-Noroeste, Azua—San Juan—Hoya Henriquillo—Puerto Príncipe—Artiobonite—Gonaives, Caribbean- Cibense and North).

We have studied Juniperus oxycedrus L. subsp. badia (H.Gay) Debeaux in the central and southern Iberian Peninsula, where the macrobioclimate ranges from Mediterranean-pluviseasonal-oceanic to Mediterranean-pluviseasonal-continental, and the thermotype from the thermo- to the supramediterranean. The relevés were taken following the Braun-Blanquet phytosociological methodology. A statistical treatment was applied to establish a separation among Juniperus communities. To understand the presence of Juniperus communities in territories dominated by species in the Quercus genus, we applied Thornthwaite’s formula to calculate potential evapotranspiration. The general cluster analysis clearly distinguishes two groups of plant communities and separates the different associations in each group. All the plant communities growing on rocky crests and in extremely steep sloping areas are significantly influenced by the soil. The ombroclimatic index does not explain the presence of plant communities influenced by substrate, so we proposed a new ombroedaphoxeric index which explains the presence of Juniperus communities in territories with a thermotype between the thermo- and supramediterranean. The areas of distribution of Juniperus species are expanding due to the spread of rocky areas; this phenomenon causes an increase in edaphoxerophilous areas and a decrease in climatophilous ones. We propose four new plant associations, with updated structures and floristic compositions. Efficient conservation is possible in both the territories studied (Spain and Portugal) through the implementation of specific cross-border cooperation projects.

Nineteen areas on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) were studied with the aim of determining the distribution pattern of the endemic flora in these areas, and their variability with altitude. The main concentration of endemic species occurs in mountains with a medium altitude and in certain mountain sites (palaeo-islands), which coincide with hotspots; a lower number of endemics are found in low-lying areas (coldspots), due to the degradation of their habitats. A total of 1,582 endemic species were studied and were distributed in 19 areas. The whole island is of outstanding interest for its richness in endemics; it has 2,050 endemic species, representing 34.16% of its total flora. The territory in the study is home to 1,284 genera of which 31 are endemic to the island, including monotypical genera such as Tortuella abietifolia Urb. & Ekman, and endemic genera such as Hottea, containing seven endemic species. The sites with the highest rate of endemics are area A16 in the central range with a total of 440 endemic species, of which 278 are exclusive to the territory; and the Sierra de Bahoruco, la Selle, La Hotte and Tiburón in area A12, where we found 699 plants of which 482 are endemic and exclusive to the area; and A13 with 173 and 129 respectively. This work highlights the exceptional floristic diversity in endemic species and genera and analyses their distribution patterns as a tool for conservation in this area of the world, whose high endemicity rate makes it one of the most significant hotspots in the Caribbean.

The plant variability in the southern Iberian Peninsula consists of around 3500 different taxa due to its high bioclimatic, geographic, and geological diversity. The deciduous forests in the southern Iberian Peninsula are located in regions with topographies and specific bioclimatic conditions that allow for the survival of taxa that are typical of cooler and wetter bioclimatic regions and therefore represent the relict evidence of colder and more humid paleoclimatic conditions. The floristic composition of 421 samples of deciduous forests in the south-central part of the Iberian Peninsula were analyzed. The ecological importance index (IVI) was calculated, where the most important tree species were Quercus pyrenaica, Acer opalus subsp. Granatensis, and Corylus avellana. These species are uncommon in the south-central part of the Iberian Peninsula, forming forests of little extension. An analysis of the vertical distribution of the species (stratum) shows that the majority of the species of stratum 3 (hemicriptophics, camephytes, geophites, and nanophanerophytes) are characteristic of deciduous forests, and their presence is positively correlated with high values of bioclimatic variables related to humidity and presence of water in the soil (nemoral environments), while they are negatively correlated with high values of bioclimatic variables related to high temperatures, evapotranspiration, and aridity. This work demonstrates that several characteristic deciduous forest taxa are more vulnerable to disappearance due to the loss of their nemoral conditions caused by gaps in the tree or shrub canopy. These gaps lead to an increase in evapotranspiration, excess insolation, and a consequent loss of water and humidity in the microclimatic conditions.

Several studies have been conducted in the past to clarify various aspects of species in the genus Juniperus L. One critical group is Juniperus oxycedrus L., especially from the taxonomical point of view. For this reason, we have studied the ecology, taxonomy and distribution of the taxa in the J. oxycedrus group. From an ecological and distribution standpoint, in this work we use the ombroedaphoxeric index (Ioex) to explain the presence of Juniperus populations in ombrotypes that are not optimum for these taxa. The controversy over the taxonomy of J. oxycedrus subsp. badia (H. Gay) Debeaux and J. oxycedrus subsp. lagunae (Pau ex C. Vicioso) Rivas Mart. is clarified, and it is accepted as a valid name, J. oxycedrus subsp. badia. The phytochemical differences in essential oils (EO) are addressed and their similarities analyzed; greater similarities are observed between oxycedrus and badia, and between navicularis Gand. and macrocarpa (Sm.) Ball. species. The phytochemical, molecular and distribution differences allow J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa (Sm.) Ball and J. navicularis Gand. to be maintained as species. The results obtained make it possible to establish the rank to which the taxa belong and allow clear discrimination between species in groups that are difficult to interpret. Ecological, bioclimatic, phytochemical and morphometric similarities allow us to subordinate the subsp. macrocarpa to the species J. navicularis.