Pastizales y prados en Navarra: descripción, tipificación y ecología

Abstract

Our study area, Navarre, is a territory of 10.391 km2 located in the northerncentral part of the Iberian Peninsula.

In order to understand the different kinds of grasslands and meadows occurring in the study area, we deal first with the physical description, i.e., the geography, geology, bioclimatology and biogeography of Navarre. The bioclimate is temperate in the northern part of the region, and mediterranean in the south. Six thermotypes (from meso- to supramediterranean and from meso- to cryorotemperate) and six ombrotypes (from semiarid to ultrahyperhumid) have been identified. This area is divided in eight biogeographycal units: Eastern Basque and Navarran-Alavensean Subsectors (Cantabrian-Basque Sector) and Central Pyrenean and Prepyrenean Sectors in the Eurosiberian Region; Castilian-Cantabrian, Somontan, Riojan and Bardenero-Monegrino Sectors in the Mediterranean Region.

The vegetation is studied from a phytosociological point of view. The syntaxonomical catalogue comprises 69 plant associations or communities belonging to 11 phytosociological classes: cryorotemperate (alpine) communities of Kobresia myosuroides (Carici-Kobresietea), orotemperate (subalpine) and supratemperate (in the higher mountains) chionophilous vegetation (Kobresio-Seslerietea), orotemperate acidophilous and xerophilous communities (Caricetea curvulae), orotemperate and supratemperate (montane) mesophilous grasslands (Nardetea strictae), orotemperate, supratemperate and supramediterranean xerophilous vegetation (Festuco-Ononidetea), eurosiberian and mediterranean communities dominated by succulent chamaephytes (Sedo-Scleranthetea), eurosiberian and mediterranean meso-xerophilous grasslands (Festuco-Brometea), eurosiberian and mediterranean meadows and wetland communities (Molinio-Arrhenatheretea), Poa bulbosa communities (Poetea bulbosae), eurosiberian and mediterranean terophytes communities (Tuberarietea guttatae), and mediterranean dry and semiarid grasslands (Lygeo-Stipetea).

As a result of the floristic study we present a plant-list with 1516 taxa, most of them linked to grasslands and meadows. Both collected plants and bibliographic citations are included.