Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

The project aims to improve knowledge of the geographical distribution of native vascular plants, assess their extinction risk and publish the first Red List of vascular plants for mainland Portugal [ ] 184 A cooperative effort to identify endangered plants Plans for a Portuguese Red List of Vascular Plants was drawn up in the mid-1990s, but only received approved European funding in 2016 for a mainland Portugal project. This paved the way for a two-year project to improve knowledge of the geographical distribution of native vascular plants and assess their extinction risk, leading to publication of the first Red List of vascular plants for mainland Portugal. Due to time and budget constraints, only 620 plants were selected as the target taxa to be assessed for the pro- ject. This list of target plants includes all Portuguese endemic species and all legally protected species under the Habitats Directive, as well as plants with relevant geographic disjunctions, species almost endemic to Portugal and some taxa already known to be rare in mainland Portugal. Starting with the database of the Flora-On platform, which contains geo-referenced observation records for numerous plants, the project focused on gathering reliable up-to- date fundamental information about each target plant. Emphasis was placed on collating data from Her- baria specimens, scientific-technical bibliography and fieldwork, to fill information gaps concerning distri- bution area, population size, con- servation status, quality of habitat, threats and other factors. The project database currently holds more than 500,000 occurrence records. An advanced data management platform with multiple innovative functionalities was developed spe- cifically for the project. This collab- orative platform facilitates sharing information in networks and has the potential to support other Red Lists, since it can be generalized to any tax- onomic group or region and its open source code is open to expansion. A major strength of the project is its collaborative working process, which aims to be inclusive of the whole Portuguese botanical commu- nity. The team comprises 14 techni- cians and 80 volunteer collaborators, including professors, researchers, environmental consultants and expe- rienced amateur botanists. At present, 487 out of the 620 target taxa plus 66 additional plant species have been assessed under the IUCN criteria and categories. Preliminary results suggest that 54 per cent of the 553 plants evaluated are threatened. Even among the 122 legally protected plants under the Habitats Directive, 42 per cent were listed as threatened in some way. Ultimately, this project aims to be a landmark as a collaborative effort of the Portuguese botanical community and will create a solid base for future work in assessing the extinction risk of the entire Portuguese flora. The project is co-financed by the Cohe- sion Fund through the Operational Program for Sustainability and Efficient Use of Resources and by the Environmental Fund. P ortugal’s territory encompasses three biogeographical regions and its climate and hydrological processes, combined with centuries of human intervention, have resulted in a considerable diversity of species, ecosystems, landscapes and geology. The country is home to 35,000 plant and animal species, including a significant number of endemic and relic species. The compilation of Portugal’s first Red List of Vascular Plants for mainland Portugal is an important step in preserving biodiversity among the country’s flora. Delft blue (Nigella papillosa) Ana Julia Pereira Portugal