The historical role of agriculture and gardening in the introduction of alien plants in the western Mediterranean |
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Authors: | Mario Sanz-Elorza Rubén G Mateo and Francisco González Bernardo |
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Institution: | (1) Gerencia Territorial del Catastro, C/Cronista Ildefonso Rodríguez 1, 40001 Segovia, Spain;(2) Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid (CSIC), Plaza de Murillo 2, 28014 Madrid, Spain;(3) área de Ingeniería Cartográfica, Geodésica y Fotogrametría, Universidad de León, Avda. de Portugal 41, 24071 León, Spain |
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Abstract: | The aim of this study is to clarify the role of gardening and agriculture in the introduction of alien vascular plants to
the western Mediterranean Basin during the last century. The main country in which this study is based is Spain. However,
other countries in the Western Mediterranean Basin also form part of it. These are Portugal, France, Italy and Morocco. Three
percentages were calculated. Firstly, the percentage of alien flora was calculated. Then, we calculated the percentages of
species introduced as either a consequence of gardening or of agriculture. The figures were based on thirty-four floristic
studies carried out in the western Mediterranean Basin between 1904 and 2006. A regression model, in which the explanatory
variable is time and the dependent variables are the three percentages mentioned above, was drawn up with the data obtained.
The results show the existence of positive correlation between time and the percentages of total exotic flora and the species
introduced through gardening (R = 0.64 and 0.56, respectively) and the negative correlation between time and the percentage of alien species introduced through
agriculture (R = −0.43). During the last century, the roles of agriculture and gardening as sources of the introduction of exotic flora
to the western Mediterranean Basin were reversed. However, in the areas where the socio-economic scene is more predominantly
agrarian, the role of gardening is still limited. |
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Keywords: | Agriculture Gardening Historical role Alien plants Mediterranean basin |
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