CEHPD) and to the List of Wild Species under Special Protection Regime (Listado
de Especies Silvestres en Régimen de Protección Especial, LESPE, Spanish Royal
Decree 139/2011 and Orden AAA/75/2012). Concurrently, the Community of
Andalusia (Andalusian Decree 23/2012) also compiles the Andalusian List of
Wild Species under Special Protection Regime (Listado Andaluz de Especies
Silvestres en Régimen de Protección Especial, LAESPE) and the Catalogue of
Threatened Marine Species (Catálogo Andaluz de Especies Amenazadas). Both
lists (LESPE and LAESPE) include the seagrasses found in the Alboran Sea
(Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa, Zostera noltei, and Zostera marina) and
up to 16 algal species, due to their importance for the Mediterranean. For instance,
Cystoseira is one of the most important genera due to its Mediterranean species
diversity and ecological niche, and for this reason, all Spanish Mediterranean species
of Cystoseira are included, except C. compressa. Afterward, the Recovery and
Conservation Plan for Threatened Invertebrates and Phanerogams of the Marine
Environment was approved by the Andalusian administration in 2017.
The pressure on seagrasses is progressively increasing, although significant
progress has been made in public awareness and participation and in the valuation
of meadows and their conservation, thanks to the Life+Posidonia Andalucía Project
(2011–2016) (del Castillo and Díaz-Almela 2014; Mendoza et al. 2014; Mendoza
and Alarcón 2014). In addition to the advances in cartography, a network of fixed
stations has been established (currently with 35 sites along the Andalusian coast) that
support development of a data series of Posidonia meadows, demographic data, and
flowering records, to date very scarce (Junta de Andalucía 2017). Regarding coastal
protection, it is worth highlighting the effort in the declaration of numerous protected
areas (at least on the north coast of the Alboran Sea), many of which defined by the
presence of marine angiosperm meadows (Aranda and Otero 2014). Proof of this is
that almost 95% of the P. oceanica meadows in Andalusia are included in the Marine
Protected Areas, according to the integrated cartography of the Life Blue Natura
(2015–2019, so still in progress), which guarantees their conservation. This integrated cartography is available in the Environmental Information Network of Andalusia REDIAM (Junta de Andalucía 2017).
In addition, in 2017 the “Plan for the Recovery and Conservation of Threatened
Invertebrates and Phanerogams of the Marine Environment” was approved in
Andalusia (Junta de Andalucía 2017, 2018 and 2019) which includes the four
angiosperm species present in the Alboran Sea, identifies pressures and threats,
and contemplates concrete action measures. There are many possible lines of
improvement and action, as in the case of the management of coastal resources in
areas with P. oceanica meadows, which require effort in coordination among
administrations (national, regional, and local), to achieve effective governance
(Guillén and Otero 2015; Otero et al. 2018).
Finally, much progress has been made in facing the threats to the littoral, its
species, and its habitats, with the recent approval of the Climate Change Law of
Andalusia (Law 8/2018 on measures against Climate Change) that contemplates new
management and conservation tools, such as those aimed at conserving the blue
carbon stock stored in the centuries-old meadows of P. oceanica and other
8 Seaweeds and Seagrasses: The Marine Forests from the Alboran Sea
273
de Especies Silvestres en Régimen de Protección Especial, LESPE, Spanish Royal
Decree 139/2011 and Orden AAA/75/2012). Concurrently, the Community of
Andalusia (Andalusian Decree 23/2012) also compiles the Andalusian List of
Wild Species under Special Protection Regime (Listado Andaluz de Especies
Silvestres en Régimen de Protección Especial, LAESPE) and the Catalogue of
Threatened Marine Species (Catálogo Andaluz de Especies Amenazadas). Both
lists (LESPE and LAESPE) include the seagrasses found in the Alboran Sea
(Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa, Zostera noltei, and Zostera marina) and
up to 16 algal species, due to their importance for the Mediterranean. For instance,
Cystoseira is one of the most important genera due to its Mediterranean species
diversity and ecological niche, and for this reason, all Spanish Mediterranean species
of Cystoseira are included, except C. compressa. Afterward, the Recovery and
Conservation Plan for Threatened Invertebrates and Phanerogams of the Marine
Environment was approved by the Andalusian administration in 2017.
The pressure on seagrasses is progressively increasing, although significant
progress has been made in public awareness and participation and in the valuation
of meadows and their conservation, thanks to the Life+Posidonia Andalucía Project
(2011–2016) (del Castillo and Díaz-Almela 2014; Mendoza et al. 2014; Mendoza
and Alarcón 2014). In addition to the advances in cartography, a network of fixed
stations has been established (currently with 35 sites along the Andalusian coast) that
support development of a data series of Posidonia meadows, demographic data, and
flowering records, to date very scarce (Junta de Andalucía 2017). Regarding coastal
protection, it is worth highlighting the effort in the declaration of numerous protected
areas (at least on the north coast of the Alboran Sea), many of which defined by the
presence of marine angiosperm meadows (Aranda and Otero 2014). Proof of this is
that almost 95% of the P. oceanica meadows in Andalusia are included in the Marine
Protected Areas, according to the integrated cartography of the Life Blue Natura
(2015–2019, so still in progress), which guarantees their conservation. This integrated cartography is available in the Environmental Information Network of Andalusia REDIAM (Junta de Andalucía 2017).
In addition, in 2017 the “Plan for the Recovery and Conservation of Threatened
Invertebrates and Phanerogams of the Marine Environment” was approved in
Andalusia (Junta de Andalucía 2017, 2018 and 2019) which includes the four
angiosperm species present in the Alboran Sea, identifies pressures and threats,
and contemplates concrete action measures. There are many possible lines of
improvement and action, as in the case of the management of coastal resources in
areas with P. oceanica meadows, which require effort in coordination among
administrations (national, regional, and local), to achieve effective governance
(Guillén and Otero 2015; Otero et al. 2018).
Finally, much progress has been made in facing the threats to the littoral, its
species, and its habitats, with the recent approval of the Climate Change Law of
Andalusia (Law 8/2018 on measures against Climate Change) that contemplates new
management and conservation tools, such as those aimed at conserving the blue
carbon stock stored in the centuries-old meadows of P. oceanica and other
8 Seaweeds and Seagrasses: The Marine Forests from the Alboran Sea
273