Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the composition, distribution, ecology, and conservation status of the Atlantic elements of the Swiss flora. About 195 Atlantic and 80 Mediterranean–Atlantic vascular plant species of the European flora have been used as the basis for our analysis. The complete list of 3,143 taxa has been used as the reference for the Swiss flora. The distributions of the species are illustrated in coincidence maps based on the computer database of the Data Centre of the Swiss Flora in Geneva, Switzerland. Our study demonstrates clearly that the Atlantic flora of Europe requires a new biogeographical appraisal. The Swiss flora comprises 66 Atlantic and Mediterranean–Atlantic taxa, which are taxonomically and ecologically highly diverse. Switzerland contains 44% of all European Sub-Atlantic plants. This confirms the Sub-Atlantic geographical position of Switzerland. Only one Eu-Atlantic species growing in Switzerland, Vicia orobus, can be classified as native with certainty. This species is critically endangered and merits the highest conservation priority. Although a very alpine country, Switzerland has a relatively large number of Mediterranean–Atlantic species. The Atlantic and Mediterranean–Atlantic plants are a very threatened group in Switzerland, with wetland plants the most imperilled ecological group.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Beat Bäumler and his group from the Data Centre of the Swiss Flora (CRSF, Geneva) for the preparation of the distribution maps. We wish to thank Benoît Clément and Susanne Bollinger from the Botanical Garden of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) for their assistance during the manuscript preparation. We are also indebted to the Franklinia Foundation for its engagement and valuable support.
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Appendix 1
Appendix 1
The list and its division follows Roisin (1969) and is based on the works of Braun-Blanquet (1924), Steffen (1935), des Abbayes (1945), Fournier (1946), Walter (1954), des Darimont et al. (1962), and Dupont (1962). RL, IUCN red list categories (Moser et al. 2002). See Table 5.
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Kozlowski, G., Bürcher, S., Fleury, M. et al. The Atlantic elements in the Swiss flora: distribution, diversity, and conservation status. Biodivers Conserv 18, 649–662 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9531-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9531-0