Zimbral for LIFE: Preserving coastal dunes with Juniperus spp

Abstract

Coastal dunes with Juniperus spp. are an extremely vulnerable habitat, occupying a limited ecological space that is very attractive to some economic sectors, especially tourism, forestry and agriculture. Coastal dunes with Juniperus navicularis are particularly important for conservation purposes, since they are only found in the south west Iberian Peninsula, with more than 95% of the distribution area located in Portuguese territory. Despite their importance and protection status, dune junipers are classed as having unfavourable inadequate conservation status in Portugal and in the Mediterranean as a whole with a decreasing trend (2250* in Habitat Directive 92/43/CEE). Therefore, Zimbral for LIFE was created to improve its conservation status in Portugal.