Macaronesia

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Macaronesia island region

Macaronesia or Macaronesian Islands (German blessed or happy islands , according to Greek μάκαρ Makar for happy / blessed and νῆσος nesos for island ) referred to in the biogeography of the region of the eastern central Atlantic lying island groups of volcanic origin. Despite the great distances, there are similarities between the individual islands in terms of their flora and fauna .

structure

Flags of the Macaronesian archipelagos Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Cape Verde

Macaronesia comprises five archipelagos as sub-regions - from north to south:

Archipelago political affiliation political unity Official language
Azores PortugalPortugal Portugal Autonomous Region of the Azores Portuguese
Madeira PortugalPortugal Portugal Madeira Autonomous Region Portuguese
Sebaldinen PortugalPortugal Portugal Part of the Madeira Autonomous Region Portuguese
Canaries SpainSpain Spain Autonomous Community of the Canaries Spanish
Cape Verde independently Cape VerdeCape Verde Cape Verde Portuguese

Concept history

The use of the term Macaronesia goes back to the botanist Philip Barker Webb , who published the Histoire naturelle des Iles Canaries with Sabin Berthelot and Alfred Moquin-Tandon between 1835 and 1850 . It is taken from ancient Greek geographic literature , in which the islands on the other side of the Mediterranean were referred to as μακάρων νῆσοι makáron nḗsoi , i.e. islands of the blissful (based on the ideas of Elysium , which the poets thought of as being in the west even in pre-ancient times has been). The naturalists of the early to middle imperial period (e.g. Pliny maior , Ptolemaios ) then identified up to eight islands that are still covered by the term today.

Sometimes the term Macronesia (for large islands ) is used erroneously in the literature .

Biogeographical region

Used the region as of 1992 developed system of biogeographical regions of the European Union , in particular for the assignment of the Natura 2000 sites and the Emerald network , as well as in the Annexes to the Fauna-Flora-Habitats Directive mentioned types (Anh . II, IV, V) and habitats (Annex I) of Community Interest is used. Here the region (as of 2012) only includes the areas of the member states of the European Union , i.e. the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Portugal , but not the Republic of Cape Verde . However, for the designation of marine protected areas, it will also be extended to the surrounding marine areas under the jurisdiction of the European Union.

Macaronesian Biogeographical Region (EU)
Land area in km² States Shares (land area) Population in inhabitants / km² Habitat types
10,372 2 ES 69%
PT 31% 		203 Evergreen forest , desert and highlands (approx. 74%)

These include:

  • Spanish share (ES): Canary Islands land area approx. 7200 km² (1.4% of the national area)
  • Portuguese share (PT): land area Azores and Madeira approx. 3150 km² (3.4% of the national area)

The most important habitat types are:

  • Inland habitats with sparse or absent vegetation: 34%
  • Heath and scrubland: 25%
  • Forest: 15%
  • Cultivated land: 14%

Both fauna and flora are characterized by a high proportion of endemics .

Flora area

Laurel forest; Forest vegetation widespread in the Macaronesian Islands

In geobotany and vegetation science , the region forms an independent flora area . It is characterized by the endemic species as well as by the laurel forest (see Laurisilva ) that occurs in higher mountain regions (700– 1200  m ) .

The originally broad version of the flora area, which also included parts of Morocco, was subdivided with a better knowledge of the flora. A subdivision into three regions is common:

  • Greater Macaronesia
    the all the islands as well as parts of Morocco includes
  • Lauri Macaronesia
    which is characterized by the occurrence of the laurel forest ( Laurisilva ) and
  • Central Macaronesia
    that only on
    • Parts of Madeira
    • and the Canary Islands is restricted.

The geobotanical structure is not undisputed. The botanist Hanno Schäfer came to the conclusion that the Azores belong to the Medio-European , the Canaries and Madeira to the Mediterranean and Cape Verde to the Sudano-Zambezi region. This contradicts the earlier work of Lobin, Lüpnitz and Dias.

natural reserve

The region has the following areas designated as World Natural Heritage by UNESCO :

Biosphere Reserves (UNESCO / MAB):

In the region (EU part) there are 38 protected habitat types (9  priority ), 26 endemic animal and 118 endemic plant species (Annex II FFH-RL, 5 and 41 priority ), and a total of 150 protected species (including birds) VS-RL). These are covered by nature reserves according to Natura 2000 :

National protected areas are:

See also

literature

  • European Environment Agency [EEA] (Ed.): The Macaronesian region - volcanic islands in the ocean (=  Europe's biodiversity - biogeographical regions and seas. Biogeographical regions in Europe ). S. 26 ( eea.europa.eu [PDF; 733 kB ; accessed on May 15, 2018] final version, undated).

Web links

Commons : Macaronesia  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Günther Kunkel: The Canary Islands and their flora. Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart / Jena / New York 1993, ISBN 3-437-20491-2 .
  2. ↑ EEA: The Macaronesian region . Table 1: Statistics for the Macaronesian biogeographical region , p. 3 .
  3. ^ Definition of the European Nature Information System (EUNIS). EEA: The Macaronesian region . Table 2: Main habitat types in the Macaronesian biogeographical region, as defined by EUNIS (European Nature Information System) habitat classification , p. 8 .
  4. ^ Adalbert Hohenester, Walter Welss: Excursion flora for the Canary Islands. With views of the whole of Macaronesia . Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1993, ISBN 3-8001-3466-7 ( PDF file; 23.2 MB ).
  5. ↑ Hanno Schäfer: Chorology and Diversity of the Azorean Flora (= Dissertationes Botanicae 374). J. Cramer, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-443-64286-1 .
  6. ^ Wolfram Lobin: Investigation of flora, vegetation and biogeographical relations of the Cape Verde Islands. Contribution to the fauna and flora of the Cape Verde Islands 2. In: Courier Research Institute Senckenberg . Volume 53, 1982, 112 pp.
  7. ↑ Dieter Lüpnitz: contribution to phytographischen position of the Canary Islands. In: Mainz Natural Science Archive. Volume 3, 1995, pp. 83-98.
  8. ↑ Eduardo Dias: Vegetação natural dos Açores. Ecologia e sintaxonomia das florestas naturais. Universidade dos Açores, Angra do Heroísmo 1996.
  9. ↑ a b EEA: The Macaronesian region . 3. Initiatives to support biodiversity and nature conservation , p. 22nd ff .
  10. ↑ [ http://www.islandbiosphere.org/Publicacions/llistat.aspx?tipo=ME#anclaCon World Network of Island and Coastal Biosphere Reserves] ( english ) Retrieved on February 21, 2020.
  11. ↑ EEA: The Macaronesian region . The Habitats Directive in Macaronesia , p. 9 .
  12. ↑ EEA: The Macaronesian region . Table 4: Endemic species in the Macaronesian biogeographic region as listed in Annex II of the Habitats Directive , p. 13 .
  13. ↑ EEA: The Macaronesian region . Table 5: Species of European importance in EU-15 Member States in the Macaroneisan biogeographical region. Birds Directive, Annex I and Habitats Directive, Annex II , p. 14 .
  14. ↑ EEA: The Macaronesian region . Table 3: Table 3: The Macaronesian Sites of Community Importance (SCI) , p. 12 .

Coordinates: 24 ° 15 ′  N , 22 ° 28 ′  W