Sierra de Nipe Treasures Endemic Species
- Written by Claudia Patricia Domínguez
- Published in Holguin
- Hits: 1946
The Sierra de Nipe in the province of Holguin is considered by many botanists as the second most important center of evolution of Cuban flora, which treasures more than 1,300 plant species, of which 740 are endemic and 88 are exclusive to this eastern mountainous region.
Aimed at determining the state of conservation of the threatened species in this place, the project "Bases for the implementation of management actions for endangered species of ecosystems in the Sierra de Nipe", has been developed since 2015 by specialists from the Botanical Garden of Holguin, attached to the Environmental and Technological Services Research Center.
This area was included among the most vulnerable sites of the region in a previous project that contributed to the preparation of the Red List of the Cuban Vascular Flora.
José Luis Gómez, researcher of the Botanical Garden and member of the management team of the project, explained that the history of use of this distinctive place influenced notoriously in the conservation of its ecosystem, since from the 19th century it was exploited by man to obtain of wood and subsequently mining and livestock also affected several of the species in the area.
He specified among the species selected the Siphocampylus e kmanii, Pachyanthusmayarensis and Phidiasialindavii, which do not have common names, most are exclusive to the Sierra de Nipe and are in critical danger of extinction.
According to the specialist, the invasive exotic species, the practice of activities such as mining and livestock, as well as the spread of fires as consequence of human mismanagement and drought are some of the most frequent threats to these ecosystems.
He added that these monitoring actions will allow, in about five years, the application of a methodology known as "Population viability", which has been implemented only once in Cuba, in the province of Pinar del Río and allows estimating the probability of extinction of the species and the feasibility of the actions that are carried out in favor of their conservation.
Protect the habitat of the species under study with the intention of maintaining a balanced population structure, as well as population reinforcement through the collection of seeds, dissemination in nurseries and introduction in the field are the most important actions that specialists will carry out in a second stage that is expected to start in 2019 and will also extend to the study of new species.