Species inventory of the future Pacifico quarry, owned by Calizas Alba, in Nerpio, Albacete (Spain)

Elena Martínez1, Sara Campillo Marín1, Elena Marín1, Elena López Martínez1

1 Centro Tecnológico del Mármol, Piedra y Materiales, Carretera de Murcia S/N, 30430, Cehegín, Murcia, Spain

Corresponding author(s): Elena Martínez (elena.lopez@ctmarmol.es)Sara Campillo Marín (sara.campillo@ctmarmol.es)

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Martínez E, Campillo Marín S (2022): Species inventory of the future Pacifico quarry, owned by Calizas Alba, in Nerpio, Albacete (Spain). v1.1. Centro Tecnológico del Mármol, Piedra y Materiales. Dataset/Checklist. https://doi.org/10.15470/7ywmrd https://doi.org/10.15470/7ywmrd

Abstract

Inventory of flora, avifauna and reptile species observed by visual census at the future Pacifico quarry, owned of Calizas Alba, in Nerpio, Albacete (Spain). This inventory is part of the BioReSTONE project developed by the Centro Tecnológico del Mármol, Piedra y Materiales. The aim of BioReSTONE is to design tools for the conservation and restoration of natural habitats and wild species in areas managed by the marble extraction industry. The initial censuses have been carried out in five quarries in Murcia, Castilla la Mancha and Andalusia. The aim is to prevent, detect early and eradicate invasive exotic species and adapt future restoration to climate change scenarios. It also aims to generate knowledge for the conservation of habitats and species of interest in the five participating quarries.

Keywords: Checklist, Inventoryregional, biodiversity, quarry, fauna, flora, visual census, ecological restoration, species

General description

Purpose: This dataset has been created in order to have a record of the existing biodiversity in the study quarries included in the BioReSTONE project. This information can be used to update the restoration plans of the quarries. On the other hand, it is also a database that can be updated in the future to know how the diversity of species in each area changes over time.
Additional information: More information on the BioReSTONE project can be found on the following website: https://biorestone.com/

Project details

Project title: BioReSTONE.Adaptation of natural stone quarry restoration plans for the conservation of species and habitats of interest, prevention and eradication of invasive species and adaptation to climate change.
Personnel: Elena López Martínez, Sara Campillo Marín
Funding: Funded by the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain. Programme: Call for the award of grants from the Fundación Biodiversidad F.S.P., on a competitive basis, for the evaluation of Spanish terrestrial biodiversity 2020.
Study area descriptions/descriptor: The actions are carried out in 5 quarries that are located in three Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) of the Natura 2000 Network: "Sierra de Alcaraz y Segura y cañones del Segura y del Mundo" (Albacete), "Sierra de Moratalla" (Murcia) and "Sierra de Castril" (Granada).
Design description: The project consists of the following actions: A.01 Integrate data obtained in open scientific research and dissemination databases (e.g.; GBIF). A.1 Development of a tool for the assessment and monitoring of biodiversity in the ornamental rock quarries under study. Establishment and design of quantifiable indices. A.2 Carry out an environmental characterisation of each quarry and its surroundings. Including present, potential and habitats of special consideration/protection (habitats of community interest), as well as protected species of interest. Assessment of biodiversity in the initial state of the enclaves (baseline) and detection of specific innovative opportunities for each one. A.3 Review of climatic scenarios for the region and native plant species with the greatest adaptive capacity for the study scenario, guaranteeing ecological functionality. A.4 Identification of invasive alien species and import prevention measures. Develop protocols for the prevention of entry mechanisms, early detection and eradication of invasive alien species affecting natural ecosystems and their restoration. A.5 Review of current Restoration Plans and their administrative situation. A.6 Assessment of the degree of internalisation of the criteria set out in specific objective O.2 in the current Restoration Plan (promotion of biodiversity, conservation of species of interest, associated habitats and reinforcement of native species adapted to new climate change scenarios, preventing the entry and eradication of invasive species). A.7 Drafting of a biodiversity promotion plan integrating quarry restoration criteria and measures to complement (or modify) the Restoration Plans in force at each mining site. A.8 Development of 1 pilot restoration experience in a quarry (specific biodiversity and conservation of taxa of interest), development of plantations (including maintenance) and measures to promote faunal biodiversity. The guidelines of the Practical Guide to Ecological Restoration published by the Fundación Biodiversidad will be followed. A.9 Evaluation of the results achieved on biodiversity, species and habitats after the actions carried out in the enclave. Including the assessment of the net positive impact generated and associated conclusions. A.10 Drawing up a decalogue of recommendations for action to protect biodiversity, habitats and species of interest and/or protected species for the marble sector. A.11 Identification and contact with entities and landowners with whom to make custody agreements to carry out environmental monitoring programmes, promoting the creation of green jobs in rural areas linked to the marble extractive industry and contributing to the National Strategy against the Demographic Challenge according to the Just Transition Strategy, promoting employment and youth and women's entrepreneurship (Axis A of the Promotion of the ecological transition of the economic sectors of the Just Transition Strategy). Drafting of agreements and Just Transition Agreements as an implementation tool of the Just Transition Strategy with entities and landowners to carry out environmental monitoring programmes in support of the restoration of ecosystems, biodiversity and adaptation to climate change (section C point 5.1 of the Support Framework of the Just Transition Strategy's Transition agreements).

Data published through GBIF: https://ipt.gbif.es/resource?r=ctm-pacifico

Taxonomic coverage

General taxonomic coverage description: All species in the cheklist were identified to species level.
Taxonomic ranks
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves

Taxonomic coverage

General taxonomic coverage description: All species in the cheklist were identified to species level.
Taxonomic ranks
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida, Pinopsida, Liliopsida

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: Area occupied by futer Pacífico Quarry in Nerpio, Albacete (Spain).
Coordinates: 38°11'13.2''N and 38°12'10.8''N Latitude; 2°14'42''W and 2°13'30''W Longitude 

Temporal coverage: April 7, 2021

Methods

Method step description: The generation of this database arises from the context of the BioReSTONE Project, developed by CTM, with the support of the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain. The initiative aims to help natural stone quarries to comply with their restoration obligations stipulated in Law 22/1973 on Mines of 21 July and RD 975/2009 based on a vision that is more in line with current social and environmental demands. To this end, it was determined necessary to carry out field sampling of the four quarries included in the project. Sampling focused on vegetation and habitats, ornithofauna and herpetofauna. Birds are excellent indicators of biodiversity status, not only because their population trends integrate many ecological factors, but also because they are present in all habitats, are very sensitive to environmental changes and are generally easy to sample. Herpetofauna was included because water accumulations are found in the area.
Additional info
Study extent description: The future Pacífico quarry is located in the ZEC-ZEPA "Sierra de Alcaraz y Segura y cañones del Segura y del Mundo", a Red Natura 2000 area that occupies a large part of the south-western quadrant of the province of Albacete (Spain), including most of its mountain systems, of great biological and geological value. The ZEC-ZEPA is the largest protected area in the province of Albacete and forms part, together with other Natura 2000 Network areas, of an ecological corridor extending from here to the Portuguese border.

The main values that have motivated its declaration are the great geodiversity of its mountain systems, its extremely varied flora, with numerous endemic and endangered species, and its diverse fauna. 

The main plant formations are holm oak groves in the lower parts, and pine forests which, depending on altitude and exposure, can be, from lower to higher altitudes, of Aleppo pine, maritime pine and laricio pine, giving way to cushion scrub on the summits. The riparian plant communities are also of good quality, as well as the rocky and rock-wall communities. There are also occasional gall-oak groves, oak groves and maple groves. All these formations are home to a varied and rich flora, with the presence of some endemic species, such as the carnivorous Pinguicula mundi.
 
The whole area is important for rock birds such as Bonelli's eagle, golden eagle, eagle owl and peregrine falcon, as well as for forest birds such as the booted eagle, short-toed eagle and goshawk. The presence of carnivorous mammals also stands out, as well as the Cabrera vole and otter, and endemic reptiles and amphibians such as the Valverde lizard and the Iberian midwife toad.
Sampling description: he sampling protocols used for habitats, birds and fauna are described below:

Habitats
Different linear transects were carried out to cover the entire study area in each of the quarries and their immediate outer perimeter, with the aim of locating and estimating the vegetation present. The habitats present were also identified and the extent of each of them was estimated using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) software.

The transects were carried out on foot in parallel, maintaining distances of between 10 and 15 metres between them in order to cover the entire transect band.

Birds
Fixed-width transects were carried out following the methodology developed by Järvinen and Väisänen in 1975.
For this purpose, walking transects were carried out, noting all birds detected (visual and/or auditory contacts) and differentiating those found in an inner band of 25 m on either side of the observer from those found further away. The surveys were carried out on foot at a constant speed of between 1.5 and 2 km/h and took place during the breeding season (month).

Herpetofauna
Observations of herpetofauna were made along the transects described above. All species detected during these transects were recorded. In addition, specific sampling was carried out for these species in the habitats identified as optimal for these faunal groups (e.g. seasonal ponds).
Quality control description: The works documenting the methods and procedures used in the study are as follows:

Relevant literature:
CARRASCAL, L.M. y PALOMINO, D. 2005. Preferencias de hábitat, densidad y diversidad de las comunidades de aves en Tenerife (Islas Canarias). Animal Biodiversity and Conservation, 28: 101-119.
JÄRVINEN, O. y VÄISÄNEN, R.A. 1977. Line transect method: a standard for field-work. Polish Ecol. Stud., 3: 7-17.
TELLERÍA, J.L. 1986. Manual para el censo de los vertebrados terrestres. Raíces, Madrid, España.
Braun-Blanquet, J. (1977). Fitosociología. Editorial Blume, Madrid. 820 pp.

Materials and Software:
The materials used for this work were. IGN software for field data collection and subsequent visualisation in QGIS (QGIS.org, 2022. QGIS Geographic Information System. QGIS Association. http://www.qgis.org), collection of species using space, and subsequent data dumping for the creation of an excel database. Topographic maps and orthophotos at a scale of 1:5,000, and binoculars.

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive Species inventory of the future Pacifico quarry, owned by Calizas Alba, in Nerpio, Albacete (Spain)
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: https://ipt.gbif.es/archive.do?r=ctm-pacifico
Publication date of data: 2022-06-28
Language: English
Licences of use: Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC) 4.0 License

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2022-05-20
Hierarchy level: Dataset

References
CARRASCAL, L.M. y PALOMINO, D. 2005. Preferencias de hábitat, densidad y diversidad de las comunidades de aves en Tenerife (Islas Canarias). Animal Biodiversity and Conservation, 28: 101-119.
JÄRVINEN, O. y VÄISÄNEN, R.A. 1977. Line transect method: a standard for field-work. Polish Ecol. Stud., 3: 7-17.
TELLERÍA, J.L. 1986. Manual para el censo de los vertebrados terrestres. Raíces, Madrid, España.
Braun-Blanquet, J. (1977). Fitosociología. Editorial Blume, Madrid. 820 pp.