Section 1 Vegetal Biology

**3**

tions in which this taxon is included.

**Chapter 1**

Habitats

**1. Introduction**

Introductory Chapter: Endemism

A number of chapters have been submitted to the book *Endemic Species* by different authors. Many of them are of interest for conservation, as they deal with species located in special situations, which are in most cases under threat from human activity. Other authors have promoted conservation and exploitation simultaneously, which is an idea of key importance, as these two practices are not mutually exclusive. In fact the reverse is true: using certain species in a reasonable

The chapter entitled *Instrumental Methods for Detection of Lipophilic Marine Toxins in Endemic Species from Pacific Austral Fjords*, containing a detailed description on procuring toxins for certain species of dinoflagellates, is important from the social sanitary point of view. The work on endemisms in Bolivia examines the distribution and megadiversity in the country, with particular emphasis on the Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae families. The works on endemic flora in Mexico are very important, as is the case of *The Endemism of the Vascular Flora of Mexico Present in Comarca Lagunera, an Agricultural Region in the Chihuahuan Desert*, which studies over 300 species for very special territories such as deserts. These are precisely the areas that will be most seriously affected by climate change. Climate change could be mitigated by means of cultivation techniques and the creation of bioclimatic optimisation models; this is why the work on *Mexican Indigenous Species with Agroecological Uses* is particularly interesting, as it examines certain species that were cultivated in the past and are currently being recovered. The excellent study on *Salvia ceratophylloides* Ard. (Lamiaceae), an exclusive endemic species of southern Italy, alerts to the endangered situation of this species and points to the need for special conservation measures while noting that its threatened status is due to unregulated urban development. In the conclusions, the authors propose the establishment of micro-reserves and the possibility of creating a seed bank and local botanical gardens to favour conservation. These botanical gardens should have a phytosociological character, with a prior study of the plant association or associa-

Other territories such as Madagascar have over 10,000 endemic species. Australia has its own species, genera and botanical families, as this continent has three major climate types, tropical, desertic and Mediterranean, along with Central America and many other areas on earth. In areas in Central America, the

as a Basic Element for the

*Eusebio Cano Carmona, Ana Cano Ortiz* 

or sustainable way may even enhance the state of conservation.

*and Carmelo Maria Musarella*

Conservation of Species and

### **Chapter 1**
