Urban vegetation of Almeria City - a contribution to urban ecology in Spain

In this paper, we analyzed the vegetation of the city of Almeria (southeast of Spain) using numerical methods. We distinguished 16 communities. Although most of them had an eminent ruderal character, some phytocoenoses were typical from non-disturbed environments. These communities can be distinguished not only by means of the dominant species, but also by the abundance of different biological forms. Thus, they can be grouped into six phytosociological classes. It was not found that diversity and coverage values were related to the features of the different habitats, but woody and herbaceous communities tended to occupy different types of biotopes. From the ecological point of view, the communities can be included into five groups, the floristic composition of which is related to the frequency of disturbance events as well as to the water availability of soils. According to the species composition and to the ecological significance of the communities detected, the city can be subdivided into three zones. These areas match the three historical phases of the city development. Finally, the possible implications of the results obtained are discussed in the context of urban planning and development, taking into consideration the conservation of valuable rare species and plant communities. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.