%0 Journal Article 
%A Segura Carreras, Francisco José
%T Life history and demographic features of astragalus nitidiflorus a critically endangered species
%D 2010
%U http://hdl.handle.net/10317/1798
%X Astragalus nitidiflorus is an endangered short-lived legume of SE Spain, which have
been re-found after 100 years. To identify possible weak points that might contribute to
its rarity and hamper its conservation, this paper presents data concerning location,
habitat, demographic features and reproductive biology of the species. Censuses of three
cohorts of seedlings show that the seedling stage is the most critical in the life cycle.
The adult plants show a long flowering season with a high degree of synchrony. Despite
the low reproductive success of the species, the annual seed production is very high due
to the high floral production. The data show that A. nitidiflorus is a facultative xenogam
species, but the presence of pollinators can enhance fruit set. The viability of the species
is not limited by the flowering and fruiting process, however the maintenance of the
habitat in the early successional stages seems to be the critical point for long-term
survival of the species
%K Conservation biology
%K Endemic species
%K Fabaceae
%K Population dynamics
%K Reproductive success
%K Spain
%~ GOEDOC, SUB GOETTINGEN