International Symposium on the Conservation of Prionotropis species

Common features

A total of nine different species of Priontropis are currently known, distributed from the Iberian Peninsula to Turkey, via France, Italy and the Balkan Peninsula.
They have several features in common:

• Almost all of them have a rather local distribution, some of them are known only from a few observation points.
• All of them are found on poor calcareous grasslands or meadows and their habitats are in decline, so that almost all species are more or less threatened.
• Threats include the abandonment of grazing and the closure of the environment, or on the contrary, overgrazing, as well as urbanisation, etc.

In addition to building up a network of specialists, the aim of this first meeting was to present the state of knowledge on the various species and to discuss the necessary measures. Within the framework of the LIFE project, it is planned to establish ongoing cooperation with an exchange of experience and methods.

In the long term, joint actions are planned to contribute not only to the protection of the Prionotropis species, but also to the preservation of their habitats with a wide range of flora and fauna.