A front door for global flora!

The islands thus constitute reservoirs of biodiversity and enable a new breath of life to be taken after a fall in the numbers of plant species on the continents. ‘If we accept this idea, we realise that doubling our efforts to conserve island organisms is vital,’ adds the scientist. Furthermore, following new research on the dispersion of bryophytes, Alain Vanderpoorten and his colleagues have brought to light the fact that islands in the middle of the Atlantic gather together organisms from the four corners of the planet! ‘These spore producing plants develop island colonies and then bombard Europe with their spores,’ points out the specialist. ‘These islands are genuine front doors to enable planetary flora gain entrance into Europe.’ The richness of continental biodiversity thus transits through the ocean islands, at least as far as the bryophytes are concerned. And thus we have a conclusion which risks in some way turning upside down received ideas on the dispersion of island organisms. Islands have surely not stopped getting themselves talked about, be it in books, films or scientific publications!