The species of Ulota s.l. rarely colonise the epiphytic environment under Mediterranean climates. After recent advances in taxonomic knowledge and consequent changes in the group, it was necessary to ...verify the identity of the Ulota species inhabiting the southernmost Mediterranean localities. A total of 18 localities in the southern areas of the Iberian and Italian Peninsulas were investigated. Ulota s.l. populations from nine of the areas were re-sampled, whereas for the remaining five other localities, available herbarium records were revised. Four additional localities, from where herbarium records have not been found, were visited without success. As a result, five species, namely Atlantichella calvescens, Ulota bruchii, U. crispa, U. crispula and U. intermedia, have been found in the study area. Their distribution in the different countries and localities sampled is shown to be irregular. Of note is the discovery of U. crispula, U. bruchii and U. intermedia in very southern areas of Portugal and Italy, as well as the discovery for the first time of A. calvescens in localities outside the Atlantic area, specifically in the central Mediterranean.
The occurrence on the Pollino massif (southern Italy) of several remarkable mosses, which are rare or very rare in Italy, is reported. They are Orthotrichum acuminatum H. Philib., Distichium ...inclinatum (Hedw.) Bruch & Schimp. and Grimmia longirostris Hook., new to the southern part of the Italian peninsula, and Schistidium dupretii (Thér.) W.A. Weber, new to South Italy. Moreover, Orthotrichum cupulatum Hoffm. ex Brid. var. fuscum (Venturi) Boulay, a very rare taxon in Europe and up to now considered vanished in Italy, is rediscovered in Italy after about one century from its single previous report.
A study of the bryophyte flora of the gypsum outcrops in six sites of the Nature 2000 Network of the Emilia-Romagna Region was conducted in order to contribute to the conservation of the biodiversity ...of these sites. Subsequently, the main ecological and chorological aspects of the areas were analyzed, and with this information a series of target species was identified as indicators of the conditions of naturality or of progressive anthropization and deterioration of the areas.
The most commonly used old-growth forest indicators are structural attributes; nevertheless, they do not necessarily represent the biodiversity value of old-growth forests. The aim of this study is ...to analyse the relationships between species richness data of different taxa and structural indicators of old-growth and to identify taxonomic/functional groups, species and structural attributes that may be used as indicators of old-growth. To achieve this goal we sampled forest structure, vascular plants, lichens, bryophytes, fungi, saproxylic beetles and birds in mature and old-growth stands in southern Italy. We calculated Spearman's correlation coefficients between species richness data and structural attributes. Analyses of indicator species, co-occurrences and two-way clusters were performed on the multi-taxonomic list. The group of vascular plants most significantly correlated with other groups in terms of species richness; furthermore, it displays the highest proportion of between-group co-occurrences. The resulting multi-taxonomic list of potential indicators may serve as an effective means of detecting and monitoring forest ecosystems; however, for this goal, structure-based indicators, such as forest structural attributes and vascular plant species composition, are of primary importance.
This study is focused on the selection of variables affecting lichen and bryophyte diversity in Mediterranean deciduous forests. Plots representing two forest types (Fagus sylvatica and Quercus ...cerris forests) and two forest continuity categories (old-growth (OG) and non-OG forests) were selected in the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park (Italy). The presence and the abundance of bryophytes and epiphytic lichens were recorded. Structural variables of the forests and vascular plant species richness have been used as predictors. A strong positive correspondence between the two groups of organisms was found. Higher species richness and the distribution of rare species are related to OG stands, while a qualitative (species composition) rather than a quantitative (species richness) difference between the two forest types was observed. Some species elsewhere considered as indicators of forest continuity, such as Lobaria pulmonaria, Antitrichia curtipendula, and Homalothecium sericeum, are associated with OG forests, independently from forest type, suggesting that they can be regarded as suitable indicators also in Mediterranean forests. Finally, our results suggest that old trees, high levels of basal area, a broad range of diameter classes, and high understory diversity are the main structural features affecting cryptogamic communities, while no correlation was found with the occurrence of deadwood.
“The New Red List of the Italian Flora” includes all the Italian policy species and other species of known conservation concerns for a total of 400 taxa , 65% of which are threatened with extinction. ...The Red List is based on a huge georeferenced data-set useful for conservation purposes.
The bryophyte flora of Liguria region is compared with data available for other Italian regions. Comparisons were made in terms of biogeographical coherence, floristic similarity, and the number of ...scientific studies for each region. The aim was to provide a provisional evaluation based on bibliographic data, but with useful insights for an objective assessment of the state of knowledge and for the continuation of the study of hornworts, liverworts, and mosses in the Liguria.
The present study focused on the bryoflora of watercourses of the Tiber River basin watercourses (Central Italy). A total of 20 bryophyte species, which included 14 mosses and 6 liverworts, were ...collected at 32 river stations. Most species were recorded at stations of the watercourses' upper sections, which have rocky substrate and where there is cool and well oxygenated running water, with low trophic load. Only few species, such as Leptodictyum riparium, Cinclidotus fontinaloides and Riccia fluitans, were also found at stations of the middle and lower sections, which are characterized by slow-flowing, turbid, warm and eutrophic waters. Some species are widely distributed, among which Fontinalis antipyretica ssp. antipyretica and Platyhypnidium riparioides, while others are very rare, such as Cinclidotus aquaticus, Dialytrichia mucronata and R. fluitans. Some of the collected species are new regional records (Hygroamblystegium fluviatile, D. mucronata), regional confirmations of rare taxa in Italy (C.aquaticus) or confirmations of old regional reports (Hygroamblystegium tenax, C. fontinaloides, Aneura pinguis).
The goal of this study was to broaden current floristic understanding of five ravines, with different altitudes and characteristics, present along the Umbro-Marchegian Apennine chain, and to examine ...how the distribution of the bryoflora is conditioned by geomorphological and microclimatic aspects, as well as man's intervention. The flora list derives almost exclusively from unpublished data of explorations conducted in 2006 and 2007. Initial analysis of this list indicates that the bryoflora is more characterized by the presence of the river at the base of the ravine than by the size of the ravine itself, for there is a considerable number of species of aquatic and stillicidous environments, rather than species related to climatic factors. In addition, the imperviousness of the ravines limits the presence of tourists, which generally determines the entrance of cosmopolite species of high ecological importance, reducing the quality of a given ecosystem. In addition, the presence of Conocephalum salebrosum is signalled for the first time in Italy.
