In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte genera
Bryum
,
Cryphaea
,
...Didymodon
, and
Grimmia
; the fungal genera
Bryostigma
,
Cercidospora
,
Conocybe
,
Cortinarius
,
Endococcus
,
Inocybe
,
Psathyrella
, and
Sphaerellothecium
; the lichen genera
Agonimia
,
Anisomeridium
,
Bilimbia
,
Diplotomma
,
Gyalecta
,
Huneckia
,
Lecidella
,
Lempholemma
,
Myriolecis
,
Nephroma
,
Pannaria
,
Pycnothelia
,
Pyrrhospora
,
Rinodina
,
Stereocaulon
,
Thalloidima
,
Trapelia
,
Usnea
,
Variospora
, and
Verrucaria
.
Habitat loss is the main driver of biodiversity decline worldwide. An immediate consequence can be extinction debt, i.e. time-delayed extinction of species following habitat loss. We tested ...extinction debt in terricolous lichen communities in 45 patches of lowland open dry habitats in the western Po Plain (northern Italy) considering richness of four species groups: total, red-listed, rare, and common species. The distance from the currently nearest patch and the annual precipitation correlated – negatively and positively, respectively – with all the groups. Total, red-listed, and rare species were positively related to the oldest available patch extent (1954). Common species were positively related to the current (2020) patch extent. Total and red-listed species were negatively related to the extent difference (1954–2020). Results reveal an extinction debt which has not yet been completely paid and that could be exacerbated by climate change. To counteract this trend, management should conserve habitat patches with the highest species richness, improve connectivity between habitat patches, and provide suitable microrefugia for species with different ecological requirements.
Dry grasslands are listed among the habitats of conservation concern in Europe. Here, based on a multitaxon approach including vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, we explored the effects of ...small-scale disturbance on lichen-rich dry grassland vegetation by surveying 60 sites across the Po Plain (Northern Italy). In particular, we evaluated the impact of human trampling and fecal pellet deposition by the alien invasive herbivore Sylvilagus floridanus. We found a soil-dependent response of multiple taxa to the impact of the herbivore. For plants, beside a negative effect of trampling, the interaction between fecal pellet amount and soil pH indicates that the negative effect of the invasive herbivore is stronger on acidic soils. Bryophyte cover increased with increasing soil pH, annual rainfall and fecal pellet, while it was not affected by trampling. Lichen richness and cover decreased with increasing soil pH. The marginal interaction between soil pH and amount of fecal pellet indicates that the more negative effects on lichens may be expected on calcareous soils. Trampling did not affect lichen patterns and the rainfall gradient marginally affected lichen cover with a negative effect. Lichen species richness is also negatively affected by increasing vascular plant cover. The main implications of this study for improving conservation are: (1) conservation practices should be tailored to organism and substrate type; (2) bryophyte and lichen diversity patterns are influenced also by climatic conditions, suggesting that the impact on these organisms may be exacerbated by climate change; and (3) strict conservation, even through active exclusion of wild fauna, of the most species-rich sites should be recommended, even if previous literature and the negative plant cover-lichen richness relationship found in this study indicate that moderate mechanical disturbance could be a practical tool to enhance cryptogams.
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•We explored the multitaxon effects of disturbance on lichen-rich dry grasslands.•We evaluated the impact of human trampling and eutrophication by an alien herbivore.•We found a soil-dependent effect of the alien herbivore on multiple taxa.
•An alternative cheaper methodology to assess spatial distribution of grazing pressure.•Importance of drinking trough placement for the temporal behavior pattern of cattle.•Grazing pressure modeling: ...an effective low cost methodology to support biodiversity.•Extensive grazing can be a cheap solution to produce highly diverse landscape mosaic.
In the framework of grassland conservation, extensive grazing represents a management tool which is both cheaper than mechanical management and produces a highly diverse landscape mosaic, thus addressing economic and conservation purposes. The understanding of the key ecological processes involved in grazing systems is a basic step towards the sustainable application of such a system. The aims of this study were: (1) assessment of the grazing pressure and the grazing damage in a fenced cattle pasture; (2) identification of the environmental factors driving the grazing pressure; (3) development of a mathematical model (based on multivariate linear regression analysis) explaining the grazing pressure in the area; and (4) modeling of a grazing pattern scenario that would result from manipulation of an environmental variable.
Management facilities were found to be the main factors driving the behavior of grazing cattle and, consequently, the distribution of undergrazed and overgrazed areas, with the highest grazing pressure close to drinking troughs.The search for new foraging areas promotes a better distribution of animals in the pasture as shown by the increase in grazed area frequented by cattle during the season.
Grazing pressure modeling is a potentially effective low cost methodology to support biodiversity preservation and the efficient use of pastures in specific situations, such as habitats listed in Directive 92/43/EEC. It can be extended to studies at a Pan-European scale by using recently developed data sources and instruments. Pasture management based on the application of our model could be used to optimize grazing patterns without costly repositioning of fences.
In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte genera
Campylopus
,
Paludella
,
...Tortula
, and
Conocephalum
, the fungal genera
Agonimia
,
Buelliella
,
Entorrhiza
,
Filicupula
,
Poronia
, and
Sporisorium
, the lichen genera
Cladonia
,
Dibaeis
,
Lasallia
, and
Rhizocarpon
.
In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi and lichens and of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte genera Dicranodontium , ...Fontinalis , Lophocolea and Riccia , the fungal genus Diplolaeviopsis , the lichen genera Agonimia , Cladonia , Protoparmelia , Rhizocarpon , and Scytinium .
In this contribution, new data concerning the Italian distribution of alien vascular flora are presented. It includes new records, exclusions, confirmations, and status changes for Italy or for ...Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera
Acer
,
Amaranthus
,
Araujia
,
Aubrieta
,
Avena
,
Bidens
,
Calycanthus
,
Celtis
,
Elaeagnus
,
Eragrostis
,
Euonymus
,
Fallopia
,
Ficus
,
Hedera
,
Lantana
,
Ligustrum
,
Ludwigia
,
Morus
,
Oenothera
,
Opuntia
,
Oxalis
,
Parkinsonia
,
Paspalum
,
Paulownia
,
Platycladus
,
Pleuropterus
,
Rumex
,
Salvia
,
Senecio
,
Setaria
,
Syagrus
,
Tradescantia
,
Trifolium
and
Yucca
. Furthermore, a new combination in the genus
Vicia
is proposed.
In this contribution, new data concerning red algae, lichens and bryophytes of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the algal genus Grateloupia , the ...bryophyte genus Didymodon , and the lichen genera Buellia , Cladonia , Letharia , Pertusaria , and Pyrenula .
Invasive alien plants are a major threat to biodiversity and they contribute to the unfavourable conservation status of habitats of interest to the European Community. In order to favour ...implementation of European Union Regulation no. 1143/2014 on invasive alien species, the Italian Society of Vegetation Science carried out a large survey led by a task force of 49 contributors with expertise in vegetation across all the Italian administrative regions. The survey summed up the knowledge on impact mechanisms of invasive alien plants in Italy and their outcomes on plant communities and the EU habitats of Community Interest, in accordance with Directive no. 92/43/EEC. The survey covered 241 alien plant species reported as having deleterious ecological impacts. The data collected illustrate the current state of the art, highlight the main gaps in knowledge, and suggest topics to be further investigated. In particular, the survey underlined competition as being the main mechanism of ecological impact on plant communities and Natura 2000 habitats. Of the 241 species, only Ailanthus altissima was found to exert an ecological impact on plant communities and Natura 2000 habitats in all Italian regions; while a further 20 species impact up to ten out of the 20 Italian administrative regions. Our data indicate that 84 out of 132 Natura 2000 Habitats (64%) are subjected to some degree of impact by invasive alien plants. Freshwater habitats and natural and semi-natural grassland formations were impacted by the highest number of alien species, followed by coastal sand dunes and inland dunes, and forests. Although not exhaustive, this research is the first example of nationwide evaluation of the ecological impacts of invasive alien plants on plant communities and Natura 2000 Habitats.
•We surveyed impacts of IAPs on plant communities and Natura 2000 Habitats in Italy.•241 IAPs are impacting 84 Natura 2000 Habitats, with competition as main impact mechanism.•Information on IAPs impacts is very uneven at the national level.•Few IAPs are well-studied and impacts on Natura 2000 Habitats are scarcely known.•First evaluation of IAPs impacts on Natura 2000 Habitats at the national level.
Open dry acidic habitats protected under the Natura 2000 Network (Council Directive 92/43/EEC) occur in Italian Continental lowlands with an either poor or bad conservation status. The LIFE Drylands ...project was designed with the aim of restoring these habitats in the western Po Plain. In the context of this project, we translocated plants typical of habitat 4030 “European dry heaths” and of the acidophilous subtype of habitat 6210 “Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (Festuco-Brometalia) (* important orchid sites)” in two sites hosting them. We assessed the outcome of the translocations by monitoring survival, flowering, and fruiting rates of the translocated plants during either the first or the second year following the translocation. We compared plants’ performances by a one-way analysis of variance and then cross-referenced them with literature data. Based on our results, we suggest that a mix of hemicryptophytes, such as Armeria arenaria, Betonica officinalis, Dianthus carthusianorum and Festuca filiformis, and geophytes, like Anthericum liliago and Limniris sibirca, with a density of about 34 plants/m2 could be used for other translocations in dry heathlands and dry grasslands in the European Continental biogeographical region, while the addition of therophytes needs further evaluation.
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