•Old coppices and high forests showed significant differences in traits abundance.•High forests showed the same functional traits reported for old growth forests.•Old coppices shared with high forest ...a similar trait composition.•Old coppices showed the same mature forest traits, but with lower abundances.
The aim of this paper was to investigate the functional composition of the understory of Mediterranean beech forest stands that have been managed in two different ways, namely, coppicing and tree by tree harvesting. In particular, we used a trait-based approach to characterize old coppice and high forest stands, analyzing their differences and evaluating the status of old coppices by considering their conversion towards high forest stands. The study area was the Montagne della Duchessa massif in central Italy, which lies at the center of the Apennine chain. Sixty-six plots were laid out and their species abundance and structural parameters were recorded. Data on plant traits were collected using both European databases and the literature available. Redundancy analysis was performed to assess the relationship between trait states and management, and forward selection was used to identify the structural parameters with a significant effect on trait variability. A Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test was done to assess differences in trait states between the management types. High forests proved to be more related to traits typical of mature forest conditions, while old coppices seemed not to have a clear trait association, except for some trait states related to open habitats, and showed the same “mature forest” trait composition, even if with lower abundances. This indicates that, despite the higher initial disturbance pressure, once abandoned, old coppices tend over time to evolve naturally towards mature forest functional conditions.
Aim
Species–area relationships (SARs) are fundamental scaling laws in ecology although their shape is still disputed. At larger areas, power laws best represent SARs. Yet, it remains unclear whether ...SARs follow other shapes at finer spatial grains in continuous vegetation. We asked which function describes SARs best at small grains and explored how sampling methodology or the environment influence SAR shape.
Location
Palaearctic grasslands and other non‐forested habitats.
Taxa
Vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens.
Methods
We used the GrassPlot database, containing standardized vegetation‐plot data from vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens spanning a wide range of grassland types throughout the Palaearctic and including 2,057 nested‐plot series with at least seven grain sizes ranging from 1 cm2 to 1,024 m2. Using nonlinear regression, we assessed the appropriateness of different SAR functions (power, power quadratic, power breakpoint, logarithmic, Michaelis–Menten). Based on AICc, we tested whether the ranking of functions differed among taxonomic groups, methodological settings, biomes or vegetation types.
Results
The power function was the most suitable function across the studied taxonomic groups. The superiority of this function increased from lichens to bryophytes to vascular plants to all three taxonomic groups together. The sampling method was highly influential as rooted presence sampling decreased the performance of the power function. By contrast, biome and vegetation type had practically no influence on the superiority of the power law.
Main conclusions
We conclude that SARs of sessile organisms at smaller spatial grains are best approximated by a power function. This coincides with several other comprehensive studies of SARs at different grain sizes and for different taxa, thus supporting the general appropriateness of the power function for modelling species diversity over a wide range of grain sizes. The poor performance of the Michaelis–Menten function demonstrates that richness within plant communities generally does not approach any saturation, thus calling into question the concept of minimal area.
The inventory of the taxa collected in 2022 during the annual field trip of the Working Group for Floristics, Systematics and Evolution of the Italian Botanical Society is reported. The field trip ...was held from 19
th
to 22
th
April in the islands of Lipari and Panarea (Aeolian Islands, Sicilia). Overall, 1,664 herbarium specimens were deposited in public and private herbaria. The flora documented for the studied area amounts to 386 specific and subspecific taxa, belonging to 241 genera and 74 families.
Centaurea aeolica
,
Helichrysum litoreum
(Asteraceae), and Dianthus rupicola subsp. aeolicus (Caryophyllaceae) were the only three Italian endemics found in the study area, whereas 48 alien taxa were recorded.
Dimorphotheca ecklonis
(Asteraceae),
Nassella tenuissima
(Poaceae),
Solanum torvum
(Solanaceae), and
Viola wittrockiana
(Violaceae) are casual alien species new to Sicilia, whereas
Oenothera odorata
(Onagraceae) is a new naturalized alien species for the Italian vascular flora.
In order to improve the floristic knowledge of the Italian territory, we report the inventory of the taxa collected during the annual field trip of the working group for Floristics, Systematics and ...Evolution of the Italian Botanical Society held in 2015 in eastern Irpinia and Vulture-Melfese area (South Italy). The investigated territories are located in southern Apennines, along the border between the Campania and Basilicata administrative regions. These areas are scarcely known in terms of vascular flora. The floristic samplings were performed in 19 sites selected as representative of the local environmental diversity as regards to climate, litho-morphology and land-use.
The research led to the identification of 4,137 specimens of vascular plants, belonging to 815 species and subspecies, 399 genera, and 85 families. Among these taxa, 42 were endemic to Italy, 38 were included in the IUCN Red List of the Italian Flora, 28 were alien and 5 were cryptogenic in Campania and/or Basilicata administrative regions. Two taxa,
Aquilegia coerulea
(casual alien, native to North America) and Lolium × boucheanum (native), were found to be new for Italy. On the basis of the available floristic literature the first one is also to be considered new for the European flora. At regional scale, we have found 18 taxa new for the Campania and 15 new for the Basilicata region. Finally, 10 taxa were confirmed for Campania. Data obtained during this study, confirmed the important role of a collaborative approach among botanists and the great relevance of these territories for plant diversity.
In this contribution, new data concerning algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the algal genera Chara and Nitella , ...the bryophyte genera Brachythecium , Didymodon , Fissidens , Physcomitrium , and Riccia , the fungal genera Biatoropsis , Cantharellus , Coprinellus , Dacrymyces , Inosperma , Nigropuncta , Urocystis , and Xanthoriicola , and the lichen genera Arthonia , Bellemerea , Circinaria , Lecania , Lecanora , Lecidella , Mycobilimbia , Naetrocymbe , Parmelia , Peltigera , Porpidia , Scytinium , and Usnea .
In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, and confirmations for Italy or for Italian administrative regions ...of taxa in the genera
Albizia
,
Anredera
,
Bougainvillea
,
Cardamine
,
Cenchrus
,
Cephalaria
,
Ceratochloa
,
Cytisus
,
Datura
,
Delosperma
,
Euonymus
,
Freesia
,
Hylotelephium
,
Lantana
,
Musa
,
Physalis
,
Rotala
,
Styphnolobium
,
Trachycarpus
, and
Tradescantia
. Nomenclature and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrections are provided as supplementary material.
In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of native vascular flora in Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations and status changes to the Italian administrative ...regions for taxa in the genera
Acer
,
Alchemilla
,
Andrachne
,
Bromus
,
Clinopodium
,
Colchicum
,
Damasonium
,
Erodium
,
Festuca
,
Hieracium
,
Hyparrhenia
,
Ipomoea
,
Linaria
,
Lolium
,
Narcissus
,
Ranunculus
,
Sisymbrium
,
Stipa
,
Valerianella
,
Vicia
, and
Zannichellia
. New combinations in the genus
Ziziphora
(
Z.sardoa
and
Z.corsica
) and the new subspecies
Ulmusminor
susbp.
canescens
are proposed. Furthermore, the name Calaminthaalpinavar.sardoa is here lectotypified. Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrigenda are provided as Suppl. material 1.
In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of native vascular flora in Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, and exclusions to the Italian administrative ...regions. Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrigenda are provided as Suppl. material 1.
Based on critical examination of both fresh and dried specimens and a morphometric analysis of herbarium specimens we performed a comparative study of the three closely related Gastridium (Poaceae, ...Tribe: Poeae, Subtribe: Agrostidinae) species G. ventricosum, G. phleoides and G. scabrum collected in Italy. The study aimed to provide new diagnostic tools to improve the taxonomy of the genus and confirm species delimitation. Variation in floral morphology in the three species was explored using seven quantitative and ten qualitative characters measured on 318 spikelets, both awned and unawned. Statistical methods, including principal components analysis (PCA) and non‐metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), were used. Numerical analyses showed a general distinctness of spikelets and florets, consistent with the three studied species, and revealed among and within species variation patterns in both spikelet types. Accordingly, the most informative quantitative characters appeared to be the width and length of glumes and the length of awns, useful to distinguish G. phleoides which has the narrowest glumes and longer awns than the other species, while G. scabrum has the widest glumes. The most informative qualitative characters appeared to be the presence/absence of thick hairs or minute tubercles on the upper side of the lemma. The autonomy of the three studied species was confirmed. The taxonomic significance of the results is briefly discussed, and notes on the species distribution are included. Some nomenclatural and taxonomic notes on G. scabrum, of which literature still showed evidence of a general unawareness, are provided.
The inventory of the taxa collected during the annual field trip of the working group for Floristics, Systematics and Evolution of the Italian Botanical Society is reported. The field trip was held ...in 2016 along the Velino and Aterno valleys located between Lazio and Abruzzo administrative regions (central Italy). The flora documented for the studied area amounts to 629 specific and subspecific taxa (including two hybrids) belonging to 300 genera and 69 families. Thirty-eight taxa are endemic to Italy, and only 16 alien taxa were detected. Thirty-eight taxa are included in the IUCN Red List of the Italian Flora. Twenty-four taxa have to be considered as floristic novelties because either new or confirmed for the regional flora of Lazio or Abruzzo. In particular, 15 taxa are new and 6 are confirmed for Lazio. Regarding Abruzzo, 2 taxa are new for the regional flora and one is confirmed. Furthermore, the alien status in Lazio has been updated for one taxon.
PDF
