Display omitted
•Different environmental features determine Mediterranean butterfly richness across seasons.•Cold-adapted species prefer humid areas with some woodland coverage.•80 % of the community ...move to wet and shady areas in response to high temperatures.•Geomorphological and vegetational heterogeneity mitigate extreme weather conditions.•We present an evidence-based protocol to preserve butterflies within the resist-accept-direct framework.
The Butterfly Monitoring Scheme based on linear transects conducted by citizen scientists has become a fundamental indicator for understanding the impact of climate change on butterfly populations. A key finding is the fast poleward expansion of butterfly distributions in Europe, coupled with slower population declines in southern regions. Given that the Mediterranean region is a climate change hotspot, understanding the largely unknown mechanisms employed by butterflies to cope with increasing aridity is crucial for developing data-driven conservation strategies. To address this issue, we developed a monitoring approach based on 90 transects fully covering areas of 50 m × 50 m squares instead of linear paths. This enabled us to explore the fine-scale dynamics of 80 butterfly species and their association with vegetational units in the Mediterranean hills (∼800 m a.s.l. as maximum altitude) of the MAB UNESCO Reserve of Monte Peglia (Central Italy). We sampled the transects from April to October 2022 (the locally hottest summer of the last decade) and documented three main patterns: 1) butterfly richness and abundance correlate with environmental features and these relationships vary across seasons. Richer sites consisted of some 30 % of woodland and were those closer to water, mostly during summer (area-based analysis). 2) Environmental preferences vary with species traits. Specialist species and those adapted to colder climates and narrower temperature ranges were more abundant in higher altitudes sites, closer to water and with wider woodland coverage (fourth-quadrant analysis). 3) Although most species preferred meadows, when temperature increases, they increased their abundance in sites with wider tree coverage, closer to streams, and at higher altitude (species-based analysis). These dynamics demonstrate that butterflies opportunistically move to cooler micro-habitats to buffer elevated temperatures. This phenomenon potentially involves most of the community since the species showing significant effects encompass >80 % of the observed individuals. Our analysis introduces new dimensions to the niche of Mediterranean butterflies, highlighting the significance of shady micro-habitats, altitudinal ranges, and water streams. These factors are likely to become increasingly critical with rising aridity levels. By combining our findings with existing literature data, we have provided a protocol aimed at preserving Mediterranean butterflies within the resist-accept-direct framework.
Island ecosystems face significant threats from biological invasions due to their unique biomes. In over a quarter of these ecosystems, the number of alien plants surpasses the total count of native ...ones, leading to notable impacts. This concern is particularly pronounced in the Mediterranean Basin, a globally important hotspot for plant diversity. In line with this, our study aimed to investigate the current distribution of six main alien plant species ( Chasmanthe floribunda , Nicotiana glauca , Opuntia ficus-indica , Opuntia stricta , Senecio angulatus , and Zantedeschia aethiopica ) on Capraia Island in the Tuscan Archipelago, Italy. We identified invaded vegetation types and N2000 habitats ( sensu 92/43/EEC “Habitats” Directive), created a detailed map of the current distribution of these six target species, and analyzed the relationship between their distribution and environmental factors. The six target species were found to be more widespread in areas of the island with higher levels of anthropogenic disturbance, with only O. stricta also spreading into natural habitats. Overall, the invasion covers an area of 71 hectares (3.6% of the island’s surface), of which over 70 hectares are invaded by O. stricta . The habitats most impacted by alien plant invasion include 5330 “Thermo-Mediterranean and pre-desert scrub”, 5320 “Low formations of Euphorbia close to cliffs”, 1240 “Vegetated sea cliffs of the Mediterranean coasts with endemic Limonium spp.”, and 6220* “Pseudo-steppe with grasses and annuals of the Thero-Brachypodietea ”, all primarily invaded by O. stricta . Environmental factors most correlated with alien plant distribution include the distance from infrastructure, altitude, and slope aspect.
Carpobrotus acinaciformis and C. edulis are well-known invasive alien plants native to South Africa, whose detrimental effects on native communities are widely documented in the Mediterranean basin ...and thus largely managed in coastal ecosystems. Most of the literature on these species focuses on their impacts on habitats of sandy coastal dunes, while the effects of Carpobrotus spp. invasion on other habitats such as rocky cliffs and coastal scrubs and garrigues are almost neglected. We present a study case conducted on a small Mediterranean island where Carpobrotus spp. invaded three different natural habitats listed within the Habitat Directive 92/43/CEE (Natura 2000 codes 1240, 1430, and 5320). We surveyed the presence and abundance of native species and Carpobrotus spp. on 44 permanent square plots of 4 m2 in invaded and uninvaded areas in each of the three habitats. We found impacts on plant alpha diversity (intended as the species diversity within each sampled plot) in all the habitats investigated in terms of a decrease in species richness, Shannon index, and abundance. Invaded communities also showed a severe change in species composition with a strong homogenization of the floras of the three habitats. Finally, the negative effect of invasion emerged even through the analyses of beta diversity (expressing the species diversity among sampled plots of the same habitat type), with Carpobrotus spp. replacing a large set of native species.
We analysed two different plant communities hosting
Ionopsidium savianum
(Brassicaceae), a species of EU interest included in the Habitats Directive 92/43/CEE annexes, for which specific studies on ...the ecology of communities where the species grows are lacking and more in-depth knowledge is needed. We examined two important sites of occurrence of this species in Tuscany with different soil types, namely limestone (Mt. Calvi) and serpentine (Mt. Pelato), to determine the structural and functional profile of the communities hosting this species in such different contexts. At each site, we surveyed the plant communities with
I. savianum
in ten 1 m
2
quadrats to determine information on communities' species composition and total plant cover, as well as taxonomic (species richness, and Shannon H’ index), phylogenetic (phylogenetic diversity, mean nearest taxon distance and mean pairwise distance) and functional diversity (focusing on Rao’s Q, leaf functional traits and adaptive strategies community weighted mean). We took into account site location, soil type, slope aspect and microrelief as plot-level environmental factors. The two communities were highly diverging from multiple points of view. Differences were in species composition, richness and diversity, with Mt. Calvi hosting higher diversity. The indices of phylogenetic diversity were influenced significantly by site and microrelief, allowing the presence of peculiar niches occupied by the fern
Asplenium ceterach
. From the functional point of view, communities at Mt. Calvi showed a higher functional diversity and a higher specific leaf area. Plant height was influenced by the slope aspect and was higher on north-facing slopes. In terms of Grime’s adaptive strategies, the Mt. Pelato communities resulted to be more stress tolerant than those surveyed at Mt. Calvi. Here, a decrease in stress-tolerant strategy associated with an increase in ruderal strategy was detected in communities on north-facing slopes.
•No correlations in species richness and composition were found between the groups.•Bryophyte composition was predictive of lichen composition in biancana grasslands.•A unique species composition was ...related to biancana pediments.•Such pediment species could disappear after the decrease of erosion rates.
Cross-taxon congruence, i.e., using certain taxonomic groups as surrogates for others, is receiving growing interest since it may allow decreasing efforts in biodiversity studies. In this work, we investigated the patterns of cross-taxon congruence in species richness and composition between communities of bryophytes, lichens, and vascular plants in different biancana grasslands of a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) of central Italy. We recorded species presence and abundance in 16 plots of 1 × 1 m size and analyzed the data using Procrustes correlation, co-correspondence analysis, and indicator species analysis. We did not highlight any correlation in species richness and composition between the three taxonomic groups. Conversely, the species composition of bryophyte communities was predictive of the species composition of lichen communities. Moreover, lichen richness was negatively correlated with the total cover of vascular plants. Indicator species analysis evidenced the presence of species from the three biotic communities being particularly related, at least at the local scale, to biancana pediments, like the bryophytes Didymodon acutus and Trichostomum crispulum, the lichens Enchylium tenax, Cladonia foliacea, and Psora decipiens, and the vascular plants Brachypodium distachyon, Parapholis strigosa, and Artemisia caerulescens subsp. cretacea. In the biancana pediments, acrocarp mosses, squamulose lichens, therophyte plants and chamaephyte plants coexisted. In spite of the weak cross-taxon congruence between the three taxonomic groups, this study could highlight a locally unique diversity of bryophytes, lichens, and vascular plants related to the extreme environment of biancana pediments, selected by high soil salinity and deposition from the upper eroded slope. Soil erosion and deposition in biancana badlands supports the increase of local multi-taxonomic plant diversity by creating unique ecosystems. Such biodiversity should be considered locally at risk of disappearance, due to the ongoing vanishing of biancana badlands in central Italy.
A robust survey method that samples the main characteristics of plant assemblages is needed to assess the conservation status of European habitat in the Natura 2000 network. A measure of variability, ...called pseudo-multivariate dissimilarity-based standard error (MultSE), was recently proposed for assessing sample-size adequacy in ecological communities. Here, we used it on coastal sand dune systems in three Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in Tuscany. Our aim was to assess the minimum number of replicates necessary to adequately characterize sand dune environments in terms of differences between habitats and SACs, after a preliminary baseline assessment of plant diversity. Analysis of α and β diversity indicated that especially between habitats the three SACs protect different plant communities. The study of the MultSE profiles showed that the minimum number of replicates needed to assess differences among habitats varied between 10 and 25 plots. Two-way PERMANOVA and SIMPER analysis on the full and reduced datasets confirmed that SACs and habitats host different plant communities, and that the contribution of the target species remained unchanged even with a reduced sample size. The proposed methodological approach can be used to develop cost-effective monitoring programs and it can be useful for plant ecologists and biodiversity managers for assessing ecosystem health and changes.
Freshwater ecosystems are crucial for biodiversity conservation. They are among the most threatened habitats in the world. However, the wetlands of southern European mountains still lack fine-scale ...plant community studies. Here we studied submontane and montane palustrine communities of the Tuscan-Romagna Apennines. Data from 123 vegetation plots dominated by palustrine species were analysed by means of cluster analysis. We identified 18 vegetation types that we attributed to five classes (
Phragmito-Magnocaricetea, Montio-Cardaminetea, Isoëto-Nanojuncetea, Molinio-Arrhenatheretea
, and
Epilobietea angustifolii
), and to two Natura 2000 habitats (3130 - Oligotrophic to mesotrophic standing waters with vegetation of the
Littorelletea uniflorae
and/or of the
Isoëto-Nanojuncetea
, and 6430 - Hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities of plains and of the montane to alpine levels). According the 4
th
edition of the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature we corrected the names
Phragmition communis
Koch 1926
nom. inept.
in
P. australis
Koch 1926
nom. corr.
,
Phragmitetum communis
Savič 1926
nom. inept.
in
P. australis
Savič 1926
nom. corr.
,
Glycerietum plicatae
Kulczyński 1928
nom. inept.
in
G. notatae
Kulczyński 1928
nom. corr.
,
Beruletum angustifoliae
Roll 1938
nom. inept.
in
Beruletum erectae
Roll 1938
nom. corr.
, and we mutated the name
Scirpetum lacustris
Chouard 1924
nom. inept.
in
Schoenoplectetum lacustris
Chouard 1924
nom. mut. nov
. Our study highlights the diversity of marsh vegetation of montane and submontane areas of Northern Apennines. Most of the palustrine communities, though important from the point of view of conservation, cannot be attributed at present to any habitat type legally protected at the European level.
Semi-natural grasslands are characterized by high biodiversity and require multifaceted approaches to monitor their biodiversity. Moreover, grasslands comprise a multitude of microhabitats, making ...the scale of investigation of fundamental importance. Despite their wide distribution, grasslands are highly threatened and are considered of high conservation priority by Directive no. 92/43/EEC. Here, we investigate the effects of small-scale ecological differences between two ecosites present within the EU habitat of Community Interest of semi-natural dry grasslands on calcareous substrates (6210 according to Dir. 92/43/EEC) occurring on a Mediterranean mountain. We measured taxonomic and functional diversity of plant and ant communities, evaluating the differences among the two ecosites, how these differences are influenced by the environment and whether vegetation affects composition of the ant community. Our results show that taxonomic and functional diversity of plant and ant communities are influenced by the environment. While vegetation has no effect on ant communities, we found plant and ant community composition differed across the two ecosites, filtering ant and plant species according to their functional traits, even at a small spatial scale. Our findings imply that small-scale monitoring is needed to effectively conserve priority habitats, especially for those that comprise multiple microhabitats.
The recent Landscape Plan of Tuscany Region pays particular attention towards the floodplain woods, for their conservation concern, landscape, and historical importance. The floodplain forest ...vegetation is defined as the natural and semi-natural wood vegetation located close to the rivers and submerged only during exceptional flooding. We gathered 180 both published and unpublished relevés coming from Tuscany and carried out in floodplain woods, where
Alnus glutinosa
,
Fraxinus angustifolia
subsp.
oxycarpa
,
Quercus robur
,
Ulmus minor
,
Carpinus betulus
,
Populus nigra
,
P. alba
and
Salix alba
were dominant, alone or in consociation with each other. On this dataset we performed a multivariate analysis, and the resulting groups were characterized by several points of view: floristic, ecological, chorological, by mean of diagnostic species, with the use of EIV. Moreover, their distribution in Tuscany was better defined. According to our results, six associations were found to be present in Tuscany. Thereby, one new association and three new subassociations were proposed. The syntaxonomic arrangement above the association level was discussed, with particular attention to the Italian
Fraxinus angustifolia
subsp.
oxycarpa
-rich communities. Finally, a comparison with the Annex I habitat types (sensu Directive 92/43/EEC) was carried out.
Badlands are peculiar geomorphological formations shaping landscapes of high ecological and cultural value. In the last decades, land reclamation for agricultural purposes and the cessation of ...traditional land use, such as sheep grazing, led to their decline in extent in many areas. To quantify the changes in badland-related plant communities, we resurveyed badland vegetation in a site of the Crete Senesi (Siena, central Italy) after 16 years (2006–2022), using 48 quasi-permanent vegetation plots and by means of uni- and multivariate analysis of variance. We found an increase in the total vegetation cover of plant communities growing in former bare soil and sparsely vegetated areas, in line with an overall decrease in the extent of bare soil surfaces in the study area, which we highlighted through the analysis of multitemporal satellite images. Pioneer vegetation characterized by the endemic plant Artemisia caerulescens subsp. cretacea changed into ruderal annual grasslands, while former bare soils were colonized by such pioneer vegetation. In contrast, perennial grasslands remained stable. Grasslands with shrubs became more similar to perennial grasslands in species composition. Species richness increased in former bare soils, and using the total vegetation cover as a proxy for successional stages, we found that Shannon diversity and evenness peaked at about 90% of total cover. In all the stages of colonization, short distance dispersal species prevailed, both therophytes (Avena sterilis, Parapholis strigosa) and perennials (Artemisia caerulescens subsp. cretacea, Bromopsis erecta). Long distance dispersal species (Galatella linosyris) started colonizing at about 60% of total vegetation cover, and at high vegetation cover all the functional groups coexisted. Our results confirm that the badland landscapes of southern Tuscany and specialist plant diversity adapted to badlands are vanishing after a diminishing of active land management, suggesting the current ineffectiveness of the Natura 2000 network in their conservation.
PDF
