Fagonia cretica L. is an important component of Mediterranean dry grasslands and a rare and isolated species of Italian flora. In this study, an assessment is presented on the distribution, habitat, ...and conservation status of F. cretica in Italy. The results of field investigation and herbarium analysis show that this species grows in a small area within the southern Calabria region characterized by a warmest and driest Mediterranean climate on the Italian peninsula. F. cretica is a semi-desert plant species growing in Italy in only one peripheral and isolated population at the northern limit of its distribution. Plant community analysis, using the phytosociological method, shows that F. cretica grows in wintergreen perennial dry grasslands dominated by Lygeum spartum and Hyparrhenia hirta. F. cretica plant communities are located in thermo-xeric habits such as south-, southeast-and east-facing slopes on clays and sandy clays in southern Calabria. The population of F. cretica is fragmented in six neighbouring localities, with two of which belonging to a Site of Community Importance(SCI). The conservation status of F. cretica population is not very good, and is defined as 'Critically Endangered' in accordance with IUCN criteria. There are many threats affecting the F. cretica population in Italy, primarily the changes in land uses due to urban expansion and reforestation with exotic plants. The southern end of the Italian peninsula hosts other plants from thermo-xeric habits that do not adapt to the current local climate. This territory can be considered as a microrefugia for plants currently distributed in the arid territory of the southern Mediterranean. These results contribute to the discussion of some conservation measures, and the possibility of establishing a micro-reserve. For all these reasons, we propose to include F. cretica in the lists of protected plant species at regional(Calabria) and country(Italy) scales in Italy.
In the present work, we studied the effect of herbicide use on extensive olive grove cultivation. To carry out this study, we analysed the effect that herbicide use had on biodiversity, vegetation ...cover and soil water content. For this purpose, 96 vegetation and soil sampling points were first taken, then georeferenced, and for each sampling point, several bioclimatic variables were interpolated. We concluded that the management of cover crops with herbicides over a long period of time resulted in a decrease in biodiversity, and the dominance of some species that were more resistant to herbicides was increased. Another finding was that the vegetation cover was reduced in the resampling in cases with herbicide management and that the location within the cropland (under the tree canopy, road, boundary or pasture) also has an influence. Finally, the study of soil moisture shows that soil water content was lower in the case of management with herbicides than in the case of management without herbicides. This loss of soil moisture was more accentuated and faster in areas with less vegetation cover. This work highlights the need to change the management models for tree crops in order to preserve biodiversity, soil quality and optimise water resources in a context of accelerated climate change in one of the regions most severely affected by global warming, the Mediterranean belt.
A study was conducted on 14 grassland communities located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and their edaphology, which is identified as specific plant associations. The edaphic study of each ...association allows a rapid evaluation of the nutrient content in the soil without the need for laboratory edaphic analysis. For each phytosociological relevé and soil, samplings were carried out. The field data were subjected to various statistical analysis—canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), Bayesian networks, and decision trees—to establish nutrient content. When the abundance value of the species is 9 in the Van der Maarel scale, there is an increase in the values of several soil parameters. In the case of Hordeum leporinum, when the Van der Maarel index is 9, the Kc (exchangeable potassium in cmol/kg) undergoes the greatest variation, to a value of up to 0.729 cmol/kg. The application of the decision tree to this species reveals that the soil attributes with the greatest influence in the classification are conductivity, %_si (silt texture), pH, and pF 15 atm (pressure at 15 atmospheres (water retention capacity) in %). Indeed, this interlaced edaphic and phytosociological study provides us with a high-value tool to obtain quick information on the content of nutrients in the soil.
The impact of blanching on the phytochemical content and bioactivity of
(HL),
(HR),
(HRA), and
subsp.
(HT) leaves was studied and compared to fresh plant materials and residual blanching water. For ...this purpose, total phenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, and chlorophyll contents were quantified. The antioxidant effect was investigated by using different in vitro tests (β-carotene, ferric reducing ability power (FRAP), 2,2'-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), whereas the potential inhibitory activity of key enzymes linked to obesity was screened against lipase, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase. Generally, the phytochemical content followed the trend: fresh > blanching water > blanched samples. The same trend was observed in the antioxidant activity independently of the applied test as well as in the inhibition of lipase and carbohydrates-hydrolysing enzymes. In particular, fresh
(HL1) showed the lowest inhibitory concentration 50% (IC
) values of 31.3 and 42.7 μg/mL, against α-glucosidase and α-amylase, respectively, whereas fresh
(HRA1) showed the most promising hypolipidemic activity (IC
value of 39.8 μg/mL). Collectively, these results support the health effect of these wild plants and demonstrated that blanching water should be reused in food preparation since it is a good source of bioactive compounds and its consumption should be recommended in order to increase the uptake of micronutrients.
In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records and status changes from casual to naturalized for Italy or for ...Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Callianthe , Chamaecyparis , Chamaeiris , Cotoneaster , Erigeron , Freesia , Hemerocallis , Juglans , Kalanchoë , Ludwigia , Nassella , Paulownia , Physocarpus , Pistia , Saccharum , Setaria , and Vachellia . Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrections are provided as supplementary material.
We have studied Juniperus oxycedrus L. subsp. badia (H.Gay) Debeaux in the central and southern Iberian Peninsula, where the macrobioclimate ranges from Mediterranean-pluviseasonal-oceanic to ...Mediterranean-pluviseasonal-continental, and the thermotype from the thermo- to the supramediterranean. The relevés were taken following the Braun-Blanquet phytosociological methodology. A statistical treatment was applied to establish a separation among Juniperus communities. To understand the presence of Juniperus communities in territories dominated by species in the Quercus genus, we applied Thornthwaite’s formula to calculate potential evapotranspiration. The general cluster analysis clearly distinguishes two groups of plant communities and separates the different associations in each group. All the plant communities growing on rocky crests and in extremely steep sloping areas are significantly influenced by the soil. The ombroclimatic index does not explain the presence of plant communities influenced by substrate, so we proposed a new ombroedaphoxeric index which explains the presence of Juniperus communities in territories with a thermotype between the thermo- and supramediterranean. The areas of distribution of Juniperus species are expanding due to the spread of rocky areas; this phenomenon causes an increase in edaphoxerophilous areas and a decrease in climatophilous ones. We propose four new plant associations, with updated structures and floristic compositions. Efficient conservation is possible in both the territories studied (Spain and Portugal) through the implementation of specific cross-border cooperation projects.
In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of three vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment of
Soldanella calabrella
Kress at ...global level, and the regional assessment of
Luzula pindica
(Hausskn.) Chrtek & Křísa and
Romulea variicolor
Mifsud (Italy).
Gypseous substrates are well-recognised as supporting distinctive and unique flora assemblages, including numerous gypsum endemic (gypsophile) species. Along with these, others are also frequent ...although their presence is not restricted to gypsum; they show a clear preference for them (gypsocline). While this phenomenon (gypsophily) has been studied regionally, and various hypotheses put forward to explain it, there has been little global synthesis. We present a preliminary check-list on the gypsophile and gypsocline flora of the Palaearctic and Australian areas as a part of a project to develop a global checklist of the World’s gypsophytes, which can broaden our ecological and biogeographical understanding of these unique environments. The database contains 935 taxa spanning 54 countries. The Irano-Turanian region —and to a lesser extent the Mediterranean region— emerged as the richest territories in terms of gypsophile species; this richness was much reduced in the Saharo-Arabian and, especially in the Eurosiberian regions. The factors that can modulate the richness of gypsophytes in a region are discussed and have been distributed into four groups: a) geological and edaphic factors; b) factors linked to the insular nature of outcrops; c) climatic variables and their interaction with the soil; d) biogeographical factors. The importance of those factors linked to insularity and, especially, to water availability is emphasized. Because the soil structure of many gypsum outcrops reduces water ability to plants, such outcrops can be regarded as “dry-islands” surrounded by less xeric substrates. The fact that gypsophytes can be grouped within a few major flowering plant clades across continents, confirms their pre-adaptations to these harsh and unique environments. Our work provides a preliminary database for exploring ecological and biogeographic issues relating to gypsophily, and we hope it will stimulate global interest in these valuable ecosystems.
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 2019 along the Sillaro, Santerno, and Senio high valleys located in Toscana (central Italy). The flora documented for the studied area amounts to 492 specific and subspecific taxa (including five hybrids), belonging to 254 genera and 77 families.
Bromopsis caprina
,
Ophrys appennina
,
O. classica
, Polygala flavescens subsp. flavescens, and Pulmonaria vallarsae subsp. apennina were the only five Italian endemics found in the study area, whereas 28 alien taxa were detected. Finally, nine taxa (seven native and two alien) have to be considered as new records for the regional flora of Toscana.
Nineteen areas on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) were studied with the aim of determining the distribution pattern of the endemic flora in these areas, and their ...variability with altitude. The main concentration of endemic species occurs in mountains with a medium altitude and in certain mountain sites (palaeo-islands), which coincide with hotspots; a lower number of endemics are found in low-lying areas (coldspots), due to the degradation of their habitats. A total of 1,582 endemic species were studied and were distributed in 19 areas. The whole island is of outstanding interest for its richness in endemics; it has 2,050 endemic species, representing 34.16% of its total flora. The territory in the study is home to 1,284 genera of which 31 are endemic to the island, including monotypical genera such as Tortuella abietifolia Urb. & Ekman, and endemic genera such as Hottea , containing seven endemic species. The sites with the highest rate of endemics are area A16 in the central range with a total of 440 endemic species, of which 278 are exclusive to the territory; and the Sierra de Bahoruco, la Selle, La Hotte and Tiburón in area A12, where we found 699 plants of which 482 are endemic and exclusive to the area; and A13 with 173 and 129 respectively. This work highlights the exceptional floristic diversity in endemic species and genera and analyses their distribution patterns as a tool for conservation in this area of the world, whose high endemicity rate makes it one of the most significant hotspots in the Caribbean.
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