The concept of “cultural keystone species” (CKS) combines ecological and socioeconomic aspects and has a great potential for improving the overall success of conservation and restoration of ...ecosystems. In our study, we combined an ecological analysis of traditional medicinal plant species with an explorative analysis of the stakeholder landscape to understand the importance of plants for local communities. We investigate the feasibility of the CKS concept for traditional medicinal plants using the Southern Alps (Northern Italy) as a case study. Based on a comprehensive survey of traditional medicinal plants, we analyzed the habitats where they occur and their significance as CKS candidates. We applied the index of identified cultural influence (ICI). We identified some of the relevant stakeholders and their potential interest in traditional medicinal plants. From a total of 273 native medicinal species, we ranked the 10 most important CKS candidates. These comprised species with different ecology such as the herbs Achillea millefolium agg., Alchemilla xanthochlora , Arnica montana , Hypericum perforatum , Matricaria chamomilla , Peucedanum ostruthium , Urtica dioica , the shrub Juniperus communis , and the tree species Betula pendula . By merging their importance for the local communities with their occurrences in the habitats of South Tyrol, the concept of CKS can stimulate species and habitat conservation, and ecosystem restoration.
Identifying, surveying, monitoring and protecting natural forests is a major task in conservation biology. However, it is often challenging to identify which forest is natural, especially in ...human-altered regions such as the Mediterranean. Consequently, the distributions of natural Mediterranean forest types and their underlying factors are often unclear. Here, we attempt to explain the restricted and scattered distribution of natural
Pinus pinea
(Stone pine) forests in western Anatolia (Turkey) by comparing it with the distribution and ecology of the widespread
Pinus brutia
(Turkish pine) forests in this area. We used climatic and topographic predictors to test for differences between forests dominated by these two pine species. We modelled the realized niches of both pine species using the most relevant climatic predictors. Then, we compared soil data collected in the field, partly complemented with those published in the literature. We found small differences in climatic (precipitation and temperature) and topographic characteristics between the two forest types, which did not adequately explain the differences in the distribution range of
P. brutia
and
P. pinea
dominated forests. Our data suggest that these two forest types mainly differ in soil characteristics. The primary habitat of natural
P. pinea
forests is characterized by a low soil pH and calcium content. The rare occurrence of such soil conditions in western Anatolia likely shapes the scattered distribution of
P. pinea
forests. Our study suggests that natural
P. pinea
forests are rare habitats that should be in the focus of nature conservation.
Forest understories play a vital role in ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services. However, the extent to which environmental conditions drive dominant ecological strategies in ...forest understories at the continental scale remains understudied. Here, we used ~29 500 forest vegetation plots sampled across Europe and classified into 25 forest types to explore the relative role of macroclimate, soil pH and tree canopy cover in driving abundance‐weighted patterns in the leaf economic spectrum (LES) and plant size spectrum (PSS) of forest understories (shrub and herb layers). We calculated LES using specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and PSS using plant height and seed mass of vascular plant species found in the understories. We found that forest understories had more conservative leaf economics in areas with more extreme mean annual temperatures (mainly Fennoscandia and the Mediterranean Basin), more extreme soil pH and under more open canopies. Warm and summer‐dry regions around the Mediterranean Basin and areas of Atlantic Europe also had taller understories with heavier seeds than continental temperate or boreal areas. Understories of broadleaved deciduous forests, such as Fagus forests on non‐acid soils, or ravine forests, more commonly hosted species with acquisitive leaf economics. In contrast, some coniferous forests, such as Pinus, Larix and Picea mire forests, or Pinus sylvestris light taiga and sclerophyllous forests, more commonly hosted species with conservative leaf economics. Our findings highlight the importance of macroclimate and soil factors in driving trait variation of understory communities at the continental scale and the mediator effect of canopy cover on these relationships. We also provide the first maps and analyses of LES and PSS of forest understories across Europe and give evidence that the understories of European forest types are differently positioned along major axes of trait variation.
Ecological theory predicts close relationships between macroclimate and functional traits. Yet, global climatic gradients correlate only weakly with the trait composition of local plant communities, ...suggesting that important factors have been ignored. Here, we investigate the consistency of climate-trait relationships for plant communities in European habitats. Assuming that local factors are better accounted for in more narrowly defined habitats, we assigned > 300,000 vegetation plots to hierarchically classified habitats and modelled the effects of climate on the community-weighted means of four key functional traits using generalized additive models. We found that the predictive power of climate increased from broadly to narrowly defined habitats for specific leaf area and root length, but not for plant height and seed mass. Although macroclimate generally predicted the distribution of all traits, its effects varied, with habitat-specificity increasing toward more narrowly defined habitats. We conclude that macroclimate is an important determinant of terrestrial plant communities, but future predictions of climatic effects must consider how habitats are defined.
•We compared FQA metrics, Ellenberg values (EIVs), life forms, and chorotypes.•FQAI, EIVs, life forms and chorotypes failed to highlight environmental quality.•Median Coefficients of conservatism ...(CCs) and Adjusted FQAI were effective.•Median CCs were the best trade-off between effectiveness and simplicity.
Vascular plants are good environmental indicators. Thus, floristic inventories have a high potential in environmental management since they reflect the current and past status of the environment. In this study, we used the flora of a suburban riverscape in central Italy to test the performance of the Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA) approach, an expert-based evaluation technique. Ten expert botanists assigned coefficients of conservatism (CC) to 382 plant species. We found statistically significant differences between the values assigned to the inventoried flora by botanical experts. In spite of this, the analysis of pseudo multivariate dissimilarity-based standard errors of CC values assigned by the different experts revealed that, in our case, an assessment by a minimum of five botanists allows characterizing the flora with a stable level of precision. We used the distance from agricultural and urban surfaces as a proxy of anthropogenic disturbance to divide the area around the river in four belts of increasing disturbance. The disturbance gradient was mirrored by median CC values and by the Adjusted Floristic Quality Assessment Index (Adjusted FQAI). Conversely, the Floristic Quality Assessment Index (FQAI), which is based on CC values and on the number of native species, showed increasing values with increasing disturbance. Comparing the performance of median CC values to Ellenberg Indicator Values (EIVs), life forms, and chorotypes, we revealed that the last three indicators may be ineffective in highlighting the conservation status of the environment. We suggest that the use of the median CC values may be a simpler and effective alternative to the calculation of indices in FQA, when the adequacy of the number of experts in minimizing the variability of CC values is a posteriori verified.
Aim
Vegetation types of Mediterranean thermophilous pine forests dominated by Pinus brutia, Pinus halepensis, Pinus pinaster and Pinus pinea were studied in various areas. However, a comprehensive ...formal vegetation classification of these forests based on a detailed data analysis has never been developed. Our aim is to provide the first broad‐scale classification of these pine forests based on a large data set of vegetation plots.
Location
Southern Europe, North Africa, Levant, Anatolia, Crimea and the Caucasus.
Methods
We prepared a data set of European and Mediterranean pine forest vegetation plots. We selected 7,277 plots dominated by the cold‐sensitive Mediterranean pine species Pinus brutia, Pinus halepensis, Pinus pinaster and Pinus pinea. We classified these plots using TWINSPAN, interpreted the ecologically and biogeographically homogeneous TWINSPAN clusters as alliances, and developed an expert system for automatic vegetation classification at the class, order and alliance levels.
Results
We described Pinetea halepensis as a new class for the Mediterranean lowland to submontane pine forests, included in the existing Pinetalia halepensis order, and distinguished 12 alliances of native thermophilous pine forests, including four newly described and three informal groups merging supposedly native stands and old‐established plantations. The main gradients in species composition reflect elevational vegetation belts and the west–east, and partly north–south, biogeographical differences. Both temperature and precipitation seasonality co‐vary with these gradients.
Conclusions
We provide the first formal classification at the order and alliance levels for all the Mediterranean thermophilous pine forests based on vegetation‐plot data. This classification includes traditional syntaxa, which have been critically revised, and a new class and four new alliances. We also outline a methodological workflow that might be useful for other vegetation classification syntheses. The expert system, which is jointly based on pine dominance and species composition, is a tool for applying this classification in research and nature conservation survey, monitoring and management.
We developed the first formal classification for all the Mediterranean thermophilous pine forests based on vegetation‐plot data. This classification includes both traditional and new syntaxa. We also outline a methodological workflow that might be useful for other large‐scale vegetation classifications. We provide an expert system for applying this classification in research and nature conservation surveys, monitoring and management.
•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.
Sorghum halepense
is a synanthropic tall grass distributed worldwide from tropical to temperate zones, and it is often considered an invasive alien. It is a perennial, rhizomatous plant that tends to ...form dense stands derived from vegetative and sexual propagation. Despite roadside plant communities dominated by
Sorghum halepense
are very common in southern Europe, their phytosociological aspects are scarcely studied. In this work, we present the results of a vegetation survey in peninsular Italy, carried out by means of the phytosociological method. In total, we carried out 73 relevés in Liguria, Tuscany, Latium, Campania, Basilicata, and Apulia. We statistically compared our relevés to those from the Balkans classified in the
Cynodonto-Sorghetum
halepensis
, an association of agricultural annual weed vegetation of the class
Stellarietea mediae
s.l. used in the past as a reference for Italian
S. halepense
-dominated communities. Our results show that the Italian communities are different from the
Cynodonto–Sorghetum halepensis
communities, since the latter are rich in annual species, while the former are rich in perennial species. From the syntaxonomic point of view, the Italian communities are better classified in the class
Artemisietea vulgaris
. We describe the new (sub-)ruderal association
Potentillo reptantis–Sorghetum halepensis
, including a meso-hygrophilous variant with
Urtica dioica
and an agricultural variant with
Elymus repens
. We have evidence that the
Potentillo–Sorghetum
occurs in Italy, Kosovo and Slovenia, but its distribution is possibly wider due to conspicuous presence of cosmopolitan species characterizing the association. Our work provides a baseline for the knowledge of an alien-dominated plant community that can invade habitats with high conservation value.
We studied the vascular flora of the isthmus of Feniglia, a Nature Reserve in southern Tuscany stretching between the Italian Peninsula and Mt. Argentario. Since the nineteenth century, the area has ...undergone significant environmental modifications due to intensive grazing and deforestation. Later, rehabilitation interventions were carried out, including reforestation and planting of dune species, making it an interesting protected area to study for its botanical aspects. Therefore, we aim to compile the floristic inventory of this distinctive Mediterranean area by integrating old and new data. The checklist comprises 502 specific and subspecific taxa of vascular plants. The life-form spectrum shows a predominance of therophytes, followed by hemicryptophytes. The chorological spectrum highlights the dominance of Mediterranean species, followed by Euromediterranean and Eurasian species. The presence of 15 species of regional importance, 3 species of the Italian red list and 3 Italian endemics ( Ornithogalum exscapum Ten., Limonium multiforme Pignatti, Linaria purpurea (L.) Mill.) is noteworthy. Despite the environmental changes undergone in this area, our study reports the presence of remarkable species, including rare ones such as Atriplex littoralis L., Ruppia spiralis L. ex Dumort., and species at their distribution margin in the Italian Peninsula, such as Staphisagria macrosperma Spach, Juncus sorrentinoi Parl. and Maresia nana (DC.) Batt. Additionally the presence of 26 alien species, of which 15 are invasive, 9 naturalized and 2 casual, indicates a relatively low presence of alien species. Notwithstanding the significant environmental changes that the Feniglia isthmus has experienced in the last century and the high tourist pressure during the summer, the presence of the protected area suggested the effectiveness and benefits of such a form of protection for plant diversity.
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.
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