New Italian data on the distribution of some of the Annex I Habitats are reported in this contribution. Specifically, 16 records are presented including 9 new occurrences in Natura 2000 sites, and 27 new cells are added in the EEA 10 km × 10 km reference grid. The new data refer to the Italian administrative regions of Abruzzo, Apulia, Latium, Marche, Lombardy, Piedmont, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany, and Veneto.
Palestine has rich floristic diversity due to its location, diverse biogeographical zones, and various topographical features. The Royal Irises (Iris section Oncocyclus), are a monophyletic group of herbaceous geophytes, consisting of 33 species, endemic to the Middle East. Within the West Bank of Palestine, three Royal Irises are documented. However, their distribution, population size, and status are not studied comprehensively. This study focused on evaluating the occurrence, distribution range, population size, status, number of flowers, inflorescence coloration variety, and habitats of the vulnerable and endemic Iris haynei, the endangered and sub-endemic Iris lortetii, and the vulnerable and sub-endemic Iris atrofusca. I. lortetii was found in 10 sites within Nablus district, with more than 12625 clones and 25088 flowers flowers recorded. I. haynei were documented in 4 sites within Jenin district, three are new to science, where 10729 clones and 9562 flowers were recorded. I. atrofusca was reported in 13 localities in Tubas and Ramallah districts, where 1853 clones and 8460 flowers were recorded, whereas six locatities are new to science. 12, 12, and 7 unique variations in coloration of inflorescences were observed for I. lortetii, I. atrofusca, and I. haynei, respectively. The results indicate that the population size and the distribution range of the three Royal Irises are larger than previously reported, whereas the documented inflorescences’ coloration variations are unique and considerable. This study sheds light on hotspot occurrence sites of endangered and vulnerable species in Palestine, which can assist in laying adequate conservation actions and management plans in the future.
We present the dataset “SArdinian GRAsslands” (SAGRA), a collection of georeferenced vegetation surveys sourced from different areas of Sardinia (Italy). SAGRA addresses a geographic gap in current databases, as plots from Sardinian grasslands are underrepresented. We collected vegetation data from different projects and organized it within a framework that allows for scalability to larger scales or integration into existing databases. The surveys include three categories of information: general, vegetation and management, and environmental. Overall, SAGRA comprises 1277 vegetation surveys, some of which were performed in different years in the same plots. This dataset encompasses 685 plots and 434 species, primarily therophytes.
During a phytosociological field-work campaign aimed at studying some relict Scheuchzerio-Caricetea boreal mires of the montane and subalpine belts of the Laga Mountains, the highest and largest siliceous massif of the Apennine range, several bryophyte taxa of particular biogeographic interest were collected. Among these taxa, Schljakovia kunzeana and Ptychostomum cernuum were found to be new records for the whole Apennine range while Hamatocaulis vernicosus (taxon included in annex II of Habitats Directive) and Scorpidium cossonii as new for the Central-Southern Apennines. Two further species, Bryum canariense, Plagiomnium cuspidatum, were found to be confirmations of old records for the Central Apennines dating back to the early 1900s. At the national and regional level, nine, out of the forty-four bryophyte taxa identified in this study, were found to be new for the Lazio administrative Region, and one taxon as new for the Abruzzo Region. The majority of these new records belong to the boreal chorotype, the Laga Mountains being one of the most important conservation sites for the relict circumboreal and arctic-alpine flora in the whole Mediterranean area. According to both the EUNIS Habitat classification and the EU Habitats Directive Annex I, several, out of the 44 bryophytes identified in this study, act as diagnostic species for European Community Habitats. Nevertheless, a complete correspondence between bryophyte taxon and habitat type was not found upon comparing these two environmental policy systems.
This paper provides an overall look on the diversity of lowland dry grasslands of the western Po Plain, useful to support their conservation and management. Specific aims were: 1) to identify lowland dry grassland-associated plant communities at alliance level, which is useful for their classification under the Council Directive 92/43/EEC, 2) to assess their synecological and synchorological differences, 3) to define the equivalent Directive habitats and their management implications. Seven subareas were analysed: Lomellina, Ticino River, Sesia River, Po River (North), Orba Stream, Scrivia Stream, and Serio River. Floristic-vegetational relevés were carried out considering vascular plant, moss and lichen species. Cluster analysis were performed to syntaxonomically classify them, while statistical tests were performed to characterize them by means of biological life forms, chorotypes and Ellenberg indicator values. Eight plant communities were classified at alliance level and three plant communities were classified at class level. The equivalence with three Natura 2000 Habitats (H2330, H6110* and H6210) was found. Of the 60 studied sites, the 68% are located inside the Natura 2000 Network, while the remnant 31% are located outside. Possible management actions include: cutting of woody species, mowing, sod-cutting, transplants of typical herbaceous species, and ex novo restoration using harvested seeds from donor grasslands.
