Figure - available from: Italian Botanist
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Euphorbia nicaeensis subsp. japygica photographed in National Park of Alta Murgia (Altamura). Photograph by E.V. Perrino.
Source publication
In this contribution the conservation status assessment of six plant species according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment at global level of Charybdis glaucophylla Bacch., Brullo, D’Emerico, Pontec. & Salmeri, Euphorbia nicaeensis All. subsp. japygica (Ten.) Arcang., Hieracium australe Fr. subsp. australe, Lim...
Citations
... Numerous species have been reported to find refugia in built areas offering physical structures analogous to their natural habitat. Man-made structures, like ancient walls, roads, or industrial sites (waste deposits), can often supply new chances for species to utilise urban spaces (Fenu et al. 2016). In this direction, archaeological sites can play an important role in sustaining natural habitats and biodiversity they hold (Ceschin et al. 2014). ...
Over the last years, world cities have emerged as multiple and complex habitats hosting numerous and varied urban refugia for biodiversity. Therefore, the published literature was systematically reviewed to investigate the increasingly acknowledged role of many urban habitats to function as refugia for species. Many plants and animals were reported to colonize a variety of urban environments: Urban forest/grassland (natural/seminatural), City park, Historical park (villa garden, botanical gardens, cemeteries, etc.), Green spaces (abandoned areas, railways, line of trees, etc.), Water body, and Built area. Refugia were found in over a hundred world cities, especially in medium- to very big-size cities. The number of papers focusing on animals (n = 66) were higher than those regarding plants and mushrooms (n = 19 and n = 1, respectively); however, the number of species recorded within refugia were the highest for plants. Plants exhibited the highest frequency (7 out of 19 papers) in Historical park, while animals in Urban forest/grassland (20 out of 66 papers). In most studies (25.9%), urban refugia were linked to Urban forest/grassland that is terrestrial natural and seminatural sites widespread within or around cities. The 22.3% of studies referred to generic Green spaces of several types interspersed within cities, both public and private. The 14.1% of refugia were found in Built area (artificial). About the 33% of studies reported the presence of species worthy of conservation (rare, endemic, endangered, or protected) for a total of 365 species. The 20% of investigated papers reported the presence of alien species for a total of 879 species. Invasive alien species recorded within refugium areas should be subjected to control measures to prevent degradation to refugia. Overall, the capability for urban areas to host a huge amount of biodiversity needs to be acknowledged by city planners so that management practices that maintain and support such diversity can be pursued. Recording and monitoring species along with their refugial habitats is fundamental to achieve this goal.
... Numerous species have been reported to nd refugia in built areas offering physical structures analogous to their natural habitat. Man-made structures, like ancient walls, roads, or industrial sites (waste deposits), can often supply new chances for species to utilise urban spaces (Fenu et al. 2016). These areas cannot be comparable to natural environments but may still have suitable habitat characteristics for some species. ...
Over the last years, world cities have emerged as multiple and complex habitats hosting numerous and varied urban refugia for biodiversity. Therefore, the published literature was systematically reviewed to investigate the increasingly acknowledged role of many urban habitats to function as refugia for species. Many plants and animals were reported to colonize a variety of urban environments: Urban forest/grassland (natural/seminatural), City park, Historical park (villa garden, botanical gardens, cemeteries, etc.), Green spaces (abandoned areas, railways, line of trees, etc.), Water body, and Built areas. Refugia were found in over a hundred world cities, especially in medium- to very big-size cities. The number of papers focusing on animals (n=66) were higher than those regarding plants and mushrooms (n=19 and n=1, respectively); however, the number of species recorded within refugia were the highest for plants. Plants exhibited the highest frequency (7 out of 19 papers) in Historical park, while animals in Urban forest and grassland (20 out of 66 papers). In most studies (25.9%), urban refugia were linked to Urban forest/grassland that is terrestrial natural and seminatural sites widespread within or around cities. The 22.3% of studies referred to generic Green spaces of several types interspersed within cities, both public and private. The 14.1% of refugia were found in Built areas (artificial). About the 33% of studies reported the presence of species worthy of conservation (rare, endemic, endangered, or protected) for a total of 365 species. The 20% of investigated papers reported the presence of alien species for a total of 879 species. The capability for urban areas to host a huge amount of biodiversity needs to be acknowledged by city planners so that management practices that maintain and support such diversity can be pursued. Recording and monitoring species along with their refugial habitats is fundamental to achieve this goal.
... Specifically, the only analysed population of E. japygica from the southern Apennine Peninsula is DNA-polyploid (Figure 6). This, alongside the morphological differentiation reported by Fenu et al. (2016) and the lack of overlap in distribution with E. adriatica warrant recognition of this taxon at the species level, as originally proposed by Tenore (1830). Further studies, including more populations, are, however, needed to clarify the status of this taxon. ...
... (0.9) times longer than wide. Fenu et al. (2016), E. japygica differs from E. adriatica in the fruits being hairy, whereas, in the latter, the fruits are glabrous. The only specimen of the former taxon included in our morphometric study (No. 58), in addition to having hairy fruits, also had larger fruits and longer styles than any measured specimen of E. adriatica, but additional morphometric studies are needed to clarify the morphological divergence between both taxa to generate a description for E. japygica and clarify its taxonomic status; its treatment as species in this paper should thus be seen as preliminary. ...
... 232, E. esuloides Ten. is depicted, and there are no further indications (e.g., in indices of Flora Napolitana) of existence of an illustration of E. japygica that could potentially serve as a lectotype. Distribution: southern Apennine Peninsula (Italy: Basilicata, Puglia, doubtful in Campania; Fenu et al., 2016). ...
The Mediterranean Basin is an important biodiversity hotspot and one of the richest areas in the world in terms of plant diversity. Its flora parallels in several aspects that of the Eurasian steppes and the adjacent Irano-Turanian floristic region. The Euphorbia nicaeensis alliance spans this immense area from the western Mediterranean to Central Asia. Using an array of complementary methods, ranging from phylogenomic and phylogenetic data through relative genome size (RGS) estimation to morphometry, we explored relationships and biogeographic connections among taxa of this group. We identified the main evolutionary lineages, which mostly correspond to described taxa. However, despite the use of highly resolving Restriction Site Associated DNA (RAD) sequencing data, relationships among the main lineages remain ambiguous. This is likely due to hybridisation, lineage sorting triggered by rapid range expansion, and polyploidisation. The phylogenomic data identified cryptic diversity in the Mediterranean, which is also correlated with RGS and, partly, also, morphological divergence, rendering the description of a new species necessary. Biogeographic analyses suggest that Western Asia is the source area for the colonisation of the Mediterranean by this plant group and highlight the important contribution of the Irano-Turanian region to the high diversity in the Mediterranean Basin. The diversification of the E. nicaeensis alliance in the Mediterranean was triggered by vicariance in isolated Pleistocene refugia, morphological adaptation to divergent ecological conditions, and, to a lesser extent, by polyploidisation.
... For example, this is the case of Hieracium australe Fr. subsp. australe on the walls of the Sforza Castle in Milan (Italy) where it is endemic [28]. In our study, we propose a method to quantify the possible relationship between plants and historical heritage with the aim to make effective site management. ...
The term “weeds” refers to “plants suitable for habitats modified by man and that interfere with human activities”. It implies an anthropocentric rather than an ecological vision since the existence and the characteristic of the interference depends on men’s purposes. In the archaeological sites, the most important damage is the functional one and it ranges from hazards for the structures to the interference that weed flora can exert on the technical management and fruition of the site. In this particular type of environment, the diverse methods available to quantify the magnitude of the infestation are not sufficient to describe the potential or actual hazard to which a given infested site is subjected. Therefore, it is necessary to consider a greater degree of detail (including morphological, ecological, and physiological properties of the weeds) and to keep them all in consideration. The aim of the present work was to try to identify and propose a method for the assessment of the hazards and thus the damages that a weed community can lead in sites of historical and archaeological interest. The procedure quantifies the degree of the infestation, in terms of occurring species, quantifies the related hazard based on some traits of the weed species, and calculates indexes capable of providing synthetic and comparable information on the hazard to which the site is exposed. The proposed method was applied and tested in some sites of archaeological interest in the Apulia Region, in southern Italy. Applied to the surveyed archaeological sites, the proposed Indexes revealed the presence of weed infestations variously assorted in terms of potential damage, generating different hazard scores. This confirms the importance of understanding the type of infestation and not only its extent. In this study, a procedure was provided that can support decision-makers. Although studied for archaeological sites, the same principles adopted in this procedure could be proposed for other non-agricultural areas.
... The Murgian communities here described are well differentiated by some endemic taxa such as Euphorbia nicaeensis subsp. japygica (endemic to Puglia and Basilicata, doubtful in Campania; typically growing in arid grassland and garrigues; Fenu et al. 2016;Bartolucci et al. 2018), Allium apulum (endemic to Puglia, widely distributed in coastal areas and occasionally in inland areas, mainly in stony grasslands and in Mediterranean garrigues; Brullo et al. 2006;Wagensommer et al 2018), Centaurea brulla (endemic to Puglia and Basilicata, typically growing in rocky and stony environments; Di Pietro and Wagensommer 2008). ...
In this paper a survey on the garrigue vegetation dominated by Satureja montana subsp. montana occurring in the Alta Murgia National Park is presented. These communities were compared with those of the Ionian Arc ravines. Syntaxonomic, structural, chor-ological and ecological analyses were performed in order to achieve a proper classification of this vegetation. A new association is here described, the Rhamno saxatilis-Saturejetum montanae, with two new subassociations, typicum and fumanetosum procumbentis. It is a garrigue vegetation dominated by Satureja montana subsp. montana occurring in the Murgian area, in sites characterized by rocky and stony soils and by a Mediterranean Pluviseasonal oceanic weak semicontinental phytoclimate, with thermotype upper me-so-Mediterranean and ombrotype lower subhumid, and is here framed in the Cytiso spinescentis-Saturejion montanae alliance (order Cisto cretici-Ericetalia manipuliflorae, class Cisto cretici-Micromerietea julianae). The results contribute to add a further piece to the knowledge of the natural plant landscape of the territory of the Alta Murgia National Park.
... A partire dal 2016 è stata avviata una rubrica sulla rivista internazionale Italian Botanist, intitolata Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments (e.g. Orsenigo et al. 2016;Fenu et al. 2016;Orsenigo et al. 2017;Fenu et al. 2017;Orsenigo et al. 2018a;Fenu et al. 2018;Orsenigo et al. 2019;Fenu et al. 2019 ...
Italy is located in the heart of the Mediterranean Basin, a region considered one of the most threatened global biodiversity hotspots. Its environmental and climatic heterogeneity allowed the differentiation of a large number of plant species (more than 8.200 taxa), that however are subjected to an increased number of threats due to changes in socio-economic dynamics. Therefore, urgent conservation measures are needed to halt the loss of plant diversity and preserve Italian natural heritage.
This volume is the final output of a project started in 2012, funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment for the Protection of Land and Sea and carried out by the Italian Botanical Society.
In five years, the IUCN Red List criteria were applied to 2.488 Italian native vascular plant taxa to assess their current extinction risk and to highlight the major threats affecting the Italian flora. After the publication of the first volume (2013), that includes the assessment of all the Italian Policy Species (i.e.: the species listed in the Annexes of the Directive 92/43/EEC “Habitat” and in the Annexes of the Berne Convention) in this contribution a further group of 2.191 taxa (including all species endemic to Italy) has been assessed against the IUCN Criteria and Categories.
The results published in the present volume revealed that 37 taxa are extinct, extinct in the wild or possibly extinct at regional level (including 11 endemic taxa), while 420 taxa (including 228 endemic taxa) were assigned to a risk category. Moreover, 388 taxa (including 248 endemic taxa) were categorized as Data Deficient. The Italian vascular flora is primarily threatened by habitat modifications due to anthropic disturbance and, especially, to agriculture, tourism and residential development. The greatest number of extinct or declining taxa are located in coastal areas and lowlands, where anthropogenic impacts and ecosystem destruction are more pronounced.
The assessment of such great number of plant taxa provide an important step towards the prioritization and conservation of threatened flora in Italy. A successful conservation strategy of the Italian natural heritage and in particular of Italian vascular flora should solve some taxonomical criticism in poorly known genera, should rely on monitoring threatened species, and on developing species-specific in situ and ex situ conservation strategies and action plans.
... australe (Asteraceae), an Italian endemic exclusive to Lombardia (Bartolucci et al. 2018). It is known only from a single locality in the city of Milan, where it grows on the walls of the Sforza Castle (Galasso et al. 2012, Fenu et al. 2016. ...
... ecology:-The majority of subspecies of Hieracium australe grows in woods and forest clearings; Hieracium australe subsp. australe grows on the ancient walls of the city of Milan and in particular on the walls of the Sforza castle (Fenu et al. 2016;Zahn 1910). ...
The name Hieracium australe Fr. (Asteraceae) is typified by specimens collected on the ancient walls of Sforza Castle in Milan (Italy) by Luigi Fenaroli in 1926 and distributed through the Flora Italica Exsiccata series under the name Hieracium australe Fr. subsp. mediolanense Fenaroli & Zahn. The identity and the taxonomic position of this neglected species is discussed.
... pl. and other woody species invaded and dominated by the large tussock grass Ampelodesmos mauritanicus, whose presence is encouraged by recurrent fires (Baldini, 1995); (ii) sporadic and small surface tree-spurge formations, dominated by Euphorbia dendroides, located in the more rocky, warm and arid slopes; (iii) very rare and sporadic garrigues, dominated by Palmetto (Chamaerops humilis), which reaches in the northern Thyrrenian sea one of its northern distribution limits. The habitats of the coastal rocky cliffs are well-represented by (i) the 'Vegetated cliffs with Limonium spp.' (Natura 2000 code: 1240), which is important also from a biogeographic and conservation viewpoint, as it hosts the strict endemic Limonium multiforme (Fenu et al., 2016); (ii) the 'Low formations of Euphorbia close to cliffs' (Natura 2000 code: 5320), here dominated by Table 1. Natura 2000 habitat types of the Mt. ...
The Mt. Argentario promontory (southern Tuscany, Italy) is a protected area hosting habitats and species of European importance. The Mt. Argentario Natura 2000 habitat map (1:10,000) was compiled from photo-interpretation and field surveys, integrated with data from past cartographic and phytosociological studies. Conventional geographical information system procedures were used to select and manage spatial information, and delimit the map polygons. The following attributes were assigned to each map polygon: (i) habitat type name, with Natura 2000 code and (ii) percentage cover of the habitat type. Where multiple habitat types were associated in a mosaic attributed to the same polygon, the percentage cover of each habitat type was estimated. The survey allowed to identify and map a total of 13 Natura 2000 habitat types covering more than 40% of the study area. Presence and conservation importance of the detected habitat types are discussed, together with the usefulness of this kind of maps for monitoring and managing purposes.
The Mediterranean Basin is a hotspot of animal and plant diversity. Contrary to the Balkan and Iberian Peninsulas that were subject of many phylogeographic studies in past decades, the Apennine Peninsula and, in particular, the diversification of its flora has been neglected in contemporary phylogenetic studies. The few available studies showed a complex pattern of north–south differentiation of genetic diversity in Italy, both among the Alps, the Apuan Alps, and the Apennines, as well as within the Apennines. Here, we explore phylogeographic patterns within recently described Euphorbia adriatica, distributed in the central and northern Apennine Peninsula, the southern margin of the Eastern Alps and the north-western Balkan Peninsula, and its relationship to the southern Italian E. japygica. Our integrative approach using nuclear ITS sequences, amplified fragment length polymorphisms, relative genome size estimation combined with chromosome counting, as well as multivariate morphometrics inferred a weak genetic differentiation that only partly corresponds to the morphological differentiation. Whereas all southern populations have hairy capsules characteristic for E. japygica, only those in south-eastern Italy (Puglia and Basilicata) are genetically divergent. There are, however, additional morphological characters that differentiate them from other populations. Our data are thus in favour of recognizing a single species, E. japygica, which includes E. adriatica that should be treated as a subspecies, named E. japygica subsp. prostrata. We provide a revised taxonomic treatment for E. japygica, including the typification. Our study shows the necessity of further in-depth investigations of diversification of Italian biota.
Melittio-Quercion frainetto and Melittio-Quercion confertae are two alliances, which were proposed about simultaneously 40 years ago through two different papers regarding southern Italy and southern Greece, respectively. The aims of this paper are to establish valid name, nomenclatural type and distribution range of these two alliances and to verify whether they display a sufficient degree of syntaxonomic autonomy when compared to the ecologically and geographically neighbouring alliances. A data matrix composed of 43 frequency columns summing 1242 phytosociological relevés x 625 taxa was prepared and statistically analysed. The results suggested that the thermophilous Quercus cerris and Q. frainetto oak woods of the southern Apennines and the southern Balkans deserve to be classified in two separated alliances. The application of the principle IV of ICPN established that the correct name of the alliance is Melittio albidae-Quercion frainetto Barbéro, Bonin, Gamisans et Quézel in Bonin et Gamisans 1976 and that it was typified in southern Italy. Accordingly, the new name Geranio asphodeloidis-Quercion frainetto is here proposed for southern Greece in substitution of Melittio-Quercion confertae (nom. illeg.). The syntaxonomic proposal advanced in this paper brings significant modifications in the current version of the checklist of the European syntaxa (Eurovegchecklist).
