scholarly journals The vegetation of a historic road system in the suburban area of Monte Pellegrino (Palermo, Sicily)

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-103
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Gianguzzi ◽  
Giuseppe Bazan
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Natura 2000 Network ◽  
New Associations ◽  
Architectural Features ◽  
Natural Reserve ◽  
Special Area ◽  
A Site ◽  
Cut Slopes ◽  
First Time

Knowledge of the processes by which plants colonize old structures is a key element for nature-based design both in urban and suburban contexts. This paper analyses the natural vegetation on walls and in other microhabitats of the roadway structures of Monte Pellegrino (606 m a.s.l.) near Palermo (Sicily), built in the first half of the 1900s. The historical road has particular construction and architectural features, and its characteristics have been maintained to this day. The route, approximately 16 kilometers long, is well integrated within a site of high naturalistic value which has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation (ITA020014) of the Natura 2000 network, and it is also a regional natural reserve. The survey was carried out on different homogeneous ecological contexts based on different microhabitats (masonry retaining walls, masonry guardwalls, road margins, and rock cut slopes) which are diversified according to other environmental factors (building materials, inclination, height, and exposure). The phytosociological and statistical analysis has led to the description of six new associations (Crepido bursifoliae-Parietarietum judaicae ass. nov., Athamanto siculae-Parietarietum judaicae ass. nov., Helichryso panormitani-Hypochaeridetum laevigatae ass. nov., Diantho siculi-Helichrysetum panormitani Gianguzzi ass. nov., Olopto miliacei-Pennisetetum setacei Gianguzzi ass. nov., Teucrio flavi-Rhoetum coriariae Gianguzzi ass. nov.) and one sub-association (Rhamno alaterni-Euphorbietum dendroidis Géhu & Biondi 1997 artemisietosum arborescentis subass. nov.). Other chasmophytic formations (Centranthetum rubri Oberd. 1969, Antirrhinetum siculi Bartolo & Brullo 1986) were reported for the first time in this area.

scholarly journals Odonata checklist of Nature Reserve and SAC (Special Area of Conservation) “Vallone di Piano della Corte” (Sicily, Italy)

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 837-844
Author(s):  
Paolo Galasso ◽  
Renzo Ientile
Keyword(s):  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Natura 2000 Network ◽  
Special Area ◽  
A Site

From March to September 2018 and 2019, a first monitoring of Odonata promoted by CUTGANAwas conducted inside a site of Natura 2000 network, named “Vallone di Piano della Corte”, nearAgira (Enna), Sicily. A total of 21 different species were recorded, including Pyrrhosoma nym-phula (Sulzer, 1776), for which there are no stations reported for this side of Sicily.

scholarly journals Improving Scientific Knowledge of Mallorca Channel Seamounts (Western Mediterranean) within the Framework of Natura 2000 Network

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Enric Massutí ◽  
Olga Sánchez-Guillamón ◽  
Maria Teresa Farriols ◽  
Desirée Palomino ◽  
Aida Frank ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Information ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Natura 2000 Network ◽  
Scientific Exploration ◽  
Special Area ◽  
Maerl Beds ◽  
A Site ◽  
Diverse Groups

The scientific exploration of Mallorca Channel seamounts (western Mediterranean) is improving the knowledge of the Ses Olives (SO), Ausias March (AM), and Emile Baudot (EB) seamounts for their inclusion in the Natura 2000 network. The aims are to map and characterize benthic species and habitats by means of a geological and biological multidisciplinary approach: high-resolution acoustics, sediment and rock dredges, beam trawl, bottom trawl, and underwater imagery. Among the seamounts, 15 different morphological features were differentiated, highlighting the presence of 4000 pockmarks, which are seafloor rounded depressions indicators of focused fluid flow escapes, usually gas and/or water, from beneath the seabed sediments. So far, a total of 547 species or taxa have been inventoried, with sponges, fishes, mollusks, and crustaceans the most diverse groups including new taxa and new geographical records. Up to 29 categories of benthic habitats have been found, highlighting those included in the Habitats Directive: maërl beds on the summits of AM and EB, pockmarks around the seamounts and coral reefs in their rocky escarpments as well as fields of Isidella elongata on sedimentary bathyal bottoms. Trawling is the main demersal fishery developed around SO and AM, which are targeted to deep water crustaceans: Parapenaeus longirostris, Nephrops norvegicus, and Aristeus antennatus. This study provides scientific information for the proposal of the Mallorca Channel seamounts as a Site of Community Importance and for its final declaration as a Special Area of Conservation.

scholarly journals Hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae) assemblage of an oak–hornbeam in the Merlino Wood Natural Reserve and implications for its conservation

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umberto Maritano
Keyword(s):  
Northern Italy ◽  
Habitat Conservation ◽  
Po Plain ◽  
Good Preservation ◽  
Community Interest ◽  
Natural Reserve ◽  
Lowland Forests ◽  
A Site ◽  
First Time ◽  
Malaise Traps

Merlino Wood is a typical oak–hornbeam forest in the Po Plain hydrographic region. It is one of the few remaining lowland forests in Northern Italy and is a Regional Natural Reserve and a Site of Community Interest (code IT1160010). This is the first survey on hoverflies in the study area and they act as bioindicators to assess habitat conservation. Sampling was performed with three Malaise traps and an entomological net. A total of 61 species of Syrphidae were recorded between March and October 2019. Three of the species observed are considered to be under threat in Europe, three species have been recorded for the first time in Piedmont and Heringia latitarsis (Egger, 1865) has been recorded for the first time in Northern Italy. The Syrph the Net analysis has been used to assess habitat conservation. It shows good preservation of xylosaprophagous species, while the conservation conditions of other larval trophic categories are poor.

scholarly journals Vegetation units of wetland and terrestrial habitats: the case study of Spercheios River and Maliakos Gulf (Sterea Ellas, Greece), a Natura 2000 Site

Hacquetia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria A. Sarika ◽  
Anastasia N. Christopoulou ◽  
Sevasti D. Zervou ◽  
Andreas C. Zikos
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Type ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Natura 2000 Network ◽  
Mediterranean Countries ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats ◽  
Natura 2000 Site ◽  
Priority Habitat ◽  
First Time

Abstract The vegetation of the European Natura 2000 protected area of Spercheios river and Maliakos gulf, that includes Mediterranean sclerophyllous shrublands, as well as riverine and coastal habitats, was studied during 2000 and 2014–2015. The vegetation was analysed following the Braun-Blanquet method. Twenty six plant communities were recorded, one of which (Pistacio terebinthi-Quercetum cocciferae) described for the first time. The communities belong to fifteen alliances, fourteen orders and eleven phytosociological classes. The distinguished vegetation units are described, presented in phytosociological tables and compared with similar communities from other Mediterranean countries. Eleven different habitat types were identified. Two of them (“Quercus coccifera woods” and “Reed beds”) are Greek habitat types, while the rest are included in Annex I of the Directive 92/43/EEC. Three of the latter (1420, 2110, 3170) have a scattered presence in the Natura 2000 network in Greece, while one (3170) is a priority habitat type.

scholarly journals Salada Farrachuela, a saline wetland in Tamarite de Litera, Spain

2020 ◽  
pp. 67-80
Author(s):  
Juan Herrero-Isern ◽  
Carmen Castañeda ◽  
Mauricio Velayos
Keyword(s):  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Weight Ratio ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Natural Substrate ◽  
Soluble Salts ◽  
Natura 2000 Network ◽  
Community Interest ◽  
La Red ◽  
First Time

Abstract This paper gives, for the first time, details of the vascular plants plus the soluble salts and other major components of their natural substrate in Salada Farrachuela, a hypersaline wetland located in the municipality of Tamarite, NE Spain. The wetland is situated on the outcropping evaporite-cored Barbastro Anticline, an area declared by the environmental authorities to be of community interest and part of the Natura 2000 network. This uncultivated and occasionally flooded wetland harbors plants able to withstand the conditions of their substrate whose upper layer (0–25 cm) has an average of 41% gypsum (CaSO4•2H2O), and 7.2 dS m−1 at 25 ºC electrical conductivity in 1:5 soil-to-water weight ratio (EC1:5) extracts. The EC1:5 value in the soil samples up to a depth of 2 m ranges from 6.23 to 7.95 dS m−1. At this depth, the average EC in the saturation extracts (ECe) is 37.0 dS m−1, with sulfate being the most abundant ion (503 meq L−1), followed by magnesium (492 meq L−1), sodium (113 meq L−1), and chloride (41 meq L−1). Salinity, hydric conditions, and halophilous vegetation contrast distinctly with the surrounding nonsaline gypseous land and its gypsophilous vegetation. This article provides a baseline for future investigations of the ecology of this wetland in relation to salinity, and a reference for the monitoring needed to guarantee its conservation. R esumen Este artículo da por primera vez noticia de las plantas vasculares y de las sales solubles y otros componentes mayoritarios del suelo de la Salada Farrachuela, un humedal hipersalino situado en el municipio de Tamarite de Litera, provincia de Huesca, en el NE de España. El humedal se localiza en el afloramiento del núcleo evaporítico del anticlinal de Barbastro, un área declarada de interés comunitario incluida en la Red Natura 2000. Este humedal, inculto e inundado ocasionalmente, alberga plantas adaptadas a un suelo cuya capa superior (0-25 cm) tiene por término medio un 41% de yeso (CaSO4•2H2O), 7.2 dS m−1 a 25 ºC de conductividad eléctrica en el extracto acuoso 1:5 en peso de suelo:agua (EC1:5). Para ese espesor de suelo, la conductividad eléctrica en extracto de saturación (ECe) a 25 ºC es 37.0 dS m−1, siendo el sulfato el ión más abundante (503 meq L−1) seguido del magnesio (492 meq L−1), sodio (113 meq L−1), y cloruro (41 meq L−1). La salinidad, las condiciones de humedad y la vegetación halófila contrastan fuertemente con las tierras circundantes, yesosas y no salinas. Este artículo puede ser un punto de partida para futuras investigaciones de la ecología del humedal en relación con la salinidad, y una referencia en el futuro seguimiento necesario para garantizar su conservación.

scholarly journals Secondary forest succession in Silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) southern limits in Europe, in a site of Natura 2000 network – an ecogeographical approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. e010
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Georgios Oikonomakis ◽  
Petros Ganatsas
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Analysis ◽  
Pinus Sylvestris ◽  
Betula Pendula ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Secondary Forest ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Natura 2000 Network ◽  
Secondary Forest Succession ◽  
A Site

Aim of the study: To investigate the secondary forest succession in the study area and the pathways of its spread and the existing environmental, autecological factors and possible inter-specific competition relationships.Area of study: The study area is a Site of Natura 2000 network in northern Greece dominated by two pioneer forest species, Betula pendula and Pinus sylvestris. Study area is the southern limit of Silver birch in Europe and genotypes of these forests may be important due to the anticipated global increase of temperature and the forthcoming climate change.Materials and methods: The main forest types studied were: pure forests of B. pendula and P. sylvestris and mixed forests of these two main species. To study the expansion of forests in the area, a spatial analysis was performed based on geographical data. To detect forest changes, the rate thereof and their specific spatial distribution and preferences, a statistical analysis was performed.Main results: Approximately 60% of the studied area in 1945 was transformed from grasslands/barelands to forests. The composition of new forests was found to be different from the old ones. The rate of forest establishment in the first years was lower than in the latter years. All factors examined played an important role to the expansion of forest exept slope.Research highlights: Distance from the old stands played the most determining role to new forest structure and composition. Inter-specific competition results to the formation of pure stands, as indicated by the older stands.Keywords: secondary forest succession; Betula pendula; GIS; spatial analysis; forest species competition; forest species distribution.

New associations of the class Molinio-Arrhenatheretea in the in Southern Nechernozemie region of Russia

2014 ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
A. D. Bulokhov
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
New Associations ◽  
Medicago Lupulina ◽  
Fallow Lands ◽  
Small Sites ◽  
First Time ◽  
Podzol Soils

3 new associations, distributed in the Southern Nechernozemie of Russia, are described for the first time with use of the Braun-Blanquet approach: Poo angustifoliae–Arrhenatheretum elatioris, Festuco pratensis–Leucanthemetum vulgaris, Trifolio ar­ven­si–Rumicetum thyrsiflori. The synecological amplitudes of humidity, acidity and soil richness by mineral nitrogen of the associations are defined. Communities of ass. Poo angustifoliae–Arrhenatheretum elatioris are distributed on the flat slopes of ravines on the dry, subacidic, grey wood loamy soils moderately rich by mineral nitrogen. Communities of ass. Festuco pratensis–Leucanthemetum vulgaris are distributed on fresh, subacidic, rather poor in mineral nitrogen grey and dark grey wood loamy soils on the fallow lands of various age within landscapes of loess plateau; on sod-podzolic loamy, sandy and subsandy soils within landscapes of fluvioglacial loamy and moraine-outwash plains. They can meet occasionally on grey wood loamy soils. Communities of the Potentilla argentea var. are distributed on grey and dark grey wood loamy soils on the fallow lands within landscapes of loess plateau. Communities of the Medicago lupulina var. are distributed on sod-podzolic loamy, sandy and subsandy subacidic, rather poor in mineral nitrogen soils on the fallow lands of various age. They may occur in the small sites on the continental meadows or along highways. Occasionally these plant communities can be found on grey wood loamy soils. Communities of ass. Trifolio arvensi–Rumicetum thyrsiflori are distributed on raised sites on gentle-wavy outwash or moraine-outwash plains on dry and moderately sour, poor by mineral nitrogen easily sandy and sandy podzol soils. For the estimation of a homotoneity of established syntaxa the index of homotoneity of H.Passarge (1979) is used. The ass. Poo angustifoliae–Arrhenatheretum elatioris is characteristic by the high homogenetic variability. Totally, association’s index of homotoneity is high — 0.52. The low index of a homotoneity is characteristic for аss. Festuco pratensis–Leucanthemetum vulgaris — 0.35, for the Potentilla argentea var. — 0.33 and Medicago lupulina var. — 0.44. Following associations have a low index of the homotoneity: аss. Trifolio arvensi–Rumicetum thyrsiflori — 0.33, as in subass. T.a.–R.th. typicum— 0.33, and in subass. T.a.–R.th. helichrysetosum arenarii — 0.44. Such low indexes of a homotoneity are characteristic for semiruderal and serial commu­nities.

Recycling and Reuse in the Roman Economy

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Roman Economy ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Status ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
First Time ◽  
Site Types

The recycling and reuse of materials and objects were extensive in the past, but have rarely been embedded into models of the economy; even more rarely has any attempt been made to assess the scale of these practices. Recent developments, including the use of large datasets, computational modelling, and high-resolution analytical chemistry, are increasingly offering the means to reconstruct recycling and reuse, and even to approach the thorny matter of quantification. Growing scholarly interest in the topic has also led to an increasing recognition of these practices from those employing more traditional methodological approaches, which are sometimes coupled with innovative archaeological theory. Thanks to these efforts, it has been possible for the first time in this volume to draw together archaeological case studies on the recycling and reuse of a wide range of materials, from papyri and textiles, to amphorae, metals and glass, building materials and statuary. Recycling and reuse occur at a range of site types, and often in contexts which cross-cut material categories, or move from one object category to another. The volume focuses principally on the Roman Imperial and late antique world, over a broad geographical span ranging from Britain to North Africa and the East Mediterranean. Last, but not least, the volume is unique in focusing upon these activities as a part of the status quo, and not just as a response to crisis.

scholarly journals Twenty-Three Years of Land-Use Changes Induced Considerable Threats to the Main Wetlands of Sardinia and Sicily (Italy) along the Mediterranean Bird Flyways

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 240
Author(s):  
Alessandro Ferrarini ◽  
Marco Gustin ◽  
Claudio Celada
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Natura 2000 Network ◽  
Stopover Sites ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Agricultural Areas

Biodiversity loss has multiple causes, but habitat degradation through land-use change is the predominant driver. We investigated the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network in preserving the main wetlands of the two largest islands of the Mediterranean region, whose conservation is critical for many avian species at European and global level, in a 23-year period (1990–2012). In Sardinia, the surroundings of 22 wetlands were affected by an increase in artificial areas (+64 ha/year) and decrease in agricultural (−54 ha/year) and natural (−17 ha/year) ones. In Sicily, the surroundings of 16 wetlands were impacted by an increase in agricultural areas (+50 ha/year) and decrease in natural and semi-natural ones (−62 ha/year). Results show that the Natura 2000 policies were effective in preserving wetlands (no shrinkages detected in both regions), but their surroundings experienced intense processes of degradation and artificialization in all the sub-periods considered (1990–2000, 2000–2006, 2006–2012), whose effects are now threatening waterbirds and wetland integrity. The enlargement of the existing Natura 2000 sites, the creation of new ones and the speedup of the application of the rules of the Habitats and Birds Directives seem necessary to counteract the rapid land-use changes around these important stopover sites.

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