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An overview of the salt marsh vegetation of southeastern Sicily is here presented. On the basis of a total of 241 relevés, 8 classes and 32 plant communities have been identified, following the Braun-Blanquet phytosociological method. The salt marsh vegetation of southeastern Sicily is represented by aquatic communities of Ruppietea and Potamogetonetea, by helophytic communities of Phragmito-Magnocaricetea, by hygrophylous communities of Juncetea maritimi, by halophylous communities of Salicornietea fruticosae, by annual halo-nitrophylous communities of Saginetea maritimae, and finally by halophylous annual communities of Thero-Suaedetea splendentis. The plant communities belonging to Salicornietea fruticosae and Juncetea maritimi classes, were analysed through a numerical analysis (hierarchical clustering). The study also describes two new associations belonging to the Tamaricion africanae (Limbardo crithmoidis-Tamaricetum africanae) and Frankenion pulverulentae (Brizo minoris-Isolepidetum cernui) alliances.

The richness and uniqueness of the flora growing on gypsum substrates in Italy is known since the XIX century (Macchiati, 1888). Furthermore, the concept of plant gypsophily can be defined as the exclusiveness (or virtually exclusiveness) for living in gypsum outcropping rocks. Thus only those plant species, which show preference – or even exclusivity - for gypsum substrates, would be classified as gipsophilous (Mota et al., 2011). The main aim of this research has been the elaboration of a checklist of the Italian gypsophilous flora. The study was made possible through international collaboration between the "Mediterranea" University of Reggio Calabria (Italy) and the University of Almería (Spain). During the first step, an extensive literature review has been carried out in order to collect all available information about gypsophilous flora and to compile a preliminary list. Afterwards 18 regional botanists experts on Italian gypsum flora have been asked to rank the preference of these species for gypsum soils. Following the methodology proposed by Mota et al. (2009), the gypsophilous character of more than 100 plant species has been thus ranked on a scale ranging from 1 to 5 (with 5 representing for a total dependence on gypsum substrates). According to the obtained values, all the plant species, ranking between absolute or preferent gypsophytes, will figure in the final checklist of the gypsophytes of the whole Italian territory.

Questa lista bibliografica contiene il secondo aggiornamento della bibliografia della Lisy e deriva dall’assemblaggio da parte della redazione (M. Serdoz ed E. Panfili) dei contributi parziali stilati dai gruppi regionali.

After a general outline on the syntaxonomical framework of the class Pegano harmalae-Salsoletea vermiculatae Br.-Bl. & O. Bolos 1958, the occurrence of this vegetation in the Italian territory is examined. In Italy, this vegetation is mostly found on clayish or marly substrata, particularly if slightly enriched with nitrates and chlorides. With reference to the Rivas-Martı´nez bioclimatic classification, the Italian stands have an infra- to thermo-Mediterranean thermotype (marginally up to the meso- Mediterranean one) with dry or arid ombrotype. In particular, this vegetation is well represented in Sicily, while in Sardinia and along the Italian Peninsula, it progressively becomes more rare and localized. Altogether, 21 associations are recognized, 11 of which are described here for the first time. The surveyed associations are ascribed to the following alliances: Salsolo oppositifoliae-Suaedion mollis (linked to less disturbed and more thermo-xeric habitats) and Artemision arborescentis (more disturbed and less thermo-xeric habitats). Finally, some conservation issues are discussed.

Basing on literature data and unpublished relevés from Sicily, a survey of the syntaxa belonging to the class Lygeo-Stipetea Rivas-Martínez 1978 is presented. This perennial vegetation is characterized by the dominance of big caespitose hemicryptophytes, and it is widely distributed in Sicily from the sea level up to 1500 m a.s.l. The class is represented in Sicily by two orders, floristically and ecologically well differentiated: Lygeo-Stipetalia, including the sole alliance Moricandio-Lygeion exclusively of clayey substrates, and Hyparrhenietalia hirtae, including five alliances (Hyparrhenion hirtae, Avenulo cincinnatae-Ampelodesmion mauritanici, Thero-Brachypodion ramosi, Bromo-Oryzopsion miliaceae, and Arundion collinae) occurring on various substrates. Within the class, 50 associations have been recognized. To support the syntaxonomic proposal, a multivariate numerical analysis, considering literature and personal data, has been performed. Nomenclature, floristic settlement, ecology, syndynamism and chorology are examined for each syntaxon.

Basing on literature data and unpublished relevés from Sicily, a survey of the syntaxa belonging to the class Rumici-Astragaletea siculi Pignatti & Nimis 1980 em. Mucina 1997 (= Cerastio-Carlinetea nebrodensis Brullo 1984) is presented. The class groups orophilous plant communities dominated by dwarf- shrubs, often with a pulvinate and thorny growth form. The class is represented in Sicily by two orders: Rumici-Astragaletalia siculi Pignatti & Nimis 1980, including the sole alliance Rumici-Astragalion siculi Poli 1965, restricted to Mount Aetna, and Erysimo-Jurinetalia bocconei Brullo 1984, including two alliances: the acidophilous Armerion nebrodensis Brullo 1984 and the basiphilous Cerastio-Astragalion nebrodensis Pignatti & Nimis ex Brullo 1984. Within the class, nineteen associations have been recognized. Nomenclature, floristic settlement, ecology and chorology are examined for each syntaxon. The floristic autonomy of the class Rumici-Astragaletea siculi is examined from the phytogeographic viewpoint and is confirmed by numerical analyses including not only the Sicilian phytocoenoses, but also those occurring in Sila and Aspromonte (Calabria) and ascribed to the same class by Brullo, Scelsi & Spampinato 2001 and Brullo, Gangale & Uzunov 2004. It is, as well, highlighted that the Pollino massif represents the southernmost limit to the distribution range of the class Festuco-Brometea, whose southward expansion is hampered by the lack carbonatic highlands in the southernmost tip of the Italian Peninsula.

The taxonomic position, chorology and phytosociological role of Trifolium savianum, a misappreciated species of the Italian flora, are examined. The species is closely related to T. uniflorum, E.-Mediterranean element, from which it differs in several morphological features regarding leaves, flowers and fruits. Distinction of the two taxa at the specific level is also supported by their geographical isolation dating back to the end of the Messinian period. From the phytosociological point of view, T. savianum is a member of an orophilous grassland rich in chamaephytes belonging to Plantaginion cupani, alliance of Molinio-Arrhenatheretea. This community is proposed as a new association, named Micromerio canescentis-Trifolietum saviani. As concerns T. uniflorum, it takes part in several coastal and inland phrygana communities belonging to the Cisto-Micromerietea class; besides it occurs in halophilous coastal communities of Crithmo-Limonietea.

The results of a phytosociological investigation on the beech forests occurring in Sicily are given. On the basis of literature and unpublished data, four well differentiated associations have been identified and classified within the Doronico-Fagion, alliance of Querco-Fagetea. All the surveyed woodlands are localized in the mountain belt of North and North-Eastern Sicily. The associations have been examined from the floristical, ecological, chorological and nomenclatural point of view. Besides, a numerical analysis applied to the phytosociological relevés emphasizes the differences among the associations.

In the frame of investigations on endemic or rare taxa of the Sicilian flora, Trifolium savianum Guss., a misappreciated species occurring in a small area of Peloritani mountains (NE Sicily) is examined. According to literature data, the species has been considered as a synonym of T. uniflorum L. (Lojacono, 1891; Zohary, 1969; Jafri, 1980; Zohary & Heller, 1984; Greuter, 1989), as a variety (Gibelli & Belli, 1892; Vierhapper, 1919; Fiori, 1925) or as a subspecies of the aforesaid species (Nyman, 1878; Coombe, 1968; Tutin et al., 1968; Pignatti, 1982). The analysis of morphological features, carried out on herbarium and living matherial, has highlighted that T. savianum can be considered as a distinct species, which differs from T. uniflorum in several characters regarding leaves, flowers and fruits. In particulerm T. savianum has the lower surface of leaflets opaque, feebly pubescent, with 7-12 teeth 0.3-0.5 mm long on each side, calyx 12-15 mm long 3-4.5 mm in diameter, with teeth curved up to 2.6 mm wide at the basis, corolla purplish, standard with limb elliptic slightly retuse, claw 3.5-4 mm wide, anthers linear elliptical 1.4 mm long, ovary with hairs 0.5-0.8 mm long, fruiting pedicels markedly thickened and recurved, while T. uniflorum is characterized by the lower surface of leaflets shiny, glabrous or subglabrous with 15-22 teeth 0.15-0.25 mm long on each side, calyx 5-11 mm long, 2-3 mm in diameter, with teeth erect up to 2 mm wide at the basis, corolla whitish to pink, standard with limb obovate-spathulate retuse-emarginate, claw 2.5 mm wide, anthers elliptical 0.9 mm long, ovary with hairs 0.2-0.35 mm long, fruiting pedicels unthickened and not very recurved or sometimes twisted. As concerns the chorology and ecology, T. savianum is localized on mountain places near Mandanici (NE Sicily) at 900-1200 m of altitude, where it is a member of a perennial pulvinate community colonizing schistose sunny slopes. It was recorded also from Scilla (SW Calabria) by Pasquale (1907) but quite surely he was wrong. T. uniflorum is widespread in the E Mediterranean area, where it grows on coastal and inland phrygana or garrigues occurring on various substrata. According to Vierhapper (l.c.) and Hossain (1961), T. uniflorum is represented by several very variable populations often regarded as distinct taxa differentiated at specific, subspecific and variety rank, that may deserve a further thorough analysis. Therefore on the basis of morphological, ecological and chorological data, T. savianum can be considered a Sicilian endemic arisen from a very old geographic isolation from the eastern populations of T. uniflorum.

Nell'ambito di ricerche fitosociologiche nell'area egea vengono presentati i risultati relativi alle formazioni forestali attualmente osservabili nelle isole dell'Egeo meridionale. Questo tipo di vegetazione è stato in precedenza oggetto di studio da parte di vari autori, fra cui in particolare Krause et al. (1963), Zohary & Orshan (1966), Barbero & Quezel (1980), Costa et al. (1984) e Géhu et al. (1989, 1990, 1992), che hanno esaminato sotto il profilo fitosociologico alcune isole dell'Egeo quali Eubea, Creta, Rodi e Karpatos. Allo scopo di ampliare le conoscenze su quest'area del Mediterraneo, ancora poco nota dal punto di vista vegetazionale, sono state effettuate indagini su numerose isole dell'arcipelago delle Cicladi e del Dodecaneso e a Creta. Sulla base dei dati di letteratura e di numerosi rilievi personali inediti, in questo territorio si rinvengono boschi termofili sempreverdi rappresentati da querceti a Quercus ilex e a Q. calliprinos, pinete a Pinus brutia, cipresseti a Cupressus sempervirens, come pure boschi decidui a Quercus brachyphylla, Q. macrolepis e Q. crispata. Frequenti sono pure varî tipi di macchia a Juniperus turbinata, a J. macrocarpa, a Pistacia lentiscus, ad Euphorbia dendroides e a Ceratonia siliqua. Altre formazioni presenti sono le ripisilve a Platanus orientalis e le boscaglie igrofile a Nerium oleader e a Vitex agnus-castus. Per quanto riguarda il loro inquadramento fitosociologico, è da rilevare che con l’eccezione delle formazioni igrofile, gli aspetti forestali rientrano tutti nella classe Quercetea ilicis. In seno a quest’ultima si distinguono formazioni più mesofile, appartenenti ai Quercetalia ilicis ed all’alleanza Erico-Quercion ilicis, e formazioni più xerofile dei Pistacio-Rhamnetalia alaterni. Quest’ultimo ordine è rappresentato nell’area studiata da diverse alleanze, quali il Ceratonio-Pistacion lentisci, relativo agli arbusteti marcatamente xerofili prevalentemente costieri o semirupestri, il Quercion calliprini, comprendente le formazioni boschive del piano basale e submontano, il Cupresso-Acerion sempervirentis, del piano montano, lo Juniperion turbinatae dei litorali sabbiosi ed infine l’Ericion arboreae, raggruppante gli aspetti arbustivi di degradazione del Quercion calliprini e dell’Erico-Quercion ilicis.I boschi ripariali rientrano invece nel Platanion orientalis, alleanza dei Populetalia albae, mentre gli arbusteti frequenti lungo i corsi d’acqua sono da ascrivere ai Nerio-Tamaricetea, in seno alla quale è stata individuata una nuova aleanza, il Rubo sancti-Nerion oleandri, vicariante orientale del Rubo-Nerion oleandri.

In this contribution, Italian new data concerning the distribution of the Annex I Habitats 3150, 3170*, 3260, 4090, 91L0, 91M0, 9340 are reported. In detail, 20 new occurrences in Natura 2000 sites are presented and 30 new cells are added in the EEA 10 km × 10 km reference grid. The new data refer to the Italian administrative regions of Campania, Lazio, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany, and Umbria.

Invasive alien plants are a major threat to biodiversity and they contribute to the unfavourable conservation status of habitats of interest to the European Community. In order to favour implementation of European Union Regulation no. 1143/2014 on invasive alien species, the Italian Society of Vegetation Science carried out a large survey led by a task force of 49 contributors with expertise in vegetation across all the Italian administrative regions. The survey summed up the knowledge on impact mechanisms of invasive alien plants in Italy and their outcomes on plant communities and the EU habitats of Community Interest, in accordance with Directive no. 92/43/EEC. The survey covered 241 alien plant species reported as having deleterious ecological impacts. The data collected illustrate the current state of the art, highlight the main gaps in knowledge, and suggest topics to be further investigated. In particular, the survey underlined competition as being the main mechanism of ecological impact on plant communities and Natura 2000 habitats. Of the 241 species, only Ailanthus altissima was found to exert an ecological impact on plant communities and Natura 2000 habitats in all Italian regions; while a further 20 species impact up to ten out of the 20 Italian administrative regions. Our data indicate that 84 out of 132 Natura 2000 Habitats (64%) are subjected to some degree of impact by invasive alien plants. Freshwater habitats and natural and semi-natural grassland formations were impacted by the highest number of alien species, followed by coastal sand dunes and inland dunes, and forests. Although not exhaustive, this research is the first example of nationwide evaluation of the ecological impacts of invasive alien plants on plant communities and Natura 2000 Habitats.

This study provides a first step toward the knowledge of the alien-dominated and co-dominated plant communities present in Italy. The first ever checklist of the alien phytocoenoses described or reported in literature for the Italian territory has been compiled, produced by data-mining in national and local thematic literature. The resulting vegetation-type draft-list has been checked in the light of the most recent syntaxonomic documentation and updated with regards to syntaxonomy and nomenclature, with special reference to the frame proposed in the Italian Vegetation Prodrome. The list includes 27 vascular and one bryophyte vegetation classes, hosting 194 low rank alien-dominated syntaxa. The different vegetation types detected for each syntaxonomic class and macro-vegetation group, defined by physiognomical and ecological attributes, are discussed.

A comparative analysis of the riparian vegetation dominated by Alnus glutinosa in Italy and Tyrrhenian islands, based on literature data and unpublished relevés, is presented. A total of 456 phytosociological relevés were processed. For the definition of plant communities and alliances, hierarchical clustering was performed by using Bray-Curtis coefficient and Detrended Correspondence Analysis ordination methods. Identification of diagnostic species of the vegetation units was performed by means of the phi fidelity index. Quantum GIS software version 3.6 was used for the interpolation of the bioclimatic variables and A. glutinosa communities. Overall, a total of 18 A. glutinosa-riparian wood communities were distinguished for Italy and Tyrrhenian islands, of which two new associations and one new subassassociation are described. The classification of the relevés showed two main vegetation groups: the first one including the plant communities of the Osmundo-Alnion alliance, and the other including the vegetation of the Ligustro vulgaris-Alnion glutinosae alliance. This latest includes the riparian meso-thermophilous communities of central and northern Italy. Within the Osmundo-Alnion alliance, two subgroups can be recognized: the first one includes the thermophilous communities of the Hyperico hircini-Alnenion glutinosae sub-alliance, mainly spread in the Tyrrhenian islands, while the second group includes the mesophilous communities attributed to the new suballiance Struthioptero-Alnenion glutinosae, widespread in central Italy and the Corsican mountains. The present paper provides the first comprehensive and exhaustive scheme of the A. glutinosa riparian woodlands diversity in Italy and Corsica.

Sphaeralcea bonariensis (Cav.) Griseb. is here reported for the first time as alien species in Italy and in the Mediterranean area. It is a perennial shrub native to Southern America, where it is often considered a ruderal species frequent in cultivated areas. It was found in a population of a few individuals within Opuntia ficus-indica groves of Rocca Palumba territory (Western Sicily). Actually, due to short-term observational period and the low number of plants, Sphaeralcea bonariensis should be considered as a casual species in Italy. The ecological characteristics of the growing stand and the consistency of the population, as well as the possible causes of its introduction, are briefly discussed.

A synthetic and updated overview about the vascular flora and vegetation of the Island of Capo Passero (SE-Sicily) is provided. These data issue from two series of field surveys—the first carried out between 1997 and 2000, and the second between 2005 and 2019 and mostly focused on refining and implementing vegetation data. The current islet’s flora consists of 269 taxa, of which 149 (58%) are annual plants. The Mediterranean species are largely prevailing, 108 (40%) of which have a strictly Mediterranean biogeographical status. The comparison with a species list published in 1919 and updated in 1957 suggest that, despite the overall prevalence of anemochorous taxa, the vertebrate fauna represents an important vector for the plant colonization of the island, while the immigration of myrmechocorous taxa does not compensate the extinction rate. As many as 202 phytosociological relevés, 191 of which issue from original recent field surveys, enabled identifying 12 different plant communities. The comparison with a vegetation map published in 1965 suggests a strong reduction in dune habitats (2120 and 2210 according to EU ‘Habitats’ Directive 92/43), as well as a deep disruption in the succession typical of the local psammophilous vegetation series. In order to preserve rare, endangered and protected plant species (such as Aeluropus lagopoides, Cichorium spinosum, Limonium hyblaeum, L. syracusanum, Poterium spinosum, Senecio pygmaeus and Spergularia heldreichii) and to stop the ongoing habitat degradation, urgent and effective conservation measures should be adopted for this tiny, yet precious islet.

Poa jubata A. Kern., an annual South-eastern European species, is reported for the first time from Italy. It is a therophyte linked to temporary ponds with soils flooded during the winter period. It is a very rare and enigmatic species, currently known only from a few localities of the Balkan Peninsula. Recently, it was surveyed in an Apulian wetland, near Brindisi, where it grows with several other annual hygrophytes. For its taxonomical isolation, it is included in a monospecific section, as P. sect. Jubatae. In addition to a detailed description, the chromo-some complement (2n = 14) of this species is examined for the first time and a new iconography is provided.