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In 2019 the 4th Report ex-Art. 17 on the conservation status (CS) of Annex I Habitats of the 92/43/EEC Directive was expected by every EU/28 country, with reference to the period 2013-18. In Italy, the process was in charge to the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), on behalf of the Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection (MATTM), with the scientific support of the Italian Botanical Society (SBI). A large group of thematic and territorial experts elaborated the available data concerning the 124 types of terrestrial and inland water Habitats present in Italy, 39 of which are represented by Forest Habitats (Group 9),. The main aim of the work was the evaluation of the overall CS of each Habitat by Biogeographic Region (Mediterranean, Continental and Alpine), for a total amount of 294 assessments. A high proportion of these (92, corresponding to 31% of the total) referred to Forest Habitats, including 20 marginal types for which the CS was not requested. The analysis was carried out at different scales: a) administrative territory, through the data contained in the ISPRA database, whose compilation was in charge to the Regions and Autonomous Provinces; b) Natura 2000 site, with the latest updates available (Standard Data Forms updated to 2018); c) national scale, implementing the distribution maps for each Habitat based on the European grid ETRS89-LAEA5210 (10x10 km2 mesh); d) Biogeographic Region, scale of the final assessment. Cartographic outcomes, associated databases and additional data used for the assessments will be available online on the ISPRA Portal as soon as the validation process by the European Commission will be completed. A dedicated archive named "HAB_IT" has been created in the national database "VegItaly" (1), managed by the Italian Society of Vegetation Science, where the phytosociological relevés representative of the various Annex I Habitats in Italy will be archived and freely accessible. An overview of the results regarding the Forest habitats is here provided, including a comparison with the outcomes of the former reporting cycle, the 3rd Report ex-Art. 17 (2). In several cases (e.g. 9120, 91L0), the distribution maps have been remarkably improved due to better knowledge and more fitful interpretation. The conservation status resulted as Favourable (FV) for 6,7%, Inadequate (U1) for 58,7% and Bad (U1) for 32,0% of the 72 assessed forest Habitat types. In no case there was an improvement of the conservation status, while in 6 cases a worsening of the conditions resulted from the data analysis, pointing out the Habitats types with a higher need of action. Similarly to other projects carried out as a team by the network of Annex I Habitat experts of the Italian Botanical Society and the Italian Society for Vegetation Science (e.g. 3, 4), this is another step in the direction of supporting the implementation of the 92/43/EEC "Habitat" Directive in Italy and Europe. On this ground, the high biodiversity of the Italian forest Habitats could be emphasized, however results pointed out that some rare or endemic types (e.g. Alnus cordata or Betula aetnensis-dominated forests) are still scarcely acknowledged by the most prominent EU conservation tools such as the Annex I to the "Habitat" Directive. 1) F. Landucci et al. (2012) Plant Biosyst., 146(4), 756-763 2) P. Genovesi et al. (2014) ISPRA, Serie Rapporti, 194/2014 3) E. Biondi et al. (2009) Società Botanica Italiana, MATTM, D.P.N., http://vnr.unipg.it/habitat/ 4) D. Gigante et al. (2016) Plant Sociology, 53(2), 77-87

In this work, the chasmophilous plant communities of thermophilous type occurring in some countries of the East-Mediterranean area are examined. This study is based on numerous phytosociological relevés carried out especially in continental and insular stands of Greece, and also in Cyprus, Israel, Cyrenaica (Libya), Croatia and E-Italy. The data used for this investigation are represented by many unpublished relevés, as well as by literature ones, in part published in synoptical tables.

The preliminary results of an INTERREG project (III A Greece-Italy 2000-2006) congerning the monitoring of "Saline di Punta della Contessa" Regional Natural Park are here presented. The knowledge on vegetation, communitary habitats and distribution of threatened species has been updated. The agricultural areas have been monitored, taking a census of each agrarian cultivation and of the respective surface. The collected data have been organized in a GIS and the following thematic maps have been produced: land use map (according to the CORINE Land Cover legend), vegetation map, Habitat map (according to the 92/43 EEC directive). The distribution maps of the threatened plant species have been implemented

Salvia officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) è conosciuta ed utilizzata sin dai tempi antichi per le sue proprietà terapeutiche e come alimento. Per questo, S. officinalis è stata diffusa e coltivata in quasi tutta Europa (Euro+Med. 2006‐ 2021). È stato tuttavia ipotizzato che il suo centro di origine sia prossimo alla sua attuale distribuzione naturale nei Balcani occidentali (Stojanović et al. 2015). In quest’area geografica, S. officinalis è molto diffusa e penetra in molti tipi di vegetazione, come ad esempio in quella delle pareti rocciose o di gariga, ma diventa molto fre‐ quente e spesso dominante in alcune tipologie di praterie della fascia Mediterranea. Ad oggi, sono state studiate diverse associazioni a S. officinalis, in diversi paesi, dall’Italia nord‐orientale (la cui vegetazione è biogeografi‐ camente affine a quella dei Balcani occidentali), alla Croazia, Serbia, Bosnia ed Erzegovina, Montenegro, Repub‐ blica della Macedonia del Nord, fino all’Albania. Ciononostante, in molte aree le conoscenze fitosociologiche sulle praterie a S. officinalis sono ancora insufficienti per la mancanza di un adeguato numero di rilievi. Il presente lavoro è finalizzato alla revisione sintassonomica delle praterie a S. officinalis sulla base di circa 262 rilievi fito‐ sociologici, di cui 175 già pubblicati in letteratura scientifica e 87 nuovi, realizzati nel periodo 2015‐2019, in due aree poco indagate, Montenegro e il Parco Nazionale di Kornati. Il data‐set di rilievi è stato sottoposto a clas‐ sificazione gerarchica (metodo di Ward) ed il conseguente dendrogramma è stato tagliato in modo da ottenere 16 gruppi principali di rilievi. A questi 16 gruppi è stata applicata l’Analisi delle Specie Indicatrici (Dufrêne, Le‐ gendre 1997). I risultati sono stati interpretati in chiave sintassonomica. Le comunità a S. officinalis sono state raggruppate in 7 associazioni principali, di cui quattro già menzionate in letteratura, e tre descritte per la prima volta. L’associazione Stipo Salvietum officinalis Horvatić 1963 risulta quella maggiormente diffusa sul versante Adriatico della Penisola Balcanica e si presenta con due subassociazioni e diverse varianti, spesso interpretabili come stadi lungo la serie di successione. In alcune aree del nord Adriatico, come il Carso Triestino, in Italia, o vi‐ cino Fiume, in Croazia, lo Stipo Salvietum officinalis è sostituito dal Salvio officinalis Euphorbietum fragiferae Lausi et Poldini 1962. In Dalmazia, un’altra associazione si rinviene nella fascia Eu‐ Mediterranea con comunità a S. officinalis e Brachypodium retusum, e altre associazioni a quote maggiori, nei rilievi montuosi dell’Isola di Hvar o della penisola di Peljesac (Croazia). Tutte queste associazioni sono tradizionalmente riunite nell’alleanza Chrysopogono grylli Koelerion splendentis Horvatić 1973. Si propone ora il loro inquadramento nella classe He lianthemo cani Seslerietea nitidae (Terzi et al. in press). L’associazione Artemisio albae‐Salvietum officinalis Gre‐ benščikov 1950, descritta per il sud della Serbia (presso Sicévo), è differenziata dalle associazioni del Chrysopogono Koelerion splendentis da molte specie indicatrici, diverse delle quali sono diagnostiche dell’al‐ leanza Saturejion montanae Horvat in Horvat et al. 1974 (ordine Stipo pulcherrimae Festucetalia pallentis Pop 1968 nom. conserv. propos.). Pertanto questa associazione è mantenuta nella classe Festuco Brometea erecti Braun‐ Blanquet et Tüxen ex Klika et Hadač 1944. Le comunità del sud dell’Albania, con S. officinalis e Phlomis fruticosa, sono invece ascritte agli Ononido Rosmarinetea Br.‐Bl. in A. Bolos y Vayreda 1950. Nel complesso, que‐ sto lavoro fornisce un primo inquadramento generale delle comunità a S. officinalis nell’area Balcanica. Conte‐ stualmente, i risultati ottenuti evidenziano la necessità di nuovi studi in aree di particolare interesse biogeografico (es. Monte Orjen, al confine tra Montenegro e Bosnia ed Erzegovina) per le quali sono disponibili pochi dati fitosociologici. L’inquadramento sintassonomico, qui proposto in via provvisoria, andrebbe inoltre valutato ad un livello di scala maggiore (cioè prendendo in considerazioni territori più ampi), ad esempio con‐ frontando le comunità balcaniche con quelle dell’Italia Peninsulare.

New Italian data on the distribution of Annex I Habitats are reported in this contribution. Specifically, 8 new occurrences in Natura 2000 sites are presented 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 Apulia, Campania, Calabria, Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria, Sardinia, and Sicily.

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 Linaria tonzigii Lona, Allium garganicum Brullo, Pavone, Salmeri & Terrasi, Ferula arrigonii Bocchieri, Orchis patens Desf. subsp. patens and Armeria saviana Selvi and the assessment at regional level (Italy) of Viola jordanii Hanry.

We conducted a GIS spatial analysis with the aim of providing the first quantitative large-scale overview of the distribution patterns of 1536 type localities ( loci classici ) of 1216 Italian endemic vascular plants and their relationship with a set of descriptive variables. Whereas some variables were used to model the presence-absence distribution patterns of the type localities for the whole set of endemics as well as for the subset of narrow endemics, others (e.g., presence inside or outside protected areas and Italian Important Plant Areas) were considered with the purpose of assessing potential assets or risks for conservation. The largest number of type localities was found within the Mediterranean biogeographic region (1134), followed by the Alpine region (306) and Continental region (96). A total of 670 locations are located on islands, whereas 866 are located on the Italian mainland (139 and 124 in the case of narrow endemics, respectively). A large number of type localities are located in mountainous areas and along the coastline, which can be seen as a potential risk for conservation. On the contrary, we detected a positive correlation with the distance from roads, which might be considered to be an asset. Importantly, 1030 type localities fall inside protected areas, whereas 506 localities fall outside protected areas, with 259 of these unprotected localities on islands. We propose considering the results of the analysis of the distribution of type localities of Italian endemics to be a strategic tool for conservation planning and resource management. Application of plant micro-reserves and integration of diverse legislation tools are suggested to strengthen efforts and increase conservation success.