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The habitats protected by the European Union (EU) include most peat vegetation, such as mires, swamp mires, fens, and peat bogs-all belonging to the classes Oxycocco - Sphagnetea and Scheuchzerio - Caricetea fuscae and carrying the Habitat Codes 71xx and 72xx. These types of vegetation are typical of cold and cool temperate climates, while they become rarer in Southern Europe where Mediterranean influences prevail, representing relic fragments of the past glacial climatic conditions there. Because of their limited extension and the increasing warmth and drought due to climate change, they are seriously threatened. Even if many studies were performed, their richness and distribution across Europe are still not well-understood, and only a few examples are known from the Central and Southern Apennines to date. In order to provide the syntaxonomical classification of the alkaline fens referable to the EU Habitat 7230 found on the mountain plateaus of the Central Apennines, we analyzed their species structure and flora composition, together with their chorological and ecological characteristics. We also evaluated their conservation status, pressures, and threats. The alkaline fens of the Central Apennines are found to be poorer in diagnostic species when compared to similar communities of Central and Northern Europe. However, they are rich in the species of the surrounding meadows and pastures. Among them, the new subassociation Caricetum davallianae caricetosum hostianae is described.

In this paper, the first phytochemical analysis of the ethanolic extract of Daphne sericea Vahl flowering aerial parts collected in Italy and its biological activities were reported. Eleven compounds were identified i.e., α-linolenic acid ( 1 ), tri-linoleoyl- sn -glycerol ( 2 ), pheophorbide a ethyl ester ( 3 ), pilloin ( 4 ), sinensetin ( 5 ), yuanhuanin ( 6 ), rutamontine ( 7 ), syringin ( 8 ), p -coumaric acid ( 9 ), p -anisic acid ( 10 ) and caffeic acid ( 11 ). To the best of our knowledge, compounds ( 1 - 4 , 7-8 and 10 ) were isolated from D. sericea for the first time during this work, whereas sinensetin ( 5 ) represents a newly identified component of the entire Thymelaeaceae family. The extract was found to possess radical scavenging against both DPPH • and 2,2'-azino- bis (3-thylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS •+ ) radicals, with at least a 40-fold higher potency against the latter. Moreover, chelating abilities against both ferrous and ferric ions have been highlighted, thus suggesting a possible indirect antioxidant power of the extract. Although the precise bioactive compounds remain to be discovered, the polyphenolic constituents, including phenolic acids, tannins and flavonoids, seem to contribute to the antioxidant power of the phytocomplex. In addition, the extract produced cytotoxic effects in MDA-MB-231 and U87-MG cancer cell lines, especially at the concentration of 625 μg/mL and after 48-72 h. Further studies are required to clarify the contribution of the identified compounds in the bioactivities of the extract and to support possible future applications.

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., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Many recent developments in coastal science have gone against the demands of European Union legislation. Coastal dune systems which cover small areas of the earth can host a high level of biodiversity. However, human pressure on coastal zones around the world has increased dramatically in the last 50 years. In addition to direct habitat loss, the rapid extinction of many species that are unique to these systems can be attributed to landscape deterioration through the lack of appropriate management. In this paper, we propose to use of an ecosystem classification technique that integrates potential natural vegetation distribution as a reference framework for coastal dune EU Habitats (92/43) distribution analysis and assessment. As an example, the present study analyses the EU Habitats distribution within a hierarchical ecosystem classification of the coastal dune systems of central Italy. In total, 24 land elements belonging to 8 land units, 5 land facets, 2 land systems and 2 land regions were identified for the coastal dunes of central Italy, based on diagnostic land attributes. In central Italy, coastal dune environments including all the beach area, mobile dunes and all the fixed-dune land elements contain or could potentially hold at least one EU habitat of interest. Almost all dune slack transitions present the potentiality for the spontaneous development of EU woodlands of interest. The precise information concerning these ecosystems distribution and ecological relationships that this method produces, makes it very effective in Natura 2000 European network assessment. This hierarchical ecosystem classification method facilitates the identification of areas to be surveyed and eventually bound, under the implementation of EU Habitat directive (92/43) including areas with highly disturbed coastal dune ecosystems.