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The evaluation and the subsequent monitoring of the conservation status of habitats is one of the key steps in nature protection. While some European countries have tested suitable methodologies, others, including Italy, lack procedures tested at the national level. The aim of this work is to propose a method to assess the conservation status of habitat 92A0 (Salix alba and Populus alba galleries) in central Italy, and to test the method using data from the Molise region. We selected parameters that highlight the conservation status of the flora and vegetation in order to assess habitat structures and functions at the site level. After selecting the parameters, we tested them on a training dataset of 22 unpublished phytosociological relevés taken from the whole dataset, which consists of 119 relevés (49 unpublished relevés for the study area, and 70 published relevés for central Italy). We detected the most serious conservation problems in the middle and lower course of the Biferno river: the past use of river terraces for agriculture and continual human interventions on the river water flow have drastically reduced the riparian forests of Molise. Our results show that in areas in which forest structure and floristic composition have been substantially modified, certain alien plant species, particularly Robinia pseudoacacia, Amorpha fruticosa and Erigeron canadensis, have spread extensively along rivers. In the management of riparian forests, actions aimed at maintaining the stratification of the forest, its uneven-agedness and tree species richness may help to ensure the conservation status, as well as favour the restoration, of habitat 92A0.

In order to improve the floristic knowledge of the Italian territory, we report the inventory of the taxa collected during the annual field trip of the working group for Floristics, Systematics and Evolution of the Italian Botanical Society held in 2015 in eastern Irpinia and Vulture-Melfese area (South Italy). The investigated territories are located in southern Apennines, along the border between the Campania and Basilicata administrative regions. These areas are scarcely known in terms of vascular flora. The floristic samplings were performed in 19 sites selected as representative of the local environmental diversity as regards to climate, litho-morphology and land-use. The research led to the identification of 4,137 specimens of vascular plants, belonging to 815 species and subspecies, 399 genera, and 85 families. Among these taxa, 42 were endemic to Italy, 38 were included in the IUCN Red List of the Italian Flora, 28 were alien and 5 were cryptogenic in Campania and/or Basilicata administrative regions. Two taxa, Aquilegia coerulea (casual alien, native to North America) and Lolium ×boucheanum (native), were found to be new for Italy. On the basis of the available floristic literature the first one is also to be considered new for the European flora. At regional scale, we have found 18 taxa new for the Campania and 15 new for the Basilicata region. Finally, 10 taxa were confirmed for Campania. Data obtained during this study, confirmed the important role of a collaborative approach among botanists and the great relevance of these territories for plant diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]