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Plant biodiversity analysis and vegetation, habitats and land use mapping of "Le Cesine" State Natural Reserve (Lecce, Apulia). - The results of an INTERREG project (III A Greece-Italy 2000-2006) concerning the biodiversity moni-toring of "Le Cesine" State Natural Reserve are here presented. The knowledge on vegetation, communitary habitats, flora and distribution of threatened species has been updated. The agricultural areas have been monitored, taking a census of each agrarian cultivation. 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, Habitats map (according to the 92/43/EEC Directive). The maps of the distribution of the threatened plant species have been implemented.

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

The preliminary results of an INTERREG project (III A Greece-Italy 2000-2006) congerning the monitoring of "Torre Guaceto" State Natural Reserve 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 maps of the distribution of the threatened plant species have been implemented

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.

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.

Aims: i) To disentangle the global patterns of native and alien plant diversity on coastal sand dune ecosystems across habitats and floristic kingdoms, ii) to determine the main drivers of variation in species richness in native and alien species in these endangered ecosystems, and iii) to test for an interaction between spatial scale and native‐alien richness patterns, as predicted by the invasion paradox. Location: Global. Methods: We collated a dataset of 14,841 vegetation plots in coastal sand dune ecosystems from around the world. Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) and Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) were used to assess the patterns and main ecological determinants underlying native and alien species richness. Variation partitioning revealed the relative importance of environmental and anthropogenic variables. Results: GLMs revealed strong differences among both habitats and floristic kingdoms in the number of native and alien species. Specifically, native species richness increased along the sea‐inland gradient and was higher in the Cape and Paleotropical kingdoms. In contrast, alien species richness was relatively similar across habitats and kingdoms, though some differences were detected. There were strong differences between the drivers of native and alien richness; anthropogenic factors such as Gross Domestic Product were positively associated with alien richness whereas native richness was more strongly related to environmental factors. Furthermore, we found a weak support for an invasion paradox effect. Conclusions: Our results revealed the complexity of causal processes underpinning coastal sand dune plant biodiversity and highlight the importance of considering native and alien species separately. Recognition of these differences while researching variation in biodiversity patterns and processes at multiple spatial scales will lead to a better mechanistic understanding of the causes of invasion worldwide, and in coastal ecosystems in particular, allowing the development of more focused control and management measures.

Because of their biological and ecological characteristics terrestrial isopods are considered as bioindicators of ecosystem health and several studies have shown that their distribution and abundance are influenced by environmental factors, such as weather, soil texture, composition and vegetation structure. However, few quantitative data are available on the relationship between single species of terrestrial isopods, meteorological variables and coastal zonation. This study aims to clarify relationships between terrestrial isopod populations, coastal zones and weather conditions of a protected area in Sicily. The terrestrial isopods were sampled using pitfall traps, and we verified the association between each species abundance and three different (lower, medium and upper) coastal zones. Furthermore, we analyzed correlations between isopod abundances and meteorological conditions (temperature and precipitation). The results showed a close relationship between some isopod species and coastal zone types, as well as a positive correlation of most of the species abundances with temperature and a negative one with precipitation.