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The Wikiplantbase project, started in 2013, provides a framework where georeferenced floristic records from Italian administrative regions can be stored, updated and accessed through the Internet. The online software platform was designed to encourage data entry by non-academic collaborators: pull-down menus and auto-complete fields reduce the amount of typing required and the chances of typographical errors alike; geographic localities can be entered by point-and-click on a map. All records entered are checked by regional coordinators, who can validate, modify or reject them before making them accessible online. Both academic and amateur botanists have joined the projects which counts 114 collaborators – mostly non academic – from four Italian regions (Tuscany, Sardinia, Liguria and Sicily) as of 28 June 2017. As a result, the database now stores 211693 floristic records, 188657 georeferenced toponyms, 18273 taxonomic records, and 3910 bibliographical references. A fifth region, Friuli Venezia Giulia, is currently completing the steps to become a member of the project, with the collaboration of the regional Group for Floristic Research and Exploration (GREF). Besides data, within days of Wikiplantbase online launch, collaborators have started to provide an active feedback on issues arising from data entry, searching, and missing options. Their feedback spurred a progressive refinement of the software platform. The version 2.0 was launched in 2015, and contains several improvements suggested by the Wikiplantbase community. As regards communication and dissemination, Wikiplantbase community members has participated in the organisation of both traditional scientific meetings and social events, like Piant@Là – a science café organised in Sassari in 2015 – and Wikifestival, a meeting held in Pisa in 2017 where scientific communications mingled with quiz games, and participants received official Wikifestival t-shirts. Furthermore, each regional coordinator has created a Facebook page. Data from Wikiplantbase have been used to draft a paper on phylogenetic diversity of pteridophytes in Tuscany, which has been accepted for publication on a scientific journal. To benefit the wider scientific community, the Wikiplantbase dataset is being connected to data aggregator platforms like the Italian National Biodiversity Network, and the GBIF, by using the BIOCASE protocol. The online platform Wikiplantbase is ready to be replicated in other contexts, thus providing support to a network of regional floristic databases, suited to exploit the involvement – still largely untapped – of non-academic collaborators, as advocated by citizen science.

CSMON-LIFE (Citizen Science MONitoring) aims at involving citizens in monitoring Italian biodiversity by a citizen science approach. Novel IT tools for mobile devices have been developed in the framework of the project, providing citizens with a platform for collecting and sharing geo-referenced data of target species. CSMON-LIFE also offered another option to participants, the “Ask the expert” campaign, which aims at encouraging citizens to satisfy their curiosity, by trying to identify and reporting other organisms other than the project’s target species, and having experts verifying their identification. This report analyses the data of taxa collected in the “Ask the expert” campaign, in order to evaluate the degree of citizen’s participation and engagement, the quality of observations, the distribution of observations, as well as the most intriguing taxa to citizens. The data analysed were: 1) amount of sightings, entrants and mean number of sightings per entrant; 2) temporal and spatial distribution of observations; 3) estimates of the correct identifications; 4) which taxa have been reported by citizens. During two years, more than 500 citizen scientists reported ca. 3000 observations, with a linear growth over time, and a certain degree of heterogeneity in temporal distribution, with evident seasonal peaks. Since the project started in Lazio, observations came mainly from this region. However, a high number of sightings were collected in other regions (Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna, especially). The whole dataset of observations included several taxonomic groups from plants to animals. As far as animal taxa are concerned, the greatest number of observations was about invertebrates, which triggered curiosity in most people, like spiders and insects (especially species of the orders Lepidoptera and Coleoptera). As far as vertebrates are concerned, most observations were collected on birds, mammals and reptiles. Citizens also provided new data on the occurrence of some alien animal species in Italy. Finally, these results enable us to make assumptions about which taxonomic groups could be best taken into account in future biodiversity projects aiming at involving citizens.

Decision-makers and governmental organizations are increasing the use of citizen volunteers to enhance the capacity to monitor species occurrence and distribution around the world and to investigate major aspects of global change impacts on biodiversity. For citizens the motivation is to contribute to “real” science, public information and conservation. For scientists, citizen science offers a way to collect information that would otherwise be not affordable. CSMON-LIFE (Citizen Science MONitoring) is one of the first Italian projects which focuses on using a citizen science approach on biodiversity. It is funded by the European Commission under the LIFE+ programme. CSMON has come to its latest year with more than 4000 registered users and over 20000 validated reports focused on several environmental issues, such as: the loss of biodiversity because of the presence of alien species; the effects of climate change; the conservation of rare species; the impact of human activities on the environment. The data validated feed the National Biodiversity Network established by the Italian Ministry for the Environment in order to make freely available biodiversity data. We used data collected by citizen volunteers for four alien plant species: Ailanthus altissima, Robinia pseudoacacia, Carpobrotus edulis and Opuntia ficus-indica to model their ecological niche using MaxEnt (Maximum Entropy) software. As environmental factors we used the WorldClim bioclimatic variables with a spatial resolution of 1 km2, as well as soil, land use and topography parameters. We set aside 25% of the samples for testing and the rest used for niche modelling training. The analyses used a threshold to make a binary prediction, with conditions above the threshold as suitable and those below as unsuitable. To identify variables that are most important for the species being modelled the jackknife test we used, and a set of response curves elaborated to interpret if there are strong correlations between variables. Finally, it was necessary to include in MaxEnt’s run a bias file to represent sampling effort to reduce the sampling bias performed during volunteer monitoring due to the different accessibility of the sites explored and the different amount of time dedicated to these operations. Despite these limitations data coming from the activity of citizen volunteers significantly increased the knowledge on the spatial distribution of target species. Based on these results, the establishment of permanent biodiversity observatories formed by citizen volunteers is envisaged.

The Group for Floristics of the Italian Botanical Society (SBI) prepared a questionnaire to be distributed among all those concerned. On the whole about three dozens feedbacks were collected and analysed.

Aim of the Important Plant Area (IPA) program - integral part of the CBD Global Strategy for Plant Conservation - is the constitution of a network of the most important natural or semi-natural sites for wild plant and fungi conservation. Giving lower plants and fungi the same importance as vascular plants, the program provides to individual countries a considerable freedom of action in the implementation of IPAs number. Three main principles rule the site identification: Criterion A, based on species contribution; Criterion B, based on floristic richness in relation to the biogeographic zone; Criterion C, based on threatened habitats. Italian botanists from different areas of research responded to the call comprehensively, including all the groups of plants in the definition of the IPAs. Nevertheless, experts in lichens, fungi and freshwater algae found some operational difficulties, mostly due to the incomplete knowledge of species distribution, the lack of updated databases and official red lists. In this paper, the methodological approach used to include Italian lichens in the IPA definition is discussed. Seventy two taxa were selected as species of national interest and 21 areas critical for long-term preservation of lichen populations were proposed, including an archaeological area considered representative of cultural heritages as a lichen complex habitat.

In this contribution, new data concerning algae, bryophytes, fungi, and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the algae genusChara, the bryophyte generaHomalia,Mannia, andTortella, the fungal generaCortinarius,Russula, andStereum, and the lichen generaCetrelia,Cladonia,Enterographa,Graphis,Lecanora,Lepraria,Multiclavula,Mycomicrothelia,Parmelia,Peltigera,Pleopsidium,Psora,Scytinium,Umbilicaria, andRhizocarpon.