Giovanni Pelino

Recent Plant Diversity Changes on Europe’s Mountain Summits

Climb Every Mountain Mountaintop floras across Europe appear to be responding to climatic change in terms of upslope species range shifts. Pauli et al. (p. 353) systematically analyzed data gathered from standardized permanent plots on 66 high-mountain environments across Europe. On average, mountaintop species numbers have increased significantly during the last decade. However, this increase is a net effect of gains and losses, with losses particularly affecting mountains of Mediterranean regions and their endemic species. This turnover is largely consistent with model predictions and indicates that high-altitude species, and in particular the rich endemic alpine flora of many Mediterranean mountain ranges, will come under increasing pressure in the predicted warmer and drier climates in this region. European mountaintop flower species richness is increasing on northern summits but decreasing on southern summits. In mountainous regions, climate warming is expected to shift species’ ranges to higher altitudes. Evidence for such shifts is still mostly from revisitations of historical sites. We present recent (2001 to 2008) changes in vascular plant species richness observed in a standardized monitoring network across Europe’s major mountain ranges. Species have moved upslope on average. However, these shifts had opposite effects on the summit floras’ species richness in boreal-temperate mountain regions (+3.9 species on average) and Mediterranean mountain regions (–1.4 species), probably because recent climatic trends have decreased the availability of water in the European south. Because Mediterranean mountains are particularly rich in endemic species, a continuation of these trends might shrink the European mountain flora, despite an average increase in summit species richness across the region.

Vascular plant diversity and climate change in the alpine belt of the central Apennines (Italy)

Abstract.The aim of this study is to analyse the vascular flora and the local climate along the altitude gradient in the largest alpine belt of the central Apennines (Majella National Park), and to contribute to the evaluation of the possible effects of global climate changes on the biodiversity of the alpine ecosystem. For this purpose floristic-quantitative analyses and temperature records on three different summits have been carried out by using the methodological protocol of the UE-GLORIA project (2001 2003); the project aims toward a standardised monitoring of flora and temperature in the alpine environment of the main European chains. From the analysis of the changes in species richness along the altitude gradient (2405 m versus 2730 m a.s.l.), it emerged that 70% of species do not reach the highest summit and only 11% of the overall flora is shared by all of the summits examined; a drop in mean temperature has been observed at soil level, along the same gradient from 3.11 to 0.03 °C. Floristic-quantitative and climatic analyses have been carried out even along the horizontal gradient (principal exposures), highlighting a great species richness and vegetation cover in eastward aspects. We singled out some endangered rare species and we proved that the slopes facing east will be the first to be affected by the coming of subalpine species from below, whereas northward exposures will be the most conservative, showing greater inertia toward the invasive process caused by the climate warming.

The vegetation of alpine belt karst-tectonic basins in the central Apennines (Italy)

Abstract The vegetation communities of the karst-tectonic basins of the Majella massif alpine belt were studied using the phytosociological methods, and analysed from coenological, synchorological and syntaxonomical viewpoints. During the field-work, 115 relevés were performed using the phytosociological approach of Braun-Blanquet, and these relevés were further subjected to multivariate analyses. Eight clusters of relevés resulted from the numerical classification. The plant communities identified in the study area were ascribed to the following five associations, two sub-associations and one community type: Leontopodio – Seslerietum juncifoliae (ass. nova); Helianthemo – Festucetum italicae (ass. nova); Gnaphalio – Plantaginetum atratae; Taraxaco – Trifolietum thalii gnaphalietosum magellensis (subass. nova); Luzulo italicae – Nardetum, Carici – Salicetum retusae; Saxifrago – Papaveretum julici, Saxifrago – Papaveretum androsacetosum (subass. nova), Plantago atrata and Leontodon montanus community. The distribution of these communities within the karst basins was found to be related to variations in topographic and geomorphological parameters, such as altitude, slope, soil availability and stoniness. All the new associations proposed in this paper belong to the suballiance Leontopodio – Elynenion and to the alliance Seslerion apenninae, both of which are endemic to the central Apennines. In order to compare the plant community types identified within the Majella massif to similar associations found in the rest of the Apennine chain, synoptic tables were constructed. Finally, a comparative phytogeographical analysis of the alpine belt vegetation of the Apennines, Dinarides, southern Balkans and eastern Alps is presented.

Changes in composition, ecology and structure of high-mountain vegetation: a re-visitation study over 42 years

Mediterranean high-mountain ecosystems are increasingly threatened by climate change, causing biodiversity loss, habitat degradation and landscape modifications. In this work, we used phytosociological relevés to conduct a re-visitation study in order to analyze changes in floristic composition over the last 42 years in the central Apennines (Majella National Park). We observed changes in floristic composition, along with a significant increase in thermophilic and nutrient-demanding species. Such changes are likely attributable to the combined effect of higher temperatures and the increase in soil nutrients triggered by global change.

Assessing the diversity pattern of cryophilous plant species in high elevation habitats

This study aimed to better document the diversity and distribution patterns of vascular cryophilous species across major habitat types in a high-elevation Mediterranean system in central Italy. The research addressed the following questions: (a) whether different habitats support similar levels of biodiversity in terms of total vascular plants richness and cryophilous species richness, and (b) how each habitat contributes to the total cryophilous species diversity. A random stratified sampling approach based on a habitat map was applied to construct rarefaction curves for overall cryophilous species richness and habitat type-specific cryophilous richness. Rarefaction curves were also constructed for all-species and exclusive species. To determine whether the targeted species represented a constant proportion of all species, the ratio between the rarefaction curves of the cryophilous species and all species was also calculated. The results highlight the importance of the different habitat types in overall and cryophilous species conservation because these different habitat types had progressively higher richness values. At the regional scale, steep slopes had the highest species diversity, the greatest exclusive species richness and a steep rarefaction curve. The diversity pattern of cryophilous taxa was not related to the general pattern of total species richness, with these species being more common in three habitat types with extreme environmental conditions: ridges, cliffs, and screes. For the establishment of successful biodiversity conservation programs, it is imperative to include species-poor habitats containing a high proportion of cryophilous species, which are considered to be threatened by climate warming.