Simonetta Fascetti

Non‐native flora of Italy: Species distribution and threats

Abstract In this paper, we provide an overview of the distribution and invasive status of non‐native species in the Italian flora across its administrative regions, biogeographic regions and main land use types, and a synthesis of current knowledge on the threats they pose within the country. The information on non‐native plant species collected during the project “A survey of the non‐native Italian flora” was used to compile comprehensive regional and national databases. The number of non‐native species within a given administrative region increases in proportion to its size, resident population density and latitude, reaching the highest values in the intensively cultivated, heavily industrialized and urbanized Po Plain in northern Italy. The number of casual species is positively correlated with the number of yearly visitors in each region and negatively correlated with the proportion of mountainous terrain within the region. If compared with the Continental and Mediterranean biogeographic regions, the Alpine region yields the lowest number of non‐native species and lowest proportion of casual species. The number and density of introduced species is highest in artificial land use types, particularly in urban areas. A negative impact is reported to be exerted by 203 species, most of which are agricultural weeds.

An updated checklist of the vascular flora native to Italy.

Abstract An updated inventory of the native vascular flora of Italy, providing details on the occurrence at regional level, is presented. The checklist includes 8195 taxa (6417 species and 1778 subspecies), distributed in 1092 genera and 152 families; 23 taxa are lycophytes, 108 ferns and fern allies, 30 gymnosperms and 8034 angiosperms. The taxa currently occurring in Italy are 7483, while 568 taxa have not been confirmed in recent times, 99 are doubtfully occurring in the country and 19 are data deficient. Out of the 568 not confirmed taxa, 26 are considered extinct or possibly extinct.

Loss detection of aquatic habitats in Italian volcanic lakes using historical data

Italian volcanic lakes represent an important hotspot of aquatic plant diversity. By comparing original data collected in 2009/10 with historical data, we detected species extinction and loss of habitats 3140 and 3150 (Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC). The speed of change detected claim for frequent monitoring and rapid management interventions.

Diet of the Italian hare ( Lepus corsicanus ) in a semi-natural landscape of southern Italy

Abstract The food habits of the endangered Italian hare have not received adequate attention from researchers. In this study, the diet composition of this species and its seasonal variation were assessed by analysing faecal pellets in a semi-natural landscape in the south of Italy. The results showed that hares feed on 62 species of plants during the year, with a conspicuous presence of herbaceous ones (e.g., Trifolium pratense, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Festuca arundinacea) as these occurred at high frequencies in most of the faecal samples. In spring, diet composition was characterised by a high percentage of Graminaceae (>37%). In the other seasons, hares also included fruits (e.g., Prunus spinosa, Pyrus piraster, Malus sylvestris), which, in autumn, accounted for >27%. There were significant differences among seasons (p<0.001) in terms of Margalef’s richness, Shannon diversity, and Buzas and Gibson’s evenness. The smallest values of richness and diversity were observed in spring. Dietary overlap was low between spring and the other seasons; conversely, there was substantial overlap (>70%) in the diets during the other seasons with a more pronounced similarity between summer and autumn (Sørensen, Cs=0.80; Morisita-Horn, CMH=0.73).

New alien vascular species for the flora of southern Italy

Abstract In the present work new or confirmed alien not-cultivated vascular plants are reported for the flora of the southern Italy regions: Acalypha virginica, Alcea biennis subsp. biennis, Bidens subalternans, Cardamine occulta, Casuarina equisetifolia, Cedrus atlantica, Cedrus deodara, Chamaeiris orientalis, Cotula coronopifolia, Elodea canadensis, Eragrostis mexicana subsp. virescens, Euphorbia nutans, Fagopyrum esculentum, Ficus microcarpa, Hesperocyparis arizonica, Hesperocyparis glabra, Kalanchoë × houghtonii, Lantana camara subsp. aculeata, Lemna minuta, Ligustrum sinense, Lobelia erinus, Lonicera japonica, Oenothera lindheimeri, Panicum capillare, Persicaria capitata, Phyla nodiflora, Schinus molle, Sedum palmeri, Sesbania punicea, Solanum elaeagnifolium, Solanum sisymbriifolium and Veronica peregrina. Furthermore, Lantana montevidensis is new for the Italian alien flora, Asparagus asparagoides and Tradescantia pallida are reported for the first time in continental Italy, whereas Cucurbita moschata, Nandina domestica and Taxodium distichum are new for the Italian peninsula. Moreover, field surveys in Campania allow us to update at regional level the naturalization status of Euphorbia nutans (naturalized) and Ligustrum sinense (casual). The new data confirm that new non-native species are continuously introduced into the flora of southern Italy and it is noteworthy that several species, widely used in the reforestation since the middle of the last century, have undergone naturalization in recent years.

Seasonal variation in food habits of the Italian hare in a south Apennine semi-natural landscape

The Italian hare is a species of hare endemic to central and southern Italy and to Sicily. It has been classified as a ‘vulnerable’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as it is considered to have a high risk of extinction in the next decade. Despite its endangered status, little is known about its feeding habits. In the present study, the seasonal pattern of diet composition of a population of Italian hare occupying a semi-natural landscape was estimated by using the micro-histological technique of faecal analysis. The results showed that hares had a diversified diet, consuming plant parts from over 70 species. Like other Lepus sp., the Italian hare consumed a large amount of herbaceous plants (e.g. Brachypodium sylvaticum, Trifolium pratense, Allium subhirsutum and Festuca arundinacea), although it complemented its diet seasonally with fruits of Prunus spinosa, Pyrus piraster and Malus sylvestris. Analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) evidenced significant differences among seasons, as a consequence of the seasonal occurrence of the various food items. Spring and autumn (R = 0.7482, P = 0.001), as well as spring and winter (R = 0.7398, P = 0.001), showed low diet similarities; these results were supported by similarity percentage analysis (SIMPER, average dissimilarity: > 71% between spring and autumn; > 69% between spring and winter) with taxa like P. spinosa, Cirsium strictus, T. pratense and Rosa canina making the greatest contributions to these differences. Higher similarities were instead found when comparing other seasons. This seasonal pattern of diet composition was clearly depicted in the graph from nonmetric multidimensional scaling (n-MDS) ordination. Our results highlight the importance of some plant taxa in the diet of the Italian hare and could be useful in managing reintroduction programs.

Evaluation of Native Grasses for Sustainable Turfgrass in the Bioclimatic Mediterranean Region

This study reports the results of a research project (Mi.T.E.A.Med) funded by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture. The research was organised in two phases: the first one involved the screening of the study area (Southern Italy) to find suitable turfgrass species and the second one focused on ex situ cultivation to test the ecotypes with salinity resistance. During the first step of the research, 11 sites from 6 regions of Southern and Central Italy were identified. In these sites, 24 ecotypes of Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. were collected and their habitus, phenology, and some biometric parameters have been determined. During the 2 years of research, both botanic and agronomic characterisation of the collected C. dactylon ecotypes was carried out. Some native accessions showed a behaviour similar to commercial cultivars, while an ecotype from the Abruzzo Region showed better results compared to the commercial cultivars for several quality indices. The results of this project showed that Mediterranean-adapted native grass species (e.g. Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) are worth investigating for turfgrass, making for their performance and low resource requirement (especially water). This species can be used as promising alternatives to conventional non-native turfgrasses.

Diet composition of the Italian roe deer (Capreolus capreolus italicus) (Mammalia: Cervidae) from two protected areas

Abstract The Italian roe deer is classified as “vulnerable” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, as the few specimens of this endemism may have a high risk of extinction. Conservation efforts for the Italian roe deer cannot prescind from the study of the feeding habits of the taxon. Therefore, in the present study, the spring diet composition of the Italian roe deer from two protected areas was estimated by using the micro-histological technique of faecal analysis. Univariate measures of alpha and beta diversity were computed to assess spatial differences in diet composition between the sites. A total of 79 different species of plants were identified, with few species (mainly woody plants) comprising over a quarter of the diet. The most consumed species were Rubia peregrina, Quercus suber and Osyris alba in Site 1, and Q. cerris, Carpinus betulus and Crataegus monogyna in Site 2. Alpha diversity analysis showed that diet composition was quite rich and diverse in both sites, with nearly all the shared species eaten to an equal extent. Moreover, the values of alpha diversity indices were not significantly different between the sites. The degree of dietary overlap ranged from “low” to “high”, as most of the identified plants were unshared, whereas the consumption of some shared plants differed between the sites. In conclusion, our results showed that that this subspecies of Capreolus is capable of exhibiting both a generalist and an opportunistic behaviour in relation of food resource availability.

Seed-propagated Muscari comosum (L.) Mill.: Effects of sowing date and growing conditions

Abstract Muscari comosum is a widespread Mediterranean species with a long use as food. The edible part is the bitter bulb that has to be cooked. The increasing value of bulbs, also due to a renewed cultural interest toward traditional foods and their benefits for health, claims to enhance the agricultural production. Surprisingly, no agronomic studies about the best practice of propagation exist. We tested whether and how germination rate and weight and size of bulbs, after one growing season, were affected by sowing date (autumn–spring), growing condition (greenhouse, shaded greenhouse and open field), and container’s volume. Results showed that the best-sowing period ranges between September and January; following this period there is a huge decrease in germination rate. The time of seedling emergence was higher in open field than in protected environment. The longer interval of growing was observed with the sowing of October that produced heavier and larger bulbs. The best combination to obtain larger bulbs is sowing in October under greenhouse. However, under shaded conditions it was possible to obtain satisfactory results even with medium-late sowing (December and January). Containers with higher volume generally performed better. We conclude that mass propagation of M. comosum could be efficiently performed for agronomic purposes using nurseries. In fact, due to the high rate of germination and to the ease of obtaining the seeds from wild populations or from cultivations, there is the possibility to produce large quantities of bulbs to develop new crops of this traditional food.