Guidelines for urban community gardening: Proposal of preliminary indicators for several ecosystem services (Rome, Italy)

Community gardening is a current global phenomenon and the general purposes of these horticultural areas in cities are to provide food but also for food security needs. Other ecosystem services, such as improving people’s quality of life, the urban environment and social relations, are also often underlined. Despite the increasing phenomenon of urban community gardens, planning guidelines concerning specific objectives are still needed. Literature underlines five principal aims in setting up urban community gardening, and we suggest “Cultural values” as an additional one. Moreover, we propose a set of 12 basic indicators to support the best choice for the six aims. We also discuss the importance of these indicators which come within three broad categories: A) environmental parameters: morphology, soil, sunlight, water supply, biodiversity value; B) risk factors due to urban pollution, which needs to be investigated further: local pollution linked to urban traffic, local pollution derived from previous activities on the site; C) accessibility and social context: accessibility, schools, community centres, green areas. Since each parameter has a different influence in relation to the various identified aims, we suggest their relative weights, which have to be considered in the different cases, and their needed minimum values. Last of all, we apply the proposed evaluation criteria in several municipal areas of Rome. Our data show that these indicators can easily be applied in selecting the best solutions for this type of urban planning

Pattern of floristic variation on a montane beech forest in the central Apennine (central Italy)

Climate, history and human land use have a strong influence on the distribution and floristic composition of beech forest communities. In the last 50 years, the decrease in human activities has led to the resumption of reforestation dynamics, so a certain variability in floristic composition is expected. We aim to identify the causes of local floristic variability in different stands of beech forests, integrating floristic, structural and ecological analysis. Cluster analysis and Indicator Species Analysis (ISA) were performed to highlight floristic differences; the clusters obtained were compared through environmental and topographic variables, Ellenberg indicator values, life forms, Social Behaviour Types (SBT) and structural parameters. The species heterogeneity derives from a climatic and edaphic gradient. Two main types of beech forests were recognized: a microthermal one, placed at higher altitudes and cooler aspects (Cardamino kitaibelii - Fagetum sylvaticae), and the termophilous one, lying at lower altitudes and warmer aspects (Lathyro veneti - Fagetum sylvaticae). SBT and structural parameters were useful for detecting the effects of dynamic processes of reforestation. The integration of the floristic, structural and ecological analysis led to an accurate coenological overview of the beech forest communities and to the detection of the natural reforestation processes currently ongoing

Contributo alla conoscenza floristica dei monti Sicani (Sicilia): resoconto dell’escursione del Gruppo di Floristica (S.B.I.) nel 2012

The results of the excursion of the “Gruppo di Floristica” of the Italian Botanical Society held in the Sicani Mountains (CW-Sicily) on May 3-6, 2012, are here presented. During the research a total of 532 taxa was recorded. Three of them, the native Rosa squarrosa and the alien Phyllostachys aurea and Vitis ×koberi are new to Sicily, and 14 are new to the Sicani Mts. On the other side, we confirm the exclusion of Erica manipuliflora from the flora of the region