Testing seed germination from herbaria: Application of seed quality enhancement techniques and implication for plant resurrection and conservation

Herbaria are an important source of data and material useful in many fields, including plant conservation. Seeds preserved in herbarium specimens may have the potential to germinate, although few studies focused on this topic. Here, the first systematic assessment of six techniques, including priming techniques and melatonin application, aimed at improving the germination of seeds from herbarium specimens is presented. Seed germination of 26 species common in Europe, some of which congeneric to extinct species, collected in herbaria and in the wild (20,549 seeds in total, including 19,509 from 297 herbarium specimens from 8 different herbaria) was tested with the following treatments: exogenous melatonin addition to the germination medium, priming with melatonin, osmopriming, hydropriming for 24 and 48 hours, standard soil, heat sterilization and gibberellins addition. More than 85% of the fresh seeds and 1% of the seeds collected in herbaria germinated, including seeds older than 50 years. Data show that treatment with exogenous melatonin had a positive effect on the germination of fresh seeds, but a negative effect on the germination of herbarium-derived seeds. Furthermore, osmopriming treatment had a slightly positive effect on the germination of herbarium-derived seeds. Osmopriming and exogenous melatonin addition seem to be promising techniques that need further investigation and improvement and might be useful for the development of an optimal germination protocol for old and herbarium-derived seeds. The germination of seeds from herbaria could be an important tool in plant conservation, with the aim of reversing the extinction trend of many species through de-extinction, safeguarding biodiversity, and genetic variability. This study provides preliminary data for the development of germination protocols, especially for old seeds of species of conservation interest, to maximise the chance of recovering lost genetic diversity and leading to the first de-extinction ever

Contribution to the floristic knowledge of eastern Irpinia and Vulture-Melfese area (Campania and Basilicata, southern Italy)

In order to improve the floristic knowledge of the Italian territory, we report the inventory of the taxa collected during the annual field trip of the working group for Floristics, Systematics and Evolution of the Italian Botanical Society held in 2015 in eastern Irpinia and Vulture-Melfese area (South Italy). The investigated territories are located in southern Apennines, along the border between the Campania and Basilicata administrative regions. These areas are scarcely known in terms of vascular flora. The floristic samplings were performed in 19 sites selected as representative of the local environmental diversity as regards to climate, litho-morphology and land-use. The research led to the identification of 4,137 specimens of vascular plants, belonging to 815 species and subspecies, 399 genera, and 85 families. Among these taxa, 42 were endemic to Italy, 38 were included in the IUCN Red List of the Italian Flora, 28 were alien and 5 were cryptogenic in Campania and/ or Basilicata administrative regions. Two taxa, Aquilegia coerulea (casual alien, native to North America) and Lolium ×boucheanum (native), were found to be new for Italy. On the basis of the available floristic literature the first one is also to be considered new for the European flora. At regional scale, we have found 18 taxa new for the Campania and 15 new for the Basilicata region. Finally, 10 taxa were confirmed for Campania. Data obtained during this study, confirmed the important role of a collaborative approach among botanists and the great relevance of these territories for plant diversity

Notula 263. Soliva sessilis Ruiz & Pav. (Asteraceae)

+ A (NAT) LAZ: Roma (Roma), Tenuta Presidenziale di Castelporziano, Santo Quercio (UTM ED50: 33T 286.4624), pozza temporanea asciutta, su sedimento sabbioso, 76 m, 3 Jun 2014, A. Tilia, F. Napoleone (FI); Roma (Roma), Tenuta Presidenziale di Castelporziano, Camilletto di sotto (UTM ED50: 33T 282.4620), margini di piscina asciutta, su sedimento sabbioso-argilloso, 9 m, 23 Jun 2014, A. Tilia, F. Napoleone (FI, RO). – Specie esotica naturalizzata nuova per il Lazio

The contribution of plant sociology to the ecosystem service approach in urban and peri-urban areas: Evidences from a Mediterranean metropolis case study (Rome, Italy)

In this paper, we promote the use of vegetation and land cover data as biodiversity indicators of pressure, state and impact for ecosystem goods and services in urban and periurban landscapes. In the case study of the Municipality of Rome, a Mediterranean metropolis with a long history of care for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, recent landscape researches have been addressed towards typification of plant communities, modelling of vegetation series, ecological land classification, design of land ecological network and analysis of land cover change. The results of these investigations have been employed for the identification and ecological evaluation of some locally relevant ecosystem services - such as habitat provision, conservation of species diversity, urban climate regulation, and educational values - and provide experimental evidence of the bioindication potential of plant communities and vegetation series

Exploring biodiversity in a metropolitan area in the Mediterranean region: The urban and suburban flora of Rome (Italy)

This work provides an overview of plant diversity in the municipality of Rome (Italy) through an assessment of the flora in urban and suburban sectors of the city. It is aimed at providing the knowledge required to support proactive action for plant conservation. On the basis of a literature-derived catalogue and of an extensive survey campaign, the flora was investigated in terms of conservation interest; habitat types and locations that require protection measures were identified according to the occurrence of valuable native plants. Valuable species exclusive of the urban sector are threatened by the compaction trend affecting the urban fabric. Such species occur mainly in ruderal environments and fallows of archaeological sites and urban parks, near river courses and in remnants of natural forests. Valuable species exclusive of the suburban sector are threatened by urban sprawl. They occur prevalently in wet environments of the subcoastal strip and in coastal sands, Mediterranean maquis, tuffaceous gorges, sulphur springs and archaeological sites. The results highlight the need to preserve the complexity of the land mosaic, especially within the urban matrix, and to strengthen the existing environmental protection tools in the suburban area against foreseeable land cover changes

Submediterranean dry grasslands along the Tyrrhenian sector of central Italy: Synecology, syndynamics and syntaxonomy

Semi-natural dry grasslands are habitats of high conservation concern. These ecosystems have not been extensively explored in the Tyrrhenian sector of the Italian peninsula, particularly in the Submediterranean climatic region. In order to address this issue and to define the synecology, syndynamics and syntaxonomy of calcareous grasslands in this area, we considered 127 phytosociological relevés. Our sampling was performed in the Lazio region according to a stratified sampling scheme based on homogeneous land units, defined by means of an ecological land classification process. We analyzed the vegetation data using multivariate methods. Two new associations, whose typical aspects occur in the mesotemperate phytoclimatic belt, were identified:Erysimo pseudorhaetici-Dasypyretum villosi (Taenianthero-Aegilopion) and Scorpiuro muricati-Brometum erecti (Phleo-Bromion). Phytoclimatic belts within the Submediterranean region cause a significant degree of differentiation within Scorpiuro-Brometum, which was described at the subassociation and variant levels. The overall relevance of therophytes represents the most important feature distinguishing Scorpiuro-Brometum from the published Bromus erectus associations. At a finer scale, the presence of the two physiognomically different grassland communities is related to different soil types. All these communities are dynamically linked to Quercus virgiliana and Q. pubescens woods, and contribute to the coenological differentiation of the vegetation series related to such woodlands. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

The vascular flora of Rome

The aim of this paper is to document plant diversity in the metropolitan area of Rome (Italy) by providing a comprehensive inventory of the present-day vascular flora and an overview of its composition and species diversity. We compiled the floristic catalogue by including all vascular plant entities that occur spontaneously within the administrative boundaries of the Rome municipality. The data, which were gathered from extensive field surveys, from a broad review of the literature and from herbaria records, were updated and integrated in a comprehensive account. The inventory of the flora of metropolitan Rome lists 1649 entities, from 139 families and 677 genera. The flora contains 228 taxa that are non-native to the Italian flora, 81 of which are established in the study area. The overview of flora reveals a remarkable species diversity and outlines the main characteristics of the flora of Rome, which may be summarized as (1) a large number of taxa of high conservation value which occur in remnants of near-natural vegetation, (2) the loss or decline of some species, particularly of native freshwater plants, (3) a remarkably high native species richness within the urban area, which includes many native woody species and (4) a rich ruderal flora, prevalently composed of native species that are well adapted to human disturbance, along with a variety of taxa of non-native or uncertain origin. The large set of data and the overview presented in this paper represent a fundamental framework for future research and for the conservation of plant diversity in metropolitan Rome

Phytosociological analysis of white oak (Quercus pubescens s. l.) woodlands and related successional stages: Spatial patterns and their drivers

The woodlands dominated by white oak (Q. pubescens s.l.) in south and south-eastern Europe are a habitat of high conservation concern that is undergoing intense fragmentation as a result of human settlements and agriculture. Owing to this high degree of fragmentation and the taxonomic complexity of the subgenus Quercus, an in-depth analysis of white oak woodland communities is still lacking. The aims of this study were i) to identify and describe the spatial patterns of white oak woodlands and related successional stages in central Italy, and ii) to explore the drivers of compositional variation within these plant communities. We collected in central Italy 337 original phytosociological relevés of Quercus virgiliana and Q. pubescens s. str. woodlands and of the communities representing their successional stages. Samples were distributed within ecologically homo- geneous areas (i.e. land units), which were specifically defined and mapped for this study on the basis of climate, lithology and land morphology. Vegetation data were analysed through cluster and constrained ordination analyses using a set of natural and anthropogenic explanatory variables. We identified five land units (consisting of numerous polygons), characterized by a specific set of abiotic constraints, and with a specific series of suc- cessional stages resulting in 8 vegetation classes, 9 orders, 10 alliances and 17 community types. The diverse types of white oak woodland and of the related stages are differentiated mainly along a steep climatic gradient derived from the combined effect of altitude and continentality. Indeed, the most striking compositional differ- ences were observed between the Mediterranean and Submediterranean communities of the subcoastal area, and the communities in the temperate inner Apennines