Wikiplantbase #Toscana, breaking the dormancy of floristic data

The online platform "Wikiplantbase #Toscana" provides a framework where the full set of georeferenced floristic records of Tuscany (central Italy) can be entered, stored, updated and freely accessed through the Internet. As of 5 January 2015, the database stores 67,360 floristic records, referable to 3578 accepted specific and subspecific taxa. Most records are based on published data (80.6% of the total), then by published herbarium specimens (15.1%) and on unpublished field data (3.8%); unpublished herbarium records account only for 0.5% of the stored data. At present, the most represented species is the fern Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn subsp. aquilinum (Dennstaedtiaceae) with 234 records for 219 localities, but 625 species are still represented only by one record for a single locality. Data acquisition is far from complete, but in slightly more than one year a massive amount of data was accumulated, and can be maintained up-to-date with relatively little effort. This could power several researches such as, for example, (1) taxonomic researches especially on species and genera in Tuscany and Italy; (2) studies on the distribution of diversity across administrative or ecological boundaries; (3) evaluation of conservation status of endangered taxa; and (4) static and dynamic range modelling and evolution niche studies

The Wikiplantbase project: the role of amateur botanists in building up large online floristic databases

The Wikiplantbase project, started in 2013, provides a framework where the full set of georeferenced floristic records of Tuscany and Sardinia can be entered, stored, updated and freely accessed through the Internet. Mainly thanks to the collaboration of amateur botanists, data have accumulated quickly. All records entered by collaborators are submitted to the project coordinators, who are enabled to accept, modify, or reject them. As of 22 November 2016, Wikiplantbase #Toscana holds 116,402 verified floristic records (90% based on published literature, 5% on unpublished herbarium specimens, 5% on field observations), and Wikiplantbase #Sardegna 40,043 (77% published literature, 18% unpublished herbarium specimens, 5% on field observations ). The records include over 90% of the specific and subspecific taxa known for Tuscany and about 70% – but rapidly growing – of those known for Sardinia. The most recorded species are Quercus ilex L. (Fagaceae) for Tuscany and Pistacia lentiscus L. (Anacardiaceae) for Sardinia. With minor software tweaking, the online platform Wikiplantbase might be adopted in other contexts, resulting in a well connected network of regional floristic databases suited to exploit the involvement – still largely untapped – of nonacademic collaborators, as advocated by citizen science

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 1

In this contribution, new data concerning the Italian distribution of alien vascular flora are presented. It includes new records, exclusions, and confirmations for Italy or for Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Agave, Arctotheca, Berberis, Bidens, Cardamine, Catalpa, Cordyline, Cotoneaster, Dichondra, Elaeagnus, Eragrostis, Impatiens, Iris, Koelreuteria, Lamiastrum, Lantana, Ligustrum, Limnophila, Lonicera, Lycianthes, Maclura, Mazus, Paspalum, Pelargonium, Phyllanthus, Pyracantha, Ruellia, Sorghum, Symphyotrichum, Triticum, Tulbaghia and Youngia

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 3

In this contribution, new data concerning the Italian distribution of alien vascular flora are presented. It includes new records, exclusions, confirmations, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Acer, Amaranthus, Araujia, Aubrieta, Avena, Bidens, Calycanthus, Celtis, Elaeagnus, Eragrostis, Euonymus, Fallopia, Ficus, Hedera, Lantana, Ligustrum, Ludwigia, Morus, Oenothera, Opuntia, Oxalis, Parkinsonia, Paspalum, Paulownia, Platycladus, Pleuropterus, Rumex, Salvia, Senecio, Setaria, Syagrus, Tradescantia, Trifolium and Yucca. Furthermore, a new combination in the genus Vicia is proposed

Maps of relative floristic ignorance and virtual floristic lists: An R package to incorporate uncertainty in mapping and analysing biodiversity data

The vast amount of occurrence records currently available offers increasing opportunities for biodiversity data analyses. This amount of data poses new challenges for the reliability and correct interpretation of the results. Indeed, to safely deal with occurrence records, their uncertainty and associated biases should be taken into account. We developed an R package to explicitly include spatial and temporal uncertainties during the mapping and listing of plant occurrence records for a given study area. Our workflow returns two objects: (a) a ‘Map of Relative Floristic Ignorance’ (MRFI), which represents the spatial distribution of the lack of floristic knowledge; (b) a ‘Virtual Floristic List’ (VFL), i.e. a list of taxa potentially occurring in the area with an associated probability of occurrence. The method implemented in the package can manage a large amount of occurrence data and represents relative floristic ignorance across a study area with a sustainable computational effort. Several parameters can be set by the user, conferring high flexibility to the method. Uncertainty is not avoided, but incorporated into biodiversity analyses through appropriate methodological approaches and innovative spatial representations. Our study introduces a workflow that pushes forward the analytical capacities to deal with uncertainty in biological occurrence records, allowing to produce more accurate outputs

Next generation floristics: a workflow to integrate novel methods in traditional floristic research

Floristic inventories are crucial for research in botany, but they are still conducted following a purposive approach. To overcome this limitation and move towards a next generation floristics, we propose a workflow, which integrates novel methods and tools in (a) Species-Area Relationship, (b) floristic cartography, and (c) sampling algorithms

The Trees of the Pisa Botanic Garden under Climate Change Scenarios: What Are We Walking into?

Botanical gardens are dynamic systems of high scientific, ecological, cultural, and historical value. They are irreplaceable places to cultivate, manage, study, and preserve tree diversity. One of the ongoing biggest challenges worldwide in managing and preserving trees is climate change, which exposes specimens to more stressful and severe environmental conditions, causing an increase in mortality. In our research, we aimed to assess the future climate change impact on the tree collection of Botanic Garden of Pisa in order to outline the expected consequences about tree cultivation and management. Under the most pessimistic scenario, in 2090 more than 60% of the tree species cultivated in the Botanic Garden of Pisa are expected to fall outside of their climatic niche. Future chances and pitfalls in managing urban green areas, focusing on the botanical garden community, are also explored