Astro-photography as an effective tool for Outreach and Education: IACT in exposition

In our epoch, images are a powerful way to convey a message to a large audience. Through the use of amazing astronomical photographs, science can be communicated effectively at different levels, to a very diverse audience of all ages. In fact, astrophotography combines aesthetic appeal with the illustration of the science behind astronomical phenomena. This is the aim of the exhibit "A che Punto \`e la NOTTE - A scientific exhibition of astrophotography" organized by us in Italy, in October 2020, with the partnership of the cultural association PhysicalPub. Many different authors, both single individuals and professional or amateur observatories, were asked to send their best pictures. The 54 astronomical images chosen by a scientific committee, categorised in three different topics (night landscape, deep sky, instrumentation), were seen by more than 2000 visitors and 11 school groups (despite the difficult period due to the COVID pandemic). A free audio-guide, available on-line through a web-application developed on purpose, delivered scientific explanations of images for self-guided tours. Conferences and guided tours were also organized. The highlight of the exhibit were four mirrors from the MAGIC telescope and an ASTRI scale-model that allowed an in-depth description of how an Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope (IACT) works, introducing the science of VHE cosmic radiation. We will summarize the main difficulties in organizing this event and the feedback we had from the visitors. The exhibit is still available online, visiting the website mostrascientifica.it or via the web audio-guide (english and italian) at guida.mostrascientifica.it.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Proceedings of the 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2021), Berlin, German

The IUCN Green Status of Species: A Call for Mediterranean Botanists to Contribute to This New Ambitious Effort

In the Mediterranean Basin, a critical focal point for the conservation of plant diversity, there has been a large increase in practical conservation actions for many plant species to prevent extinction and to improve their conservation status; quantifying the effectiveness of these initiatives in reversing species declines is urgently important. In 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) launched a new tool that allows the impact of conservation actions on plant species to be assessed. The Green Status of Species is a new set of metrics under the Red List of Threatened Species that assigns species to recovery categories, complementary to the classic extinction risk categories. Crucially, the Green Status of Species provides methods to evaluate the impact of past conservation, and the potential for future conservation impact, on species status and recovery in a standardized way. Considering the efforts made so far for the conservation of Mediterranean threatened plants, using the Green Status of Species would be highly useful to direct future conservation policies. We, therefore, encourage botanists and practitioners working on threatened plants in the Mediterranean area to use this new assessment tool to inform conservation and recovery programs

Planning for assisted colonization of plants in a warming world

Assisted colonization is one way of facilitating range shifts for species that are restricted in their ability to move in response to climate change. Here we conceptualize and apply a new decision framework for modelling assisted colonization of plant species prior to in situ realization. Three questions were examined: a) Is species translocation useful in a certain area? b) where, and c) how long will it be successful in the future? Applying our framework to Carex foetida in Italy at the core of its distribution and its southern edge revealed that assisted colonization could be successful in short-term (2010–2039) climate conditions, partially in medium (2040–2069) but not in long-term (2070–2099) scenarios. We show that, for some species, it is likely that assisted colonization would be successful in some portions of the recipient site under current and short-term climate conditions, but over the mid- and long-term, climate changes will make species translocation unsuccessful. The proposed decision framework can help identify species that will need different conservation actions (seed banks and/or botanical gardens) when assisted colonization is unlikely to be successful. Furthermore it has broad applicability, as it can support planning of assisted migration in mountainous areas in the face of climate change.University of Pavia

Benefits of conservation-driven mowing for the EU policy species Gladiolus palustris Gaudin in mountain fen meadows: a case-study in the European Alps

AbstractThe sword lily Gladiolus palustris Gaudin is protected on European level and listed in Annexes II and IV of the EC Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC. It grows in nutrient-poor, calcareous meadows in central and eastern Europe. Tree encroachment in montane meadows of the European Alps as a result of recent land use changes and the abandonment of traditional farming practices threaten the survival of this species. Conservation-driven mowing is considered a feasible conservation measure for maintaining high species diversity in abandoned semi-natural grasslands. To assess the effects of ten years of biennial mowing on a grassland community in the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park, Italy (Site of Community Importance, Natura 2000 network), ten 25 m2 plots were established whereby four plots were placed in the mowed area, four in the non-mowed area and two in a small non-mowed patch of grassland inside the mowed area. In each plot the following variables were recorded, total percentage of plant cover, percentage cover of woody species, percentage cover of herbaceous species, percentage cover and number of flowering ramets of G. palustris and a complete list of species and their percentage abundance. Mowed plots showed a higher species richness than non-mowed plots. The number of G. palustris flowering ramets and percentage cover increased manifold in mowed plots compared to non-mowed plots. The resumption of mowing for conservation purposes undertaken by the managing authority halted the process of tree encroachment and avoided a drastic change in plant composition. Periodic mowing (every second or third year) was demonstrated to be a cost-effective conservation measure in non-productive grasslands to keep grasses at bay in favour of forbs of high conversation value

Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 6

In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of four vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment of Epipactis maricae (Croce, Bongiorni, De Vivo & Fori) Presser & S.Hertel at global level, and the regional assessment of Cerinthe retorta Sm. (Italy), Platanthera kuenkelei H.Baumann subsp. kuenkelei (Europe) and Typha elephantina Roxb. (Egypt)

Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 5

In this contribution, the conservation status of four vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment of Arceuthobium oxycedri (DC.) M.Bieb., Ionopsidium albiflorum Durieu, Trifolium latinum Sebast., and Vicia incisa M.Bieb. at a Regional level (Italy)

Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 1

In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of six plant species according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment at global level of Linaria tonzigii Lona, Allium garganicum Brullo, Pavone, Salmeri & Terrasi, Ferula arrigonii Bocchieri, Orchis patens Desf. subsp. patens and Armeria saviana Selvi and the assessment at regional level (Italy) of Viola jordanii Hanry

Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 2

In this contribution the conservation status assessment of six plant species according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment at global level of Charybdis glaucophylla Bacch., Brullo, D’Emerico, Pontec. & Salmeri, Euphorbia nicaeensis All. subsp. japygica (Ten.) Arcang., Hieracium australe Fr. subsp. australe, Limonium multiforme Pignatti, Onosma helvetica Boiss. em. Teppner subsp. lucana (Lacaita) Peruzzi, Aquaro & Cesca and the assessment at national level (Italy) of Lathyrus laxiflorus (Desf.) Kuntze subsp. laxiflorus

Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 4

In this contribution, the conservation status assessments of three vascular plants are presented following to IUCN categories and criteria. It includes the assessment at global level of Saxifraga caprariae Mannocci, Ferretti, Mazzoncini & Viciani and S. montis-christi Mannocci, Ferretti, Mazzoncini & Viciani and the regional assessment of Halocnemum cruciatum (Forssk.) Tod. (Spain)

Chromosome numbers for the Italian flora: 13

In this contribution, new chromosome data obtained on material collected in Italy are presented. It includes the first count for Dianthus carthusianorum subsp. tenorei, Helosciadium nodiflorum, Hieracium hypochoeroides subsp. cilentanum, H. lesimanum, H. scopolioides, H. terraccianoi. In addition, first Italian counts for Crupina vulgaris, Damasonium alisma, and Illecebrum verticillatum are reported