DOI: 10.3897/ved.187137

Authors: Paola Fortini, Romeo Di Pietro, Daniele Viciani, Piera Di Marzio, Ilaria Mezza, Lorenzo Lastrucci

Abstract: The hydrophilous and hygrophilous vegetation occurring within the Biferno and Sordo Rivers, in the Molise administrative region (central-southern Italy), was investigated according to the phytosociological approach and syntaxonomically classified. Twenty-three plant communities were identified belonging to the following classes: Salicetea purpureae, Alno glutinosae-Populetea, Phragmito-Magnocaricetea, Molinio-Arrhenatheretea, Epilobietea angustifolii, Bidentetea tripartitae, Filipendulo ulmariae-Convolvuletea sepium, Lemnetea minoris, and Potamogetonetea pectinati. A new association, the Zannichellietum peltatae ass. nov. was described as an ecologically vicariant community of the Zannichellietum palustris. From a nomenclatural point of view, the following association names: Bolboschoeno maritimi-Schoenoplectetum tabernaemontani, Persicario lapathifoliae-Xanthietum orientalis and Stuckenietum pectinatae were all proposed as nomina mutata nova (Art. 45 ICPN). Numerous discrepancies in the interpretation and syntaxonomic classification of the communities investigated were highlighted comparing the Prodrome of the Italian vegetation and the EuroVegChecklist. Finally, six habitats of conservation value according to the 92/43/CEE Directive Habitats were identified and a critical analysis on the correspondence between specific plant communities and related Annex I Habitat codes was advanced.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.182774

Authors: Bruno Foggi, Marco Landi, Matilde Gennai, Antonio Zoccola, Giulio Pandeli, Giovanni Quilghini, Alessio Brogi, Leopoldo de Simone, Tiberio Fiaschi, Paola Ciampelli, Eugenia Siccardi, Claudia Angiolini

Abstract: Montecristo Island, part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park and strictly protected since 1971, remains one of the Archipelago’s least studied islands in terms of vegetation. The only detailed phytosociological study, conducted in the 1980s, did not address several sporadic or spatially restricted plant assemblages, particularly those occurring on cliffs. Our study examines and classifies these poorly known communities from floristic, ecological, and phytosociological perspectives, and compares them with analogous vegetation across the Tuscan Archipelago to clarify their syntaxonomic position. Forty relevés were collected in 2023–2024 on rock-face habitats using the Braun-Blanquet method. Multivariate analyses identified three distinct chasmophytic-chomophytic vegetation groups. The first consists of high-elevation, north-facing vertical cliffs dominated by Polypodium cambricum and several Montecristo endemics, including Saxifraga montis-christi and Hieracium racemosum subsp. amideii; for these stands we propose the new association Saxifrago montis-christi-Polypodietum cambrici. The second, encompasses low-elevation, thermoxerophilous cliff habitats characterized by Anogramma leptophylla and Asplenium obovatum subsp. obovatum, for which we propose the name Anogramma leptophylla and Asplenium obovatum subsp. obovatum community. The third includes shaded cliffs with ample elevation excluding the extremes, dominated by Cymbalaria aequitriloba and Arenaria balearica, corresponding to the association Arenario balearicae-Cymbalarietum aequitrilobae. Although poorer in species compared to the cliff communities of other Tuscan islands, these habitats contain distinctive bryophytes and several endemic or biogeographically important taxa, fitting within EU Habitat 8220. The study closes a major knowledge gap on Montecristo’s rock vegetation and refines the understanding of Tyrrhenian cliff plant communities, proposing syntaxonomical updates above the association level.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.185067

Authors: Gianmaria Bonari, Irena Axmanová, Simonetta Bagella, Romeo Di Pietro, Edy Fantinato, Federico Fernández-González, Daniela Gigante, Borja Jiménez-Alfaro, Ali Kavgacı

Abstract: In this editorial, we announce the journal’s return to the Scopus database following the change of its name, and we comment on its performance in the first year under the new name Vegetation Ecology and Diversity (VED), including the number and type of papers published, the authors’ nationality, and the turnaround times. Furthermore, we present the Editors’ choice article as well as articles that were both most viewed and most cited. We also present new members of the editorial board, a new permanent collection, and we thank the VED reviewers 2025. Finally, we are pleased to announce that we are seeking a linguistic editor.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.175232

Authors: Lorenzo Gianguzzi, Antonino La Mantia, Riccardo Rocca, Andrea Volpe, Salvatore Cambria

Abstract: The paper presents the results of a phytogeographic, ecological, phytosociological, and management-oriented study on the maquis vegetation dominated by Periploca angustifolia (class Quercetea ilicis) occurring along of southern coast of mainland Sicily. The species is a South-Mediterranean shrub, previously known in Europe only from some small islands surrounding Sicily (Linosa, Lampedusa, Pantelleria, and the Aegadian, and the Maltese Archipelagos), as well as from southeastern Spain and the Aegean islands of Crete, Khrisi, and Gavdos. Along with providing an updated overview of the species’ distribution, the study explores the historical reasons for its presence in Sicily, where it is part of a diverse group of biogeographically related species mainly found along the southern coasts. This further supports the hypothesis of connection routes contracted with North Africa during the drying of the Mediterranean in the Messinian period. Based on a synoptic comparison with similar associations present in the central-Mediterranean, the plant community investigated is proposed as a new syntaxon (association Asparago albi–Periplocetum angustifoliae ass. nov.), framed within the alliance Periplocion angustifoliae (order Pistacio–Rhamnetalia alaterni). Its role as a vicariant association with respect to the association Periploco angustifoliae–Euphorbietum dendroidis (occurring on the small islands of the Sicilian Channel) is also discussed, together with floristic, synecological, syndynamic, and conservation data. Finally, issues concerning afforestation with alien species—often carried out on a large scale throughout the Mediterranean area—are discussed, as such interventions may sometimes negatively affect ecosystems typical of endemic or particularly rare species. This is precisely the case of Periploca angustifolia in the study area, whose residual population had been brought to the brink of extinction by conifer plantations, leading to the alteration and consequent disappearance of its habitats.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.142914

Authors: José Carlos Costa, Carlos Neto, Tiago Monteiro-Henriques, Ana Rita Pina, Carlos Aguiar, Francesco Mascia, Gianmaria Bonari

Abstract: This study refines the classification framework for Portuguese dune pine forests included in the alliance Coremato albi-Pinion pinastri at the association level after the syntaxonomic revision of Mediterranean pine forests of the class Pinetea halepensis. We collected 61 original vegetation plots between 2017 and 2022 in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, analysing them through Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) and UPGMA clustering. Numerical analysis identified four associations within the alliance Coremato albi-Pinion pinastri, specific to the sandy Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Of these, three associations are newly described (Cytiso grandiflori-Pinetum pinastri, Aristolochio baeticae-Pinetum pineae, and Ulici australis-Pinetum pineae). Our study classified pine forests on sand in southwestern Iberia and identifies conservation-significant species in their understory. The floristic diversity in these psammophilous pine forests is enhanced by numerous endemics and relic species from the Tertiary period, shaped by past climatic refugia and multiple floristic migration routes, including Atlantic, Mediterranean, and North African pathways. This has resulted in a unique blend of thermophilic, oceanic, and xeric species with high conservation value. Our study contributes to the understanding of Atlantic dune pine forest ecology and inform habitat conservation efforts.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.144362

Authors: Hamid Gholizadeh, Gianmaria Bonari, Emilia Pafumi, Andrea Bertacchi, Mariasole Calbi, Paolo Castagnini, Daniela Ciccarelli, Emanuele Fanfarillo, Giulio Ferretti, Tiberio Fiaschi, Bruno Foggi, Matilde Gennai, Lorenzo Lazzaro, Michele Mugnai, Simona Sarmati, Daniele Viciani, Claudia Angiolini, Simona Maccherini

Abstract: Surveying vegetation is essential for documenting plant diversity, especially for coastal vegetation that results among the most threatened ecosystems globally. To support conservation and management programs, we developed the SALt-affected vegeTatIon dataset of Tuscany coaStal Habitats (SALTISH). This dataset comprises 734 newly sampled vegetation plots of 4 m2 (2 m × 2 m) from the Tuscany region in central Italy, including 569 sand dune plots and 165 salt marsh plots, recorded between 2018 and 2023. In total, the dataset contains 4,541 occurrences of vascular plant taxa. Overall, it comprehends 257 vascular plant taxa belonging to 165 genera and 56 families. The Poaceae family is the most diverse, represented by 50 taxa, while the most represented genus is Juncus, with seven species. Species richness within individual plots ranges from one to 55 species, with 622 plots (84%) containing fewer than 10 species. Juniperus macrocarpa emerges as the most frequent and dominant species in the dataset. Helichrysum stoechas, Festuca fasciculata, and Medicago littoralis are present in over 20% of the plots, whereas 157 taxa are recorded in fewer than 1% of plots. The dataset includes noteworthy taxa: four Italian endemics (Centaurea aplolepa subsp. subciliata, Limonium etruscum, L. multiforme, and Solidago virgaurea subsp. litoralis), eight taxa listed as threatened in the Italian Red List, and 18 archaeophyte and neophyte alien species. SALTISH provides critical data for monitoring and conserving threatened coastal habitats in Tuscany. This resource will facilitate comparisons of biodiversity status and vegetation changes over time and will aid in identifying habitats harboring rare and endangered plant species.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.139958

Authors: Roman Evgenevich Romanov, Snežana Dragićević, Uwe Raabe, Vera Biberdžić, Dario Salemi, Beáta Papp, Angelo Troia

Abstract: In this paper, we present the first reports of liverwort Riella macrocarpa in Montenegro, Sicily, and Greece. The species has been documented as occurring in former salt pans in Montenegro and Attica, in natural brackish ponds in Sicily, and in a flooded parking area in the Peloponnese. In these environments Riella macrocarpa was found growing either in monospecific communities or associated with charophytes, green algae and a few species of vascular plants. Notes on its habitats and communities based on our personal observations are presented. New distributional data on this species seems to confirm that R. macrocarpa is widespread throughout the Mediterranean, while its sister species, R. helicophylla s.s., appears to be rarer, reported so far only in the western Mediterranean countries. The mutation of the name Rielletum helicophyllae Cirujano, Velayos et García-Mur. 1993 (to Rielletum macrocarpae Cirujano, Velayos et García-Mur. mut. Romanov et al. nom. mut. nov.) is suggested here in agreement with the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature. Riella macrocarpa, already included in the Italian Red List (under R. helicophylla), is also a candidate for inclusion in the national Red Lists of Montenegro and Greece. Although this liverwort often occurs within protected areas, monitoring and conservation efforts are essential to better understand the risks and threats that the species and its habitat face.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.146670

Authors: Gianmaria Bonari, Irena Axmanová, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Simonetta Bagella, Federico Fernández-González, Daniela Gigante, Borja Jiménez-Alfaro, Ali Kavgacı, Daniele Viciani

Abstract: The current issue is the first one of the journal Vegetation Ecology and Diversity, formerly Plant Sociology, the international peer-reviewed journal of the Italian Society of Vegetation Science (SISV). Vegetation Ecology and Diversity (VED) publishes original research articles covering all aspects of vegetation, ranging from plant communities to landscapes, including dynamic processes and community ecology. It prioritizes papers that emphasize plant community ecology and vegetation surveys to advance ecological models, interpret and classify vegetation, map ecosystems, assess environmental quality, manage and conserve plant biodiversity, and interpret and monitor European habitats. All the articles are freely available in Open Access (OA). In the present Editorial, we introduce the new journal name, the new Editorial Board and Social Media Team, several Topical Collections, and initiatives to support young researchers.

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