DOI: 10.3897/ved.182200

Authors: Marco Varricchione, Maria Laura Carranza, Dario Ciaramella, Sandra Citterio, Maria Carla de Francesco, Chiara Montagnani, Lucia Antonietta Santoianni, Angela Stanisci

Abstract: Identifying the most widespread or potentially Invasive Alien Plant species (IAPs) and understanding their distribution patterns across urban environments is essential for developing effective management strategies and mitigating their impacts on urban, peri-urban, and natural habitats. This study examines the occurrence and spatial distribution of a set of IAPs along an urbanization gradient and across EUNIS Habitats in a Mediterranean city of Southern Italy (Campobasso). The study was carried out across 14 urban grid cells (500 m × 500 m) reflecting different levels of urbanization. 26 IAP species were surveyed according to a national standardized protocol; for each record, GPS coordinates, cultivated versus spontaneous status, EUNIS Habitat type, and cover area were recorded. The influence of urbanization on IAP richness and occurrence was assessed using Mann–Whitney tests. For species with predominantly spontaneous occurrences (>80%), we analyzed their distribution across EUNIS Habitats and cover area classes. Grid cells with high cover and patch number of artificial surfaces were associated with significantly greater IAP richness and occurrence values. Slightly more than half of the total records consisted of spontaneously established individuals or populations belonging to ten species, with Senecio inaequidens, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Ailanthus altissima being the most frequent. Transport networks and other hard-surface constructed areas, followed by dry perennial anthropogenic herbaceous vegetation, emerged as the most invaded habitat types. Overall, the findings highlight the need for early detection and prevention efforts targeting “emerging” invasive species that, although currently infrequent, may possess high potential for future expansion.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.177153

Authors: Süleyman Çoban, Selim Bayraktar, Nilüfer Şahin

Abstract: The Belgrade Forest, located in the European part of Istanbul, represents an ecological and biogeographical transition zone where nemoral and Mediterranean elements coexist. Although comprehensive phytosociological studies have been conducted in the study area, differences in data structure, sampling intensity, and nomenclatural problems have prevented the establishment of a unified vegetation classification. In the present study, a total of 685 relevés derived from previous surveys were compiled and digitized in TURBOVEG, standardized, and analysed using numerical classification and ordination methods. The vegetation data were classified by TWINSPAN, and diagnostic species were identified based on the phi coefficient and constancy ratio. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) was applied to determine major compositional gradients, and Ellenberg-type indicator values were used to interpret ecological differentiation. The analysis resulted in four forest associations and one pseudomaquis community, corresponding to Alnus glutinosa-Carpinus betulus riparian forest, Acer campestre-Carpinus betulus forests on humid soils, meso-thermophilous mixed beech-oak-hornbeam forests, and pseudomaquis vegetation. Among these associations, Equiseto telmateiae-Alnetum glutinosae ass. nov. and Hyperico calycini-Ericetum arboreae ass. nov. are here described as new. The principal ecological gradient reflected a transition from humid to relatively dry site conditions, consistent with slope aspect (site exposure to solar radiation) and soil depth variations. The resulting syntaxonomic scheme provides a harmonized framework for the classification and monitoring of forest vegetation in the Belgrade Forest and offers a baseline for assessing future ecological change and restoration priorities.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.182223

Authors: Gianmarco Tavilla, Pietro Minissale, Salvatore Cambria

Abstract: Although the chasmophytic vegetation of Sicily has been examined previously, it remains insufficiently explored due to the formidable challenges associated with accessing vertical cliff habitats. This study employed drone-based surveys combined with Braun-Blanquet methodology to investigate cliff vegetation in the Peloritani and Madonie Mountains. High-resolution aerial imagery enabled species identification and cover estimation on inaccessible rock faces. Twenty-three new relevés were combined with 33 literature records for multivariate analysis. Cluster analysis and DCA revealed floristic differentiation between Peloritani and Madonie phytocoenoses, contrasting with communities from Apennines that we used as an outgroup. We describe Athamanto siculae-Saxifragetum australis for the calcareous cliffs of Rocca Salvatesta (Peloritani), characterized by Athamanta sicula, Hypochaeris laevigata, and Saxifraga callosa subsp. australis. Additionally, we propose to change the name Asperuletum gussonei to Cynanchicetum gussonei for the high-elevation vegetation of the Madonie dominated by Cynanchica gussonei. Drone methodology proved effective for documenting cliff vegetation, offering a safe and replicable approach for advancing phytosociological knowledge in extreme habitats. This research contributes to the syntaxonomic revision of Mediterranean chasmophytic vegetation within the alliance Saxifragion australis.

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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.175765

Authors: Aneta A. Ožvat, Mária Šibíková, Jozef Šibík, Jakub Sigmund, Juraj Papčo, Michal Kollár, Karol Mikula

Abstract: Wetlands are essential ecosystems increasingly threatened by human activities and climate change. This study presents a method for classifying and monitoring wetland habitats in the Čiližská Radvaň protected area (Slovak Republic) using RGB drone imagery and the Natural Numerical Network (NatNet), a mathematically based supervised deep learning approach. The primary aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of NatNet in identifying target habitat types and to assess the impact of ongoing revitalisation efforts. Habitat types were classified using RGB drone imagery and ground-truth training polygons that represented the dominant vegetation communities in Čiližská Radvaň wetland. The NatNet achieved the training classification success rate exceeding 97%, allowing the creation of relevancy maps successfully identifying spatial habitat distribution. Relevancy maps verified in the field reached classification accuracy of 0.88 and F1 score of 0.90 across all habitats together. Results showed observable shifts in habitat extent and structure after one year of restoration, confirming the suitability of the method for detecting ecological changes in wetland environments.

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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.176908

Authors: Tiberio Fiaschi, Leopoldo de Simone, Francesco Mascia, Ilaria Bonini, Silvia Cannucci, Bruno Foggi, Matilde Gennai, Giulio Pandeli, Simona Maccherini, Emanuele Fanfarillo, Claudia Angiolini

Abstract: Riverine habitats play a vital ecological role, offering key ecosystem services, regulating hydrology, and supporting high biodiversity, including species and habitats of conservation concern. This study aimed to identify Annex I habitats under the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) within a former protected area along the mid-upper Elsa River (Tuscany, central Italy). From 2021 to 2023, 85 vegetation relevés were collected to classify habitats, map their distribution, and assess major threats. Multivariate analyses revealed 15 Annex I habitats, including 32A0, reported here for the first time in Italy, and three priority habitats (7220*, 91E0*, 91AA*). Habitat 32A0, officially included in Annex I following the accession of Croatia to the EU, shows distinct ecological and structural features compared to habitat 7220*, despite sharing some bryophyte species. While the two often occur in close proximity or form mosaics, habitat 32A0 develops in active waterfalls with constant flow and low carbonate deposition, whereas habitat 7220* forms in slow-dripping areas with high tufa accumulation. The absence of habitat 32A0 from the Italian Habitat Manual underscores the need to revise national habitat classifications to improve identification accuracy and conservation strategies. Our study enhances knowledge of riverine habitats and stresses the importance of adaptive management to safeguard the Elsa River ecosystem. Key actions include continuous monitoring and control of invasive alien species. Incorporating the area into a nearby Special Area of Conservation would strengthen long-term protection in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.167266

Authors: Claudia Zitarelli, Andrea De Toma, Flavio Marzialetti, Maurizio Cutini

Abstract: The central Italian Stipa mountain grasslands are a fascinating vegetation type of notable biogeographic interest, having remained along the Apennine chain since the last Pleistocene glacial phases. The present study focuses on the phytosociological description of grasslands dominated by Stipa dasyvaginata subsp. apenninicola, an endemic Apennine species. We sampled twenty-five plots in the Velino Massif and surrounding areas facing the northwestern side of the Fucino Basin and performed a cluster analysis combining our dataset with all published relevés of Stipa dasyvaginata subsp. apenninicola dominated communities in the Italian peninsula. The floristic and environmental differences between our dataset and the other communities led us to describe the new association Saponario bellidifoliae-Stipetum apenninicolae (class Helianthemo cani-Seslerietea nitidae), showing a xerophilous ecology. We further analyzed the variance in environmental data within our dataset, as well as its biological and chorological spectra. The peculiar floristic and ecological characteristics of these steppic grasslands highlight the need of preserving this type of vegetation, which may represent a valuable example contributing to the understanding of the formation of the contemporary vegetation landscape.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.160170

Authors: Antonio Luca Conte, Romeo Di Pietro, Piera Di Marzio, Sandro Strumia, Giuseppe Cillis, Andrea Capuano, Paola Fortini

Abstract: The future of the Mediterranean oak forests is under threat from the dangerous effects of global climate change, such as increasing droughts and heatwaves. The combined or individual action of certain climatic and environmental factors can lead to oak decline in various oak forest types. A study was conducted between 2015 and 2022 in southern Italy, encompassing thirty oak forest stands dominated by various Quercus species, including Q. cerris, Q. frainetto, Q. ilex, Q. pubescens, and affected by oak decline. The study employed field sampling, NDVI data, and remote sensing techniques. The distribution of the forest stands encompassed both the Temperate and Mediterranean bioclimatic regions. A total of 18 quantitative and 4 qualitative variables were recorded and subsequently compared with a damage severity scale based on field observations. The values of the variables were analyzed using both descriptive and multivariate statistics to ascertain their role in triggering oak decline episodes. It was found that eight variables were the most significant in explaining the occurrence of oak decline. These were the first-semester average rainfall, average maximum summer temperature, Rainfall anomaly index, Downward shortwave radiation, Root zone soil moisture, and three indicators concerning the number, amplitude, and duration of heatwaves. Quercus pubescens forests were found to be the most affected by oak decline. The years 2017 and 2022 were characterized by high levels of stress, with the combined effect of groups of diagnostic variables in exceeding the critical thresholds proving decisive in triggering episodes of oak decline. A vulnerability map was finally created reporting three vulnerability classes for oak decline: low, medium, and high. The analysis revealed that approximately 97% (116,700 hectares) of forest plots classified as vulnerable (31.7% of the total forest area in the study region) were categorized as medium or high vulnerability.

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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.140946

Authors: Antonino La Mantia, Riccardo Rocca, Lorenzo Gianguzzi

Abstract: This paper reports the presence of a nucleus of thermophilous maquis with Searsia tripartita within the “Monte San Calogero” Nature Reserve (Sciacca, Southwestern Sicily, Italy), within a Natura 2000 site (ITA040009). S. tripartita is a summer-deciduous shrub with a South-Mediterranean distribution range, which is relatively common in North Africa but with only a few disjunct occurrences in Sicily. Here we report on a site that is located at the northern limit of the species’ range. The local occurrence of the species was reported for the first time some 200 years ago by Gussone, as testified by two herbarium specimens kept in the Gussone Herbarium of Naples. This study explores the synecology and the dynamic trends of the S. tripartita maquis using vegetation field surveys and a diachronic analysis of historical images spanning 27 years, from 1998 to 2024. The plant community colonizes an extremely dry and stony area at the base of carbonate rocks, subject to dry-semiarid thermomediterranean bioclimatic conditions. The surveyed plant community can be referred to Calicotomo infestae-Rhoetum tripartitae, a distinct low maquis association considered endemic to southern Sicily, framed within the southern Mediterranean alliance Periplocion angustifoliae (order Pistacio-Rhamnetalia alaterni, class Quercetea ilicis). Additional considerations are given to the conservation status of the rare habitat of Community interest 5220* (Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC) in which this community is classified.

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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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