DOI: 10.3897/ved.195340

Authors: Athina Papatheodoulou, Daniel Spitale, Constantinos Kounnamas, Maria Sarika

Abstract: This study provides the first documentation of petrifying (tufa-forming) springs in Cyprus and describes their floristic composition and habitat classification in detail. Field surveys conducted in 2024–2025 identified six active tufa-forming sites across five catchments in the southwestern part of Cyprus. Each locality exhibited alkaline, calcium-rich waters and ongoing precipitation of calcium carbonate. Vegetation analysis revealed consistent assignment of the recorded plant assemblages to the association Eucladio–Adiantetum (alliance Adiantion, class Adiantetea), dominated by the diagnostic species Eucladium verticillatum and Adiantum capillus-veneris. Based on indicator species and structural attributes, this vegetation type corresponds to EUNIS habitat H3.41 (U3D) “Mediterranean wet inland cliffs” and meets the criteria for the description of the EU priority habitat type 7220* “Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion)”. This represents the first evidence of this rare groundwater-dependent habitat on the island and provides baseline data for its biogeographic characterization and conservation assessment.

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DOI: 10.3897/ved.190443

Authors: Federica Bonini, Orazio Caldarella, Romeo Di Pietro, Sebastiano Favarin, Lorenzo Gianguzzi, Anna Grassi, Paolo La Rotonda, Michele Lonati, Giuseppe Longo, Andrea Mainetti, Michele Marchesin, Giacomo Marengo, Maddalena Masiero, Ginevra Nota, Giuseppe Pappagallo, Glauco Patera, Enrico Vito Perrino, Marco Pittarello, Simone Marino Preo, Elisa Proietti, Antonino Rigoglioso, Mariacristina Villani, Jacopo Volpe, Daniela Gigante

Abstract: In this contribution, 10 records with new data concerning the distribution of 9 different Annex I Habitats in Italy are reported. In detail, they include 6 new occurrences in Natura 2000 Sites and 11 new cells in the EEA 10 km × 10 km Reference grid, referring to the Administrative Regions of Apulia, Latium, Lombardy, Piedmont, Sicily, Umbria, and Veneto.

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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.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.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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