Suchergebnisse

AbstractAgricultural management has a great influence on biodiversity and its services in agroecosystems. In Europe, a relevant proportion of biodiversity is dependent on low-input agriculture. To assess the effects of agricultural management on biodiversity, in this study we surveyed the communities of arable plants, diurnal flying insects, and pollinators in three conventional and in two organic fields of a traditional Elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum L.) crop of the Valdichiana area, in Tuscany (central Italy). The sampling was carried out twice during the season: in spring, during crop growing, and in summer, after crop harvesting. We assessed the effects of the different agricultural management on the richness and composition (species occurrence and abundance) of the three communities using univariate and multivariate analyses. Concerning our specific case study, only plant species richness was significantly higher in organic fields (15.7 ± 2.7 species per plot), compared to conventional ones (5.4 ± 2.3 species per plot). Regarding community composition, only pollinators showed a marginally significant difference between conventional and organic fields. Conversely, the effect of specific fields significantly explained differences in composition of all the investigated groups (plants, total insects, and pollinators). The results suggest that, in our case study, the emerged differences in diversity of the investigated communities were mainly attributable to environmental and management factors related to single fields, more than to organic or conventional farming. Such evidence could be partly due to the very local scale of the study, to the heterogeneity of the surveyed fields, and to the reduced number of surveyed fields. Further investigation is therefore needed.

The main purpose of the 92/43/EEC Habitats Directive is to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, understood as habitat types and species of the flora and fauna of the European Union. To achieve this goal, natural and semi-natural biodiversity as a whole must be recognized and included in its annexes. As for the conservation of biotopes, named habitat types, Italy is unfortunately lacking as it the Annex I does not include important ecosystems that are typical of its territory, rare for biogeographical reasons or threatened. Therefore, the opportunity to identify a first list of significant habitats for central Italy is discussed here. For each of the new proposed types (new habitats or new subtypes) a sheet has been prepared to highlight their salient characteristics. The new proposals concern seven habitat types and one subtype: sedge and reeds formations (Freshwater large sedge and reed beds), willow shrublands (Shrubby willow formations of river banks and fens), Apennine garrigues (Apennine hilly and montane garrigues), a new subtype of Annex I Habitat 6130 (Communities of herbaceous and dwarf shrub-suffrutescent plants of Italian ultramafic substrates), ancient olive groves ("Centuries-old olive groves" with evergreen Quercus spp. and arborescent matorral), secondary meadows (Italian submontane and montane pastured meadows dominated by Cynosurus cristatus), badlands (Pioneer halophilous and sub-halophilous communities of "calanchi" and "biancane" badlands) and hop-hornbeam woods (Italian-Balkan hop-hornbeam woods).

The main purpose of the 92/43/EEC Habitats Directive is to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, understood as habitat types and species of the flora and fauna of the European Union. To achieve this goal, natural and semi-natural biodiversity as a whole must be recognized and included in its annexes. As for the conservation of biotopes, named habitat types, Italy is unfortunately lacking as it the Annex I does not include important ecosystems that are typical of its territory, rare for biogeographical reasons or threatened. Therefore, the opportunity to identify a first list of significant habitats for central Italy is discussed here. For each of the new proposed types (new habitats or new subtypes) a sheet has been prepared to highlight their salient characteristics. The new proposals concern seven habitat types and one subtype: sedge and reeds formations (Freshwater large sedge and reed beds), willow shrublands (Shrubby willow formations of river banks and fens), Apennine garrigues (Apennine hilly and montane garrigues), a new subtype of Annex I Habitat 6130 (Communities of herbaceous and dwarf shrub-suffrutescent plants of Italian ultramafic substrates), ancient olive groves ("Centuries-old olive groves" with evergreen Quercus spp. and arborescent matorral), secondary meadows (Italian submontane and montane pastured meadows dominated by Cynosurus cristatus), badlands (Pioneer halophilous and sub-halophilous communities of "calanchi" and "biancane" badlands) and hop-hornbeam woods (Italian-Balkan hop-hornbeam woods).