Suchergebnisse

The sword lily 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 m 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 and a complete list of species and their percentage abundance. Mowed plots showed a higher species richness than non-mowed plots. The number of 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.

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).