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This paper provides the fourth edition of the checklist of birds recorded in northwestern Italy (the Piedmont and Aosta Valley regions) and covers more than 300 years of ornithological data, including subspecies. This work updates the previous works published in 1981, 2003, and 2009, with the revision of the AERC codes and the addition of special annotations for several species. We also provide some new settings to make the bird checklist a more useful tool for all users, particularly scholars and professionals interested in biodiversity assessment and conservation reports. To this end, (a) new coding concerning population estimates and trends, as well as risk categories (Red List), is introduced; (b) bird lists are structured for analysis at two temporal levels: the General Checklist (GCL), covering the period from 1685 to 2022, and the Operational Checklist (OCL), covering the decade 2010–2019, providing periods of reference for comparison and analysis; and (c) an electronic spreadsheet is provided as part of the online Supplementary Materials to allow for further data analysis by readers, if necessary. The list presently contains 408 species and 444 taxonomic units, which consist of both subspecies and monotypic species. Each of them has been allocated to one of the AERC categories A, B, C, or D, while category E has been excluded. Since the publication of the previous list (2009), 19 species have been added. The avifauna currently breeding in the Piedmont and Aosta Valley regions comprises 197 species, with an additional 9 species that were once breeders but are now considered regionally extinct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the analysis of both historical and recent collections, this paper reports an annotated list of taxa which are new to the lichen biota of Italy or of its administrative regions. Specimens were identified using a dissecting and a compound microscope; routine chemical spot tests and standardized thin-layer chromatography (TLC or HPTLC). The list includes 225 records of 153 taxa. Twenty taxa are new to Italy, the others are new to one or more administrative regions, with 15 second records and 5 third records for Italy. Some of the species belong to recently-described taxa, others are poorly known, sterile or ephemeral lichens which were largely overlooked in Italy. Several species are actually rare, either because of the rarity of their habitats (e.g. old-growth forests), or because in Italy they are at the margins of their bioclimatic distribution. The picture of the lichen biota of Italy has now new pixels, but its grain is still coarse. Further analysis of historical collections, increased efforts in the exploration of some areas, and the taxonomic revision of critical groups are still necessary to provide more complete distributional data for new biogeographic hypotheses, taxonomic and ecological research, and biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palaearctic grasslands are diverse and dynamic ecosystems that are in the focus of ecology, conservation biology and agronomy. This special issue is dedicated to the biodiversity and conservation issues of Palaearctic grasslands and was initiated by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group members attending the 14th Eurasian Dry Grassland Conference (EDGC) at Sulmona, Italy in 2018. The papers in this special issue cover a wide range of grassland ecosystems from mountain dry grasslands to lowland loess grasslands, feathergrass steppes and wet grasslands, and focus on the biodiversity values and conservation issues of Palaearctic grasslands. We believe that this compilation will contribute to a better understanding of the ecology of grasslands and support their more effective conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper deals with the structure of insect communities and insect biodiversity conservation in the Alpine wetland of Pian Gembro (Italy). For over a century, the wetland was subjected to diversified peat harvesting procedures, to agricultural exploitation and recently, to a superimposed diversified intermediate management regime (DIMR) aiming at plant species and plant diversity conservation. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether the DIMR is likewise effective for insect biodiversity conservation. Pitfall traps, sweep and collections of visually observed insects yielded 997 individuals representing 141 species from 11 insect families. The rank-frequency curve for bog insects was relatively steep indicating a low evenness due to the high abundance of low ranking species. The curve for insects collected in the surroundings was less steep pointing to a relatively high evenness due to a lower abundance of low ranking species. In both the bog and the surroundings the Shannon diversity index was generally highest at intermediate levels of disturbance. These results indicate that the DIMR strategies implemented for plant biodiversity conservation is also appropriate to conserve insect species biodiversity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the last decades, due to the population increase and the relative need of new land to cultivate, expand urban centers and develop transportation networks, most of the Italian natural protected areas are subject to different typologies of human pressures that generally cause habitat fragmentation. This process represents a major concern for biodiversity conservation and a key driver of species loss. The main purpose of this paper was to investigate levels of natural habitat fragmentation due to roads and railways networks in the Italian National Parks (INP S ) through the use of an Infrastructural Fragmentation Index (IFI). All the operations (geospatial analysis, image classification, and fragmentation analysis) were performed using a Geographic Information System (GIS) software for elaborating a national database. The obtained results include an IFI value for each natural territorial unit inside any INP. Moreover, in order to highlight which are the INP S characterized by higher infrastructural fragmentations, an IFI weighted mean was calculated for each INP. These results represent important indicators for the prioritization of biodiversity conservation interventions and the planning of a INP S sustainable management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amphibians have emerged as a major conservation concern because of the global decline in their numbers in recent decades. Notwithstanding, they are often neglected in conservation planning respects to other less threatened vertebrate groups. In Italy, few studies have analyzed the effectiveness of amphibian protection regimes. The main aim of this paper is to estimate the contribution of the WWF oases network to amphibians conservation in Italy. Moreover, we conducted a prioritization of this network and we individuated additional areas that should be protected for implementing an oases role. We assembled the largest and most up-to-date dataset available for amphibians in the WWF oases, and we adopted a spatial approach based on gap and irreplaceability analyses. Our results provide a critical assessment of the oases importance for amphibians conservation. Many species that are completely uncovered by oases protection have been identified, and new areas suitable for filling the conservation gap have been recognized. We recommend designation of new reserves in these areas to help guarantee amphibian conservation. Moreover, we identified those oases that ensure the representation of the largest number of species. In this light, Monte Arcosu appeared to be the most important site for the achievement of the current degree of species representation. Together with six other oases that obtained high irreplaceability scores, Monte Arcosu represents a priority for the preservation of amphibian diversity. Specific initiatives should be primarily implemented in these oases, guaranteeing that highly irreplaceable sites will maintain their crucial role in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to integrated natural resources management, interrelated resources have to be managed by maintaining their environmental quality, and visitors are stakeholders who have to be involved in natural park management decisions. In this paper we simultaneously examine the conservation and recreational values from grasslands for visitors to two Italian Regional Parks. A contingent valuation survey was carried out in 2007 for estimating non-use benefits to visitors from a grasslands conservation project in these parks. Two scenarios were considered: the present landscape composed of grasslands and forests, and a hypothetical scenario of forests without grasslands. Respondents were asked the quality rating of the parks as places for recreational activities, and their willingness to donate (WTD) per year to a project for maintaining the status quo. Results show that the majority of respondents give a high rating to these parks, are in favour of the project implementation, and willing to donate mainly for the benefit of future generations. Among the WTD determinants, by estimating a Tobit model and a two-stage model, giving a high quality rating to the park for recreational activities corresponds to a higher WTD for grassland conservation. This seems to suggest that the recreational motivation tends to coincide with the need to conserve habitats and biodiversity, and that the decision maker should pay specific attention to the maintenance of the quality of the recreational activities as well as the maintenance of a diversified landscape in these parks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of areas worthy of protection and their subsequent institution as natural parks are instruments that society uses to preserve biodiversity that, by supporting Natural Capital Flow (NCF), represents a guarantee for the maintenance of human life quality. However, the implemented strategies for the conservation of biodiversity may differ from those adopted for the maintenance of natural capital; consequently, planning for natural capital might require a different strategy from that used in conservation policies. The aim of this paper is to assess the ‘conservation effect’ of different conservation policies on the maintenance of NCF in three natural parks in Apulia Region (southern Italy). The assessment of natural capital flow variation has been carried out investigating the temporal dynamics of land-use/land-cover mosaics, and using Costanza et al.'s economic coefficients as surrogates of NCF. Results showed that not all environmental conservation management strategies have played an equal role in fostering NCF. This research highlights that the recognition of the natural value of a site according to the European Directives (e.g. NATURA 2000 network) is not sufficiently effective for the conservation of the NCF, while it is necessary to identify a management authority that can appropriately drive landscape transformations, and sets, if necessary, the appropriate limitations. In addition, the management of these areas as part of a network of natural parks seems to be more effective for the maintenance of NCF. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mediterranean Sea ecosystems are experiencing a phase of major modifications owing to the fast increase in several disturbances such as pollution, eutrophication, habitat destruction, over-fishing, income of alien species, and climate change. One of the main problems in recent years is that global warming seems to intensify the effects of all the above-mentioned disturbances, dramatically reducing the biodiversity of the basin. The ever more frequent mass mortalities that are affecting shallow coastal environments are rapidly reducing the biomass of several filter feeders and both sponges and gorgonians are the most endangered taxa. In this paper we review the most recent episodes of mass mortality, mainly involving sea fans, and discuss the possible effects that the loss of these organisms can have on benthic assemblage structure. The data presented here are referred mainly to the study case of the MPA of Portofino (Ligurian Sea, Italy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]