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Bubon macedonicum L. is a chasmophytic species of south-eastern Europe. In Italy, it has been detected only in Rocca Monforte (Campobasso, central Italy). This rare species is included in the IUCN Red Lists of Critically Endangered Italian Flora, and there are no studies relating to B. macedonicum biology. The seed germination dynamics of this species was studied with the aim of building up an appropriate germination protocol to be used in ex situ conservation. On the basis of an ISTA protocol, about 3,000 seeds were collected from Rocca Monforte in August 2013. Fifty seeds were measured. The considered parameters were seed length, width, thickness, seed surface, volume, density, surface/mass ratio and eccentricity index. The morphometric parameters examined showed morphological dormancy, where a short warm period is necessary for embryo growth and seed germination. The results showed high germination percentages under the different conditions of temperature, pH, GA3 and photoperiod. Only at 5 °C was there no germination. Finally, the seeds maintain high germination percentages from the seed storage process after 130 and 390 days. This factor can be considered of great importance for the conservation of B. macedonicum over the medium and long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A phytosociological study of the alliance Carpinion orientalis in the hilly and subcoastal areas of the Italian peninsula is presented. These woods are included in the suballiances Laburno-Ostryenion and Lauro-Quercenion; the distinction between these two suballiances is not always easy also because of the conservation status of these forest ecosystems. The hilly and subcoastal Turkey oak woods of the alliance Carpinion orientalis are mainly distributed on the Adriatic side of the Italian peninsula, where they are found on neutro-basic substrata to which these coenoses are linked. The Turkey oak woods of the alliance Teucrio siculi-Quercion cerridis are strongly linked to the acidic substrata typical of the Tyrrhenian side, but are sporadically found on the Adriatic side within small enclaves with more acidic substrata. A numerical analysis allowed us to rearrange the lower hierarchical levels of the associations of Turkey oak woods of the alliance Carpinion orientalis. In particular, the association Lonicero xylostei-Quercetum cerridis is included in the alliance Carpinion orientalis, and the new subassociation festucetosum exaltatae is proposed. The subassociation rosetosum arvensis is proposed for the association Daphno laureolae-Quercetum cerridis, and the new subassociation cytisophylletosum sessilifolii of the association Aceri obtusati-Quercetum cerridis is described. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Floristic diversity analysis along a fragmentation gradients: a case study of beech forests in the Molisean Appenines (southern Italy). The process of fragmentation of natural habitats is increasing exponentially worldwide and represents one of the foremost threats to biological diversity. Forest fragmentation is considered to heavily affect the demographic and genetic structure of forest plant populations. Habitat fragmentation is a landscape process occurring when areas of continuous habitat are broken into smaller and discontinuous patches. In this paper we analyzed the effects of fragmentation on vascular plant diversity of Fagus sylvatica forest in central Italy (habitat of Community interest -92/43/ECC- "Appenine beech forests with Taxus and Ilex" - cod. 9210*). First, by integrating five parameters that describe beech forest patches structure (patch area, perimeter, shape index, corea area, euclidean nearest neighbor) we identified three levels of fragmentation: high, medium and absent. Then the vascular plants of each level of fragmentation were sampled follo - wing a random stratified design. The diversity of vascular plant species was analyzed considering two species groups: all sampled species and "diagnostic" species of the habitat 9210* (sensu Directive 92/43/ECC). We compared the biodiversity patterns of the different fragmentation levels by using rarefaction curves and Rényi's profiles. We also tested the significance of the founded differences by a bootstrapping procedure. The diversity pattern of the two species groups (diagnostics and all species) showed two opposite trends. As the diversity of the entire pool of species increased on fragmented beech forests the diversity of the diagno - stic group decreased. The differences between diversity values of high and low fragmentation levels resulted significant. Our results emphasize the existence of two diagnostic species: Cardamine kitaibelii and Paris quadrifolia that are indicators of not fragmented beech forests. Additionally the diversity pattern of the diagnostics species allow us to propose them as "focal species", thus it represent a concrete indicator of the conser - vation status of the Fagus sylvatica with Taxus and Ilex forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]