Conservation priority of Italian Alpine habitats: a floristic approach based on potential distribution of vascular plant species |
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Authors: | Luca Bragazza |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology and Evolution, University of Ferrara, Corso Ercole I d’Este 32, 44100 Ferrara, Italy |
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Abstract: | In the European Union, the Directive 92/43/EEC defines a number of species and habitats of community interest that are worthy
to be preserved because in danger to disappear or because they are representative of the different European bio-geographical
regions. In the light of the limited economic resources generally allocated to conservation efforts, there is the necessity
to prioritise conservation actions in order to avoid deterioration of protected areas. To this aim, in the present study the
most representative habitats of the Italian Alps are compared on the basis of vascular plant biodiversity and a conservation
priority index is proposed for each habitat taking into account the potential distribution of 252 threatened vascular plant
species. Rocky slopes, screes and alpine grasslands resulted to have the greatest percentage of endemic plant species so reflecting
the general distributional pattern of endemic plant species at high altitudes in Eurasian mountains. The relationship between
the conservation priority index and the corresponding habitat extent within the Natura 2000 network suggests that peatlands,
arid grasslands, wet meadows and freshwater habitats deserve a higher priority in conservation actions. Although vascular
plant biodiversity is not necessarily a surrogate of overall biodiversity of Alpine habitats, the results here reported can
be used as an initial reference framework for prioritising conservation actions, so as to accomplish the provisions of Article
6 of Habitats Directive. |
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