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. 2018 Dec 11:(113):97-143.
doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.113.28681. eCollection 2018.

The indigenous vascular flora of the forest domain of Anela (Sardinia, Italy)

Emmanuele Farris  1 , Michele Carta  2 , Salvatore Circosta  3 , Salvatore Falchi  2 , Guillaume Papuga  1 , Peter de Lange  4
Affiliations

The indigenous vascular flora of the forest domain of Anela (Sardinia, Italy)

Emmanuele Farris et al. PhytoKeys. .

Abstract

The importance of mountains for plant diversity and richness is underestimated, particularly when transition zones between different bioclimates are present along altitudinal gradients. Here we present the first floristic data for a mountain area in the island of Sardinia (Italy), which exhibits Mediterranean bioclimates at the bottom and temperate bioclimate at the top. We discovered a very high floristic richness, despite the fact that the number of endemic taxa is not high and the number of exclusive taxa is very low. Many of the detected taxa are at their range periphery and/or ecological margin. We conclude that climate transition zones in Mediterranean mountains and especially on islands are key areas regarding plant biodiversity and should be better investigated and protected.

Keywords: Mediterranean mountains; bioclimate; biodiversity; submediterranean; temperate.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The study area, Forest of Anela and its location in Sardinia (red rectangle on the inset map). Colours on the map represent different isobioclimates (derived from Canu et al. 2015). In the domain, we can recognise five different isobioclimates: Violet: upper mesotemperate (subMediterranean), lower humid, weak semi-continental; blue: lower supraMediterranean, lower humid, weak semi-continental; orange: upper mesoMediterranean, lower humid, weak semi-continental; lilac: upper mesoMediterranean, upper subhumid, weak semi-continental; pink: upper mesoMediterranean, lower subhumid, weak semi-continental. Thick black lines represent domain limits; thin black lines represent altitude intervals of 100 m.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Percentage of biological types for each chorologic element detected in the vascular flora of Anela (390 taxa). boreo.temp = Boreal-temperate taxa; med.atlan = Mediterranean-Atlantic taxa; med = Mediterranean; nd = not determined.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Percentage of abundance categories for each chorologic element detected in the vascular flora of Anela (390 taxa). c = common; l = localized; u = uncommon; rr = range restricted; ex = extinct. ; boreo.temp = Boreal-temperate taxa; med.atlan = Mediterranean-Atlantic taxa; med = Mediterranean; nd = not determined.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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