54urn:lsid:arphahub.com:pub:719A4407-6918-50E6-BCDF-A4165D76DC1EItalian BotanistIB2531-4033Pensoft Publishers10.3897/italianbotanist.7.3376333763Research ArticleAngiospermaePlant and habitat conservationEuropeContribution to the knowledge of the vascular flora of Miniera di Murlo area (southern Tuscany, Italy)CannucciSilvia1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8415-1812AngioliniClaudia1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9054-9480AnselmiBarbara2BanfiEnrico3Marco Biagioli4CastagniniPaolo1CentiChiara1FiaschiTiberio1Bruno Foggi5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6451-4025GabelliniAntonio6LastrucciLorenzo7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4455-389XLattanziEdda8ScoppolaAnna9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7389-5608Federico Selvi10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3820-125XVicianiDaniele5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3422-5999BonariGianmaria11gianmaria.bonari@gmail.comhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5574-6067Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, ItalyUniversity of SienaSienaItalyAssociazione Culturale di Murlo, piazza Cattedrale s.n., 53016 Murlo (Siena), ItalyAssociazione Culturale di MurloMurloItalySezione di Botanica, Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano, Corso Venezia 55, 20121 Milano, ItalyMuseo di Storia Naturale di MilanoMilanoItalyMeteo Siena 24, Via Piave 2, 53100 Siena, ItalyMeteo SienaSienaItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, ItalyUniversity of FlorenceFlorenceItalyVia Grocco 20, 50144 Florence, ItalyUnaffiliatedFlorenceItalyMuseum of Natural History of the University of Florence, Botany, Via La Pira 4, 50121, Florence, ItalyMuseum of Natural History of the University of FlorenceFlorenceItalyVia V. Cerulli 59, 00143 Rome, ItalyUnaffiliatedRomeItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Tuscia University, Via C. De Lellis s.n.c., 01100 Viterbo, ItalyTuscia UniversityViterboItalyDepartment of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences Section of Soil and Plant Sciences Laboratories of Botany University of Florence, P.le Cascine 28, 50144 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences Section of Soil and Plant Sciences Laboratories of Botany University of FlorenceFlorenceItalyDepartment of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, CZ-611 37 Brno, Czech RepublicMasaryk UniversityBrnoCzech Republic
20191904201975167EA0F2D2D-4758-5017-9F00-860F0A9AFEF126526360902201927032019Silvia Cannucci, Claudia Angiolini, Barbara Anselmi, Enrico Banfi, Marco Biagioli, Paolo Castagnini, Tiberio Fiaschi, Bruno Foggi, Antonio Gabellini, Lorenzo Lastrucci, Edda Lattanzi, Anna Scoppola, Federico Selvi, Daniele Viciani, Gianmaria BonariThis is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
This work aims to increase the floristic knowledge of southern Tuscany by means of a floristic investigation which took place in the Miniera di Murlo (southern Tuscany, Italy). The study area, located in the province of Siena, has an extension of 2.26 km2 and hosts a heterogeneity of habitats like rocky outcrops, woodlands, meadows and riparian formations. The prevalent geological type is an acidic sedimentary rock known as diaspri formation (jasper). The checklist of vascular flora consists of 501 taxa and includes six endemics and 13 alien species, among which Vitislabrusca is a newly-found species for the Province of Siena along with the native Rosabalsamica and Rosasquarrosa. The most interesting species, such as Anthoxanthumaristatum, Gageabohemica, Paragymnopterismarantae, Saxifragagranulata, and Teesdaliacoronopifolia, are found on acidic rocks. Species of the Italian Red List, such as Ruscusaculeatus, and species of Regional conservation interest, such as Centaureaaplolepasubsp.carueliana, Ervilialoiseleurii, and Vicianigricans, were recorded. The chorological spectrum reveals a dominance of Mediterranean species indicating warm climate conditions and mild winters whereas the life-form spectrum shows a slight dominance of hemicryptophytes followed by therophytes. However, a clear dominance of one life-form type over the other is lacking, since the acidic and dry rocky substrate partially compensates for the humidity provided by the stream. This study highlights the relevant floristic value of the Miniera di Murlo area and supports the possible creation of a protected area or its inclusion in the adjacent one.
Central Italyflorafloristic researchjasperconservationrare speciesItalyvascular plantsCitation
Cannucci S, Angiolini C , Anselmi B, Banfi E, Biagioli M, Castagnini P, Centi C, Fiaschi T, Foggi B, Gabellini A, Lastrucci L, Lattanzi E, Scoppola A, Selvi F, Viciani D, Bonari G (2019) Contribution to the knowledge of the vascular flora of Miniera di Murlo area (southern Tuscany, Italy). Italian Botanist 7: 51–67. https://doi.org/10.3897/italianbotanist.7.33763
Introduction
Tuscany is a part of the Italian territory where discrepancies in floristic knowledge are recognized; it, therefore, represents a suitable area to carry out studies on plant diversity (D’Antraccoli et al. 2018). In recent years, Tuscan botanists have filled the gaps with regional (Arrigoni 2016, 2017, 2018) and local floristic inventories in the Siena province (Bonari et al. 2016, 2018), along with records of single plant species (Peruzzi et al. 2015a, 2016, 2017, 2018). The present research will contribute to increase the floristic knowledge across Tuscany.
This study involves an area in the surroundings of the Miniera di Murlo village in the Province of Siena (southern Tuscany, Italy). The bedrock consists of sedimentary rocks entirely made by silica, representing a sort of “geological island” occurring in an area with a completely different geological type. This edaphic condition primarily led us to the selection of Miniera di Murlo as an interesting area to investigate. According to preliminary floristic surveys, the Miniera di Murlo area could belong to those areas of high biodiversity value not included in any nature reserve. In Italy, unsuitable conservation of plant diversity hotspots may occur (Fois et al. 2018a, 2018b, Signorello et al. 2018) and the current nature reserves of Tuscany do not completely include all the areas of high naturalistic value.
Current floristic knowledge of Miniera di Murlo is based on previous research by Chiarucci (1993, 1994) and Centi (2001–2002), who investigated the vegetation of ophiolitic and jasper outcrops in the Murlo area. Beside these studies, some species of high botanical interest, such as Aspleniumseptentrionalesubsp.septentrionale, Ervilialoiseleurii, Gageabohemica, and Vicianigricans were also found in this area (Angiolini and Centi 2001, Frignani et al. 2005, Peruzzi et al. 2010a, 2017). Despite this, the floristic information regarding the area is still incomplete and a comprehensive survey is needed.
Accordingly, the aim of this work was to compile a checklist of vascular plants of the Miniera di Murlo area and to analyse its ecological attributes.
Study area
The study was carried out in an area extending for 2.26 km2 that includes the jasper outcrops near the Miniera di Murlo village (Siena) in southern Tuscany (43.140713N, 11.383862E; Fig. 1). The area develops into the basin of the river Ombrone among the reliefs of the Dorsal Monticiano-Roccastrada and a hilly area made up of Pliocene sediments called Crete Senesi (De Dominicis and Casini 1997, Anselmi 2001). The investigated area is crossed by the Crevole stream and presents a high degree of naturalness although it has been subjected to anthropogenic exploitation due to the presence of mines. It also includes the Monte Pertuso relief, which is the highest point of the study area (273 m a.s.l.). The Miniera di Murlo area is adjacent, but not included in, the Special Area of Conservation (SAC) Basso Merse (IT5190007) and the Basso Merse Nature Reserve established in 1995 and 1996, respectively.
Boundaries of the study area (Miniera di Murlo, Siena).
https://binary.pensoft.net/fig/295615Geology
The main geological outcrop in the investigated area is the diaspri formation (jasper), a sedimentary late-Jurassic formation belonging to the Ophiolitic Unit of the Ligurian Domain. The diaspri formation (Suppl. material 1: Fig. 1) is made up of thin layers of radiolarite, 4- to 10-cm thick, usually reddish-brown with green veins, sometimes also fully green in colour (Scaramucci et al. 2016), which are intercalated by centimetric layers of siltstone. This rock formation is known as radiolarite because of the presence of radiolari shells (microorganisms with a siliceous skeleton). It presents a red colour because of the presence of a hematic pigment with, sometimes, clay inclusions.
Jasper of the Ophiolitic Unit makes a basal contact with serpentine, basalt, and gabbro (igneous and metamorphic rocks from the oceanic crust) and an upper one with siliceous limestone, shale, and marl (Bucci et al. 2015). Moreover, the presence of microfossils shows that jasper belongs to Malm (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian stratigraphic stage of Upper Jurassic), while a low zone of carbonate dissolution, during the Upper Jurassic, explains the absence of carbon residues in jasper.
Climate
Climatic data were retrieved from the Hydrological Tuscan Service (SIR; http://www.sir.toscana.it) of Monteroni d’Arbia (43.229343N; 11.422277E, 165 m a.s.l.) located at 12.4 km from Miniera di Murlo. The climate is typical of Tuscan hill valleys, more continental compared to sites at higher altitudes in the same area. As evidenced by Pesaresi et al. (2014), the Miniera di Murlo area lies between the Mediterranean and temperate macroclimates. During anticyclonic weather conditions, the area is prone to strong nocturnal thermal inversions, especially during autumn and winter.
Data for the period 2012–2017 showed an average annual temperature of 13.8 °C. The hottest months are July (average temperature 22.9 °C) and August (average temperature 23.2 °C), the coldest are January and February with an average temperature of 5.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 871.3 mm with maximum values in October (138.8 mm) and November (125.6 mm), although in 2015 the month with maximum rainfall was August (278.4 mm). The thermopluviometric diagram (Suppl. material 1: Fig. 2) according to Bagnouls and Gaussen (1935), shows that the period of water deficit, derived from the ratio of precipitation to average temperature, concerns only June and July, but not August.
Vegetation types
The study area is characterised by different vegetation types typical of the Mediterranean area. Arid and acidic substrates with low fertility, such as jasper, promote the growth of Mediterranean evergreen sclerophyllous species, with a medium-high Quercusilex cover and a relative abundance of shrubs, such as Arbutusunedo, Ericaarborea, E.scoparia, and Phillyrealatifolia. The herb layer under this (semi-)closed canopy of evergreen woody species is strongly shaded and relatively poor in species. A less widespread forest type with different oak species (Quercuscerris, Q.pubescens and sparse Q.suber) also occurs. In addition, the study area presents scrublands with Calluna vulgaris, Cytisus spp., Pyracanthacoccinea, and Spartiumjunceum, mostly located along wood edges, indicating the connection between the forest and a habitat with less developed soils.
Riparian vegetation along the stream is dominated by S.eleagnos, S.purpurea subsp. purpurea, and Populusnigra subsp. nigra. Typical grassland vegetation with graminoids is also present. However, the most interesting vegetation type of the area is linked to the presence of jasper outcrops (Suppl. material 1: Fig. 3). This vegetation is dominated by vernal therophytes and succulent plants of the genera Petrosedum and Sedum. On the outcrops, patches of xerophilous and heliophilous Caryophyllaceae, such as Scleranthusannuus and S.perennis are dominant. The vegetation of the rocky slopes exposed to higher humidity (Suppl. material 1: Fig. 4) is dominated by hemicryptophytes, including several fern species.
Materials and methods
The floristic field surveys were carried out in 2017–2018. Plants collected in the field were dried in order to prepare herbarium specimens and were subsequently identified in the laboratory. The collected data were integrated with those from previous studies (Angiolini and Centi 2001, Centi 2001–2002, Frignani et al. 2005, Peruzzi et al. 2010a, 2017). The specimens collected during the field surveys are preserved at the herbaria of Siena (SIENA), Florence (FI) and Viterbo (UTV; acronyms according to Thiers 2015 onwards). For species identification, we mainly referred to Castroviejo et al. (1984–2005), Fiori (1923–1929), Pignatti (1982, 2017a, 2017b, 2018) and Tutin et al. (1964–1980, 1993). For critical groups, specific monographs, books, and papers were consulted (Arrigoni 2003, 2016, 2017, 2018, Ciccarelli and Garbari 2004, Roma-Marzio et al. 2017). For native species, the nomenclature follows Bartolucci et al. (2018a) and further updates (Bartolucci et al. 2018b, 2018c), while for alien species Galasso et al. (2018a) and further updates (Galasso et al. 2018b, 2018c). The order of families is in accordance with Peruzzi (2010b), whereas genera and species are arranged in alphabetical order. Life forms and chorological types are in accordance with Pignatti (1982). Life-form and chorological type graphs are presented for both the general flora and for the species growing on jasper bedrock only. The distribution of endemic taxa follows Peruzzi et al. (2015b). To verify the conservation status of each taxon, the Red List of the Italian flora (Rossi et al. 2013), the List of plants of Regional conservation interest – Re.Na.To. Project (Sposimo and Castelli 2005, Viciani et al. 2014; http://www.regione.toscana.it/-/repertorio-naturalistico-toscano-re-na-to-http://www.regione.toscana.it/-/repertorio-naturalistico-toscano-re-na-to-) and the Italian Endemics Red List (Orsenigo et al. 2018) were checked. The checklist reports the following information for each taxon: scientific name, life form, chorological type, inclusion in the Italian Red List and in the List of plants of Regional conservation interest, species occurring on jasper, endemic/alien/cultivated species status, and the herbarium where the specimen is preserved. Graphs were plotted using R software (R Core Team 2018).
Results
The checklist consists of 501 taxa, distributed in 294 genera and 67 families (Suppl. material 1). The most represented families are Poaceae (67 taxa), Fabaceae (63 taxa) and Asteraceae (61 taxa). Among the 501 species, five occur in conservation lists: Gageabohemica (EN; Endangered), Vicianigricans (NT; Near Threatened), Ruscusaculeatus, Centaureaaplolepasubsp.carueliana, and Ervilialoiseleurii (all LC; Least Concern). Overall, the checklist includes 13 alien species (Table 1), mainly related to the Crevole stream riverbed.
Alien species found at Miniera di Murlo (Siena). The status and associated code in the study area, in Tuscany and in Italy for alien species follow Galasso et al. (2018a). A (archaeophyte), N (neophyte), T (taxonomically doubtful), FER (feral: wild plant originated from a culton escaped from domestication), NAT (naturalized alien) and INV (invasive alien).
Alien species
Status in the study area
Status in Tuscany
Status in Italy
Bidensfrondosa
INV
P A NAT
N INV
Erigeronbonariensis
NAT
P A INV
N INV
Erigeronsumatrensis
NAT
P A INV
N INV
Euphorbiahumifusa
NAT
P A NAT
N NAT
Helianthustuberosus
CAS
P A INV
N INV
Malusdomestica
CAS
P A CAS
A NAT FER
Opuntiaengelmannii
INV
P A NAT
N NAT
Robiniapseudoacacia
NAT
P A INV
N INV
Setariaitalicasubsp.pycnocoma
NAT
P A NAT
N NAT FER
Setariaitalicasubsp.viridis
NAT
P A NAT
N NAT FER
Vitislabrusca
CAS
P A CAS
N NAT FER
Veronicapersica
NAT
P A INV
N INV
Xanthiumitalicum
INV
P A NAT
T N INV
The biological spectrum (Fig. 2A) of the entire flora shows a dominance of hemicryptophytes (H: 38.4%) and therophytes (Th: 36.6%), while less represented are the phanerophytes (Ph: 9%), geophytes (G: 8.5%), chamaephytes (Ch: 5.1%), and nanophanerophytes (NP: 2.4%); one helophytic species is also present. The H/Th ratio (bioclimatic index) is 1.01.
Life-form spectrum of species found at Miniera di Murlo (Siena). The spectrum shows the categories that appear more than five times in the checklist. A Life forms of all species found in the study area B Life forms of species occurring on jasper bedrock only. Categories are according to Pignatti (1982): hemicryptophytes (H); therophytes (Th); phanerophytes (Ph); nanophanerophytes (NP); geophytes (G); chamaephytes (Ch).
https://binary.pensoft.net/fig/295616
The jasper flora shows higher proportions of hemicryptophytes (H: 40.2%), chamaephytes (Ch: 7.2%), and nanophanerophytes (NP: 3.3%) versus a decrease of therophytes (Th: 32%) and geophytes (G: 8.3%); the percentage of phanerophytes does not change (Ph: 9%) (Fig. 2B).
Regarding chorological types (Fig. 3A), the checklist contains 25% of Steno-Mediterranean, 22% of Euro-Mediterranean, 17% of wide distribution species, 15% of European, 13.5% of Eurasiatic, and 5% of Boreal species, while alien, Atlantic, south-European orophilous, and Italian endemic species (Table 2) are less than 5%.
Distribution of Italian endemic taxa according to Bartolucci et al. (2018a) found at Miniera di Murlo (Siena) and their status according to Orsenigo et al. (2018). Species are sorted in increasing order of regional occurrence and acronyms (from north to south Italy): EMR= Emilia Romagna, TOS= Tuscany, MAR= Marche, UMB= Umbria, LAZ= Lazio, ABR= Abruzzo, MOL= Molise, CAM= Campania, PUG= Puglia, BAS= Basilicata, CAL= Calabria, SIC= Sicily. Status acronyms: LC= Least Concern, DD: Data Deficient, (DD*): not reported in Orsenigo et al. (2018).
Chorological spectrum of species found at Miniera di Murlo (Siena). The spectrum shows the categories that appear more than five times in the checklist A Life forms of all species found in the study area B Life forms of species occurring on jasper bedrock only. Categories are according to Pignatti (1982): Alien= Alien species, Atlant= Atlantic species, Boreal= Boreal species, Eurasiat= Eurasiatic species, Euro-Medit= Euro-Mediterranean species, Europ= European species, Ital endemic= Italian endemics, Oroph S-Europ= South-European orophilous species, Steno-Medit= Steno-Mediterranean species, Wide distr= wide distribution species.
https://binary.pensoft.net/fig/295617
The jasper chorological spectrum (Fig. 3B) reveals the dominance of Steno-Mediterranean, Euro-Mediterranean, and Eurasiatic species (all > 20%). Both European (16.3%) and wide distribution (11.7%) species are well represented, while few are Boreal species (4.2%), south-European orophilous species (1.7%) and Italian endemics (1.4%). Moreover, the jasper checklist comprises two Atlantic and one alien species.
DiscussionDiversity, distribution, and conservation aspects
The checklist includes many species related to the physical and chemical features of the substrate. Low levels of nutrients, especially nitrates, are highlighted by numerous Fabaceae (Christenhusz et al. 2017). In addition, jasper outcrops host perennial and annual succulents (particularly Crassulaceae). Moreover, the acidity of jasper favours the development of typical species of siliceous rocky habitats, like Gageabohemica, Paragymnopterismarantae, Scleranthusperennis, and Teesdaliacoronopifolia (Biondi et al. 2009). This peculiar flora has its phenological optimum in the spring when low evaporation allows higher moisture. It is linked to very shallow and skeletal soils, with a low amount of nutrients and acidic reaction and it largely corresponds to Habitat 8230 of Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC (Selvaggi and Giusso del Galdo 2016). In these conditions, calcifuge and/or acidophilous species, such as Centaureaaplolepasubsp.carueliana, Festucalachenalii and Iberisumbellata, also occur, while many ferns (mainly of the genera Asplenium and Polypodium; Habitat 8220 of Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC) grow on the siliceous cliffs. Some of the recorded species have a narrow distribution range: in Tuscany, Saxifragagranulata is present only in the northern Apennines and on the Island of Elba (Foggi et al. 2006, Mannocci et al. 2016, Carta et al. 2018, Coppi et al. 2018), while Gageabohemica occurs in the continental part of Tuscany only in Miniera di Murlo (Peruzzi et al. 2017). In addition, Ruscusaculeatus is included in the Italian Red List (Rossi et al. 2013) with LC status, while Vicianigricans and Gageabohemica are both included in the Regional conservation list as NT and EN, respectively (Sposimo and Castelli 2005, Viciani et al. 2014). Moreover, Centaureaaplolepasubsp.carueliana and Ervilialoiseleurii are also listed there as LC. Only one cultivated species occurs (Maluspumila).
Among the alien species, Bidensfrondosa and Opuntiaengelmannii are those with the most worrying alien status (sensuGalasso et al. 2018a). They show a higher alien status in the study area compared to the one assigned at the Regional and national level (see Galasso et al. 2018a). Opuntiaengelmannii is the most aggressive, growing on the jasper outcrop of Monte Pertuso where it is invasive (Suppl. material 1: Fig. 5; Selvaggi and Giusso del Galdo 2016). Vitislabrusca is a newly-found alien species for the province of Siena along with the native Rosabalsamica and Rosasquarrosa (Roma-Marzio et al. 2016, https://goo.gl/QUkDjT).
Life-form spectrum
The life-form spectrum shows the clear predominance of hemicryptophytes and therophytes. The H/Th ratio, indicator of the Mediterranean (values <1) or continental (values >1) nature of the flora (Sabato and Valenzano 1975), shows a value close to 1, underlying no prevalence of hemicryptophytes over therophytes (and vice versa) and no clear bioclimatic character of the flora. The acidic and dry substrate might influence the life-form spectrum, by contrasting the humidity provided by the Crevole stream. Despite a similar acidic substrate, a different H/Th ratio was found in the floras of Monte Leoni (H/Th: 1.2; Selvi 1998) or in the Merse river valley (H/Th: 2.02; Landi et al. 2009) since these areas are situated in a more humid bioclimatic context compared to Miniera di Murlo. The percentage of geophytes is lower than in other floras due to the abundance of poorly evolved soils, being probably harsh environments for the growth of these species (e.g. Landi et al. 2009, Bonari et al. 2018). The significant proportion of phanerophytes, along with the nanophanerophytes, highlights the large surface area covered by forests. Due to the low water regime of the Crevole stream, no hydrophytes are present, while only one helophyte occurs (Lythrumsalicaria).
In comparison with the life-form spectrum of the general flora, the one relating to plant species growing on jasper bedrock reveals a prevalence of hemicryptophytes followed by a lower percentage of therophytes. The decrease in therophytes, short-cycle plants favoured by open and disturbed environments (Kalusová et al. 2017), is likely due to the reduced presence of these habitats on jasper.
The flora of the jasper substrate shows an increase of chamaephytes compared to the percentage of the general flora. This shows that soils derived from jasper bedrock promote the growth of drought-tolerant species. Rocky substrates, although with different chemistry, lead to the development of selective vegetation types and associated plants. This is evident when the life-form spectrum of Miniera di Murlo is compared with that of Tuscan serpentine floras, showing only small differences (Chiarucci 2004).
Chorological spectrum
The analysis of the chorological spectrum reveals a prevalence of Mediterranean species that indicate warm conditions and mild winters (Pignatti 1994). Euro-Mediterranean and Steno-Mediterranean species represent almost the 50% of the chorological spectrum. Moreover, the percentages of European, Eurasiatic, and Boreal species indicate that the flora of Miniera di Murlo is mainly composed by Mediterranean species, although a substantial influence from typical species of the Euro-Siberian region occurs. The species with wide distribution indicate the presence of areas with anthropogenic disturbance (i.e., abandoned or grazed areas, and trails) or with azonal vegetation (i.e., rocky outcrops and riverbed). Atlantic species are scarcely present, as in the Italian territory in general, except for western regions, such as Tuscany and Sardinia (Pignatti 1994). The very low percentage of south-European orophilous species follows the geomorphology of the area, dominated by a hilly territory. Italian endemics are linked to the bedrock, as found on serpentine by Chiarucci (2004). Among them, Centaureaaplolepasubsp.carueliana is the only endemic with a restricted range that is limited to the Regions of Piedmont, Tuscany, and Liguria (Bartolucci et al. 2018a).
The chorological spectrum of plant species growing on jasper reveals a prevalence of Mediterranean species and an increase of Eurasiatic ones. This suggests that soils on jasper bedrock keep promoting the growth of Mediterranean species while improving the growth of species typical of the Euro-Siberian region, showing an equilibrium between Mediterranean and Euro-Siberian species.
Conclusions
This work contributes to the knowledge of the vascular flora of a poorly researched area of southern Tuscany. Our results showed that the Miniera di Murlo area represents a hotspot for vascular plants, mainly due to the presence of a peculiar bedrock: the jasper. Despite the past presence of mines and its exploitation, the area hosts some rare species that support its inclusion in a new Special Area of Conservation, or within the current Basso Merse SAC or Nature Reserve. Active management projects or the inclusion of the Miniera di Murlo area inside a nature reserve would help to limit the spread of alien species and to better preserve the native ones.
This work has highlighted how gaps in floristic knowledge can lead to incorrect delimitation of protected areas, causing the exclusion of relevant sites with particular habitats, such as jasper outcrops. It is important to promote awareness in public administrations regarding the potential of floristic investigations as a fundamental and decisive tool to support the establishment of protected areas.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the participants of the annual excursion of the Tuscan Section of the Società Botanica Italiana (S.B.I.) held in this area on May 31st 2017, to Elisa Mammoliti for revising the geology paragraph and to Daniel Gerrard for English language revision. We thank Francesco Roma-Marzio and Riccardo Guarino for their helpful remarks.
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Checklist of the vascular flora of the Miniere di Murlo area (Siena, Italy)
floristic inventory
https://binary.pensoft.net/file/295618This dataset is made available under the Open Database License (http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1.0/). The Open Database License (ODbL) is a license agreement intended to allow users to freely share, modify, and use this Dataset while maintaining this same freedom for others, provided that the original source and author(s) are credited.Silvia Cannucci, Claudia Angiolini, Barbara Anselmi, Enrico Banfi, Marco Biagioli, Paolo Castagnini, Chiara Centi, Tiberio Fiaschi, Bruno Foggi, Antonio Gabellini, Lorenzo Lastrucci, Edda Lattanzi, Anna Scoppola, Federico Selvi, Daniele Viciani, Gianmaria Bonari