Conference Agenda

Linnaea borealis L. is a small, suffruticose plant, blooming between June and August and growing among mosses in conifer forests between 1200–2100 meters a.s.l. Nowadays it’s mostly present in circumboreal areas (Canada, Alaska and Lapponia). It has a very limited distribution in Italy (Val d’Aosta, Lombardy, Trentino Alto-Adige), restricted to few high mountain stands with micro-climates closer to subarctic ones. For this reason, L. borealis is considered a relict species of the ice age period in Italy.

During routine palynological analyses aimed at reconstructing past vegetation cover and biodiversity around the archaeological site of Palù di Livenza (Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Neolithic period), some pollen grains of L. borealis were found in layers dated to the Middle Holocene. Giving the importance of the finding and since these pollen grains can be confused with other pollen types (e.g., Lonicera), more common in the studied area, a morphological study on some plant records was conducted. Flowers were collected from botanical gardens and herbaria as reference material for the study of pollen morphology of L. borealis, in order to compare it with the palynological samples of Palù. The preliminary analyses and morphological information can improve knowledge on past distribution of this species in Northern Italy.

Fagus sylvatica L. (beech) is one of the main components of deciduous broadleaved forests in Europe. Since beech is a mesophilous tree its distribution area is limited to the lowland temperate forests in central and northern Europe and the montane zones in the Mediterranean. From an ecological perspective this species has a key role in the study of forest biodiversity in Italy and its dynamics during the last millennia.

We present new pollen data of two Italian coastal areas from Latium and Sardinia attesting the presence of Fagus. This evidence, dated in the first period of the Last Glacial at Grotta Guattari and to the Late Holocene near Oristano, suggests the migration/presence of beech due to local climatic conditions. Changes towards a Mediterranean coastal climate caused the contraction of mesophilous trees and the replacement with thermophilous vegetation. Nowadays in the investigated regions beech is only present at higher elevations or extinct. The adaptability of Fagus to climatic changes represents a key point for the investigation of the UNESCO old beech forests of some Italian protected areas in the frame of the National Biodiversity Future Center, aiming to reconstruct plant variability in relation to past climatic and/or anthropogenic events.

One of the most severe threats to global biodiversity is land-use changes. Reintroduction is a major conservation tool, but its success relies on accurately estimating species niches. While niche modeling has been used to predict the distribution of plants, it has been rarely used as a tool for predicting reintroduction success. We aim to examine the possible use of niche modeling for improving endangered species reintroduction success and thus contributing to plant conservation efforts.

The East Mediterranean basin is a hotspot of plant diversity, but due to dense population and massive urbanization, only a small fraction of the natural areas remain, challenging the finding of appropriate sites for reintroduction. Moreover, habitat suitability is rapidly changing with global climate change.

We used species distribution models (SDM) to estimate the potential niche for reintroduction of endangered species based on known sites of occurrence. Reintroduction field experiments in nature reserves and agricultural land are currently performed for five endangered endemic plants representing two endangered habitats: Loamy soils in valleys and coastal sandy soils. For those species, we also predicted future potential distribution using future climate projections. For all species, the model predicts a general decline in the potential distribution, and in suitability of current population sites.

Eurasian mountains are experiencing intensified environmental transformation. However, the timing and amplitude of these changes are only partly detectable by monitoring contemporary ecosystems. Many ecological alterations occurred since the Middle Ages, partly overriding the pristine ecosystem structure. The Industrial Revolution altered land use practices on mountains and led to a fast abandonment since the Second World War. Disentangling the effects of socio-economic processes from the impact of climate change is of paramount importance for conservation strategies.

Land use changes observed during the last millennia may provide the tipping point to connect earlier baselines to the modern trajectories through recognition of active pressures on mountain ecosystems. Integration of paleoecology, field ecology and documentary archival information through:

- Multiproxy approach (i) expanding palynology towards microbotany, including charcoal analysis; (ii) coupling co-registered abiotic and biotic variables with archival documents of land-use and climate changes.

- Calibration (i) study of sedimentary basin features and processes and (ii) calibration by modern ecoclimatic elevational gradients.

The conceptual framework will be illustrated by past records and elevational gradients in the Alps, Apennines and Little Caucasus, in the perspective of nature conservation, rewilding, promotion of cultural heritage, and of the sustainable progress of traditional land uses.

Biodiversity restoration is a priority goal of European nature conservation policies. The study of past landscape ecological history can provide scientific support in defining baselines, benchmarks and pathways of restoration strategies, and aid in decision-makers to define concrete objectives and expectations. Here we present two multidisciplinary case studies performed in central and southern Italy as example approaches to the application of palaeoecological studies in landscape ecological planning and forest biodiversity conservation strategies.

Local landscape histories were described through fossil pollen analysis along sediment cores (Lago Lungo, RF93-30 Adriatic Sea, Lago del Pesce) and interpreted by integrating data from paleoclimatic and geomorphological reconstructions, written historical sources, human demography. Results were used to derive restoration solutions based on local drivers of landscape degradation and ecosystem decline. Human activities generated different impacts in different environmental contexts and historical periods. We conclude that floodplains of central Italy (Po plain, Rieti basin) require active restoration practices aimed at restoring wet and mesic forest ecosystems (e.g. expansion of flooded areas around lakes and rivers). Mountains of southern Italy can instead benefit from passive restoration approaches (e.g. abandonment & rewilding) to achieve rapid forest cover increase and vulnerable forest species expansion.

This study is carried out in the framework of the NBFC(Spoke3), and investigates the past dynamics of plant communities that characterize a conservation priority habitat through a high-resolution pollen record covering the last ~300 years.

The STAPE site, a pond formed after a landslide, is in the “Bosco Rubbio” Oriented Nature Reserve (Pollino National Park) within a current beech-dominated forest. The protected area hosts a relict mixed beech-silver fir forest, a priority habitat due to its fragmented distribution linked to the recent regression of silver fir populations and presence of numerous endemic species.

The pollen record reveals the historical presence of fir and its alternation with beech. Fir dominates a diversified forest tree community (e.g., Pinus, deciduous Quercus, Acer, Alnus, Salix, Carpinus betulus) in the deepest and oldest levels decreasing in the most recent ones where beech prevails. Floristic diversity is high and reaches maximum values at the most superficial level of the sequence. The anthropic signal is detected and testified by the presence of Cereals, Anthropogenic Pollen Indicators and cultivated plants.

This research provides an example of the application of recent pollen records in detailing the historical ecology of priority habitats, providing useful insights to inform future conservation strategies.