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The research aims were to identify the flowering pattern and the related functional strategies in submediterranean mountain meadows (central Italy) and understand their relationships with some environmental and community structure variables. The number of flowering shoots per species was counted and environmental data were collected in 40 plots during 2009. Analysis of the species and trait data sets highlighted a flowering pattern and an underlying functional pattern. Dominant species tend to bloom in the central phases of the growing season\ud when no stress acts in the system and a long time is\ud available for plant growth and seed maturation. This kind of species does not need functional strategies allowing the canopy fast pre-emption or the tolerance to drought stress. Non-dominant species have two groups of functional strategies that allow them to share the same flowering period of dominant ones by a\ud different type of space occupation (spatial niche partitioning) or to flower before or after their flowering period (temporal niche partitioning). The functional strategies involved in the temporal niche partitioning have a dual ecological meaning, limiting competition with dominant species by fast growth and seed\ud maturation (e.g., short stature, mobilisation of stored reserves, colonization of unexploited soil niches by clonal growth organs and light seeds) and enabling tolerance to drought stress (e.g., scleromorphic and succulent leaves, persistent green leaves, tap roots) and to the low light availability at the ground level\ud owing to the change of grassland structure (e.g., tall size and upright growth form)

Italy is among the European countries with the greatest plant diversity due to both a great environmental heterogeneity and a long history of man-environment interactions. Trait-based approaches to ecological studies have developed greatly over recent decades worldwide, although several issues concerning the relationships between plant functional traits and the environment still lack sufficient empirical evaluation. In order to draw insights on the association between plant functional traits and direct and indirect human and natural pressures on the environmental drivers, here we summarize the existing knowledge on this topic by reviewing the results of studies performed in Italy adopting a functional trait approach on vascular plants, briophytes and lichens. Although we recorded trait measurements for 1418 taxa, our review highlighted some major gaps in plant traits knowledge: Mediterranean ecosystems are poorly represented; traits related to belowground organs are still overlooked; traits measurements for bryophytes and lichens are lacking. Finally, intraspecific variation has been little studied at community level so far. We conclude highlighting the need of approaches evaluating trait-environment relationship at large spatial and temporal scales and the need of a more effective contribution to online databases to tie more firmly Italian researchers to international scientific networks on plant traits.

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The present study examined a sub-Mediterranean pastoral system in the central Apennines (Italy) with a long history of\ud grazing, where winter cold stress is alternated with summer drought stress. The research goals were to ascertain whether\ud different floristic structures correspond to different stress conditions (xeric and semimesic), and whether peculiar functional\ud plant traits (such as avoidance and tolerance mechanisms) respond to stress/disturbance intensities, and understand how\ud vegetation reacts to changeable livestock pressure (through floristic and plant trait variations). Cluster analysis indicated that\ud separate communities develop under different stress intensities. Other analyses highlighted how avoidance strategies predominate within the pastoral system. Observations of grazed and ungrazed patches conducted in 10-m transects revealed spiny cushion formation in semimesic grassland, where a brief period of overgrazing occurs in late summer, causing variations in plant community structure. All these results confirm the importance of historical grazing and current land use, showing how small disturbances and stress variations cause ecosystem responses. Best practices for management were identified. In xeric conditions, it is advisable that the intensity of disturbance be lessened, while in semimesic grassland overgrazing should be forbidden during the dry period, because it could facilitate the development of spiny patches, and subsequent spread of Brachypodium rupestre

Questions: How does horse or sheep grazing affect species richness, diversity and functional composition of plant communities in sub-Mediterranean grasslands? What are the implications of grazing management for species conservation?\ud Location: Pastures dominated by Bromus erectus grazed by either sheep or horses in the Umbria-Marches Apennines (central Italy).\ud Methods:We examined grasslands at altitudes ranging from 1000 to 1200 m a. s.l. on north-facing slopes and with a slope angle of 20–40 °. In 20 plots of 1 m2 for each management type, canopy height and above-ground phytomass were recorded. In 120 plots (60 for eachmanagement type) of 1 m2 the cover value of each species was recorded. Floristic diversity and community similarity of the sheep- and horse-grazed conditions were compared. Functional plant traits and strategies or ecological requirements were also evaluated.\ud Results: The sward was shorter and supported less above-ground phytomass in the horse-grazed area. The sheep- and horse-grazed areas had similar floristic diversity. Accidental species were the species most affected. Plants with lownutrient\ud requirement spread in horse-grazed pasture. Functional traits of species were filtered by the system, resulting in diverse cover values of species. Horse grazing promoted plants with a robust defence strategy (avoidance and tolerance) that ensured leaves were replaced when horses were not grazing, as well as species with clonal growth. In the sheep-grazed area, a higher level of selective defoliation and a delayed start to the grazing period promoted species with low palatability, a late-flowering strategy and those intolerant to trampling by large herbivores (chamaephytes). The value of forage feed was slightly higher in\ud horse-grazed pasture. Grazing of horses was more effective than that of sheep for controlling dominant unpalatable tall grasses.\ud Conclusion: In terms of biodiversity conservation, horse grazingmay be considered as useful as sheep grazing, but only if managed at optimal stocking rates, because the increase in short grasses and annuals (growth forms with poor root systems) does not ensuremaintenance of soil on steep slopes

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Invasion of poorly palatable grasses due to abandonment or improper grazing management decreases pastures\ud feeding value and biodiversity. With the aim to control their spread, we assessed the relationship between sheep\ud foraging behavior and changes in aboveground phytomass, leaf traits, and chemical features of the tall grass\ud Brachypodium rupestre and evaluated the effects of a B. rupestre-based diet on epithelium keratinization\ud of rumen. Our results demonstrated that sheep became less selective throughout the experimental trials and\ud B. rupestre decreased its aboveground phytomass. Some leaf traits showed significant changes (LDMC, LA, and\ud ADL were higher in ungrazed areas; leaf nitrogen content was higher in the grazed ones). In addition, we detected\ud an increase of the degree of epithelium keratinization of sheep. Thus high grazing pressure can be used to control\ud the spread ofB. rupestre, but negative effects on animal welfare due to the increase of rumen keratinization might\ud be expecte