Dune habitats of the Migliarino – San Rossore – Massaciuccoli Regional Park (Tuscany – Italy)

Bertacchi, Andrea

doi:10.1080/17445647.2017.1302365

“…Within the coastal hygrophilous mixed-hardwood forest (43.69 • N, 10.29 • E; Natural Reserve "Lame di fuori"-a complex of 655 ha of swamps and marshes [42][43][44][45] in San Rossore Park, Tuscany, Italy), three sites were sampled at different distances from the seaside, which differed in soil salinity (Table 1). Sampled sites were dominated by F. angustifolia subsp.…”

Section: Germination In Natural Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salinity Tolerance in Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl.: Seed Emergence in Field and Germination Trials

Raddi

¹

,

Mariotti

²

,

Sofía

³

et al. 2019

Forests

4

1

0

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The effect of salinity on seed germination/emergence in narrow-leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) was studied both under field and laboratory conditions, in order to detect critical values to NaCl exposure. Research Highlights: Novel statistical methods in germination ecology has been applied (i) to determine the effects of chilling length and salinity (up to 150 mM NaCl) on Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. oxycarpa seed emergence, and (ii) to estimate threshold limits treating germination response to salinity as a biomarker. Background and Objectives: Salinity cut values at germination stage had relevant interest for conservation and restoration aims of Mediterranean floodplain forests in coastal areas subjected to salt spray exposure and/or saline water introgression. Results: Salinity linearly decreased germination/emergence both in the field and laboratory tests. Absence of germination was observed at 60 mM NaCl in the field (70-84 mM NaCl depending on interpolation model) and at 150 mM NaCl for 4-week (but not for 24-week) chilling. At 50 mM NaCl, germination percentage was 50% (or 80%) of control for 4-week (or 24-week) chilling. Critical values for salinity were estimated between freshwater and 50 (75) mM NaCl for 4-week (24-week) chilling by Bayesian analysis. After 7-week freshwater recovery, critical cut-off values included all tested salinity levels up to 150 mM NaCl, indicating a marked resumption of seedling emergence. Conclusions: Fraxinus angustifolia is able to germinate at low salinity and to tolerate temporarily moderate salinity conditions for about two months. Prolonged chilling widened salinity tolerance.Forests 2019, 10, 940 2 of 18 and late (2100) century [22]. The global conservation awareness for these ecosystems-which nowadays resulted in a protected status under the international biodiversity-related multilateral environmental agreements [23] for more than one third of swamps, flooded forests and coastal wetlands-might not be sufficient to prevent degradation risks arisen from interactions with large-scale processes, land-use changes and agricultural land-use intensification. Consequently, undertaking practice and policy actions to prevent wetland degradation and loss remains a focus of international processes, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Aichi Targets and the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In coastal floodplains, human pressure, altered water flows, contaminants from internal urban and agricultural lands, and increased soil salinity [24][25][26] were particularly relevant, and science-based management options should be urgent [27] to face adverse climate-related impacts exacerbated by increasing human-induced pressures [28][29][30].F. angustifolia coastal alluvial forests were mainly judged under unfavorable (habitat 91F0) or inadeguate (habitat 91E0 * ) states, following the 2007-2012 EU Habitat Directive Art. 17 assessment [31]. The major threats to this species were currently considered to be high fragmentation with connectivity loss a...

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“…Coastal sand dunes are usually characterized by marked vegetation zonation; the different zones often host rare or exclusive species important for dune formation and stabilization because they enhance sand deposition [13]. These habitats have suffered a heavy loss of biodiversity and fragmentation in recent decades, chiefly due to human encroachment in the form of tourism, urban sprawl and shoreline erosion whose consequences for biodiversity and related ecosystem services have been severe [14][15][16][17][18][19]. Furthermore, biological invasions pose a serious threat to sand dune ecosystems, threatening local plant diversity and related functional aspects and may lead to long-term alterations [12,[20][21][22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enough Is Enough? Searching for the Optimal Sample Size to Monitor European Habitats: A Case Study from Coastal Sand Dunes

Maccherini

¹

,

Bacaro

²

,

Tordoni

³

et al. 2020

Self Cite

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A robust survey method that samples the main characteristics of plant assemblages is needed to assess the conservation status of European habitat in the Natura 2000 network. A measure of variability, called pseudo-multivariate dissimilarity-based standard error (MultSE), was recently proposed for assessing sample-size adequacy in ecological communities. Here, we used it on coastal sand dune systems in three Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in Tuscany. Our aim was to assess the minimum number of replicates necessary to adequately characterize sand dune environments in terms of differences between habitats and SACs, after a preliminary baseline assessment of plant diversity. Analysis of α and β diversity indicated that especially between habitats the three SACs protect different plant communities. The study of the MultSE profiles showed that the minimum number of replicates needed to assess differences among habitats varied between 10 and 25 plots. Two-way PERMANOVA and SIMPER analysis on the full and reduced datasets confirmed that SACs and habitats host different plant communities, and that the contribution of the target species remained unchanged even with a reduced sample size. The proposed methodological approach can be used to develop cost-effective monitoring programs and it can be useful for plant ecologists and biodiversity managers for assessing ecosystem health and changes.

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“…Within the coastal hygrophilous mixed-hardwood forest (43.69° N, 10.29° E; Natural Reserve "Lame di fuori" -a complex of 655 ha of swamps and marshes [34][35][36][37] in San Rossore Park, Tuscany, Italy), three sites were sampled at different distance from the seaside, which differed in soil salinity (Table 1). Sampled sites were dominated by F. angustifolia subsp.…”

Section: Germination In Natural Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salinity Tolerance in <em>Fraxinus Angustifolia</em> Vahl. Seed Emergence in the Field and Germination Trials

Raddi¹,

Mariotti²,

Sofía³

et al. 2019

Preprint

1

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The effect of salinity on seed germination/emergence in narrow-leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) was studied both under field and laboratory conditions, in order to detect critical values to NaCl exposure. Research Highlights: Novel statistical methods in germination ecology has been applied (i) to determine the effects of chilling length and salinity (up to 150 mM NaCl) on Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. oxycarpa seed emergence, and (ii) to estimate threshold limits treating germination response to salinity as a biomarker. Background and Objectives: Salinity cut values at germination stage had relevant interest for conservation and restoration aims of Mediterranean floodplain forests in coastal areas subjected to salt spray exposure and/or saline water introgression. Results: Salinity linearly decreased germination/emergence both in the field and laboratory tests. Absence of germination was observed at 70 mM NaCl in the field and at 150 mM NaCl for 4-week (but not for 24-week) chilling. At 50 mM NaCl germination percentage was 50% (or 80%) of control for 4-week (or 24- week) chilling. Critical values for salinity were estimated between freshwater and 50 (75) mM NaCl for 4-week (24-week) chilling by Bayesian analysis. After 7-week freshwater recovery, critical cut-off values included all tested salinity levels up to 150 mM NaCl, indicating a marked resumption of seedling emergence. Conclusions: Fraxinus angustifolia is able to germinate at low salinity and to tolerate temporarily moderate salinity conditions for about two months. Prolonged chilling widened salinity tolerance.

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Dune habitats of the Migliarino – San Rossore – Massaciuccoli Regional Park (Tuscany – Italy)

Cited by 20 publications

References 34 publications

Salinity Tolerance in Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl.: Seed Emergence in Field and Germination Trials

Salinity Tolerance in Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl.: Seed Emergence in Field and Germination Trials

Enough Is Enough? Searching for the Optimal Sample Size to Monitor European Habitats: A Case Study from Coastal Sand Dunes

Salinity Tolerance in <em>Fraxinus Angustifolia</em> Vahl. Seed Emergence in the Field and Germination Trials

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