Flora and habitats of Vendicari Islet (Isola di Vendicari) in South East Sicily

Abstract

The vascular flora of 'Isola di Vendicari', a small islet (surface 4.45 hectares) located along the Ionian coast of south east Sicily, has been investigated. The surveyed taxa at specific and infraspecific level amount to 80, of which 21 are new records from this islet. The life form spectrum of the current flora brings out the dominance of therophytes as well as a significant occurrence of hemicryptophytes. The plant communities colonizing the surface of the islet have been investigated from floristic, phytosociological and ecological points of view. The vegetation is represented mainly by psammophilous and halophilous aspects. As regards the conservation area policy, the islet falls within the Nature Reserve of Vendicari, which is also a SCI of the Natura 2000 network, showing its remarkable importance for the biodiversity conservation. Istraživana je vaskularna flora malog otočića 'Isola di Vendicari' (površina 4,45 ha) koji se nalazi uz jonske obale jugoistočne Sicilije. Utvrđeno je 80 vrsta i nižih svojti, od toga je 21 nova za otočić. U spektru životnih oblika prevladavaju terofiti, uz značajan udio hemikriptofita. Biljne zajednice na otočiću analizirane su s florističkog, fitocenološkog i ekološkog gledišta. Vegetacija je uglavnom psamofitska halofitska. S aspekta zaštite, otočić je dio Rezervata prirode Vendicari, nalazi se unutar područja Natura 2000 ekološke mreže, što ukazuje na važnost potrebe očuvanja bioraznolikosti.

Floristic and Vegetation Changes on a Small Mediterranean Island over the Last Century

“…The brackish rock pools amidst the Crithmo-Staticetea vegetation and the seasonally inundated sediments behind the cliffs are home to a vegetation characterized by Arthrocaulon meridionalis , a succulent chenopod scrub usually linked to seasonally inundated salt marshes, and Limonium virgatum . This vegetation (cluster 11, Table A6 ) is quite similar to the Limonio virgati-Arthrocnemetum macrostachyi , an association belonging to the class Salicornietea fruticosae , described by Biondi et al [ 57 ] from southern Apulia and already reported for Sicily by Minissale and Sciandrello [ 20 ]. Furthermore, on the island, in the hyper-nitrified areas, rarely subject to submersion, a vegetation dominated by Suaeda vera grows, with few other halophilous species, such as Halimione portulacoides , Arthrocaulon meridionalis , Aeluropus lagopoides , Limonium virgatum (cluster 12, Table A6 ).…”

“…As for the small circum-Sicilian islets, they represent sites of high conservation value for the occurrence of several endemic or rare vascular plant species [ 10 , 11 ]. In the past, many of them drove the interest of botanists, which have mainly investigated their vascular floras [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”