Preserving the Mediterranean bird flyways: Assessment and prioritization of 38 main wetlands under human and climate threats in Sardinia and Sicily (Italy)

Ferrarini, Alessandro; Celada, Claudio; Gustin, Marco

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141556

Cited by 22 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The efficiency of protected area designation in reducing land-taking practices have been proven in Sardinia. However, conflicts between conservation measures and traditional land uses need managing within planning processes (Lai et al 2017), and the allocation of species-specific funding is also necessary in some cases to support plant conservation and related services (Zacharias et al 2007;Bagella et al 2013;Ferrarini et al 2020).…”

Section: Gaps and Challenges Within Wetland Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Sardinia, more than the global average reported above, around 90% of wetlands, especially along the coast, have been destroyed or heavily modified during the last 100 years to eliminate malaria and for agricultural, industrial, or military purposes (Massoli-Novelli and Mocci-Demartis 1989). More recently, tourism development has become another threatening factor, especially near coastal wetlands (Ferrarini et al 2020). Furthermore, 134 alien vascular plant species, out of the 481 inventoried for the whole Sardinia, were recorded in wetlands (Mayoral et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Where we Come from and where to Go: Six Decades of Botanical Studies in the Mediterranean Wetlands, with Sardinia (Italy) as a Case Study

et al. 2021

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Plants are key elements of wetlands due to their evolutionary strategies for coping with life in a water-saturated environment, providing the basis for supporting nearly all wetland biota and habitat structure for other taxonomic groups. Sardinia, the second largest island of the Mediterranean Basin, hosts a great variety of wetlands, of which 16 are included in eight Ramsar sites. The 119 hydro- and hygrophilous vascular plant taxa from Sardinia represent the 42.6% and 37.9% of the number estimated for Italy and Europe, respectively. Moreover, around 30% of Sardinia’s bryological flora, which is made up of 498 taxa, is present in temporary ponds. An overview at regional scale considering algae is not available, to our knowledge, even though several specific studies have contributed to their knowledge. In order to find the most investigated research themes and wetland types, identify knowledge gaps and suggest recommendations for further research, we present a first attempt to outline the work that has been hitherto done on plants in lentic habitats in Sardinia. Three plant groups (algae, bryophytes and vascular plants), and five research themes (conservation, ecology, inventory, palaeobotany and taxonomy) were considered. After a literature review, we retained 202 papers published from 1960 to 2019. We found that studies on vascular plants, as plant group, were disproportionately more numerous, and inventories and ecology were the most investigated research themes. Although efforts have recently been made to fill these long-lasting gaps, there is a need for updating the existing information through innovative methods and integrative approaches.

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Section: Gaps and Challenges Within Wetland Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where we Come from and where to Go: Six Decades of Botanical Studies in the Mediterranean Wetlands, with Sardinia (Italy) as a Case Study

et al. 2021

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“…Sardinia and Sicily are the largest islands in the Mediterranean sea, and their wetlands act as important stopover sites along the Mediterranean bird flyways [17], therefore the conservation of these wetlands is critical for many avian species. In summer (July-September), the Sardinian wetlands host 59 bird species, and 70 species are present in the Sicilian wetlands [18]. Almost 90% of these species are migratory, therefore their conservation interest is primarily at European and global level [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In summer (July-September), the Sardinian wetlands host 59 bird species, and 70 species are present in the Sicilian wetlands [18]. Almost 90% of these species are migratory, therefore their conservation interest is primarily at European and global level [18]. The purple heron Ardea purpurea, the western swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio, the kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus, the greater flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus, the little tern Sternula albifrons are species of high conservation interest in the Sardinian wetlands; the pied avocet Recurvirostra avosetta, the little bittern Ixobrychus minutus and the ferruginous duck Aythya nyroca are of major conservation interest in Sicily [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Twenty-Three Years of Land-Use Changes Induced Considerable Threats to the Main Wetlands of Sardinia and Sicily (Italy) along the Mediterranean Bird Flyways

2021

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Biodiversity loss has multiple causes, but habitat degradation through land-use change is the predominant driver. We investigated the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network in preserving the main wetlands of the two largest islands of the Mediterranean region, whose conservation is critical for many avian species at European and global level, in a 23-year period (1990–2012). In Sardinia, the surroundings of 22 wetlands were affected by an increase in artificial areas (+64 ha/year) and decrease in agricultural (−54 ha/year) and natural (−17 ha/year) ones. In Sicily, the surroundings of 16 wetlands were impacted by an increase in agricultural areas (+50 ha/year) and decrease in natural and semi-natural ones (−62 ha/year). Results show that the Natura 2000 policies were effective in preserving wetlands (no shrinkages detected in both regions), but their surroundings experienced intense processes of degradation and artificialization in all the sub-periods considered (1990–2000, 2000–2006, 2006–2012), whose effects are now threatening waterbirds and wetland integrity. The enlargement of the existing Natura 2000 sites, the creation of new ones and the speedup of the application of the rules of the Habitats and Birds Directives seem necessary to counteract the rapid land-use changes around these important stopover sites.

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“…The differences in habitat with respect to geographical location, vegetation type and resource are considered to affect the number and abundance of bird species [ 31 , 44 ]. Wetlands on an island provide food, shelter, and stopover sites that allow birds to make migratory journeys [ 25 ], and the area of forest cover on an island is beneficial for the persistence of local bird species [ 49 ]. Therefore, bird–habitat network is an important indicator of the ecological function and health of the marine island ecosystems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of habitat change on bird diversity and bird–habitat network of a Coral Island, South China Sea

Chen

Peng

et al. 2021

BMC Ecol Evo

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Background Understanding how island ecosystems change across habitats is a major challenge in ecological conservation under the conditions of habitat degradation. According to a 2-year investigation on Dong Island of the Paracel Islands, South China Sea, we assessed the roles of different habitats at the species level and community level of birds using topological and network analysis. Results In addition to the thousands of Sula sula (a large-sized arboreal seabird) inhabiting the forests, there were 56 other bird species were recorded, representing 23 families and 12 orders, ranging in habitats of wetlands, forests, shrublands, grasslands, and/or beaches. The bird–habitat network had high nestedness, and bird species showed obvious clustering distribution. Integrated topological and network analysis showed that wetlands had a high contribution to species diversity and network structure, and it was a cluster center of migrant birds. Forests and grasslands were species hub and connector respectively, and forests were also the key habitat for residents. Beaches and shrublands were peripherals. The loss of wetlands and forests will result in a sharp reduction of species richness, and even make the S. sula, and most of the resident birds, become locally extinct. Conclusions These results suggest that the wetland and forest habitats on the focal island are key important for migrant birds and resident birds respectively, and therefore much more attention should be paid to conservation of the focal island ecosystems.

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Preserving the Mediterranean bird flyways: Assessment and prioritization of 38 main wetlands under human and climate threats in Sardinia and Sicily (Italy)

Cited by 22 publications

References 25 publications

Where we Come from and where to Go: Six Decades of Botanical Studies in the Mediterranean Wetlands, with Sardinia (Italy) as a Case Study

Where we Come from and where to Go: Six Decades of Botanical Studies in the Mediterranean Wetlands, with Sardinia (Italy) as a Case Study

Twenty-Three Years of Land-Use Changes Induced Considerable Threats to the Main Wetlands of Sardinia and Sicily (Italy) along the Mediterranean Bird Flyways

Assessment of habitat change on bird diversity and bird–habitat network of a Coral Island, South China Sea

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