The Dolichens project provides the first dynamic inventory of the lichens of the Dolomites (Eastern Alps, Italy). Occurrence records were retrieved from published and grey literature, reviewed herbaria, unpublished records collected by the authors, and new sampling campaigns, covering a period from 1820 to 2022. Currently, the dataset contains 56,251 records, referring to 1,719 infrageneric taxa, reported from 1820 to 2022, from hilly to nival belts, and corresponding to about half of the species known for the whole Alpine chain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBased on the analysis of both historical and recent collections, this paper reports an annotated list of taxa which are new to the lichen biota of Italy or of its administrative regions. Specimens were identified using a dissecting and a compound microscope; routine chemical spot tests and standardized thin-layer chromatography (TLC or HPTLC). The list includes 225 records of 153 taxa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe botanical exploration of the Majella National Park has a long tradition dating back to the eighteenth century. However, the lichen biota of this area is still poorly investigated. To provide a baseline for future investigations, in this annotated checklist, we summarised all available information on the occurrence of lichens in the Majella National Park, retrieved from previous literature, herbarium material and original data produced by recent research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTerricolous lichen communities in lowlands occur especially in open dry habitats. Such communities are often dominated by species of the genus , which are very variable in morphology, reproduction strategies, and secondary metabolites. In this work, we investigated traits-environment relationships considering vegetation dynamics, substrate pH, disturbance, and climate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe explored the influence of climatic factors on diversity patterns of multiple taxa (lichens, bryophytes, and vascular plants) along a steep elevational gradient to predict communities' dynamics under future climate change scenarios in Mediterranean regions. We analysed (1) species richness patterns in terms of heat-adapted, intermediate, and cold-adapted species; (2) pairwise beta-diversity patterns, also accounting for its two different components, species replacement and richness difference; (3) the influence of climatic variables on species functional traits. Species richness is influenced by different factors between three taxonomic groups, while beta diversity differs mainly between plants and cryptogams.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring the years, many usnic acid (UA) conjugates have been synthesized to obtain potent endowed with biological properties. Since ()-UA is less abundant in nature than ()-enantiomer, it is difficult to source, thus precluding a deeper investigation. Among the lichens producing UA, is a valuable (S)-UA source.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDry grasslands are listed among the habitats of conservation concern in Europe. Here, based on a multitaxon approach including vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, we explored the effects of small-scale disturbance on lichen-rich dry grassland vegetation by surveying 60 sites across the Po Plain (Northern Italy). In particular, we evaluated the impact of human trampling and fecal pellet deposition by the alien invasive herbivore Sylvilagus floridanus.
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