Habitat Fragmentation and Lichen Diversity in Peri-Urban Woodlands: A Case Study in the Municipality of Potenza (Southern Italy).

The fragmentation of the natural habitat is a process that is exponentially increasing worldwide and represents one of the biggest threats to biological diversity. Habitat destruction and fragmentation have a major impact on landscapes and may also affect ecosystems, populations, and species. The ongoing anthropogenic process can result in habitat loss for some species, habitat creation for others, reduced patch size, and increased distance between patches, which may lead to local extinction.

Pollination features and floral volatiles of Gymnospermium scipetarum (Berberidaceae).

The discovery of few isolated populations of Gymnospermium scipetarum (since now considered as an amphi-Adriatic endemic) in the S-Apennines prompted to investigate, also for conservation purposes, some aspects of its reproductive biology. We aim: (1) to determine if insects play an important role in pollination; (2) to describe the pollinator community; (3) to detect floral scent composition. Experiments of insect exclusion were carried out in the field using 24 flowering individuals: one raceme was capped whereas the nearest one was used as control to ascertain differences in seed set.