Problemi e strategie di conservazione della Biodiversità: Parchi, Natura 2000 e Rete Ecologica Nazionale
Problems and strategies for Biodiversity conservation: Parks, Natura2000 and National Ecological Network
Carlo Blasi*, G. Capotorti, R. Copiz, L. Zavattero
*Presidente Società Italiana di Scienza della Vegetazione
Biodiversity conservation issue
Protected Areas and Biodiversity in Italy
New national strategies
SUMMARY
Recent research projects and scientific devices on plant biology
field promoted by the Nature Protection Directorate
in the frame of the national andinternational conventions and
regulations
Biodiversity conservation: National initiatives
Plant invasion rating in Italy
Landscapes conservation assessment in Italy and in the National Parks
Old Growth Forest in the National Park: outline,
location and characterization (flora, vegetation, lichens, fungi, forest structure,etc.)
Important Plant Areas (IPAs): recognition and mapping
Biodiversity conservation: National initiatives
Protected Areas network in Italy
20.35 % of the National extent
• 2281 SCI
• 590 SPA
• 775 terrestrial Protected Areas (National Parks and Natural Reserves, Regional Parks and Natural Reserves in the EUAP -Official list of Protected Areas)
Natura 2000
EUAP
Natural Vegetation Potential
Vegetation and landscape diversity in Italy
Landscape heterogeneity
223 forest types
30 scrub types
15 herbaceous and chamaephytic types (alpine and oromediterranean)
5 hydrophytic and aquatic types
4 psammophilous coastal types(277 types in total)
3 Land Regions
24 Land Systems
149 Land Subsystems
Natural Vegetation Potential
Vegetation and landscape diversity in Italy
Landscape heterogeneity
Natural Vegetation Potential reflects the diversity of terrestrial ecosystems integrating abiotic, biotic and
biogeographic factors
Landscape hierarchical classification reflects bioclimatic, lythological, morphological features and
biological community distribution
The very comprehensive biotic and abiotic data bank can be used to correlate the landscape maps with the
vegetation series of Italy
Are Protected Areas representative of vegetational and landscape heterogeneity in Italy?
Protected Areas are recognized as the most important “core” for in situ conservation (CBD, US ESA, Habitats Directive)
Neverthless, existing Protected areas networks often do not represent and protect the whole biodiversity of a region (Rodriguez et al., 2004; Dietz & Czech, 2005)
The Gap Analysis methods are useful instruments to identify elements that need further protection (Scott et al., 1993; Margules and Pressey, 2000, Maiorano et al., 2006)
Gap Analisys for Natural Vegetation Potential(Rosati , Marignani & Blasi, 2007, Fitosociologia 44/2)
Map of Natural Vegetation Potential
(Ministero dell’Ambiente - Politecnico di Milano, 2005, “GIS NATURA: Il GIS delle conoscenze naturalistiche in Italia, DVD”)
Map of SCIs, SPAs and Protected Areas
Data
(Ministero dell’Ambiente - Dip. Biologia Vegetale Univ. Sapienza University, 2005,“Completamento delle Conoscenze Naturalistiche di Base”)
Natura 2000
EUAP
Gap Analisys for Natural Vegetation PotentialGap Analisys for Natural Vegetation Potential(Rosati , Marignani & Blasi, 2007, Fitosociologia 44/2)
28% of Natural Vegetation Potential types are “total gaps” (78/277 not protected at National or Regional level)
48 types in Temperate Region +30 types in Mediterranean Region
mostly between thermomediterranean and mesotemperate bioclimatic belts(coasts, plains and hills)
Results
Gap Analisys for Natural Vegetation Potential
Each non protected type of Natural Vegetation Potential must be analyzed in terms of current land cover to guide planning, management and conservation strategies at national scale
Applications
Gap Analisys for Natural Vegetation Potential(Rosati , Marignani & Blasi, 2007, Fitosociologia 44/2)
Cyclamino repandi-Oleetum sylvestris
- Total gap- >90% natural and seminatural vegetation cover
Irido collinae-Quercetum virgilianae
- Total gap- 96% agricultural cover
Gap Analisys for Landscapes types(Blasi, Capotorti & Smiraglia, unpublished work)
Data
(Ministero dell’Ambiente - Politecnico di Milano, 2005, “GIS NATURA: Il GIS delle conoscenze naturalistiche in Italia, DVD”)
Map of SCIs, SPAs and Protected areas
Natura 2000
EUAP
Map of Land Systems
(Ministero dell’Ambiente - Dip. Biologia Vegetale Univ. Sapienza University, 2005,“Completamento delle Conoscenze Naturalistiche di Base”)
Gap Analisys for Landscapes types(Blasi, Capotorti & Smiraglia, unpublished work)
Results
% of land Systems’ extent in Protected Areas
% of land Systems’ extent in Natura2000 network (SCIs)
Land Systems in Mediterranean Region
Land Systems in Temperate Region
Land Systems in transition Region
Gaps for land Systems are mostly in the Mediterranean Region (8/8 less than 6% in PAs and 5/8 less than 10% in SCIs)
Gap values are not related to land Systems’ extent
Natura2000 network is more representative than PAs system
Important Plant Areas (IPAs)Key areas for biodiversity conservation, in terms of vascular plants,
bryophytes, algae, fungi, lichens and plant communities
IPAs represent an essential tool for the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation
Target 5 of the Strategy requires the protection of 50% of the most important areas for plant diversity by 2010
New strategies: IPAs II
Three basic principles of IPA identification
Criterion A. The site holds significant populations of one or more species that are of global or European conservation concern
Criterion B. The site has an exceptionally rich flora in a European context in relation to its biogeographic zone
Criterion C. The site is an outstanding example of a habitat type of global or European plant conservation and botanical importance
(Palmer & Smart, 2001; Anderson, 2002)
First contribution to define Important Plant Areas (IPAs) in
Italy- National level -
New strategies: IPAs II
From the punctual distribution of species
and habitats…
Nr. of species: 130
Nr. of habitats: 69
Nr. of species reports: 761
Nr. of habitats reports: 702
First contribution to define Important Plant Areas (IPAs)
in Italy- Regional level, in progress-
IPAs VENETONew strategies: IPAs II
…toward the value of individual grid’s cell
of 10x10 km…
The value of each cell is based on the number of species and
habitats of high conservation priority (quality criterion) and the
total number of species and habitats selected for the IPAs
project (richness criterion)
IPAs VENETONew strategies: IPAs II
…to the definition of IPAs patches
15 IPAs in Veneto Region
11 of high level of quality and richness
3 of medium level of quality and richness
1 of medium level of richness
IPAs VENETONew strategies: IPAs II
New strategies: Red lists at National level
Red list, top 100 and action plan for Plant species
Red list and action plan for landscapes
Landscape hierarchical classification
Conservation assessment
Gap analisys
IPAs
Floristic knowledge
Old growth forest network
New strategies: Permanent plots
National and Regional PAs
Diacronic floristic sampling
Synphytosociological analisys
Structural data sampling
Response to climate change
Old age indicators
New strategies: National Ecological Network
Background
“a natural environmental infrastructure which is orientated towards the goal of inter-relating and connecting areas endowed with a greater presence of naturality.” (C.I.P.E. Delib. 22/12/98)…
…based on “network of Protected Areas”.
An approach for Italian Vertebrates conservation
Boitani et al., 2002
New strategies: National Ecological Network
Data
Landscape Conservation Assessment
IPAs
Land Cover
Natura 2000
EUAP
PAs and Natura2000
CKmap
The Land Ecological Network at Province level
(the Rome PTPG)
Pattern oriented approach
Multi-taxon approach
New strategies: National Ecological Network
Methods
The Land Ecological Network at Province level
(the Rome PTPG)
Pattern oriented approach
Multi-taxon approach
New strategies: National Ecological Network
Methods
New strategies: National Ecological Network
The Land Ecological Network at Province level
(the Rome PTPG)
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