Problemi e strategie di conservazione della Biodiversità ... · Problemi e strategie di conservazione della Biodiversità: Parchi, Natura 2000 e Rete Ecologica Nazionale Problems

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

Biodiversity conservation: the International frame

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

New National strategies to fill the gaps

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 -


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)


…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 and Natura 2000 Network

IPAs VENETO


SCIs

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


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


Methods


(the Rome PTPG)

Pattern oriented approach

Multi-taxon approach


Methods



(the Rome PTPG)


Core Area

Buffer Zone

Connection (natural and seminatural pattern)

Connection (agricultural area)

ECOLOGICAL NETWORK


(the Rome PTPG)

Problemi e strategie di conservazione della Biodiversità ... · Problemi e strategie di conservazione della Biodiversità: Parchi, Natura 2000 e Rete Ecologica Nazionale Problems

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