First record of Anacolia webbii (Bartramiaceae, Musci) in Italian peninsula.

Bryophyte diversity in some Sicilian protected areas

The results of some investigations carried out in two Sicilian protected areas characterized by chalky reliefs are reported. These are the Serre di Ciminna and Monte Conca reserves. The Oriented Nature Reserve of Serre di Ciminna is located in northwestern Sicily, in the province of Palermo. Established in 1997 to protect the interesting karst phenomena in a vast macro-crystalline gypsum outcrop of the Messinian age, the series of "collapse valleys" and a swallowtail, the reserve falls within the Rocche di Ciminna, Site of Community Importance (SIC) (code ITA 020024). It includes some habitats of Community interest: pseudo-steppes with grasses and annuals of the Thero-Brachypodietea (code 6…

Indagini briologiche in aree urbane: diversità briofitica dei centri abitati di Erice (Trapani) e Belmonte Mezzagno (Palermo).

Bryologic surveys in urban areas: bryophyte diversity of the population centers of Erice (province of Trapani) and Belmonte Mezzagno ((province of Palermo). The bryophytic flora of the towns of Erice (Trapani) and Belmonte Mezzagno (Palermo) have been studied. The first consists of 53 taxa (42 mosses and 11 liverwort), two of which are new for the province of Trapani, the second of 40 taxa (38 mosses and 2 liverworts), one of which new for the province of Palermo. A comparison between the studied bryofloras and those of other Sicilian urban areas shows that Erice’s bryophytic flora is, given its size, rich in species and families.

The plant landscape of the Sicilian archaeological areas through the iconographic documentation of travellers and naturalists

The landscape is commonly defined as the set of physical and historical-anthropological characters expressed by a territory. Our re-elaboration defines the landscape as the set of perceivable characters of a territory expressed in relation to the stratification of the occurred natural and cultural processes. The Grand Tour reports are one of the most effective means to fix at least one stage of evolution from the Sicilian landscape, before its further transformation. These reports provide often a stereotypical image of the landscape of the Island, in particular as regards the major archaeological areas subjected to particular attention by the cultured travellers. The authors summarize the c…