Search results for "Urban Biodiversity"
showing 10 items of 12 documents
The urban vascular flora of Palermo (Sicily, Italy)
2019
This article presents a comprehensive inventory of the urban vascular flora of the town of Palermo. The data were gathered from extensive field collections, from specimens kept in different herbaria, and publications of the last 30 years. The floristic catalogue includes all the vascular plants that occur spontaneously within the urban area. Thirteen taxa are endemic to Sicily and one of these, Clinopodium raimondoi, is exclusive to Palermo’s area. The inventory comprises 1052 taxa belonging to 119 families and 225 genera, and contains 170 taxa non-native to the Italian flora.
Germplasm of medicinal and aromatic plant species in the Parco della Favorita in Palermo city (Sicily, Italy)
2017
Despite high urbanization, the city of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) has a good level of plant biodiversity. The Parco della Favorita is the largest green space in the city. It covers an area of 400 ha and is the green lung of the city. The Parco della Favorita is home to many wild species of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). This study aims to promote the Favorita Park as an urban green area to be used for educational purposes to raise awareness for the medicinal and food uses of MAPs. Nineteen plant species belonging to fifteen botanical families were identified. The most representative plant species were Foeniculum vulgare, Laurus nobilis, Capparis spinosa and Malva sylvetsris. Some of the…
Thirty years unmanaged green roofs: Ecological research and design implications
2016
Abstract The variations in species composition and assemblage of unmanaged simple-intensive green roofs in Hannover, Germany, were investigated over a thirty year period, in order to assess the persistence of the initial seed mixture and to evaluate floristic changes. The roofs were greened in 1985 with soil-based turf rolls sown with a mixture of five grasses (Festuca rubra, Festuca ovina, Agrostis capillaris, Lolium perenne and Poa pratensis). Three sets of 120 phytosociological releves, sampled in 1987, 1999 and 2014, have been compared to assess: (1) nestedness vs spatial turnover, (2) functional diversity and (3) the importance of vegetation dynamics on green roof performance and desig…
BiodiverCity: a first investigation on bird communities in two urban green areas of Palermo, Sicily
2019
Since the 1980s, there has been a growing worldwide interest on urban bird diversity. The avifauna of Mediterranean cities has been however poorly investigated with standardized methods. Accordingly, our investigation aimed to record breeding and migrating species in two XVIII-century green areas of Palermo town: Villa Trabia (8 ha) and the Botanical Garden (10 ha). Starting from spring 2019, we carried 15 census sessions by point-counts, during the morning hours (10 points at Villa Trabia and 11 at the Botanical Garden, set with a minimum distance of 50 m) by recording, in each point, all the birds seen or heard within 10 min. Our preliminary results show that the study sites are mainly vi…
THE PALMETUM, A NEW SECTOR IN THE PALERMO BOTANICAL GARDEN
2014
A “FREUD GARDEN” AT THE UNIVERSITY TOWN OF PALERMO (SICILY)
2014
DETECTING INVASION HOTSPOTS OF AILANTHUS ALTISSIMA WITH REMOTE SENSING
2014
Australohydnum dregeanum new to Italy
2014
We report on the first finding in Italy (and the third in Europe) of Australohydnum dregeanum. A detailed description of the macro- and micromorphological features, the ecological data, and some taxonomic remarks concerning this taxon are provided. The bluish tint in the centre of the hymenophoral surface and the non-cystidiform aspect of the marginal hyphae are previously undescribed characters.