Abstracts, XIV OPTIMA Meeting, Palermo (Italy) , 9-15

XIV OPTIMA Meeting, Palermo (Italy), 9-15 September 2013
Analysis of the bryophyte diversity of mountain ranges in Sicily
PUGLISI M. 1 , CAMPISI P. 2 , AIELLO P. 3 , DIA M. G. 2 , PRIVITERA M. 1
1 Dept. of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Italy. E-mail: puglisi@dipbot.unict.it
2 Dept. of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Italy.
3 ARPA Sicilia, Regional Agency for the Protection of the Environment, Palermo, Italy.
The focus of this study is on the bryophytes of the Sicilian mountains in consideration of the interest
of the scientific community towards the Mediterranean mountain systems as keepers of outstanding biodiversity
and of the initiatives of the IUCN World Conservation Congress (2004) for their biodiversity
preservation and enhancement. In particular, we report the results of an analysis regarding the bryophyte
diversity of the three mountain chains of the northern Sicily, also called the "Sicilian Apennines", i.e. the
Peloritani, Nebrodi and Madonie, as well as of the Sicani mountains, located in the west-central Sicily
and of the Etna, the highest and most active volcano of Europe. The overall bryoflora consists of 504 taxa,
400 mosses and 104 liverworts and hornworts, the 85,3% of the whole Sicilian flora; the mosses are
referred to 37 families, the liverworts together with hornworts to 31 families.
The phytogeographical analysis has shown the prevalence of the Mediterranean species, with the
highest value on the Sicani, the driest mountains. It is to emphasize the occurrence of a set of arcticmontane,
and boreo-arctic-montane species, prevailing on the Etna where Bartramia ithyphylla and
Pohlia cruda reach the record altitude of 2,500 m a.s.l. Among this set we quote some noteworthy
species, such as Barbilophozia hatcheri, Brachytheciastrum collinum, Brachythecium cirrosum,
Grimmia alpestris, G. fuscolutea, G. donniana, G. torquata, Hypnum procerrimum, Jungermannia
sphaerocarpa, Nardia geoscyphus, Tortula hoppeana; for these species the Sicilian mountains offer a
refuge for their survival.
The relationships of similarity among the moss floras of mountain systems reflects their geographical
location and geological features, while the similarity of the hepatic floras, always lower than 50%,
mostly reflects the different degree of edaphic and atmospheric humidity.
As regards the bryophyte vegetation, 56 syntaxa (associations and subassociations) are reported
from the Sicilian mountains; the communities of the alliances Racomitrion acicularis, Distichion capillacei,
Pohlion crudae and Andreaeion petrophilae are the most chorologically interesting. The greatest
number of communities occurs at altitudes between 800 and 1,600 m a.s.l. with higher values
between 1,000 and 1,200 meters. Above 1,600 meters the community richness decreases, remaining
high only on the Etna up to 1,800 meters.
The analysis of the altitudinal distribution of the taxa and syntaxa shows that the richness of the
flora and vegetation increases with altitude and then decreases outlining a parabolic curve with
the concavity downwards.
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