Conference PaperPDF Available

Abstract and Figures

The number of natural populations of European fan palm (Chamaerops humilis) in Italy is continuously declining due to anthropic disturbance. Nonetheless, this species is pivotal in the thermo Mediterranean vegetation belt, where it plays an important ecological role and this induced the Italian government to envisage for its protection within Special Areas of Conservation, where genetic contaminations from cultivated plants is reduced. However, the information about the actual distribution and size of C. humilis natural populations in Italy and the genetic and morphological variability of this species, which are crucial to structure efficient strategies for its conservation, are still insufficient. Aim of the present work was collecting natural populations of European fan palm from Italy, outline its distribution and study its genetic and morphological variability, and its relation with climatic traits basing on a fine scale study performed in Sicily (1). The relations between the plants' morphological traits and climatic variables were studied to highlight which are the most important plant traits in the adaptation to the environment. Eighteen natural populations from Italy were sampled as follows: 10 from Sicily, 5 from Sardinia, 1 from Lazio (Parco del Circeo, LT), 2 remnant populations from Tuscany (Parco della Maremma, GR) and Liguria (Parco Regionale di Portofino, GE). Each population was evaluated based on 10 morphological traits as follows: trunk height (HT); crown height (HF); trunk diameter (DT); median leaflet length (CLL); width of median leaflet (WCL); external leaflet length (ELL); hair density (HD; crown diameter to crown height ratio (DF:HT); length of lamina forking to median leaflet length ratio (LF:CLL); thorn density (TD). In addition, a leaf sample was collected to evaluate genetic distances basing on specific SSR (2). Finally, seed from each populations were collected and used to establish an ex-situ collection at Unità di ricerca per il recupero e la valorizzazione delle specie floricole mediterranee (CRA-SFM, Bagheria, PA) for further studies and conservation purposes. Preliminary results of plant morphology and its relation with the environment will be presented. 1) A. Giovino , S. Scibetta , S. Saia, C. Guarino (2014). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, in course of publishing. 2) S.E. Arranz et al. (2013) Mol Ecol Resour.;13, 546-9
No caption available
… 
Content may be subject to copyright.
!
With the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic
Società Botanica Italiana
109° Congresso
International Plant Science Conference (IPSC)
from Nature to Technological Exploitations
Florence, 2 - 5 September 2014
Posters
109° Congresso S.B.I. (IPSC) - Florence, 2 - 5 September 2014
47
3.1 = CHAMAEROPS HUMILIS L.: ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION AND CHARACTERISATION
ANTONIO GIOVINO1*, SILVIA SCIBETTA1, GIANMARIA BONARI2, CHIARA MONTAGNANI3, CLAUDIA
TURCATO3, SERGIO SAIA1
1 Consiglio per la ricerca e la sperimentazione in agricoltura (CRA), Unità di ricerca per il recupero e la valorizzazione delle
specie floricole mediterranee (CRA-SFM). S.S. 113 km 245,500, 90011 Bagheria (PA), Italy; 2 Dipartimento di Scienze
della Vita, Università di Siena, Via Pier Andrea Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italia; 3 DISTAV - Orto Botanico dell'Università di
Genova, corso Dogali 1M, 16136 Genova, Italy.*e-mail: antonio.giovino@entecra.it
The number of natural populations of European fan palm (Chamaerops humilis L.) in Italy is continuously
declining due to anthropic disturbance. Nonetheless, this species is pivotal in the thermo Mediterranean
vegetation belt, where it plays an important ecological role and this induced the Italian government to envisage
for its protection within Special Areas of Conservation, where genetic contaminations from cultivated plants is
reduced.
However, the information about the actual distribution and size of C. humilis natural populations in Italy and the
genetic and morphological variability of this species, are still insufficient.
Aim of the present work was collecting natural populations of European fan palm in Italy, outline its distribution
and, basing on a fine scale study performed in Sicily (1), study its genetic and morphological variability, which are
crucial to structure efficient strategies for its conservation.
The relations between the plants' morphological traits and climatic variables were studied to highlight which are
the most important plant traits in the adaptation to the environment.
Eighteen natural populations in Italy were sampled as follows: 10 from Sicily, 5 from Sardinia, 1 from Lazio
(Parco del Circeo, LT), 2 remnant populations from Tuscany (Parco della Maremma, GR) and Liguria (Parco
Regionale di Portofino, GE). Each population was evaluated based on 10 morphological traits as follows: trunk
height (HT); crown height (HF); trunk diameter (DT); median leaflet length (CLL); width of median leaflet
(WCL); external leaflet length (ELL); hair density (HD; crown diameter to crown height ratio (DF:HT); length of
lamina forking to median leaflet length ratio (LF:CLL); thorn density (TD). In addition, a leaf sample was
collected to evaluate genetic distances basing on specific SSR (2). Finally, seed from each populations were
collected and used to establish an ex-situ collection at Unità di ricerca per il recupero e la valorizzazione delle
specie floricole mediterranee (CRA-SFM, Bagheria, PA) for further studies and conservation purposes.
Preliminary results of plant morphology and its relation with the environment will be presented.
1) A. Giovino , S. Scibetta , S. Saia, C. Guarino (2014). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, in course of publishing
2) S.E. Arranz et al. (2013) Mol Ecol Resour.;13, 546-9
... Currently, natural stands of C. humilis are restricted to western Mediterranean coastal ecosystems, and have been suffering a progressive decline due to anthropogenic activities, habitat fragmentation, climate change and overgrazing by wild and domestic animals (Giovino et al., 2014a). The most important natural stands of C. humilis in the Mediterranean Basin are located in Sardinia, Sicily and Morocco (Giovino et al., 2014b). This species is included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species (Gardiner & V ela, 2017). ...
Article
The red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus , is the most devastating pest of the Canary palm, Phoenix canariensis , in the Mediterranean Basin. Sporadic infestations have also been observed in other cultivated palm species and, above all, in the endemic European fan palm, Chamaerops humilis . Considering the high ecological importance of C. humilis in coastal ecosystems, the present paper gives an update on the status of R. ferrugineus infestations on the European fan palm in Sardinia (Italy). Since the introduction of R. ferrugineus into Sardinia, attacks of this pest on C. humilis have been limited but have increased in the last 2 years, including infestations on eight naturally growing palms in a Natura 2000 site. Male and female red palm weevils that emerged from C. humilis were similar in size to those of P. canariensis , indicating that the quality of these two feeding substrates is similar. The limited number of infested European fan palms observed so far suggests caution when predicting a rapid spread of this pest in cultivated and non‐cultivated C. humilis palms. Nonetheless, natural populations of C. humilis along western Mediterranean shores should be monitored in order to highlight the potential establishment of R. ferrugineus in these habitats.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.