REVISITING ELBA ISLAND (ITALY): TAXONOMIC AND FUNCTIONAL VARIATIONS IN THE LAST 20 YEARS

Francesco Ponticelli ¹, Maria Sole Calbi ², Eugenia Siccardi ², Michele Mugnai ²

Biology department, Universitry of Florence, Italy ¹, ²

Resurveying plant communities is an essential methodology in ecological research. This approach provides a unique perspective to understand how anthropogenic factors, such as land-use changes, the introduction and of invasive alien species, and climate change, have influenced vegetation dynamics. Islands are among the most sensitive and complex ecosystems, where these phenomena have important impacts due to their limited size, high biodiversity, and ecological fragility. Elba Island is the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago (central Italy), with a long history of mining exploitation followed by increasing tourism pressure, that profoundly shaped its ecosystems. However, in recent decades, a lot of conservation measures have been implemented to protect its natural heritage, including the control and eradication of invasive alien species, and restoration of degraded habitats. Elba also provides an ideal context for analyzing how various vegetation types have evolved over the past 20 years, in terms of floristic and functional composition. The vegetation of Elba has been documented through a series of vegetation surveys carried out in 1992 and 2005, while we have no information on the changes occurred after. The study goal was to evaluate changes in the most relevant vegetation types occurring on Elba Island, such as chestnuts, grasslands, shrublands, dunes and cliffs communities. We revisited fifty-one georeferenced plots in May 2024, recording plant communities replicating the original methodology. This ensured a direct and precise comparison between historical and current surveys. Moreover, we gathered data on three functional traits from databases and calculated taxonomic and functional diversity measures. Finally, we measured between old and new metrics to assess changes in taxonomic and functional composition through time. Preliminary results highlighted changes in the taxonomic composition of chestnuts, grasslands and dune vegetation, while cliffs and shrublands appear to have less significant variations. These changes occurred also from functional point of view, linked to shifts in vegetation structure and physiognomy, as well as adaptations of newly established species in an environment that has undergone ecological modifications. Such changes may be attributed to environmental constraints, including climate change, which acts as a key driver in shaping plant communities composition. These findings provide crucial insights into the ecological transformation processes occurring in insular contexts, where the interplay of natural and anthropogenic factors can generate pronounced effects. Lastly, collected data represents an important knowledge base for managing and conserving natural habitats in this Archipelago, offering valuable guidance for implementing protection and restoration efforts that take ongoing ecological dynamics into account.

Main author career stage: Bachelor student

Contribution type: Poster

First choice session: 3. Biodiversity and global change

Second choice session: 2. Ecology