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Levels of plant invasions in different habitat types were assessed in several regional studies, but few of them were from the Mediterranean. Here we compare the levels of vascular plant invasion across habitats and plant communities of Sicily. We used a large dataset of plant species presences/absences in vegetation plots to analyze the invasion patterns across habitats considering biogeography, life form and phenology of alien plants. Vegetation plots were classified based on the EUNIS classification of European habitats. The invasiveness of each species was expressed in terms of its absolute and percentage frequency. Representation of different life forms and phenological patterns was compared between alien and native species. The fidelity of alien species to individual habitats was calculated using the phi coefficient. Our analysis shows that annual and woody species are the most represented life forms in the alien flora of Sicily and that alien species tend to have a longer flowering period than the native species. The investigated habitats differed strongly in their level of invasion by alien species, ranging from 0 to 15.6% of aliens of all species recorded. Most of the habitats were colonized by very few alien species or completely lacked them, except for sandy coasts, naturally-disturbed riverbeds, and synanthropic habitats. It must be noted, however, that the number of alien species occurring in a given habitat does not relate to the severity of the impact of invasion in that habitat. Some habitats are invaded by few (or single) species, which attain a high cover, transforming the whole ecosystem. The habitat-based approach proved to be suitable for evaluating the habitat specificity and frequency of alien species at a regional scale, improving the capacity for risk assessment in different ecological contexts.

Dragon trees, arborescent members of the genus Dracaena (Asparagaceae), provide a wide range of ecosystem services and have been ethnobotanically important plants since ancient times. Currently, their relictual distribution is fragmented, populations are isolated and often under threat. We provide a brief overview of scientific studies and the state of knowledge on dragon trees published since 2020, when the last review was published. More than 120 papers dealing with dragon trees have appeared, indicating a significant interest in their research, cultural uses and conservation. The most intensively investigated species are Dracaena cochinchinensis, D. cinnabari, D. draco and D. cambodiana. Almost half of the papers deal with the chemical composition of resin and its bioactivity, in addition to studies on ecology, conservation and genetics. Only a few studies are devoted to taxonomy and ethnobotany.

Kambach S., Sabatini F.M., Attorre F., Biurrun I., Boenisch G., Bonari G., Čarni A., Carranza M.L., Chiarucci A., Chytrý M., Dengler J., Garbolino E., Golub V., Güler B., Jandt U., Jansen J., Jašková A., Jiménez-Alfaro B., Karger D.N., Kattge J., Knollová I., Midolo G., Moeslund J.E., Pielech R., Rašomavičius V., Rūsiņa S., Šibík J., Stančić Z., Stanisci A., Svenning J.-C., Yamalov S., Zimmermann N.E., Bruelheide H.

Population genetics studies provide information regarding genetic diversity and genetic structure of populations. This information can in turn be used to inform conservation strategies. In view of programmed conservation efforts, we aimed at investigating the genetic composition of Primula palinuri Petagna, an endemic vulnerable species in Southern Italy. Ninety-one individuals of P. palinuri from seven populations were investigated using double digest Restriction Associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq) and a total of 99,014 Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. Low levels of heterozygosity (0.08–0.12) and high levels of kinship (0.20–0.30) and inbreeding (0.34–0.49) were detected in all study populations. Kinship computed irrespective of population was low, suggesting that the level of inter-population relatedness is low. Analysis of the genetic structure showed that the populations were differentiated from each other and formed three major clusters, broadly corresponding to the geographic sampling locations. We identified the SNPs mostly contributing to the separation in population clusters, and we identified a reduced set of 40 SNPs that can successfully discriminate between the three population clusters. In conclusion, our study shows that the sampled P. palinuri populations have low heterozygosity, low intra-population variability and high inter-population variability.

In the light of the “Biological Diversity” concept, habitats are cardinal pieces for biodiversity quantitative estimation at a local and global scale. In Europe EUNIS (European Nature Information System) is a system tool for habitat identification and assessment. Earth Observation (EO) data, which are acquired by satellite sensors, offer new opportunities for environmental sciences and they are revolutionizing the methodologies applied. These are providing unprecedented insights for habitat monitoring and for evaluating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators. This paper shows the results of a novel approach for a spatially explicit habitat mapping in Italy at a national scale, using a supervised machine learning model (SMLM), through the combination of vegetation plot database (as response variable), and both spectral and environmental predictors. The procedure integrates forest habitat data in Italy from the European Vegetation Archive (EVA), with Sentinel-2 imagery processing (vegetation indices time series, spectral indices, and single bands spectral signals) and environmental data variables (i.e., climatic and topographic), to parameterize a Random Forests (RF) classifier. The obtained results classify 24 forest habitats according to the EUNIS III level: 12 broadleaved deciduous (T1), 4 broadleaved evergreen (T2) and eight needleleaved forest habitats (T3), and achieved an overall accuracy of 87% at the EUNIS II level classes (T1, T2, T3), and an overall accuracy of 76.14% at the EUNIS III level. The highest overall accuracy value was obtained for the broadleaved evergreen forest equal to 91%, followed by 76% and 68% for needleleaved and broadleaved deciduous habitat forests, respectively. The results of the proposed methodology open the way to increase the EUNIS habitat categories to be mapped together with their geographical extent, and to test different semi-supervised machine learning algorithms and ensemble modelling methods.

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Natural resins are complex mixtures of secondary metabolites produced by many plants in response to stress or injury and have long been used for their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Among resin-producing genera, Commiphora Jacq. (Burseraceae) stands out for the traditional and medicinal relevance of its oleogum resins, commonly known as myrrh. In this study, we investigated, for the first time, the non-volatile fraction of the oleogum resin of Commiphora ornifolia (Balf.f.) J.B.Gillett, which is an endemic species of Socotra Island. Ethanol extraction followed by chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis (HPLC-DAD, NMR, HRMS) led to the isolation of (+)-yangambin, a furofuran lignan not previously reported in this species. Quantitative analysis showed yangambin to be present in all eight resin samples analyzed, at concentrations ranging from 3.50 (±0.02) to 9.05% (±0.19) of the ethanol extract. In addition, the analysis of the hydrolyzed polysaccharide fraction revealed the presence of arabinose, rhamnose, galactose, and galacturonic acid. These preliminary findings highlight the phytochemical richness of C. ornifolia oleogum resin and suggest the presence of other potentially bioactive compounds. The presence of yangambin, known for various pharmacological activities, supports further phytochemical and biological studies on this largely unexplored species.

Introduction: Due to its vulnerability to climate-driven floods and storms, Mozambique faces significant challenges in coastal planning due to limited reliable data. In this context, studying mangrove cover and dynamics could provide valuable insights to enhance coastal area management.Methods: This study introduces an innovative framework that assesses mangrove extent and coastal vulnerability by integrating the Mangrove Vegetation Index (MVI) with the InVEST Coastal Vulnerability model to accurately identify areas of highest priority for intervention. Using MVI applied to Landsat-8 (30 m) and Sentinel-2 (2023, resampled from 10 m to 30 m) imagery, we mapped mangrove cover for 2013 and 2023, refining accuracy by excluding pixels beyond 1.2 km inland and above 10 m elevation. A cloud-based workflow leveraging Google Earth Engine and QGIS enabled scalable, efficient analysis.Results: The mangrove area declined from 2,116 km2 in 2013 to 1,739 km2 in 2023—a 18% loss, equivalent to 1.8% annually. The results of the Coastal Vulnerability Model, applied to the entire coast of Mozambique, produced an Exposure Index (EI) for flooding and erosion events. Each point along the coast was classified with values from 1 to 5 at a distance of 100 m from each other: the highest values indicating greater exposure. It emerged that 16.2% of the 11,768.11 km of coastline were classified with an EI as ‘Very Low’, 42% as ‘Low’, 32% as ‘Intermediate’, 9.4% as ‘High’ and 0.1% as ‘Very High’. Considering the points classified with a ‘High’ and ‘Very High’ EI, approximately 1,117.97 km of coastline is highly vulnerable and in need of intervention. Analysis of the impact of Cyclone Idai (2018–2019) on the Púnguè and Buzi River delta revealed a 69% reduction in mangrove cover, from 76 km2 to 23 km2.Discussion: These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions, prioritizing Sofala and Zambezia for mangrove restoration and nature-based solutions to bolster coastal resilience. This scalable approach advances global mangrove monitoring and supports data-driven coastal management in climate-vulnerable regions.

In this work, a preliminary screening of the bioactivities of an ethanolic extract obtained from the leaves of Wollemia nobilis W.G.Jones, K.D.Hill & J.M.Allen was carried out to explore its potential pharmaceutical applications. In particular, the radical scavenging, chelating, reducing antiglycative, antimicrobial and antifungal activities as well as the inhibitory effects on the production of aflatoxin B1 in Aspergillus flavus Link were evaluated. The extract demonstrated promising biological activities, although generally with lower potency compared to the positive control. To identify the metabolites potentially responsible for these effects, the extract was subjected to phytochemical analysis evidencing the presence of eight known compounds. Among them, 15-agathic acid methyl ester (1) and ladanein (5) were reported for the first time in this species. Furthermore methyl-(E)-communate (2), 7,4′,7″,4‴-tetra-O-methyl-robustaflavone (6), agathisflavone (7) and quinic acid (8) were detected for the first time in the leaf tissue of W. nobilis. Their presence and the presence of isocupressic acid (3) and acetyl-isocupressic acid (4) in this species highlights the taxonomic correlations within the Araucariaceae family and suggests a possible contribution of these compounds in the bioactivities of the extract. However, further studies are required to confirm these contributions and to elucidate their mechanisms of action.

The Global Frameworks for Enhancing Natural and Cultural Capital, as expressed in the Charter of Rome (2014), have relevant importance in the broader context of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The intricate connection between cultural and natural heritage emerges in various documents from UNESCO, IUCN, and ICOMOS; however, the categories and methods for their assessment are not completely defined. Evolving from the concept of “mixed properties” used in the UNESCO definitions, we introduce the concept of CUNA places: cultural places of high relevance for nature. It provides a methodological tool for identifying and typifying these places based on their values, attributes, and significance. Then, we propose definitions and categories for three different CUNA typologies, comprising 16 categories, considering both tangible and intangible heritage. We also provide a preliminary application to the city of Rome, where a rich historical heritage intersects with outstanding natural values. All the typologies and categories of CUNA places are present in Rome, and further analysis could show the multifaced aspects represented here. On a broader scale, such an application offers the opportunity to enhance the heritages that could be valorized, strengthening the territorial identity, promoting sustainable development, and generating income for conservation efforts.