82
Mantodeans. Although mantises (Mantis religiosa) are not exclusive to arid
meadows and may also be found in cooler areas, grasslands are their ideal
habitats. In these environments, plant colours change quickly, from the pale
green of stalks and leaves in spring, to the yellowish-brown of dried-up
grasses in late summer. Mantises have no problem of camouflage, as they can
have green or isabella (yellowish-brown to light olive brown) colourings. The
extent to which individuals change colour during their lives, and the role
played by the mantises’ perception of colours in their environment when
developing their camouflage, is a fascinating subject that should be
investigated further. What is certain is that the colouring of these insects is not
fully determined by their genes.
The females lay their oothecae (grey or pale brown firm-walled egg cases,
resembling dried foam) in sheltered spots, e.g., under large stones. The
following spring, the young emerging from these eggs already look like small
adult versions, including the large front legs, covered with spines and ready to
seize their prey.
Together with this widespread species are other rare mantises living in arid
meadows with a Mediterranean climate, such as Iris oratoria, a couple of
species of Ameles, and the curious Empusa pennata, with an unmistakable
crown on its head.
Orthopterans. As mentioned above, mantises have special camouflage
strategies to prevent being seen by their victims. More often, however, as is
the case of most orthopterans (with a few exceptions, such as the large Saga
pedo, which is carnivorous), cryptic coloration is used to prevent this mantis
from becoming a victim by accident.
The colours of orthopterans in arid meadows are those of dry grass, typical of
summer and early autumn, when these insects become adults. Otherwise,
they exhibit simple colours like those of barren soil, where they generally
land, always ready to spring off as soon as they perceive enemies
approaching.
This is also true of large, slow, clumsy insects, such as the huge
Prionotropis, which has small wings. Arid meadows in the Trieste Karst hosts
P. hystrix, and similar environments in the Salento Murge host the congener
P. appula.
In orthopterans, however, cryptic colours as camouflage do not cover all
their body parts. Prionotropis, for instance, has flashy rear tibiae, Oedipoda
and Calliptamus italicus have large spots on their rear wings (pink or pale
blue, according to species), and these are revealed as soon as the insects,
instead of performing their usual short jumps, prolong them to short and
ponderous flights.
Empusa pennata
Saga pedo
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Undoubtedly, possible aggressors
are taken aback by the sudden
appearance of these coloured wings,
and are unlikely to realise that the huge
flying insect in front of them is none
other than the camouflaged creature
they saw shortly before.
Arid meadows contain large numbers of
tiny-winged or wingless orthopterans,
Oedipoda caerulescens
which cannot fly. This is especially true
of high-altitude meadows, in both the
Alps and Apennines.
Among these is Italopodisma, a genus
of grasshoppers typical of highaltitude arid grasslands in the central
Apennines,
which
occasionally
colonises environments with scarce
grassy vegetation. These insects are
not inclined to movement, and have
developed several distinct species
Calliptamus italicus
and subspecies, which live isolated in
different mountains.
Other podismine grasshoppers that
generally visit arid Alpine meadows are
Podisma pedestris, which are never
found below 1800 m. Many species of
grasshoppers living at southern lowaltitudes are brachypterous (smallwinged), such as the huge Decticus
loudoni, endemic to Apulia.
Calliptamus italicus, with wings opened
Arid meadows on the large
Mediterranean islands host pamphagids, the largest caeliferan orthopterans
of Italian fauna (caeliferans have short antennae and the females lack the
sword-shaped ovipositor which ensiferans normally have): Pamphagus
sardeus in Sardinia, P. marmoratus in Sicily and P. ortolanii on the tiny, remote
island of Lampedusa, between the south coast of Sicily and Africa. The
particular climatic conditions of these islands enable the young pamphagids
to develop in winter and reach adulthood in spring, whereas most Italian
orthopterans mature in summer or even early autumn.
Saga pedo is a rare species - up to 70
mm long, plus 30-40 mm of ovipositor which feeds on other orthopterans. It
has a strange shape, with great robust
white spines on its front and middle
legs. It lives in sunny, arid meadows in
northern and southern Italy and the
islands. It is a parthenogenetic species
(female gametes developing without
Podisma pedestris
being fertilised), with a long ovipositor
with which the female buries her large
eggs in the soil. The development of
the embryos is exceptionally slow:
they only hatch after a period of at
least three years, and sometimes
requires as long as seven.
Much more frequent in arid meadows
throughout Italy is Tylopsis lillifolia,
which loves living on thistle, when it
does not wander to the shrubs along
Pamphagus marmoratus
the margins of meadows.
One of the most loyal inhabitants of arid
meadows is a small grasshopper,
Glyptobothrus brunneus, the sound
of which generally fills these
environments. Although the Calliptamus
italicus, which is sturdier, is typical of
pre-Alpine meadows, its distribution is
localised and discontinuous.
Among orthopterans living in the Friuli
Pamphagus sardeus
magredi, there is Oedaleus decorus
and particularly Celes variabilis, an eastern specimen which, in Italy, is only
found in these environments.
Arid meadows also host a few species of crickets which, unlike field
crickets, do not burrow underground dens, but shelter under small piles of
vegetation. One of the most interesting species of Italian fauna is Acheta
hispanicus, which is only found in a few sites in Sicily and Calabria. It is
closely related to Acheta domesticus, a cricket typically found in houses all
over Europe.
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Euborellia moesta
Dermapterans (earwigs). Although
earwigs generally prefer cooler and
more humid environments, Euborellia
moesta, a blackish species about 1.5
cm long, lives under stones in arid
meadows throughout Italy and the
islands. In northern Italy, it is a
thermophilous species commonly
found in the xerothermic areas in the
Euganean Hills.
Embiopterans (web spinners). Web spinners make up a small order of
insects with blackish, elongated bodies. They resemble rove beetles or
earwigs without elytra and rear forceps. If they have wings, these are
membranous. Their forelegs end in large tarsi containing glands that produce
silk. They use this substance to spin tubes resembling thick webs at the base
of trees or under stones, in which they live. These tunnels stretch as far as the
nearest grass tufts, on which these insects feed. Web spinners are frequent in
arid meadows in Mediterranean areas, but have recently been found also in
northern Italy.
Ampelodesmus tufts in arid meadows in Calabria and Sicily. With grasses of
the genus Brachypodium are associated leafhoppers of the genus Adarrus,
the adults of which are generally visible in summer and autumn. In Italy, there
are a dozen species, among which is A. lesei, living in arid meadows near the
top of Monte Lauro (Sicily). Another localised species is A. aeolianus, which
lives on Brachypodium ramosum in arid grassland on the Aeolian Islands.
However, in Italy, there are many other species of the same genus, such as
the continental A. multinotatus and the Mediterranean A. exornatus. In
Mediterranean areas, leguminosae of the genus Ononis host Austroagallia
avicula. The genus Mongolojassus is interesting from the biogeographic
viewpoint. It is of central Asian origin, as its name suggests, and in the postglacial epoch it followed the colonisation of steppe vegetation in Italy. There
are two species living in Italy: one of them, M. meritalicus, was only
discovered in the late 1980s in arid meadows on Monte Pollino, above the
upper tree-line.
Neuropterans (lacewings). Large numbers of these insects live in warm, arid
African and Asian regions, and many are found in arid meadows, especially
species belonging to the families of owlflies and antlions. Adult owlflies have
large, yellow- or black-stained wings and long, clubbed antennae. Their
Heteropterans (true bugs). Various species of true bugs visit arid
environments. Most of them are parasitic on sap (e.g., stink bugs, chinch
bugs, plant bugs), but some are also zoophagous, in that they feed on the
body fluids of other animals. Tingids, or lace bugs, are a family with many
xerothermic species. They are tiny, with finely or coarsely reticulate (lacy)
pronota and large forewings. Their feeding habits are very specialised, and
many of them feed on labiates in arid meadows. Large numbers of
thermophilous bugs - some of which are associated with shrubs or trees, not
arid meadows - have been found in xerothermic locations in the Euganean
Hills and pre-Alpine areas.
Homopterans (leafhoppers). Many species of homopterans live on grasses,
especially cicadellids (leafhoppers). These small animals have long rear legs
which enable them to jump, nevertheless they remain inconspicuous, their
green-brown colours mimicking grass. They feed on sap, which they suck
through their mouthparts. Many species of this group live on grasses or
leguminosae, including typical species of arid meadows.
Between spring and early summer, Selachina apicalis frequently visits
The owlfly Libelloides coccajus
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predacious larvae live underground or under stones. Antlions have long,
slender wings, either transparent or dotted with brown. Their larvae live on the
ground in small holes surrounded by small heaps of soil resembling tiny
volcanoes, from which they stalk their prey.
Rove beetles. These beetles, with
elongated bodies and tiny, almost
larval elytra, frequently inhabit arid
meadows, although very few species
are associated with these grasslands.
Very large, although not typical of this
habitat, are specimens of the genus
Ocypus, such as O. ophthalmicus, O.
sericeicollis, O. fortunatorum (the last
Tasgius falcifer
only in southern Italy and its islands),
and Tasgius falcifer, T. globulifer and T. morsitans. They are therefore
conspicuous species (12-22 mm long), which may be seen walking on the
ground. They are associated with some Quedius species, such as Q. boops,
Q. semiaeneus and Q. semiobscurus, which are definitely smaller (7-8 mm).
Submountain arid grasslands in Valtellina and Val Venosta host the typical
Astenus anguinus, together with Sepedophilus nigripennis. The most typical
xerophilous species in hilly arid meadows in pedemontane areas are the
congeners A. cribrellus, Stenus cribratus and Aleochara spissicornis.
Populations living in the magredi are very different, like some species of
Bledius (B. secessus, B. baudii, B. agricultor), Carpelimus punctatellus (its
love of arid environments makes it wander away from the other species of its
same genus, which live in silty soil near watercourses), Meotica marchica,
and Chilomorpha longitarsis. These insects may also be found in abandoned
quarries.
Rove beetles living in open environments with clayey soil are again different.
Here, among xerophilous species, are Platystethus burlei and several species
of the genera Achenium and Micrillus, which live in cracks in the soil.
Achenium, in particular, have extremely flat bodies, a morphological
adaptation to the peculiar shape of the spaces in which they live.
The same habitats also host a few Stenus, such as S. hospes, and several
Astenus, some of which are particularly localised. Stenus often climb on to
low vegetation, where they hunt smaller insects. They are extremely effective
in their search thanks to their huge, protruding eyes, and catch their prey with
their large, mobile lower lip. The latter is a special adaptation that cannot be
Blister beetles
Alessandro Minelli
These medium- to large-sized,
generally brightly coloured beetles live
in warm, arid areas (many are found in
the Middle East) and in Italian arid
meadows, especially on the
Mediterranean steppes in southern
regions. The most common genus is
Mylabris, with several species, e.g.,
M. obsoleta, M. variabilis, M.
quadripunctata and M. fabricii; in
mountain steppes of the Apennines
there is M. pusilla latialis, and M.
connata, typical of southern France,
reaches the xeric grasses of the upper
Val di Susa. The adults, which
generally visit flowers of the daisy,
mint and legume families, are active
between late spring and summer. M.
variabilis, which is one of the
biologically best known species,
mates on flowers, in the warmest
hours of the day. The females lay their
eggs (30-60) in the ground, in holes
about 3 cm deep, which they burrow
with their mandibles, removing the soil
with their front legs.
The larvae (A) enter tiny burrows
A
B
C
nearby, which host the eggs of
grasshoppers, generally Dociostaurus
maroccanus and Calliptamus italicus.
Mylabris larvae feed on these eggs
during their first four larval stages (B),
and later metamorphose into a fifth
stage (C) that does not require food,
but during which they come out of the
case hosting the grasshoppers’ eggs
and moult, turning into dormant grubs
(D) with hardened teguments. Mylabris
spends the winter in this condition.
This dormant stage is not the usual
pupa stage, which should give rise to
an adult, but a quiescent,
supernumerary stage typical of these
beetles.
In spring, a new moult turns them into
active larvae (E), which move in the
ground at shallow depths, where they
burrow as pupae, when their final
metamorphosis occurs (F).
After a few weeks, the adult emerges
ready to start its flower-loving life.
The development of these insects is
more complex than that of others, and
is called hypermetamorphosis.
D
E
F
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found in any other adult insect (not even in rove beetles very similar to Stenus),
except in the young, aquatic life-stages of dragonflies, which use a similar
hunting method.
There are also Myrmoecia, myrmecophilous (ant-loving) rove beetles
associated with ants of the genus Tapinoma.
Soft-winged flower beetles (melyrids). These insects, the larvae of which
grow in the soil or under tree bark, live on flowers. Arid Alpine meadows host
three black species, Dasytes erratus, D. lombardus and D. alpigradus, which
inhabit northern areas from west to east. The congener D. subaeneus is found
in the driest grasslands in the Maritime (French) and Cottian Alps and in the
Apennines up to 2000 m, and in the Trentino also at lower altitudes.
Vegetation at lower altitudes hosts Enicopus hirtus and Danacaea nigritarsis,
both associated with Attalus nourricheli, frequently found in southern Italian
regions.
Scarab beetles (scarabaeids). Arid meadows host many species of
coprophagous (dung-eating) scarab beetles, featuring very complex parental
care. For instance, they build paedotrophic nests in which they store food
(dung) on which their larvae feed. According to their different behaviour, they
are divided into two groups: hypocoprids (Onthophagus, Copris, Bubas)
excavate a chamber under a pile of dung, on which they feed; telecoprids
(Scarabaeus, Sisyphus, Gymnopleurus) roll balls away from the original mass
of dung, bury them, and later feed on them elsewhere. These two different
behaviours limit competition with coprophagous species that lay their eggs in
manure (endocoprids: Aphodius), and are also adaptations to arid conditions.
Dung keeps fresh underground, but dries up in the open air. Many species of
telecoprids have become rare in Italy, and several populations may be extinct,
especially those of the genus Gymnopleurus. Among the many reasons for this
is abandonment of meadows, and the rising numbers of hooded crow and
starling, which prey on these insects and are favoured by degradation of the
environment.
Darkling beetles (tenebrionids). The presence of these insects under stones
and turf reveals the warm, arid conditions of these environments. Most of the
15,000 species of darkling beetles described so far live in generally arid,
subdesert and even desert areas. In Italy, there are only 258 species, most of
them in Sicily, Sardinia, and along the southern Italian coasts. Northwards,
darkling beetles become less frequent, and inland there are only a few genera
with specialised ecology, usually living under tree bark. However, the situation
is different in arid meadows. Where grasses become sparse, turf hosts the
genera Asida, Opatrum and Pedinus.
Long-horned, wood-boring beetles (cerambycids), leaf beetles
(chrysomelids) and weevils (curculionids). Several specimens of these
phytophagous families visit arid meadows, and are often associated with
various genera of leguminosae, labiates and other plants.
Among wood-boring beetles, the
larvae
of
which
are
usually
xylophagous (feeding on wood), there
is Dorcadion, with a short, stocky
body, unable to fly, the larvae of which
feed on roots (especially of grasses).
The adults live on the ground, at the
base of plants.
There are many genera and species of
the tiny halticines, the adults of which
Asida sabulosa
may execute long leaps, thanks to the
strong muscles in their rear legs. Much
larger (10-13 mm), heavy, and
incapable of flying, is Timarcha
pratensis which, in the past, lived in
arid meadows between the Trieste
Karst and Piedmont, a distribution area
that is now becoming more restricted.
Flies (dipterans). In arid meadows,
many flies exploit various flowers as
food. Large numbers of them then
move quickly to other places to lay
their eggs. However, plants in arid
meadows generally host the whole lifecycle of large fruit flies, the females
of which lay their eggs in the heads
of young wild thistle and other
composites. Later, the larvae develop
inside the flowers themselves, severely
damaging their fruit.
Pedinus fallax
Dorcadion arenarium
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Among the most conspicuous species in arid meadows, there is Asilus
crabroniformis, a great predator of grasshoppers, bees, social wasps and
beetles, especially coprophagous scarabs of the genus Aphodius. Adults may
be found between July and early October.
In arid meadows, the most frequent visitors to flowers are hover flies. As
larvae, they have differing lifestyles, either feeding on plant lice, or on decaying
matter in damp environments.
Among the almost 500 Italian species, several are thermophilous and their
northern populations are separated from their typical, southern distribution
area. This is the case of Merodon albifrons, Eupeodes flavipes and Pipizella
maculipennis. Paragus finitimus, a very rare and endangered species in Italy,
lives in only two locations and is associated with fescue grassland.
92
Urophora cardui lays its eggs in the stalk of wild thsitle, causing large galls to form
These larvae are generally aided by the large weevils of the genus Larinus.
From the economic viewpoint, the activity of these insects is important. Wild
thistles, which are ignored by grazing animals because they are too thorny,
tend to develop in great numbers due to this positive selection. Therefore, arid
meadows used for grazing benefit from natural factors limiting the expansion
of thistles, such as Larinus or fruit flies.
Other flies living in these environments are thick-headed flies, with their gaudy
colours and strangely shaped abdomens. Their larvae often feed on
hymenopterans nesting on the ground. Robber flies are large predatory
dipterans with elongated bodies covered with bristles and hairs. They visit
open, arid and sunny habitats. The adults rest on the tallest blades of grass
from which they perform short flights aimed at catching flying flower insects.
They inject their toxic saliva containing neurotoxins - which immobilise their
prey - and pre-digestive proteolytic enzymes.
The species of the genus Laphria, easily recognisable by their large bodies
covered with dense, black hairs, also prey on beetles with chitinous
exoskeletons and predators like tiger beetles.
Butterflies and moths (lepidopterans). Among day-flying butterflies, the
largest family with species typical of arid meadows is undoubtedly that of the
lycaenids (blues, coppers and hairstreaks), especially several species of the
genus Polyommatus.
Two of these, Polyommatus galloi and P. humedasae, were only described in
the 1970s, are extremely localised, and exclusive to arid meadows, in two areas
of Italy very far from each other. P. galloi is only found in two mountainous areas
in southern Italy, one on Monte Pollino and the other on Orsomarso. P.
humedasae lives right in the opposite part of the country in Valle d’Aosta, in
meadows with Festuca valesiaca.
Each species only has a few thousand specimens left in nature. Polyommatus
humedasae, and probably also its congener, feed on leguminosae of the
genus Onobrychys. The adults visit
their flowers as well as those of other
leguminosae, Sedum, and several
composites.
In addition to lycaenids, nymphalid
butterflies are also frequent in these
environments,
examples
being
Hipparchia semele and Chazara briseis
in the meadows of the pre-Alps.
Then there are Pyronia cecilia and
Melanargia
arge
in
Apennine
meadows, and also skippers, which
prefer hotter, sunnier areas, like the
Polyommatus galloi
ubiquitous Erynnis tages, Spialia
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Chazara briseis
Pyronia cecilia
sertorius, Thymelicus acteon, T. lineola, and several species of the genus
Pyrgus.
There are numerous species of the genus Erebia, dark brown in colour,
characteristically found on natural meadows and high pastures in the
Apennines, from valleys as high as the upper limits of vegetation.
In these habitats, moths are abundantly represented with numerous species
belonging to all families. In xerothermic meadows, both in plains and in
mountain foothills, for example, there are many geometrids of the genera
Scopula and Idaea. And in xerophilous and mesophilous meadows in the
mountains, we find specimens of the noctuid family, with several species of
Plusia and similar genera.
Hipparchia semele
Aculeate hymenopterans (bees, wasps). Among the many species of
aculeate hymenopterans, scoliid wasps are the most conspicuous (in terms of
size and colouring) visiting flowers in arid meadows, from the pre-Alpine areas
to southern Italy. There are several cuckoo wasps, with brilliant metallic
colours, and particularly sphecid wasps and bees. Although their adults feed
on the same flowers, these two groups have different diets as larvae. They
develop in nests built by their mothers, which feed them on tiny paralysed prey
(sphecid wasps), and pollen gathered on flowers (bees). Some sphecid wasps
are specialised in catching prey that typically live in arid meadows, e.g.,
Tachysphex costae hunts mantises, and Dolichurus corniculus catches
cockroaches. Among sphecid wasps there are also many species of the
genera Cerceris, Liris, Tachytes and Bembicinus and, among bees, Nomada
and Colletes.
Vertebrates
LUCIO BONATO
The peculiar structure of vegetation is
certainly one of the ecological factors
that most influences the lives of
vertebrates in arid meadows.
In these habitats, the plant cover is low
- only about a dozen centimetres often discontinuous and dominated by
annual grasses, with erect stems and
thin leaves partially covering the
ground. In addition, arid meadows
usually stretch extensively along flat or
slightly sloping surfaces
Low vegetation influences the lives of
In these conditions, large animals are
vertebrates in meadows
easily seen, even at great distances,
although it is also true that they too can see well all around. Therefore, sight is
one of the most important senses for vertebrates, and it is used for
communicating with members of the same species, feeding, and defending
themselves against possible predators.
Examples are the elaborate, stereotyped nuptial flights with which passerines
typically living in arid meadows mark their territory, the lengthy air patrols by
many predatory and necrophagous raptors, and the brown, streaked
colourings of many reptiles, birds and terrestrial mammals.
However, in these wide, open areas, communication by sound is also well
developed, e.g., the territorial cries of steppe birds or the warnings emitted by
colonial mammals. In these homogeneous territories with few hiding places,
many vertebrates are elusive, alternating periods of activity in the open with
others in which they hide, remain still in dense vegetation, or burrow
underground.
Another characteristic of arid meadows that affects the lives of vertebrates is
exposure to the sun, especially during the warm, Mediterranean summer in
southern Italy. Intense light in the environment, enhanced by rocky substrates,
may disturb the eyes of animals that prefer twilight. In addition, as these
Short-toed eagle (Circaetus gallicus)
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environments are very exposed, the animals and their lairs risk overheating
and dehydration during the day, alternating with quick dispersion of heat at
night.
Some species therefore feature special behavioural and anatomical
adaptations to limit these hazardous conditions. A few of them concentrate
their activities at night or twilight, hiding by day, such as the few amphibians
that venture in these habitats, and some mammals. As regards birds, their
plumage provides excellent thermal insulation, and the horny teguments of
reptiles prevent dehydration. Conversely, intense, diffuse sunlight provides
ideal conditions for ectotherms (cold-blooded) like reptiles, which depend on
the sun’s heat for their activities.
Shortage of surface water, another typical factor in arid meadows, also affects
the lives of vertebrates. Although these environments do not host any fish and
only a few amphibians, they are inhabited by many species of reptiles, birds
and mammals which do not need much water. Vertebrates regularly living in
arid meadows can tolerate the lack of water by physiological means, reducing
its loss in their excretions and recuperating it through food.
In Italy, few species of vertebrates are exclusive to arid grasslands, and only
the more extensive and stable areas (mostly in southern Italy and the islands)
host them. Most vertebrates in Italian arid meadows are found in areas with
less extreme conditions, especially as regards aridity and type of vegetation.
Furthermore, many of these species only visit arid meadows for biological
requirements, and therefore only at certain periods of the year - for example,
to feed or nest - but they need different environmental conditions for other
living activities.
In Italy, vertebrates living in arid meadows are also geographically different,
both due to the remarkable climatic differences between the Alps and the
Mediterranean islands, and particularly due to the complex, varying
biogeographic history of Italy. This is why differing species of lizards, reptiles
and small mammals with similar ecological roles live in arid meadows in the
various Italian regions, and some species are endemic to restricted areas.
This volume treats vertebrates which are particularly associated with or
exclusive to arid grasslands and that have anatomical and physiological
features and behaviours associated with these environmental conditions.
environments are generally inhabited by species associated with open
grasslands. In summer, tree pipit (Anthus trivialis) is a very common, small
perching bird with inconspicuous plumage, which colonises open mountain
meadows where it may find isolated trees. It nests on the ground, between
blades of grass and emerging rocks, and it also feeds on the ground, pecking
up insects and seeds with its delicate bill. The typical flights during which the
males emit their territorial cries are particularly suited to this habitat: almost
vertical ascents to the tops of isolated trees followed by rapid, spiralling
descents ending in their initial roosts.
Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) also colonises extensive mountain meadows,
dry grasslands and humid leas. However, it has a more conspicuous look
and behaviour. It perches on the highest grass stalks or other emerging
surfaces to check the surrounding territory, keeping very straight and waving
its tail frequently. When it flies, skimming the ground, it shows white spots
on the back of its wings and tail, which contrast with the dark colours of its
feathers.
Another common sight in summer is linnet (Carduelis cannabina), a
granivorous perching bird, which feeds on grassy ground using its short, stout
bill. Several pairs nest next to each other, exploiting the few available shrubs in
their area.
■ Alpine arid meadows
Arid meadows in the Alps - especially in glacial valleys and on the driest
plateaux - host vertebrates which are not highly specialised, because these
Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra)
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When linnets are not in their breeding season, they still visit open areas, but
may tolerate several environmental conditions. They are protected in these
treeless habitats by their gregariousness.
Among the other vertebrates living in Alpine arid meadows which often visit
different environments, there are viper (Vipera berus) and a few mammals such
as mountain hare (Lepus timidus) and snow vole (Chionomys nivalis).
Among birds, there are skylark (Alauda arvensis), water pipit (Anthus
spinoletta), black redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurus), common wheatear
(Oenanthe oenanthe), red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) and yellow bunting
(Emberiza citrinella).
Arid meadows along the southern pre-Alpine flanks and nearby hills host a rich
community of vertebrates, with species that are well adapted to the local xerothermal conditions.
Among snakes, there is asp (Vipera aspis), which is also found at higher
altitudes, although it generally lives on the dry, sunny flanks of hills,
particularly where vegetation is varied and contains a few trees. This
animal is strictly terrestrial. The adults hunt small mammals and the
juveniles feed on lizards. When they bite, their specialised front teeth inject
poisonous saliva into their prey, which is either carried away at once, or
released and tracked down later, followed by smell, when the poison has
began to work.
These same meadows host ortolan (Emberiza hortulana) and corn bunting
(Emberiza calandra), two perching birds which, in northern Italy, used to be
more numerous in past centuries.
During their breeding season, territorial males roost for lengthy periods in
isolated trees, emitting simple but powerful calls. The females have mimetic
brown and streaked plumage and sit on their eggs on the ground, in nests
made of entwined grass blades.
Unlike these two day-flying species, nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) is
particularly adapted to nocturnal life. It rests perfectly still on the ground or
perches in trees by day, quite invisible with its streaked feathers and
crouching, still position. Its activity begins at night: in spring, the males emit
vibrating, monotonous, continuous calls. When flying, they flutter their wings
noisily, and may reveal the evident white spots on their tails. The females
brood in grass on the ground and do not build nests. Nightjars are
insectivorous and thermophilous, and spend the summer in Italy and the
winter in tropical Africa.
Young ortolan (Emberiza hortulana) in its nest
Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus)
■ Pre-Alpine arid meadows
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Other, less typical species in these pre-Alpine environments are western green
lizard (Lacerta bilineata) and a few birds of prey, such as buzzard (Buteo buteo)
and kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).
The few stretches of meadow left in the Po Plain (low ridges, sand dunes,
gravelly plains and magredi) often shelter vertebrates that have deserted other
habitats. These are also excellent environments for species visiting Italy only
seasonally.
Common hare (Lepus europaeus) is particularly adapted to open areas,
whether carpeted with dense grasses or only partially covered by vegetation.
This animal is strictly herbivorous, has mimetic fur and very long ears. It has
devised a series of complex behavioural patterns which enable it to escape
predators: it can sit perfectly still, crouching in grass, or perform high
zigzagging leaps to mislead its predators.
In the past, autochthonous populations of this species lived throughout northern
Italy, especially in the Po Plain, and were genetically different from other European
species. However, these Italian populations cross-bred with specimens
introduced from other European areas, a practice associated with hunting.
Among rodents that visit open meadows is common vole (Microtus arvalis),
which is particularly tolerant of semi-arid conditions. This species is
widespread in Europe, but has colonised only north-eastern Italy. It lives
mostly underground, burrowing tunnels in the softest clay substrates,
looking for the roots and tubers on which it feeds. It also raises its young
underground, in a chamber padded with grass. Common voles, like all
voles, are very prolific, and this balances their high mortality rate, due to
birds of prey.
A possible predator of small vertebrates is rat snake (Hierophis viridiflavus),
which visits several environments but which loves dry, sunny, grassy and
rocky areas. In spring, it is often found in arid meadows basking in the sun. It
is very agile and will easily bite if disturbed. Some specimens are spotted
yellow and black, others are totally black, with considerable differences
between populations of different regions.
Another typical reptile of these environments in the Po Plain is Italian wall
lizard (Podarcis sicula). It is widespread in the Italian peninsula, especially in
the south, although it has strict ecological requirements in northern Italy,
which limit its presence to coastlines and a few suitable inland areas. There, it
lives on coarse, partially sandy substrates covered with short, sparse
grasses. It is found on the ground, as it only occasionally climbs. It regulates
Western green lizard (Lacerta bilineata)
Common hare (Lepus europaeus)
■ Arid meadows in the Po Plain
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Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)
its temperature on the ground and
hides in bushes when disturbed. It
slides warily, hunting arthropods and
gastropods or fighting with other
members of its species for its portion
of territory.
One of the most typical birds in
meadows of the Po Plain is skylark
(Alauda arvensis), which feeds and
nests on the ground in thin grass. It
avoids being preyed on by having
brown, black-spotted feathers, and
Italian wall lizard (Podarcis sicula)
keeps perfectly still and quiet when on
the ground. It never flies directly to its
nest, but lands nearby, and then approaches the nest by walking on the
grass, never revealing the position of its hiding-place to possible onlookers.
In spring, the males emit long, powerful calls while they perform slow,
ascending flights, up to a dozen metres into the air, followed by quick, silent
descents to the ground.
The calls of stonechat (Saxicola torquata) are shorter and more discreet. This
species lives in open habitats with scattered trees and shrubs. In their
breeding season, the males perch in isolated trees to check the surrounding
territory and emit their calls. Their upright position shows the contrasting
red, black and white of their feathers. They perch on grass stalks and short
poles to identify insects and other possible prey which they catch after short
flights.
Red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus) visits these meadows only temporarily.
Between April and May, flocks of dozens of specimens roost here for only a
few days, interrupting their migration from South African savannahs to the
northern Eurasian steppes where they nest. Arid meadows in northern Italy
provide them with the large insects on which they feed, such as orthopterans
and beetles. They stalk their prey in bare trees, or soar, identify their prey and
plunge down on them with claws and hooked bills. The males and females
roosting in meadows have very different plumage: the former are slatecoloured, the latter tawny.
Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) is only found in winter. This large raptor nests in
northern and eastern Europe, then migrates to southern Europe and also nests
in the Po Plain. It prefers open areas, leas, fields and meadows. It hunts by
skimming over the ground, at a height of less than one metre, searching
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carefully for small vertebrates moving on the surface, which it seizes with its
long legs.
Another bird of prey that regularly visits these environments in winter is merlin
(Falco colombarius), a small falcon that skims across the ground and has very
sharp sight. It hunts small passerines feeding in meadows and leas. In
summer, merlin migrates to the northernmost Eurasian regions, where it
breeds in open tundra, in nests on the ground.
Meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis) winters in Po Plain meadows. It is a perching
bird that nests only north of the Alps. Like similar species, it has brown
feathers with darker streaks in the upper part of its body, and is therefore
inconspicuous when it walks briskly on the ground searching for seeds and
small invertebrates. In winter, meadow pipits gather in groups and rest quietly.
When flying for short stretches, they continually emit simple sounds to keep in
contact.
Partridge (Perdix perdix) is traditionally associated with leas in the Po Plain. A
strictly terrestrial species, it walks and scratches about pecking up seeds and
other plant material, and stays in family groups.
It escapes predators by running or hiding, and flies for short stretches only if
necessary. The numbers of partridges are declining, due to dramatic
environmental changes caused by modern farming techniques and hunting.
Many of the present populations are unable to survive autonomously, and
their presence depends on continual introductions by hunting management.
In the Po Plain, this species often shelters in the few remaining meadow
stretches.
Stone curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus) looks for more extreme environmental
conditions. It has adapted to life in semi-desert areas, with discontinuous
grassy covers and rare trees. In northern Italy, arid meadows and shores along
the Po Plain watercourses are its only colonising sites. Stone curlew is also
found in similar habitats in other parts of Italy.
Other vertebrates living in these environments are western green lizard
(Lacerta bilineata), wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), and birds such as fan-tailed
warbler (Cisticola juncidis) and goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis).
Red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus)
Partridge (Perdix perdix)
■ Karstic arid meadows
The fauna living in karst areas is partially different from that of northern Italy,
due to the peculiar position and biogeographic history of this area. In
particular, some species of Balkan origin find their westernmost distribution
area here.
This is the case of Melisello lizard (Podarcis melisellensis), a species with a
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Stone curlew
Among the Charadriiformes
(shorebirds), a diversified bird group
associated with wetlands, stone curlew
(Burhinus oedicnemus) has its own
particular ecology. This species lives in
warm, damp environments, on rocky or
bare substrates, where vegetation is at
its most grassy, in steppe or semidesert
conditions.
In Italy, therefore, stone curlew is only
found in restricted, fragmented areas,
where these environmental conditions
persist - for example, along the largest
undisturbed riverbanks in the Po Plain
and in Friuli, on dunes and barren
flanks in the Tuscan countryside, and in
Apulian, Lucanian, Sicilian and
Sardinian grazing steppes. The
northern Italian populations migrate
south when not breeding, whereas
those living along the peninsula and in
the islands are generally sedentary.
Stone curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus)
Lucio Bonato
Stone curlew features a number of
biological, behavioural and anatomical
peculiarities, which enable it to survive
and breed in these open, dry, and warm
environments.
When it flies, the black and white
pattern of its wings is clearly visible, but
when it lands and closes its wings, its
plumage is extremely dull and mimics
the substrate perfectly. This camouflage
is typical of both sexes and is due to
the fact that both males and females
take turns sitting on the nest. Although
the adults can always rely on their flying
capacity to escape predators, the
flightless young adopt another strategy,
which is highly effective in these
uniform, flat habitats: upon their
parents’ alarm call, they instinctively
flatten to the ground, stretching their
necks forward and becoming practically
invisible. The nests are also
inconspicuous and there are usually
two streaked eggs simply laid on
sloping ground.
Stone curlew is generally active at
night, when temperatures are lower and
more tolerable, predators are less
efficient, and many of the invertebrates
on which it feeds emerge. On spring
nights, the males contend for their
territory and court the females uttering
sharp, wailing calls. Stone curlews feed
at night, gathering in areas rich in food,
where they peck up crustaceans,
worms, insects, and small animals.
Their relatively large eyes with highly
contractile irises are ideal for shifting
from intense daylight in sunny rocky
fields to dim nightlight.
These birds are not very active by day,
as they are elusive and always alert,
ready to run away quickly on their long,
sturdy legs. During the breeding
Nest of stone curlew in Friuli magredi
season, the brooding males may sit in
the sun to protect the eggs from
excessive heat for hours on end,
sometimes with their bills open to
favour heat dispersion. While one adult
sits on the nest, the other keeps watch
nearby. As soon as it sees predators, it
lets out a cry that attracts the
predator’s attention, thus enabling its
partner to leave the nest discreetly and
hide in the nearest bush.
As in other parts of Europe, this bird
is also threatened in Italy. The
numbers of breeding pairs are
estimated at a few hundreds, and are
falling.
The transformation of steppe areas
initially uncultivated or only grazed, into
farmlands or urbanised developments
is the most important reason for this
decline, together with direct
disturbance in nesting grounds.
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restricted distribution area, limited to the dry, rocky meadows of the Dalmatian
coastline, as far north as the Trieste Karst. It is a small, frail lizard, and the
colour of its back varies from pale brown to green, in patterns of varying sizes.
Compared with wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) and other similar species,
Melisello lizard is better adapted to arid conditions. It loves sunny spots and
seldom climbs, preferring to walk on the ground in search of insects and other
arthropods.
Cat snake (Telescopus fallax) is a predator specialising in lizards. This
species lives in the eastern Mediterranean area, as far west as the Italian
Karst. It hunts at twilight, in summer even at night, especially on rocky
substrates. It ferrets its prey from out of its lairs, cracks in the ground or
between stones, or cautiously follows it in the open. It kills it with poison
injected by its rear teeth.
Another lizard hunter is Montpellier snake (Malpolon monspessulanus).
Although it is typical of Mediterranean coasts, in Italy, this snake certainly
lives only along the western Ligurian coast. It is also found along the
Dalmatian coasts, and may reach the Trieste Karst. Its large eyes are
protected by special protruding eyebrows that enable it to crawl on the
ground and hunt in very sunny environments. Its rear teeth inject poisonous
saliva into its prey.
■ Hilly Apennine arid meadows
Melisello lizard (Podarcis melisellensis)
Montpellier snake (Malpolon monspessulanus)
In Italy, arid meadows at low altitudes host vertebrates which are particularly
adapted to the dry, warm Mediterranean conditions typical of these areas.
Savi’s pygmy shrew (Suncus etruscus), less than 5 cm long and weighing a
maximum of 2 g, is perhaps the world’s smallest mammal. Its tiny size enables
it to move and hide between surface rocks, in the thinnest cracks. Its long
muzzle ends with a very sensitive nose that sniffs out the terrestrial arthropods
on which it feeds. It is quite agile and aggressive, and may catch prey as big
as itself, such as large orthopterans living in arid grasslands.
Although shrews are generally associated with woodlands, European pygmy
shrew (Sorex minutus) may also hunt in Apennine arid meadows. Just like
other shrews, its rapid metabolism and consequent great dispersion of body
heat force it to eat very frequently. Unlike other species, however, it hunts on
the surface. It identifies prey through smell and hearing, and kills with its
venomous bite.
Among the snakes living along these warm, hilly flanks is Riccioli rat snake
(Coronella girondica), a typical species of the western Mediterranean area. It is
slender, about 50 cm long, and its body is spotted black. It is active by day
and at twilight. It crawls on the ground hunting lizards and geckos.
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Short-toed eagle (Circaetus gallicus) is a specialised predator of snakes. It is a
large raptor, with pale feathers, which flies over meadows and shrubs along
Mediterranean hills to catch animals by surprise while they are basking in the
sun. It catches snakes with its claws and kills them on the spot with its hooked
bill. In the breeding season, it carries to its nest - generally in a tree - dead
snakes dangling from its bill. Because snakes are not available prey in winter,
harrier eagles leave Europe in autumn and winter in African steppes south of
the Sahara.
Woodchat shrike (Lanius senator) has similar migrating behaviour. It is a
passerine that winters south of the Sahara and migrates to Mediterranean
regions only in summer. This species loves warm, arid environments with
trees, and is generally found on Apennine hills. Adults have contrasting black,
white and red feathers. The patterns change according to whether the birds
live in mainland Italy or Corsica and Sardinia. Woodchat shrike preys on large
insects which it catches with its strong, slightly hooked bill. When food is
available in large quantities, it does not eat its prey immediately, but stores it
by leaving it hanging from thorns and twigs.
Red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is typical of arid hills in the northern
Apennines. Like most fowl-like birds, it walks on the ground, in the grass, and
only flies if disturbed or to escape predators. The feathers of adults of both
sexes have complex patterns, with contrasting colours on their heads, patent
collars on their breasts, and brown bars on their sides - all of which are
necessary elements for visual communication with others of the same
species. Like other hunted fowl associated with traditional cultivated or
grazing environments, autochthonous populations of this species have greatly
declined in numbers and have locally been replaced with allochthonous or
hybrid specimens.
Grassy flanks with isolated trees and shrubs provide favourable conditions for
wood lark (Lullula arborea), a small perching bird similar to skylark. Like the
latter, wood lark is practically invisible when on the ground, feeding on seeds
or invertebrates. It also nests on the ground, in grass. In the breeding season,
the males mark their territories with typical flight performances, consisting of
spiralling ascents and descents, fluttering their wings and uttering sweet trills.
Black-eared wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica) is more terrestrial. It visits uneven,
rocky soil with grassy glades scattered between shrubs. Here, it generally flies
low and for short periods, showing the black-and-white pattern on its back
and tail. In spring, the males warble and flaunt their plumage in contrasting
black and tawny colours by standing on outcropping rocks. The females are
more mimetic and sit on their eggs in nests between rocks. This species is
strictly insectivorous and breeds in the Mediterranean area. In Italy, it is only
Woodchat shrike (Lanius senator)
Meadow pipit (Anthus campestris)
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found in summer, as it winters south of
the Sahara.
In Italy, tawny pipit (Anthus campestris)
is frequent on dry, grassy soil. It is a
small bird with unassuming sandy
feathers, which enable it to merge into
the colours of the bare ground. It is
mainly insectivorous, and hunts by
scurrying along the ground, wagging
its tail for balance. It seeks insects and
other invertebrates, and chases by
suddenly accelerating, catching them
Large mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis)
with its slender bill. In the breeding
season, the males fly over their
territories in typical undulating flights, marking their descents with simple
staccato sounds. Tawny pipit is a migrating species that lives in Italy only in
summer.
Quail (Coturnix coturnix) has a similar migrating habit. Between April and
September, this small, elusive bird lives throughout Europe, where it nests in
meadows and leas with continual, not very dry grassy covers. There, hiding in
the grass, the males utter their clear, penetrating three-syllable warbles. In
winter, quails live in arid steppe environments in Africa, south of the Sahara.
Migrations start at night and the birds generally fly directly to their destination,
with only a few stops on the way.
More barren hills with rocky, eroded flanks are suitable habitats for lanner
(Falco biarmicus), a typical raptor in semi-desert African environments, which
also lives in northern Italy as far as the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. It has a
sturdy body and its feathers are paler than those of other hawks, with no clear
distinction between the sexes and a typical sand-coloured hood. In the
breeding season, pairs fly over wide steppe areas searching for small birds,
often helping each other in frightening their pray and then catching them in
flight. In the recent past, this species has declined in numbers, due to man’s
disturbance in its nesting areas.
Among the many species of bats living in Italy, large mouse-eared bat (Myotis
myotis) and lesser mouse-eared bat, or Blyth’s bat (Myotis blythii) are those
visiting open arid grasslands more frequently. As soon as the sun sets, they
come out of their day shelters and start flying slowly, at only a couple of
metres off the ground. They search the surface by echo location, identifying
large insects and other arthropods moving on the ground or in the grass, and
either catch them in flight or land briefly on the ground. Although the two
species are morphologically similar and even form mixed breeding colonies,
their tastes and food differ. Large mouse-eared bat hunts along thin grass and
feeds on ground beetles and other terrestrial insects. Blyth’s bat hunts in taller
grass, picking grasshoppers and flying beetles.
Many other species of fauna live in arid meadows in the Apennine hills. Among
reptiles, there is western green lizard (Lacerta bilineata), asp (Vipera aspis) and
rat snake (Hierophis viridiflavus). Typical birds are buzzard (Buteo buteo),
kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), scops owl (Otus scops), nightjar (Caprimulgus
europaeus), blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius), cirl bunting (Emberiza
cirlus) and corn bunting (Emberiza calandra)
■ Mountain arid meadows in the Apennines
In the Apennines, other, less thermophilous vertebrates live in open, rocky,
windbeaten meadows at higher altitudes.
Here, smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) replaces Riccioli rat snake
(Coronella girondica). Although these two species look very similar, Riccioli rat
snake is more thermophilous and associated with Mediterranean areas,
whereas smooth snake tolerates cooler conditions and therefore lives
Rat snake (Hierophis viridiflavus)
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throughout Europe. Both feed on lizards and live in open, grassy
environments.
Similarly, common wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) is a small bird like blackeared wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica). Both have gaudy tails in contrasting
black and white, and visit uneven grassy and rocky soil. They nest and hunt on
the ground, and are accustomed to flying close to the surface. However,
black-eared wheatear is thermophilous, associated with Mediterranean areas,
and replaced by common wheatear at higher altitudes in the Apennines and all
over Europe.
Open Apennine fields are hunting areas for kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), which is
widespread in Italy and capable of adapting to various environments, whether
mountain cliffs or urbanised leas, but it always needs wide grassy covers to
prey on small mammals and large insects. Its sharp eyesight and great flying
skills enable it to search the ground from considerable distances, often
soaring in the air, fluttering its wings quickly or exploiting the breeze and
ascending air currents.
In a few arid mountains of the central Apennines, there are the only
populations left in Italy of Orsini’s viper (Vipera ursinii), which is smaller and
less poisonous than other vipers. This species hunts orthopterans by day
between grasses on the ground. It is also found in several isolated regions in
Orsini’s viper (Vipera ursinii)
southern Europe and western Asia: some of its morphological characteristics
differ according to region, and even its environment and food preferences
may change.
Other typical species of high-altitude arid grasslands are tree pipit (Anthus
trivialis), water pipit (Anthus spinoletta), black redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurus)
and whinchat (Saxicola rubetra).
■ Arid meadows in southern Italy
In southern Italy, conditions of aridity are even more extreme due to the
Mediterranean climate, especially along coastlines and at low altitudes inland,
where dry meadows are frequent and extensive. Although conditions are very
selective, a few species of vertebrates are particularly adapted to them.
European tortoise (Testudo graeca) and common tortoise (Testudo hermanni)
live in sandy substrates near the shores. Covered with horny, waterproof skins
and bony carapaces in which they can completely retract, these animals are
well protected against dehydration and predators. They can therefore wander
around even by day, feeding on plants. Italian populations are declining due to
alterations in their original habitats and the continuous taking of individuals
into captivity.
Green toad (Bufo viridis)
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Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
Rocky
meadows
near
the
Mediterranean coasts house green
toad (Bufo viridis), the Italian
amphibian which best tolerates arid
substrates. Its grey skin with olive
green spots is wrinkled and warty, and
may remain dry for lengthy periods.
Green toad crouches and flattens itself
in the soil during the day, in small
Moorish gecko (Tarentola mauritanica)
cracks under cool, damp rocks. It
comes out at night or on rainy days. Its
breeding depends on aquatic environments: its tadpoles may develop in the
ephemeral puddles that form during the Mediterranean spring.
Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is often found in these dry coastal
environments covered with grassy and shrubby underbrush, as well as in other
inland leas or pastures. It is smaller than hare and its ears and legs are less
long. It is an excellent burrower of complex underground tunnels. Rabbits are
very colonial and come out of their burrows at night, to feed on grasses and
bulbs, always ready to warn each other by tapping the ground with their rear
feet and escaping quickly in great leaps.
Arid, rocky glades are visited by geckos, especially Mediterranean gecko
(Hemidactylus turcicus) and Moorish gecko (Tarentola mauritanica). The former
is smaller and paler than the latter, which is larger and dark brown. Both
species hide in cracks in rocks by day and move about at night, climbing
smooth rocky surfaces easily with their specialised toe pads with stickers that
enable them to adhere perfectly. They hunt insects and other arthropods at
sight, thanks to their large eyes with fixed eyelids and vertical pupils.
Kotschy’s gecko (Cyrtopodion kotschyi) also lives in similar environments. It is
a strictly eastern Mediterranean species and, in Italy, it only lives in dry, rocky
habitats in the Salento peninsula, where it may locally abound. Unlike other
geckos, its toes are less specialised, and it therefore has limited climbing
capacities.
Leopard snake (Elaphe situla) lives in the southernmost Italian regions, from
Apulia to eastern Sicily. Unlike similar species, its skin is gaudy throughout its
life, with a pale grey background spotted black and brick red. More
thermophilous than other species, it visits sunny, dry and rocky areas. It
slithers along the ground searching for small mammals which it catches and
sometimes suffocates by constriction.
Among the most colourful Italian birds is bee-eater (Merops apiaster),
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specialising in catching large flying insects that visit the maquis and arid
meadows, especially on the Italian mainland. Its long, thin bill enables it to
catch safely even potentially hazardous prey, such as bumblebees and other
hymenopterans which the bee-eater beats on branches to stun them. Its bill is
also useful in spring, when it burrows tunnels and small chambers inside clay
and sand deposits near cliffs or along gently sloping barren flanks. In these
dark, cool chambers, it lays its eggs and raises its young. Bee-eaters are
found in Italy only in summer, as they winter in tropical Africa.
Lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) is a falcon species particularly adapted to
steppe habitats. It mostly eats large insects, such as grasshoppers, which are
numerous in these environments. In winter, it searches for these insects in
savannahs and prairies in central-southern Africa, and in summer, in steppes
in Mediterranean Europe and central Asia, where it breeds. In Italy, the largest
colonies nest on walls and roofs in the historical centres of cities in Apulia and
Basilicata, between Murge and Lucania. Towns are also places where lesser
kestrels roost at night, before flying in search of food to the surrounding fields
and pastures by day.
Among other raptors that visit extensive arid meadows in southern Italy, kite
(Milvus milvus) is present all year round. Although it nests in impervious
woodland valleys, this species feeds in open meadows. It flies both high and
Lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni)
slowly, thanks to its long wings and
forked tail, searching for prey to catch
by surprise, but it will also take
carrion.
The much larger Egyptian vulture
(Neophron percnopterus) is a scavenger,
and its numbers are declining in Italy.
Today, it is only found in summer in the
driest rocky areas in southern Italy, as
it winters in the African steppes. It
identifies carrion from high above,
descending to the ground, and
Short-toed lark (Calandrella brachydactyla)
approaches it by stealthily hopping
along the ground. Its yellow, totally
featherless head and relatively long, hooked bill enable it to reach the
innermost parts of carrion, which are inaccessible to other animals.
Typical passerines of pebbly, grassy areas in southern Italy are calandra
lark (Melanocorypha calandra) and short-toed lark (Calandrella
brachydactyla).
These two species are similar to skylark but prefer even hotter places, and
their breeding grounds are limited to Mediterranean peninsulas and islands.
Both have plain plumage and feed on the ground, scuttling about in search of
seeds and arthropods. Calandra lark is larger and has a stronger bill than
short-toed lark. In spring, the males of both species perform complex,
continuous flights a few metres off the ground, while emitting a warbling song.
The flight of calandra lark is more circular and spiralling, whereas short-toed
lark alternates ascents and descents more frequently. Their warbles are also
different. Calandra lark stays in the same areas throughout winter, whereas
short-toed lark migrates south of the Sahara.
The same arid meadows also host crested lark (Galerida cristata), which is
less thermophilous and has therefore colonised most of Europe. The males
are very territorial during the breeding season, and emit their warbles both
while perching near the ground and while fluttering in the air. They have
feathers on the top of their heads which stand up in a crest when the birds
aggressively confront each other at a short distance on the ground, or when
courting. Their long, slightly curved bills enable them to search and peck up
food very precisely, burrowing into the soil, catching flying insects and
breaking hard-shelled seeds.
Although in the past Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus) could be found
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everywhere in Italy, its presence is now
restricted to the most secluded areas
in the southern Apennines, from
Latium to Sicily. With respect to
common hare (Lepus europaeus),
Italian hare is exclusive to Italy and is
smaller, the fur on its back a darker
red, with contrasting colours on its
sides. Its numbers have declined due
to hunting and the introduction of
foreign species.
Many other vertebrates live in arid
meadows in southern Italy. Among
reptiles, there is western green lizard
(Lacerta bilineata), Italian wall lizard
(Podarcis sicula), four-lined snake
(Elaphe quatorlineata), rat snake
Corn bunting (Emberiza calandra)
(Hierophis viridiflavus) and asp (Vipera
aspis). Among birds, there is stone curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus), scops owl
(Otus scops), blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius), goldfinch (Carduelis
carduelis), cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus), black-headed bunting (Emberiza
melanocephala), and corn bunting (Emberiza calandra).
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■ Arid meadows in Sicily
Arid meadows on carbonate, often outcropping substrates near Capo d’Otranto (Apulia)
The fauna living in Sicilian arid grasslands is generally the same as that living
in southern Italy. However, a few vertebrates which are particularly adapted to
these environmental conditions are either exclusive to Sicily or more frequent
here than anywhere else.
This is the case of Sicilian wall lizard (Podarcis wagleriana), which lives only in
Sicily and the surrounding small islands. It is the most common lizard found in
dry, open meadows inland, and is gradually replaced by Italian wall lizard
(Podarcis sicula) along the coastline. Sicilian wall lizard usually scurries along
the ground, catching arthropods. In spring, the males are brightly coloured,
with brown-spotted green backs and red bellies.
Sicilian shrew (Crocidura sicula), endemic to Sicily and islands nearby, is a
small insectivore, the aspect and habit of which are similar to those of many
other Italian shrews. Although it visits several habitats, even woodland, it
frequently hunts in garrigue and arid meadows. It moves in grass and in the
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thinnest surface cracks, searching for prey with its highly developed senses of
touch and smell. Its bite can overcome even relatively large animals such as
spiders, earthworms and scolopendras. It lives its very short life (just over one
year) in continual hyper-activity.
Sandy, dry areas, especially along the shoreline, host eyed skink (Chalcides
ocellatus), with specialised morphology which enables it to escape easily,
creeping inside entangled low vegetation and burrowing in sand. It has a large
neck, elongated body, sturdy tail, and relatively short legs. The scales covering
its body are smooth, and although most of them are pale tawny, some are
spotted white, with black outlines. The species preys on arthropods, and is
active by day, unless the weather is very hot and sunny.
Among raptors hunting in open spaces, there is Bonelli’s eagle (Hieraaetus
fasciatus), a typically Mediterranean species, now rare and declining in
numbers. It nests in rocky ravines and cliffs, and flies to dry, barren flanks and
plateaux to hunt rabbits and terrestrial birds.
Although striped button quail (Turnix sylvatica) used to be a typical species of
arid, dwarf palm prairies along the southern Sicilian coast, it died out in the
early 20th century, probably due to hunting. Today, the species lives along the
north-western African coast, and natural recolonisation of Sicily is unlikely,
due to this bird’s sedentary nature and poor disposition for flight. Although
striped button quail look and live like
common quail, they are only remotely
associated with fowl-like birds, of
which they are an example of
convergent evolution to adapt to
similar living conditions. They have
very peculiar breeding behaviour: the
females emit hollow nasal sounds to
attract the males, which instead are
the ones in charge of sitting on the
eggs.
Other Sicilian vertebrates also visit
arid grasslands. Among reptiles is
Italian wall lizard (Podarcis sicula),
green
lizard
(Lacerta
viridis),
Mediterranean gecko (Hemidactylus
turcicus), Moorish gecko (Tarentola
Cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus)
mauritanica), rat snake (Hierophis
viridiflavus), leopard snake (Elaphe situla) and asp (Vipera aspis). Among
birds, there is kite (Milvus milvus), kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), lesser kestrel
(Falco naumanni), lanner (Falco biarmicus), stone curlew (Burhinus
oedicnemus), calandra lark (Melanocorypha calandra), short-toed lark
(Calandrella brachydactyla), wood lark (Lullula arborea), stonechat (Saxicola
torquata), blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius), woodchat shrike (Lanius
senator), cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus) and corn bunting (Emberiza calandra).
■ Arid meadows in Sardinia
Eyed skink (Chalcides ocellatus)
The prolonged geographic isolation that marks the history of Sardinia has
deeply affected its present fauna. Species which are exclusive or otherwise
absent in other Italian regions are found in the vertebrate community living in
the steppes on this island. In addition, the extent and natural condition of
Sardinia enable the survival of animals that are extinct on the Italian
mainland.
For instance, house shrew (Crocidura russula) is a small shrew found in
Sardinia, with a shape which is evolutionarily different from other European
and North African populations. It colonises particularly dry, warm areas
covered with shrubby and grassy vegetation. It wanders at twilight and dawn
in search of arthropods, and may be seen in spring, in its breeding season,
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when it communicates with other individuals by leaving its smell and by
uttering high-pitched squeaks.
Sardinian hare (Lepus capensis) is also evolutionarily different from hares living
in other Italian areas, being smaller and better suited to the Mediterranean
climate and dry soil. It is of African origin, and was probably introduced by
man in ancient times.
Arid, uneven rocky soil, especially along inland flanks, hosts Sardinian
partridge (Alectoris barbara). This is a terrestrial, almost vegetarian bird that
feeds on seeds and sprouts which it seeks in discontinuous underbrush.
Unlike other Italian partridges, it has fewer contrasting colours - which make it
invisible - although its colouring is variously patterned, with a grey-brown head
and barred sides. This species is also found in arid environments in northern
Africa.
More extensive barren flanks in north-western Sardinia are regularly visited
by griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), a large vulture which has disappeared from
other parts of Italy and maintains its last natural Italian breeding grounds
only in Sardinia. It soars for hours in silent, slow circles, over sunny flanks
searching for fresh carrion, wandering far from its usual refuges and the
rocky cliffs where it nests. Its specialised scavenger diet associates it with
open rocky meadows where sheep and mouflon graze. The griffon vulture
has a large, high bill, hooked at the top to tear and swallow even large
chunks of flesh. Its head and neck are covered with fine downy feathers so
that, when the bird inserts its head into the carrion, it does not become too
bloodied.
Little bustard (Tetrax tetrax) still breeds in steppe plains inland. This species
belongs to the bustard group, which is particularly adapted to extensive dry
plains. The Sardinian populations are sedentary and always perform their
spectacular courting parades, nest and winter in these same areas. Together
with a small group living in the Apulian Tavoliere (flat-topped mountains),
they constitute the last populations of this species living in Italy.
Other species found in Sardinian arid meadows are Tyrrhenian wall lizard
(Podarcis tiliguerta), Italian wall lizard (Podarcis sicula), rat snake (Hierophis
viridiflavus) and eyed skink (Chalcides ocellatus). Among birds, there is kite
(Milvus milvus), Bonelli’s eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus), kestrel (Falco
tinnunculus), lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni), lanner (Falco biarmicus), stone
curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus), nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus), calandra
lark (Melanocorypha calandra), short-toed lark (Calandrella brachydactyla),
wood lark (Lullula arborea), stonechat (Saxicola torquata), blue rock thrush
(Monticola solitarius), woodchat shrike (Lanius senator), cirl bunting
(Emberiza cirlus) and corn bunting (Emberiza calandra).
Sardinian hare (Lepus capensis)
Barbary partridge (Alectoris barbara)
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Little bustard
In Sardinia, they call it pudda campina, in
Sicily pitarra. In past centuries, little
bustard (Tetrax tetrax) was found in
cultivated plains and grazed plateaux
along the Italian peninsula and its major
islands, as many aristocratic hunters and
naturalists wrote, from Emperor Frederick
II to Ulisse Aldrovandi (Renaissance
naturalist and physician). Today, the
Italian populations of lesser bustard are
almost extinct. One thousand specimens
still live in Sardinia, on the lonely plains
between Nurra and Campidano, seldom
visited by man but used as extensive
pastures. A few dozen pairs live in
Apulia, at the foot of the Gargano, in a
desolate steppe of the Tavoliere, one of
the driest in Italy. There are many reasons
for this decline, e.g., intensive hunting,
which, until a few years ago, was
practised illegally during the breeding
season. But drastic changes in
agricultural and animal farming
techniques, the establishment of singlecereal cultures, intensive grazing, and the
use of pesticides have also decimated
Lucio Bonato
the numbers of lesser bustard.
Little bustard used to live in the
temperate steppes that covered
extensive plains in the Palearctic area.
It had even adapted to poorly grazed
pastures and undisturbed cultivated
fields which were typical of the
Mediterranean area in past centuries.
Today, the largest and most stable
populations live inland in the Iberian
peninsula and in the Russian and
Kazak lowlands.
Little bustard is extremely well adapted
to the climatic conditions and landscape
features of open steppes. Its entire lifecycle is spent in these open, arid
environments. Many populations are
sedentary, and even those regularly
migrating between continental Europe
and the Mediterranean are associated
with these same environments
throughout the year.
It has a generalist and opportunist diet.
Walking slowly, it pecks up seeds, buds,
leaves, and various invertebrates on the
ground or in grass, and occasionally
even small vertebrates. It also swallows
small pebbles and snail shells that help it
grind and then digest the hardest plant
tissues. The water it obtains from
succulent plants can last it for lengthy
periods. In these open, uniform habitats,
little bustard has devised morphological
and behavioural adaptations aiding it
against possible predators. It inspects
the surrounding territory by holding its
neck erect and its legs stretched, thus
keeping its head above the grasses, but
at the same time ready to crouch quickly
and hide.
The females lay their eggs in small
hollows in the ground, keeping their
brown-streaked, camouflaged backs at
ground level. They often bend the
surrounding grasses towards
themselves for extra concealment. Their
gregarious behaviour is also a defence.
When not breeding, dozens, even
hundreds of specimens of both sexes
and all ages move about in groups.
During the breeding season, the males
defend their territory from other males
and attract the females. Their peculiar,
mostly visual, but also vocal parades are
carried out to communicate their position
at sometimes considerable distances, as
their territory is usually flat and covered
with grass. The males reach certain
spots, inflate the feathers on their necks,
and hop up and down rhythmically,
opening their wings suddenly.
They thus show off the contrasting
black-and-white patterns on their necks
and wings which are visible above the
grass. These visual messages are
accompanied by sharp, crackling calls
emitted with open bills, thumping the feet
on the ground, and typical swishing
sounds made by their seventh remix
(quill feather) when closing their wings.
Conservation projects have recently been
set up to preserve the last Sardinian and
Apulian little bustard populations:
associations like WWF have promoted
the creation of protected areas, and
European funds to local communities
have enabled them to start conservation
measures for steppe habitats.
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Conservation and management
LUCIO BONATO · ALESSANDRA DI TURI · SIMONETTA PECCENINI
Conservation of Italian arid meadows must take into account the fact that
most of these areas were formed and maintained by man’s activities. Their
origin, as already mentioned in the chapter on vegetation, is associated with
the agricultural and pastural activities carried out over the centuries by man.
Many arid meadows therefore cannot be considered true natural
environments, but semi-natural habitats of secondary origin.
Despite this, they are rich in animal and plant species, and are essential
elements of biodiversity. They have a particular ecological role to play and are
of considerable scientific interest. They are also of great cultural and
landscape significance. Conservation of these environments is therefore
essential and greatly recommended.
■ Threat factors
Today, one of the factors threatening the existence of many semi-natural arid
meadows is the transformation of their uncultivated or low-yielding soil into
intensively cultivated land.
Although the present demand for food resources and the economic need for
new cultivable land have strongly declined with regard to the past, this
process still continues in several areas. This transformation may cause the
drastic elimination of spontaneous grasses, and consequently, the
impoverishment and simplification of the animal communities living on them.
In addition, tillage, fertilisation and artificial irrigation deeply alter the structural
and chemical properties of the soil and the microclimatic conditions of the
substrate.
The gradual but widespread expansion of agriculture has recently caused
severe reduction in the extent of Italian arid meadows, particularly the Friuli
magredi and substeppe areas in southern Italy and the islands. These
processes are continuing and give rise to fragmentation of these
environments into a landscape mosaic, thus thwarting territorial continuity
and weakening it still futher.
Modern, intensive agricultural techniques and excessive use of pesticides
and herbicides have a powerful impact on these ecosystems. The use of
Arid meadows and farmland often overlap (Salento, Apulia)
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machines like reapers greatly increases the mortality of birds breeding on the
ground, particularly their young.
Many arid meadows which formed on land previously cultivated and later
abandoned still bear the marks of their recent past in the form of infesting
weeds and species associated with farmland. For example, if farmland is
definitively abandoned, after a few years it is colonised by a very
homogeneous plant population, mainly ruderal and subnitrophilous species
which last 5-6 years, together with residues of weeds from previous cultures.
Besides agriculture, urbanisation also develops in non-productive or
abandoned areas, which are usually arid meadows. This phenomenon is
typical in the plains, where houses, industry and tourist facilities sprawl
randomly.
Arid meadows in Alpine valleys are threatened by the construction of
motorways and railways with high environmental impact. Whole meadows
along the Alpine and Apennine flanks have been greatly modified by the
addition of tourist and sports facilities like ski-slopes and cable-cars, which
naturally have a powerful landscape and ecological impact.
Sandbanks and dunes in the Po Plain have been occupied by houses and
industry, and have sometimes been completely destroyed. Arid meadows
along the Mediterranean coastline have been jeopardised by tourist
Sheep grazing in Sardinia
complexes. The landscape on Apennine flanks is often ruined by the
construction of windmills for the production of energy.
Extensive arid meadows are generally preserved if they are State military
property, and are therefore constrained by law. This is the case of the most
extensive magredi in the Friuli plain, and extensive areas in Tuscany, Latium,
Apulia and Sardinia. Sale of these areas, no longer used by military authorities,
may endanger the conservation of meadows, unless they are subjected to
compatible uses which prevent the destructive exploitation which has already
occurred in areas nearby.
In the past, many secondary meadows were maintained as such by extensive,
low-impact grazing. However, grazing is becoming more and more intensive
and unsustainable. The heavy weight of cattle, excessive fertilisation, and
continual exploitation of the soil without regenerative periods of fallow cause
degradation of these meadows. Flora is deeply affected and its species are
impoverished and become more resistent. The chemical composition of the
soil is modified due to excessive manure. The vegetation structure, just like the
soil, is altered by grazing animals’ feet, sometimes leading to the complete
destruction of turf, thus accelerating erosion. Excessive grazing is one of the
major causes of degradation of steppes on the Apulian Tavoliere and some
Apennine prairies. On one hand, modern agriculture and animal farming
threaten the existence of these ecosystems; on the other, many of these
environments were created and maintained by traditional agro-pastural
activities and are therefore associated with them. Between the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, all farmland, even low-yielding, was severely exploited
and arid meadows reduced, to the advantage of cultivated land.
At high altitudes, for example in Resy in Val d’Ayas (Valle d’Aosta), or in the
high Valle di Susa in Rochemolles near Bardonecchia, terraces have been built
to grow rye and potatoes up to 2100 m. In the 1930s, rye was grown on the
sunny flanks of Mt. Jafferau, up to 1800 m.
At the end of World War II, the economy of many Italian rural communities
changed. Many areas became depopulated and several traditional activities
were abandoned. Open areas in the mountains and hills that were once
sometimes grazed, regularly mown, or temporarily cultivated, are now
spontaneously evolving into woodland, through stages of scrub.
Fire also plays an ambivalent role in these environments. In the past, many
secondary arid meadows - traditionally used as grazing land - were burnt to
prevent spontaneous afforestation. Their plant communities were naturally
selected over time, and today they are composed of fire-resistent species.
Most of these plants have underground organs enabling them to survive even if
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Fire and excessive grazing favour the growth of asphodel: an example on the island of Capraia (Tuscany)
their aerial parts are burnt. Fire on Brometum and Brachypodietum grasslands
is rapid and superficial, and these vegetal species regenerate quickly. Instead,
Ampelodesmetum grasslands burn for longer periods and plants must
therefore withstand higher temperatures. Old leaves wrapped around stumps
make up thick covers that protect the inner parts from fire and excessive heat,
enabling them to germinate again. Despite its essential role in originating and
maintaining some secondary arid meadows, fire has also had short-term
negative effects. Fire rapidly chars turf and kills or frightens away animals living
on the surface. After a fire, the chemical composition and microclimate of the
soil are severely modified over large areas, often discontinuously. This situation
hinders recolonisation of the substrate, because it inhibits the rapid formation
of the previous biological community. After a fire, an ecological succession
occurs, the early stages of which are marked by plants which survived thanks
to their underground organs, and by more tolerant pioneer species. This
succession will only recreate the original biological community with the passing
of time. After fires, the soil is easily subject to erosion and leaching, which
jeopardise or delay the formation of turf.
In summer, in Italy and its islands, arson is a frequent phenomenon affecting
extensive areas of natural and semi-natural vegetation, like forests and
maquis, but also arid meadows. Arson is committed for purely speculative
purposes, as it aims at mobilising funds both to prevent and restrict arson
itself, and to restore burnt land. Laws have recently been enacted to protect
burnt areas, which cannot be exploited for building. Arid, non-productive
meadows are often considered to be worthless, and are sometimes illegally
used for recreation activities such as cross-country motorcycle racing,
amateur plane flying or free camping, all of which have a severe ecological
impact. These mass activities on limited surfaces become locally important
causes of degradation of arid meadows. Uncontrolled cross-country
motorcycle racing, for example, is one of the most disturbing factors for flora
and fauna in the high-water riverbeds in the Po Plain, Veneto and Friuli
magredi.
Another threat factor caused by human activity is the introduction of exotic
species into the local flora. Already in Neolithic times, the beginning of cereal
cultivation was marked by the introduction of many infesting weeds. Later,
trade caused the involuntary introduction of foreign species that later became
naturalised. Today, trade and tourism contribute to the growing numbers of
adventitious plants.
For instance, the white tufts of feathertop (Pennisetum villosum), native to
Ethiopia, are common in dry areas in Liguria, Veneto, Latium and the Marches.
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The same Ligurian habitats also host the feathery silver bluestem
(Bothriochloa saccharoides), native to central-southern America. Even an
American groundsel (Senecio grisebachii) has recently colonised meadows in
this region. The succulent prickly pear grows everywhere in southern Italian
regions, whereas other species of this genus are less well distributed: Opuntia
dillenii from Central America has naturalised in Sicily, and O. compressa can
live in dry Alpine valleys.
Animals eating its fruit have spread the prickly apple of Sodom (Solanum
sodomaeum), native to South Africa, which has become naturalised here and
there in dry areas throughout central-southern Italy and the islands.
In Italy, conservation of natural and semi-natural arid meadows has only
recently become an important issue. Although other habitats like forests and
wetlands have been protected or considered worthy of conservation for
several years, similar awareness of the need to maintain arid meadows has
only recently arisen. For instance, although many woodlands and wetlands
have been protected as natural State or regional reserves, restricted biotopes,
or natural oases managed by environmental or local associations, there are
few areas of arid meadowland which are currently protected in the same way.
However, awareness is growing. WWF Italia has launched a campaign for the
conservation of the Mediterranean steppe, focusing on particularly important
and threatened areas, such as those in Apulia and Sardinia. Local associations
rally to sign conservation petitions, like those for the conservation of the Friuli
magredi.
At present, the most promising law for the conservation management of arid
meadows is EC Directive 92/43, called the Habitat Directive. This European
directive, endorsed by Italy in 1997, identifies the most valuable natural and
semi-natural environments in Europe, besides several plant and animal
species that need special conservation areas. Habitats of European interest
are some types of primary arid meadows, like “Calcicolous alpine and subalpine grassy formations” and some secondary arid meadows such as “Seminatural arid grasses and shrubby facies on calcareous substrates (FestucoBrometalia) (with relevant orchid sites)”, “Pseudo-steppes with grasses and
annuals - Thero-Brachypodietea” and “Nardus grasses, rich in species, on
siliceous substrates in mountains and submountains of continental Europe”.
In addition to the above, among the animal and plant species listed in the
directive as being of EU interest, many are associated with arid grasslands.
Among plants, there is Ligurian gentian (Gentiana ligustica), Friuli kale (Brassica
Bulbs, tubers and rhizomes are not damaged by fire
Ligurian gentian (Gentiana ligustica)
■ Conservation strategies
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glabrescens) and central Alpine milkvetch (Astragalus centralpinus). Other
species have priority, such as Savona
bellflower
(Campanula
sabatia),
endemic to calcareous grasslands in
western Liguria, some species of milkvetch (Astragalus aquilanus, A.
maritimus, A. verrucosus) and crescent
orchid (Ophrys lunulata).
Similarly, among animals, the Habitat
Directive considers of European interest
some species associated with arid
meadows, like the butterflies Melanargia
arge and Papilio hospiton. As regards
birds, a previous directive (Directive
79/409, called “Birds’ Directive”)
provides special conservation measures
Lanner falcon (Falco biarmicus) is a protected
species in the Birds’ Directive
for the habitats of some species,
including birds of prey hunting in
Italian arid meadows, like Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), lesser
kestrel (Falco naumanni) and lanner (Falco biarmicus), in addition to species
closely associated with these environments, like little bustard (Tetrax tetrax),
stone curlew (Burhimus oedicnemus) and calandra lark (Melanocorypha
calandra). In the application of the Habitat and Birds’ Directives, the
environments and species of the most important Italian areas requiring
conservation measures are identified as “Sites of EU Interest” or “Special
Protection Areas”. These areas, which compose an integrated network of
European protected areas, are managed according to incidence values of
potentially impacting projects. Among them many arid meadows. Thus, the
“Sites of EU Interest” “magredi along the Cellina”, and “magredi of Tauriano”
protect the most important Friuli magredi, those of “Pizzo d’Evigno” along the
Ligurian Alps include extensive secondary arid grasslands, and the those of
“valleys and steppes at the foot of the Gargano” include the most highly
protected area of the Apulian steppe.
As regards secondary arid meadows, which are closely associated with man’s
intervention on the territory, effective conservation management cannot
exclude the maintenance of traditional, low-impact human activities that have
historically produced, moulded, and maintained these environments.
Management of some protected areas therefore includes incentives for hay
harvesting and controlled grazing in
areas where these practices have been
abandoned in recent years. Conversely,
it is essential to prevent intensive
agriculture and animal farming, which
are too invasive and destructive. In
some areas, development plans have
been devised to include “eco-friendly”
agro-pastoral practices, according to
the EC Directives above. These projects
include controlled mowing techniques
and methods, restricted grazing, fallow
for crops and pastures, and
maintenance of weed fallow. For
instance, the National Park of the
Gargano, financed by the European
Union, and in collaboration with WWF
Ploughing destroys arid meadows (magredi in
Cordenons, Friuli Venezia Giulia)
Italia, has recently approved a project
for the conservation of valleys and
steppes at the foot of the Gargano. The project initially provided for controlled
grazing and supervision of jeopardised areas in the Park. It also meant
awakening farmers’ interest in “eco-friendly” agricultural techniques. Similarly,
in the Piana di Ozieri, in Sardinia, a project supported by WWF Italia and
financed by the EC has provided for the management of agro-pastoral activities
in these steppe environments. The project controls the frequency of mowing
and grazing, and provides for periods of fallow.
Where spontaneous scrub vegetation has already grown, secondary arid
meadows can be restored by direct intervention on the vegetation itself, i.e.,
by selective cutting or removal of shrubs, weeding, especially of exotic plants,
and thinning out of margins colonised by scrub. This type of operation has
been adopted in several protected areas and seems to work on small, not
highly vulnerable meadows.
Primary meadows at high altitudes and associated with soil and climatic
conditions are generally well preserved, because they lie in positions which
are difficult to exploit. Human activity could affect them negatively and destroy
their habitats, i.e., building of houses, industry, and tourist complexes (skislopes and cable-cars in the mountains, and beach facilities along the shores).
It is therefore essential to place these areas under restriction, to protect them
from destructive interventions.
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Suggestions for teaching
MARGHERITA SOLARI
■ Study of the soil
Objective: to develop the capacity for analysis, observation and
comparison of natural elements; to enhance the ability to recognise factors
hindering the growth of plants; to prompt individual laboratory research.
● Level: middle school students (11-13).
● Equipment: pH gauge (litmus paper), sieves, plastic bottles, gauze, plastic
containers, graduated 100-ml Erlenmeyer flasks, test-tubes and beakers,
portable hot plate, spade; simple laboratory facilities; camera or camcorder
and suitable clothes for excursions (e.g., protection against mosquitoes).
● Possible collaboration: before the excursion, if necessary, ask permission
to dig small holes.
●
PRELIMINARY STAGE
1. Explain and analyse in class the environmental factors in arid meadows,
focusing on pedology.
2. Study in depth the structure and stages of soil formation in general: layers,
oxidisation and restriction of layers (and colour), leaching, factors destroying
organic matter; analyse accumulation of organic matter and humus fertilising
the soil.
3. Study the factors influencing the maturation speed of soil: rock
composition, soil conformation, etc., and the climate (soil is thicker where the
climate has high average temperatures and rainfall). Analyse the factors giving
rise to humus deposits (directly proportional to the plant cover, inversely
proportional to the mineralisation velocity due to biological agents and rain,
which cause leaching).
4. Explain acid and alkaline, and pH, a limiting factor for many plant species;
quote examples of how some species of plants can specialise on soil with
varying pH.
5. For the excursion to the countryside, choose an area where you can dig
small holes. In class, prepare the materials required and discuss your reasons
for choosing it.
Arid meadows on mountain summits in the Campanian Apennines
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Level: elementary school (8-10 years) and middle school (11-13 years)
pupils.
● Equipment: camera with telelens, suitable clothes for the excursion,
manuals for identifying flowers and invertebrates.
● Possible collaboration: a guide or botanist.
Some form of transport allowing several excursions to the country would be
ideal.
EXCURSION
●
6. Discuss the natural environment in general: plant cover, presence of shrubs,
gradient, watercourses, traces of animals, etc.
7. Dig a small hole, about 30x30 cm square and 15 cm deep. Collect the soil
in a plastic container, analyse its physical characteristics, like colour, particle
size, and texture. With a sieve, divide the soil into different containers: the
skeleton (grains larger than 2 mm), sand (between 2 and 0.2 mm), and then
fine sand, silt and clay. Collect soil from a depth of 10 cm and put it in a plastic
bag. Fill in the hole.
PRELIMINARY STAGE
CLASSWORK
8. Prepare material for laboratory analysis: 3 plastic bottles turned upsidedown on an appropriate support at a height of 15 cm from the surface, with
some gauze around their necks to prevent material from spilling out. Fill the
bottles with soil of varying particle size (gravel, sand, clay), which has been
previously dried. Arrange one graduated 100-ml Erlenmeyer flask under
each bottle, to collect any trickling material (til the flask slightly to let the air
out, if the bottle leans too closely on the flask). Fill the beakers with 300 ml
of water, and then pour water into the bottles at the same time: measure how
long it takes for the flasks to fill up with 100 ml of water. Analyse the results
and discuss the permeability of soil with regard to the gauze. Discuss the
fact that gravelly substrates make water unavailable to plants, even when
rain is abundant.
9. Measure the pH and, after sieving the soil, dry it (in the sun or near a
heater). Put some of it in a test-tube and add a similar amount of water.
Shake well, and then insert the pH gauge or litmus paper.
10. Calculate the quantity of organic matter in the soil: after drying it, put it
in a pan and heat it over a hot plate or on the edge of a Bunsen burner
(under the chimney hood in the laboratory). Burning organic matter will
create smoke, and the final weight of the soil will be less than the initial
one.
11. Conclude the work by discussing the characteristics of soil in arid
meadows, and their effect on vegetation (generally heat-, acid- or alkaliloving).
1. Choose an easily accessible arid meadow that you can visit several times
over the year. Study the species present, focusing on perennial grasses and
invertebrates associated with them.
2. Plan the excursions: perhaps once a month, from February to May.
Schedule them with the help of a botanist, and try to plan excursions close to
one another in the most favourable periods.
CLASSWORK
3. Introduce the coenoses (plant communities) of arid meadows, and elicit
discussion by pupils. Analyse the life-cycle of perennial grasses
(therophytes) as related to the seasons (growth, flowering, fructification,
■ Seasonal changes in meadows
Objective: to develop the capacity for observation and identification of plant
and animal species, and changes in nature according to season.
●
Arid area dotted with olive trees
143
144
production of seeds). Discuss the physical characteristics of arid meadow
environments (lack of water and organic matter) which favour species with
short life-cycles.
4. Schedule the excursion: prepare study material to be used in the
countryside (date and place, aspect of the meadow, dominating colours,
species responsible for these colours, possible scents, insects on grasses,
flowers and leaves, on which types of plants, adult insects or larvae, insects
on the ground, etc.). Divide the class into groups of 4-5 pupils. Draw a map of
the area with reference points (roads, trees, buildings, canals), and divide it
up into sectors that can be examined by the various study groups.
EXCURSION
5. Find the best spot for a panoramic view of the area and take a photograph.
The same view will be photographed on all excursions.
6. The groups should collect data regarding animal and plant species with
the teacher’s or guide’s help. Focus the attention of the class on interesting
animals (e.g. flower-loving beetles which feed on pollen, orthopterans on
grasses and leaves, butterflies on the green (toxic) parts of leguminosae), and
other aspects that have been preapared beforehand.
7. Ask the groups to identify the prevailing plant species, look up their popular
names, and list the morphological features which identify them. Collect
drawings and notes on at least 5-6 grass species.
8. Use the telelens to take photographs of the species identified by the pupils.
CONTINUATION OF CLASSWORK
9. Compare the data collected by the various groups, analyse the most
common plants; draw up a herbarium with information about the insects
associated with these plants for food purposes.
10. Compare the panoramic photographs of the meadow after at least three
excursions and discuss the differences - for instance, colours.
11. Discuss the pupils’ ability to recognise the species (the aim is to enhance
their awareness of the study environment).
12. Discuss the need to preserve meadow habitats, which are often destroyed
to create farmland or provide space for industry.
Karstic vegetation in spring (left) and late spring (right)
Chrysopogon gryllus
Pulsatilla montana
Sesleria juncifolia
Iris illyrica
Centaurea rupestris
Stipa eriocaulis
Potentilla tommasiniana
Pulsatilla montana
Gentiana tergestina
Thlaspi praecox
Bromus erectus
Crepis chondrilloides
Carex humilis
Centaurea rupestris
Polygala nicaeensis
Muscari botryoides
Orchys tridentata
Anthyllis vulneraria
Scorzonera austriaca
Carex humilis
Ophrys sphegodes
Cytisus pseudoprocumbens
145
■ Phyto-sociological survey
■ Grasses
Objectives: to develop the capacity for observation and comparison, the
ability to recognise plant species and collect data.
● Level: elementary school pupils (9-10 years).
● Equipment: camera, plastic rings or hoops 50 cm in diameter (not too
heavy), suitable clothes for the excursion.
● Possible collaboration: a guide or botanist.
●
●
PRELIMINARY STAGE
1. Choose an arid meadow for the excursion.
2. Introduce the work to the class, explain the division of the plant kingdom
and the concepts of genus and species. Analyse the criteria adopted to
recognise the species (number of petals and sepals, position and shape of
leaves, stamens, etc.). The pupils are not required to have specific abilities to
recognise the species on the excursion site, as the aim of this stage is to learn
how to carry out research work.
EXCURSION
3. Explain the work; divide the class into groups of 5 pupils, and give each group
one of the hoops. One member of each group throws its hoop randomly and
writes down the species found inside
the circle. If the species cannot be
identified, use an abbreviation, and list
the plant’s characteristics (e.g., “yellow
flower with 5 petals”). Sum the species
identified in 5 throws; calculate the
number of species and the percentage
of each species (multiply the number of
times the species was found by 100,
divide the result by the total number of
plants counted: a significant presence
is 25%, typical from 50% upwards, and
insignificant if less than 5%).
4. Discuss the prevalence of some
species over others, the differing
numbers of species in the meadow,
and the fact that gaudy species may
Excursion in a meadow
not necessarily be constantly present.
Objectives: to develop the capacity
for observation and comparison, to
recognise the characteristics of plant
families; to learn how to use binocular
microscopes.
● Level: elementary (9-10 years) and
middle school pupils (11 years).
● Equipment: samples of various
grasses,
binocular
microscope,
literature.
● Possible collaboration: a guide or
botanist.
147
Inflorescence or spike
146
SPIKELETS
culm
leaf/blade
SPIKELETS
sheath
ovary
PRELIMINARY STAGE
1. Discuss in class the pupils’
knowledge of grasses, focusing on
the species used as food (corn,
wheat, oats, etc.). Make sure in
advance that nobody in the class is
allergic to any of them.
CLASSWORK
stamen
awn
palea
second
glume
first
glume
SINGLE FLOWER
roots
WHOLE GRAMINEAE
2. Explain the characteristics of the
plant family which make it so well
distributed. In the case of arid meadows, these may be summed up as the
need for little soil and/or water.
3. Analyse the morphology of grasses with book illustrations and analysis of
samples: peduncle and culms, blades inserted at culms, sheaths and ligules;
panicle or spike inflorescences, on short or long sprigs; observe peduncles,
spikelets, flower bracts, caryopses, etc. under a binocular microscope at low
magnification.
4. Analyse and compare a few cultivated species. Briefly list the stages of
food production.
5. Study the most common species in your area, possibly those collected by
pupils.
6. Analyse the distribution of the plant family - especially in environments
where man is absent - and identify its typical features.
148
Description of some grasses
Grasses are mostly herbaceous plants,
with hollow stems divided into nodes
and internodes, anemophilous (windpollinated) with monoecious or
unisexual, zygomorphic flowers; their
perianths are small and almost invisible;
they generally have three stamens and
an ovary with feathery stigmata (usually
two). Flowers are generally organised in
spikes, which may in turn be arranged
in spikelets, stalked spikes (racemes) or
branching heads (panicles); the fruit is
called caryopsis. The leaves are linear
and parallel, with a sheath at the base
enclosing the culm; the top (blade) is
free. Between sheath and blade there is
a membranous appendix called the
ligule. Identification of types of grasses
depends on their inflorescences and,
just like other plant families, on the use
of dichotomous keys that describe the
characteristics of each type. According
to them, and asking ourselves a series
of questions, we can determine the
species which are described and drawn
in the following chart which provides
further information.
The opposite page describes the
grasses quoted most often in this
volume. The plant descriptions use
Paola Sergo
specific words, the meanings of which
are listed in the brief glossary below.
Anemophilous = wind-pollinated
Awned = furnished with an awn; bearded
Conduplicate = folded lengthwise along
the midrib
Digitate = organ with lobes originating at
the same point and diverging like the
fingers of a hand
Glabrous = smooth, devoid of hairs
Hirsute = rough, with hairs
Lemma = the lower of a pair of bracts
protecting a grass floret
Perianth = the external envelope of a
flower; floral leaves when not
differentiated into calyx and corolla
Revolute = rolled backwards or
downwards
Scabrous = rough to the touch
Sessile = not raised upon a peduncle;
attached to the main stem
Uniflorous = bearing a solitary flower
Verticillate = arranged in verticils, i.e., a
circle of body parts (leaves, petals,
sepals, etc.) about a point on an axis
Villous = having long soft hairs
Zygomorphic = a flower with only one
symmetrical plane; bilaterally
symmetrical
Bothriochloa ischaemon: bushy, 30-50 cm tall;
spikelets organised in pairs, one sessile with one
inferior sterile flower and one upper monoecious,
with the lemma limited to an awn, the other
pedunculate, with 1-2 male or abortive flowers;
violet glumes with white hairs; leaves 2 mm wide,
hairy ligule. Lives on dry hillsides from 0 to 1300 m.
Stipa pennata: 40-80 cm tall; spikelets with a
solitary, monoecious flower, lemma with awn
20-30 cm long, feathery in the upper two-thirds
with pinnate hairs; thin leaves, conduplicate,
0.5-0.7 cm in diameter, ligule almost absent or
ciliate. Lives in arid meadows between 0 and
800 m.
Koeleria macrantha: 20-30 cm tall; spikelets with
2 flowers, subequal glumes; glabrous culm,
often swollen at the base, leaves with 2-mmwide lamina, not very hairy, ligula absent or very
short. Spikes are narrow, cylindrical and loose.
Lives in arid meadows, preferably on limestone,
between 0 and 1800 m.
Melica ciliata: stems between 30 and 100 cm,
with leafy culm up to the tops; lemmas with hairs
2-3 mm long, spikelets with 1-2 fertile flowers
and an upper, club-shaped abortive one;
scabrous culms; loose, nodding panicle with
whitish hairs. Lives on dry, sunny hillsides
between 0 and 1200 m (in Sicily up to 1900 m).
Ampelodesmus mauritanicus: stems 1-2 m tall,
forming dense tufts about 1 m wide; pluriflowered spikelets 12-17 mm long, villous lemma
in the lower half; wide-bladed leaves (4-7 mm)
with revolute margins, smooth uppersides; wide,
pyramidal spikes of 30-40 cm. Lives on clay
substrates up to 1000 m.
Chrysopogon gryllus: stems 50-120 cm tall, goldenviolet ternate spikelets, the central one sessile and
monoecious, with awns 3-4 cm long, the lateral
ones male, on awned peduncles 5-6 mm long;
wide spike with verticillate twigs; leaves 3 mm
wide, with hairs 4-5 mm long on the margins, and a
hairy ligule. Lives in arid meadows up to 1000 m.
149
Select bibliography
AA.VV., 1989 - Atlante Tematico d’Italia (“Thematic Atlas of Italy”). Touring Club Italiano, C.N.R., Milan, 4
volumes.
A valuable work, complete with detailed explanations, maps and tables on climate, rainfall, temperature,
geology and geomorphology.
BOLOGNA M.A., 1991 - Coleoptera Meloidae (Fauna d’Italia, 28) (“Italian Fauna, 28”). Calderini, Bologna.
An updated, complete monograph on the species living in Italy (and nearby countries) of a beetle family
associated with arid meadows and featuring an unusually complex life-cycle.
BRICHETTI P., CAGNOLARO L., SPINA F., 1986 - Uccelli d’Italia (“Italian birds”). Giunti, Florence.
An illustrated, complete guide to Italian bird species; one of the few manuals exclusively treating Italian
birds.
BRULLO S., SCELSI F., SPAMPINATO G., 2001 - La Vegetazione dell’Aspromonte. Studio fitosociologico (“Vegetation on the Aspromonte. A phytosociological study”). La Ruffa Editore, Reggio Calabria.
An illustrated volume presenting the results of thorough research on vegetation on the Aspromonte
mountains in Southern Italy.
BULGARINI F., CALVARIO E., FRATICELLI F., PETRETTI F., SARROCCO S., 1998 - Libro rosso degli animali d’Italia.
Vertebrati (“Red Data Book of Italian animals. Vertebrates”). WWF Italia, Rome.
An analysis of the present conservation state of Italian vertebrates, based on upgraded data and rigorous
criteria. The volume is divided into monographic sections on single species and their homogeneous groups.
CASTIGLIONI G.B. 1979 - Geomorfologia (“Geomorphology”). UTET, Turin.
A very valuable work treating the landforms of the Earth and the processes which created them, with a
detailed iconographic section including Italian examples.
CORTI C., LO CASCIO P., 1999 - I lacertidi italiani (“Italian Lizards”). L'Epos, Palermo.
An updated, complete, reliable handbook illustrating various Italian lizards.
FERRI V., 2002 - Guida ai Serpenti d'Italia e d'Europa (“Guide to Italian and European Snakes”). De Vecchi
Editore, Milano.
Handbook illustrating all Italian snakes, including information on their morphology, ecology, and
conservation.
FONTANA P., BUZZETTI F.M., COGO A., ODÈ B., 2002 - Guida al riconoscimento di cavallette, grilli, mantidi e
insetti affini del Veneto (Guide Natura/1) (“Guide to the identification of grasshoppers, crickets, mantises
and similar insects in the Veneto”). Museum of Archaeology and Natural History, Vicenza.
An excellent, beautifully illustrated handbook on Northern Italian Orthoptera, with an extensive
introduction and ecological notes on single species.
GENSBOL B., 1992. - Guida dei rapaci diurni d’Europa (“Guide to diurnal European raptors”). Zanichelli,
Bologna.
An authoritative work which synthesises information on the morphology, biology and ecology of several
Italian raptor species.
GIACOMINI V., FENAROLI L., 1958 - La Flora. Collana "Conosci l'Italia" (“Flora. Series “Get to know Italy””).
Touring Club Italiano, Milan.
A systematic, extensive, easily accessible treatise on Italian vegetation, still valid today, although it was
published almost 50 years ago.
HUXLEY A., 1969 - Fiori di montagna (“Mountain Flowers”). Editrice S.A.I.E., Turin.
An illustrated handbook with coloured and black-and-white pictures, including descriptions of the treated
species. A short introduction describes the Alpine environment.
MINELLI A., RUFFO S., LA POSTA S., 1993-1995 - Checklist delle specie della fauna italiana (“Checklist of
species of Italian fauna”). Calderini, Bologna.
Lists all known species of Italian fauna, with consensus nomenclature. The series is made up of 110
volumes.
151
152
MUSCIO G. (ed.), 2003 - Glacies. L’età dei ghiacci in Friuli. Ambienti, climi e vita negli ultimi 100.000 anni.
Catalogo della Mostra (“Glacies. The ice epoch in Friuli. Environments, climate and life in the past 100,000
years. Exhibition catalogue”). Friuli Museum of Natural History, Udine.
A high-quality work treating all geological and natural aspects associated with glaciations, and
subsequent climatic and ecological variations.
SCHÖNFELDER I., SCHÖNFELDER P., 1986 - Impariamo a conoscere la flora mediterranea (“Let’s learn how to
identify Mediterranean flora”). Istituto Geografico De Agostini, Novara.
An illustrated handbook with descriptions of species and dichotomous keys for their identification. An
extensive introduction describes the various Mediterranean environments.
SPAGNESI M., TOSO S. (eds.), 1999 - Iconografia dei Mammiferi d’Italia (“Iconography of Italian Mammals”).
Italian Ministry of the Environment and Territory Protection, National Institute for Wild Fauna A. Ghigi,
Rome.
The most complete and updated work on Italian mammals, with information on the morphology, ecology
and taxonomy of Italian populations, and detailed illustrations and distribution maps of all species.
153
Glossary
> Allochthonous: refefrring to organisms which
are extraneous to the territory in which they live.
> Autochthonous: originating in a particular
place; “indigenous” and “local” are often used as
synonyms.
> Basic (or alkaline): environment having a pH of
more than 7.
> Basophile: an organism that prefers alkaline
environments.
> Calcicolous: applied to an organism associated
with substrates rich in calcium.
> Chamaephyte: a perennial plant with woody
base and buds 2-3 cm from the ground.
> Convergent evolution: the development of
similar characteristics in organisms which are
unrelated, as each adapts to a similar way of life.
> Cryptic coluration: camouflage that makes
animals difficult to distinguish against their natural
background.
> Cyanogenic glycosides: highly toxic chemical
components found in the tissues of many
legumes.
> Ecto-mycorrhizal symbionts: fungi living in
association with the root tips of (generally) higher
plants.
> Ectotherm: an organism the metabolic
processes of which are, alone, incapable of
maintaining its required body temperature, and
which is therefore affected by heat exchange with
the external environment.
> Excretion: the process of eliminating useless or
harmful matter from the body of an organism.
> Euryecious: an organism that tolerates great
variations in the main parameters of the
environments in which it lives.
> Garrigue: sparse, discontinuous Mediterranean
vegetation composed of grasses and dwarf
shrubs.
> Geophyte: a perennial plant with underground
buds contained in bulbs and rhizomes.
> Halophile: an organism living in environments
rich in dissolved or crystallized salt (mainly
sodium chloride) in soils, usually found near sea
shores or coastal brackish lagoons.
> Hemicryptophyte: a plant the perennating buds
of which are at ground level.
> Neutral: environment having a pH of 7.0.
> Nitrophile, sub-nitrophile: an organism
preferring environments rich in nitrogen.
> Nitrofuge: an organism which avoids
environments rich in nitrogen.
> Ootheca: protective egg case produced by
female cockroaches and mantises when laying
their eggs.
> Orophilous: an organism that prefers mountain
environments.
> Palearctic: of or relating to the biogeographical
area including Europe, northern Africa and
central-northern Asia.
> Parthenogenetic: characterised by or capable
of reproducing offspring from unfertilised eggs.
> Psammophilous: an organism that prefers
sandy environments.
> Remex: in a bird, a type of quill feather
composing the supporting surface of the wings. It
plays an essential role in flight.
> Synanthropic: an organism the life of which
depends on man.
> Stolon: a creeping, generally climbing stem.
> Thallus: vegetative structure that shows no
differentiation into roots, stem and leaves.
> Therophyte: annual plants which overcome
unfavourable seasons in the form of seed.
> Trophic: associated with food.
> Xerothermic: characterised by heat and
drought.
> Xerothermophilous: an organism which thrives
in xerothermic conditions.
> Zoophagous: feeding on animals.
154
List of species
Aceras - 80
Achenium - 88
Acheta domesticus - 85
Acheta hispanicus - 85
Achillea moschata - 31
Achillea tenorii - 56
Achnaterum calamagrostis - 55
Adarrus - 87
Adarrus aeolianus - 87
Adarrus exornatus - 87
Adarrus lesei - 87
Adarrus multinotatus - 87
Adonis vernalis - 37
Aethionema saxatile - 56
Agaricus - 50
Agaricus campestris - 50
Agaricus macrosporus - 50
Agaricus spissicaulis - 50
Agaricus xanthoderma - 51
Agrostis rupestris - 28
Agrostis tenuis - 49
Aira caryophyllea - 69
Aira cupaniana - 69
Aira elegans - 69
Ajuga iva - 66
Alauda arvensis - 100, 105, 121
Alectoris barbara - 126, 127
Alectoris rufa - 112
Aleochara spissicornis - 88
Alkanna tinctoria - 70
Allium cirrhosum - 49
Allium sphaerocephalon - 57
Alopecurus gerardi - 32
Alpine aster - 33
Alpine avens - 31
Alpine cat’s ear - 28
Alpine chrysanthemum- 28, 29
Alpine dandelion - 29
Alpine kidney vetch - 33
Alpine meadow foxtail - 32
Alpine pasque flower - 33
Alpine stock - 49
Alpine yarrow - 31
Amanita - 50
Amanita nivalis - 50
Amara - 76
Ameles - 82
Amethystine eryngo - 54, 57
Ampelodesmos - 87
Ampelodesmos mauritanicus - 60,
62, 67, 148, 149
Anacamptis pyramidalis - 45, 77
Andropogon distachyus - 63
Andryala integrifolia - 69
Anemone hortensis - 56
Annual beard-grass - 71
Annual catsear - 66
Annual feather-grass - 66
Annual knawel - 69
Annual lupin - 69
Annual sea-heath - 71
Anthemis chia - 69
Anthemis tomentosa - 70
Anthericum liliago - 54
Anthus campestris - 113, 114
Anthus pratensis - 106
Anthus spinoletta - 100, 117
Anthus trivialis - 99, 117
Anthyllis vulneraria - 43, 145
Anthyllis vulneraria ssp. alpestris - 33
Antlion - 88
Apennine wallflower - 56, 57
Aphid - 73, 80
Aphodius - 90, 93
Aphyllanthes monspeliensis - 55
Apple of Sodom - 136
Arabidopsis thaliana - 69
Arabis collina - 59
Argyrolobium zanonii - 47
Aristida caerulescens - 64
Armeria majellensis - 56
Artemisia absinthium - 39
Artemisia alba - 39
Artemisia borealis - 39
Artemisia campestris - 38
Artemisia chamaemelifolia - 39
Artemisia cretacea - 39
Artemisia vallesiaca - 39
Asida sabulosa - 91
Asilus crabroniformis - 93
Asp - 100, 115, 123, 125
Asperula aristata - 38
Asperula aristata ssp. scabra - 56
Asperula purpurea - 54
Asphodel - 32, 67, 74, 134
Astenus - 88
Astenus anguinus - 88
Astenus cribrellus - 88
Aster alpinus - 33
Asterolinon - 69
Asterolinon linum-stellatum - 69
Astragalus aquilanus - 138
Astragalus austriacus - 37
Astragalus centralpinus - 37, 138
Astragalus excapus - 38
Astragalus maritimus - 138
Astragalus monspessulanus - 54
Astragalus onobrychis - 38
Astragalus verrucosus - 62, 138
Atlantic hyacinth - 57
Attalus nourricheli - 90
Austrian dragon’s head - 37
Austrian milk-parsley - 59
Austrian milk-vetch - 37
Austrian viper’s grass - 56
Austroagallia avicula - 87
Autumn squill - 54
Avenula versicolor - 29
Barbagia moor grass - 62
Barbula see Pseudocrossidium - 34
Bearded bellflower - 31
Bee - 74, 95
Bee-eater - 118, 119
Bellis sylvestris - 56
Bembicinus - 95
Big-flowered self-heal - 43
Bindweed - 56
Birdsfoot trefoil - 59
Biscutella laevigata - 33
Black Alpine sedge - 35
Black redstart - 100, 117
Black-eared wheatear - 113, 116
Black-headed bunting - 123
Bledius - 88
Bledius agricultor - 88
Bledius baudii - 88
Bledius secessus - 88
Blue rock thrush - 115, 123, 125,
127
Blue saxifrage - 33
Blueweed-relative - 56
Blyth’s bat - 114, 115
Bonelli’s eagle - 124, 127
Bothriochloa ischaemon - 41, 43,
54, 55, 148, 149
Bothriochloa saccharoides - 136
Brachypodium - 87
Brachypodium genuense - 56
Brachypodium ramosum - 61, 87
Brachypodium retusum vedi
Brachypodium ramosum - 61
Brachypodium rupestre - 59
Brachypodium rupestre ssp.
caespitosum - 41
Branched false brome - 61, 62
Branched malcolmia - 70
Branchedbastard-toadflax - 40
Brassica glabrescens - 49, 137, 138
Bristle tail grass - 68
Briza maxima - 69
Bromus erectus - 38, 145
Bromus fasciculatus - 66
Bromus rubens - 66
Broom - 73
Broom grass - 40, 43, 45, 49, 56
Bubas - 90
Buckler mustard - 33
Bufo viridis - 117, 119
Bug - 80, 86
Buglossoides gasparrinii - 58
Bulbous meadow-grass - 38
Bumblebee - 120
Bupleurum baldense - 40
Bupleurum semicompositum - 66
Bupleurum stellatum - 31
Burhinus oedicnemus - 107, 108,
123, 125, 127, 138
Burnet - 76, 77
Buteo buteo - 102, 115
Buzzard - 102, 115
Cabbage butterfly - 76
Cachrys libanotis - 63
Cakile maritima - 71
Calabria plantain - 68
Calandra lark - 121, 125, 127, 138
Calandrella brachydactyla - 121,
125, 127
Calliptamus italicus - 83, 84, 85, 89
Calocybe - 50
Calvatia - 50, 51
Campanula barbata - 31
Campanula sabatia - 138
Campanula sibirica - 45
Camptothecium vedi
Homalotecium - 34
Candidula spadae - 78
Candidula unifasciata - 78
Cantharis - 73
Capparis sicula - 61
Caprimulgus europaeus - 101,
115, 127
Carabus cavernosus - 76
Carduelis cannabina - 99
Carduelis carduelis - 107, 123
Carex atrata - 35
Carex curvula - 28
Carex firma - 33
Carex humilis - 47, 56, 144, 145
Carex mucronata - 49
Carex sempervirens - 32
Carniola broom - 47
Carpelimus punctatellus - 88
Carterus - 75
Carterus cordatus - 75
Carthusian pink - 41, 42, 43
Cat snake - 110
Cat thyme - 62
Catapodium marinum - 68
Celes variabilis - 85
Centaurea aplolepa - 55
Centaurea bracteata - 41, 54
Centaurea cristata - 45
Centaurea deusta ssp. deusta - 56
Centaurea dichroantha - 49
Centaurea rupestris - 58, 144, 145
Centaurea scabiosa - 54
Centaurea uniflora - 32
Centaurium maritimum - 69
Centaurium spicatum - 71
Centaurium tenuiflorum - 71
Centaury - 71
Central Alpine milk-vetch - 37, 138
Cephalantera longifolia - 45
Cerastium tomentosum - 57
Cerceris - 95
Cernuella cisalpina - 78
Cernuella neglecta - 78
Chalcides ocellatus - 124, 127
Chamaecytisus spinescens - 58
Chamois ragwort - 33
Chamomile - 70
Chamomile-leaved wormwood 39
Chazara briseis - 93, 95
Chian chamomile - 69
Chicory - 66
Chilomorpha longitarsis - 88
Chionomys nivalis - 100
Chondrula tridens - 78
Chrysopogon gryllus - 40, 145,
148, 149
Ciliate melick - 41
Cinquefoil - 33
Circaetus gallicus - 96, 112
Circus cyaneus - 105
Cirl bunting - 115, 123, 125, 127
Cisticola juncidis - 107
Cistus albidus - 62
Cistus creticus ssp. eriocephalus
- 62
Cistus monspeliensis - 62
Cistus salvifolius - 62
Cladonia - 30
Cladonia convoluta - 30
Cladonia digitata - 30
Cladonia furcata - 30
Cladonia rangiformis - 30
Cleistogenes serotina - 40, 41, 42,
43, 47, 56
Cleistogenes serotina - 40, 41, 42,
43, 47, 56
Cliff false brome - 59
Cliff fescue - 49
Cliff knapweed - 58
Clusius’s gentian - 33
Coccinella septempunctata - 73
Cockroach - 95
Cock’s head sainfoin - 56, 66, 70
Coleostephus myconis - 69
Collema - 30
Colletes - 95
Common bent - 49
Common crupina - 40
Common fumana - 49
Common hare - 102, 103, 123
Common rock-rose - 43
Common tortoise - 117
Common vole - 103
Common wheatear - 100, 116
Common wormwood - 39, 40, 42
Cone knapweed - 43, 45
Convolvulus cantabrica - 56
Copris - 90
Corn bunting - 101, 115, 123,
125, 127
Coronella austriaca - 115
Coronella girondica - 111, 115
Coronilla - 76
Coronilla minima - 54
Coronilla varia - 45
Coronopo - 68, 71
Corynephorus canescens - 47
Corynephorus fasciculatus - 70
Coturnix coturnix - 114
Crab spider - 80
Crambe tataria - 49
Crepis albida - 38
Crepis chondrilloides - 145
Crepis kerneri - 33
Crepis lacera - 56, 57
Crescent orchid - 138
Crested hair-grass - 41, 43
Crested lark - 121
Cricket - 80
Crocidura russula - 125
Crocidura sicula - 123
Crossidium squamiferum - 34
Crucianella angustifolia - 66
Crupina vulgaris - 40
Curved hard-grass - 66, 71
Curved sandwort - 29
Curved sedge - 28, 29
Cutandia maritima - 70
Cymindis - 76
Cynosurus echinatus - 68, 69
Cyrtopodion kotschyi - 119
Cytisus decumbens - 58
Cytisus pseudoprocumbens - 145
Danacaea nigritarsis - 90
Dasytes alpigradus - 90
Dasytes erratus - 90
Dasytes lombardus - 90
Dasytes subaeneus - 90
Decticus loudoni - 84
Dianthus carthusianorum ssp.
vaginatus - 41, 42
Dianthus ciliatus - 57
Dianthus sylvestris ssp.
tergestinus - 47
Ditomus - 75
Dittrichia viscosa - 64
Dociostaurus maroccanus - 89
Dolichurus corniculus - 95
Dorcadion arenarium - 91
Dorycnium pentaphyllum ssp.
suffruticosum - 62
Dracocephalum austriacum - 37
Dropwort - 45
Dryas octopetala - 49
Dusty miller - 57
Dwarf blue speedwell - 29
Dwarf milk-vetch - 38
Dwarf palm - 124
Dwarf sedge - 56
Dwarf wormwood - 39
Dyer’s alkanet - 70
Echinops ritro - 38
Edelweiss - 33
Egyptian vulture - 121, 138
Elaeoselinum asclepium - 58
Elaphe quatuorlineata - 123
Elaphe situla - 119, 125
Elyna myosuroides - 35
Emberiza calandra - 101, 115,
123, 125, 127
Emberiza cirlus - 115, 123, 125, 127
Emberiza citrinella - 100
Emberiza hortulana - 100, 101
Emberiza melanocephala - 123
Embiid see web spinner - 76
Empusa pennata - 82
Enicopus hirtus - 90
Ephedra distachya - 26
Erebia - 95
Erigeron uniflorus - 35
155
156
Eryngium amethystinum - 54
Eryngium campestre - 40, 41
Eryngo - 51
Erynnis tages - 95
Erysimum pseudorhaeticum - 56
Erysimum rhaeticum - 47
Esparto grass - 60
Euborellia moesta - 86
Eupeodes flavipes - 93
Euphorbia spinosa - 58
Euphorbia triflora ssp. kerneri - 49
Euphrasia minima - 29
European pygmy shrew - 111
European tortoise - 117
Evergreen sedge - 32, 33
Eyebright - 29
Eyed skink - 124, 127
Falco biarmicus - 114, 125, 138
Falco columbarius - 106
Falco naumanni - 120, 125, 127,
138
Falco tinnunculus - 102, 115, 116,
125, 127
Falco vespertinus - 105, 106
False brome - 45, 53, 59
False yellowhead - 64
Fan-tailed warbler - 107
Fascicled brome - 66
Feather grass - 38, 40, 56
Feathertop - 135
Felty germander - 55, 56
Ferula communis - 51
Ferula communis ssp. communis
- 67
Fescue - 43, 55, 68
Festuca - 25
Festuca gr. ovina - 43
Festuca halleri - 27
Festuca paniculata - 32
Festuca robustifolia - 55
Festuca rupicola - 49
Festuca valesiaca - 38, 93
Festuca varia - 31
Field cricket - 85
Field eryngo - 40, 41
Field wormwood - 38, 40, 42
Filago eriocephala - 66
Filipendula vulgaris - 45
Fleshy penny-cress - 56
Forage kochia - 37, 41
Forget-me-not - 69
Four-leaved allseed - 64
Four-lined snake - 123
Foxtail grass - 64
Frankenia pulverulenta - 71
French ground pine - 66
Friuli kale - 49, 137
Fumana ericoides - 40
Fumana procumbens - 49
Fumana thymifolia - 62
Galerida cristata - 121
Galium album - 54
Galium corrudifolium - 55
Galium lucidum - 45
Galium verum - 45
Gasparrini’s pearlwort - 58
Genista januensis - 58
Genista radiata - 59
Genista sericea - 47, 56
Genista sylvestris ssp. sylvestris - 47
Gentian - 29, 35
Gentiana alpina - 29
Gentiana brachyphylla - 35
Gentiana clusii - 33
Gentiana ligustica - 137
Gentiana nivalis - 35
Gentiana punctata - 29
Gentiana tergestina - 144
Gentianella ramosa - 31
Gentianella tenella - 35
Genua broom - 58
Genua false brome - 56, 57
Geum montanum - 31
Giant fennel - 51, 67
Glandulous hawkweed - 29
Glaucous sedge - 33
Globe daisy - 56
Globe thistle - 38, 55
Globularia cordifolia - 56
Globularia punctata - 40
Glyptobothrus brunneus - 85
Goldfinch - 107, 123
Granaria - 78
Grasshopper - 80
Grass-leaved buttercup - 62, 63
Great quaking grass - 69
Greater knapweed - 54
Greek micromeria - 63
Green lizard - 125
Green toad - 117, 119
Grey hair grass - 47
Griffon vulture - 126
Gymnadenia conopsea - 45
Gymnadenia odoratissima - 45
Gymnopleurus - 90
Gynandriris sisyrinchium - 66
Gyps fulvus - 126
Gypsophila - 63
Gypsophila arrostii - 63
Hair-grass - 69, 70
Hair-like feather grass - 38, 39,
40, 42
Hairy milk-vetch - 38
Haller sermountain - 31
Haller’s fescue - 27, 31
Haller’s pasque flower - 40
Halophilous hare’s-ear - 66
Haresfoot clover - 69
Harestail grass - 70
Harpalus - 76
Hawksbeard - 56, 57
Hawkweed - 28, 33
Heath pearlwort - 70
Helianthemum apenninum - 38, 40
Helianthemum canum - 55
Helianthemum nummularium - 43
Helianthemum oelandicum ssp.
italicum - 55
Helichrysum italicum - 45, 67
Helictotrichon convolutum - 63
Hemidactylus turcicus - 119, 125
Hen harrier - 105
Heteropogon contortus - 40
Hieraaetus fasciatus - 124, 127
Hieracium bifidum - 33
Hieracium glanduliferum - 29
Hieracium pilosella - 53
Hieracium sp. pl. - 28
Hieracium villosum - 33
Hierophis viridiflavus - 103, 115,
123, 125, 127
Hipparchia semele - 94, 93
Hippophaë rhamnoides - 26
Hoary rock-rose - 55
Holcus lanatus - 49
Homalotecium lutescens - 34
Homalotecium sericeum - 34
Honewort - 38, 45
Hooded crow - 90
Hordeum leporinum - 64
Hordeum maritimum - 71
Horned rampion - 59
Host ortolan - 100, 101
House shrew - 125
Houseleek - 33, 56
Hygrocybe - 50
Hygrocybe calyptriformis - 50
Hygrocybe coccigea - 50, 51
Hygrocybe spadicea - 50
Hyoseris scabra - 66
Hyparrhenia hirta - 60
Hypecoum imberbe - 70
Hypochoeris achyrophorus - 66
Hypochoeris maculata - 32
Hypochoeris uniflora - 28
Hyssopus officinalis - 37
Idaea - 95
Illyrian sea daffodil - 62, 63
Inula ensifolia - 56
Iris - 66
Iris illyrica - 145
Iris oratoria - 82
Italian hare - 121
Italian rock-rose - 55
Italian wall lizard - 103, 123, 125,
127
Italopodisma - 84
Joint pine - 26
Jurinea mollis ssp. mollis - 47
Karst knapweed - 47
Kerner’s hawksbeard - 33
Kerner’s spurge - 49
Kestrel - 102, 115, 116, 125, 127
Kidney vetch - 43, 45
Kite - 120, 125, 127
Knapweed - 41, 56
Knautia ressmannii - 49
Kochia prostrata - 37
Koeleria macrantha - 41, 148, 149
Koeleria pyramidata - 41, 43
Koeleria vallesiana - 38
Kotschy’s gecko - 119
Lacerta bilineata - 102, 107, 115,
123
Lacerta viridis - 125
Lady’s bedstraw - 45, 53
Laemostenus janthinus - 76
Lagurus ovatus - 70
Langermannia - 50, 51
Langermannia gigantea - 51
Lanius collurio - 100
Lanius senator - 112, 125, 127
Lanner - 114, 125, 138
Laphria - 92
Large mouse-eared bat - 114, 115
Large yellow rest-harrow - 53, 54
Large-flowered cinquefoil - 28, 56
Larinus - 92
Laserpitium halleri - 31
Laserpitium latifolium - 51
Lathyrus sphaericus - 66
Lavandula angustifolia - 37
Leontodon villarsii - 55
Leontopodium alpinum - 33
Leopard snake - 119, 125
Leopoldia comosa - 54
Leptogium lichenoides - 30
Lepus capensis - 126
Lepus corsicanus - 121
Lepus europaeus - 102, 103, 123
Lepus timidus - 100
Lesser feather-grass - 62
Lesser kestrel - 120, 125, 127, 138
Lesser mouse-eared bat - 114, 115
Lesser sea spurrey - 71
Leucanthemopsis alpina var.
alpina - 28, 29
Leuzea conifera - 43, 45
Libelloides - 72
Libelloides coccajus - 87
Ligurian gentian - 137
Ligurian viper’s bugloss - 40
Limodorum abortivum - 45
Linaria purpurea - 57
Linnet - 99, 100
Linum narbonense - 45
Linum tenuifolium - 45, 54
Liris - 95
Little bustard - 127, 128, 129, 138
Lobolampra decipiens - 81
Lobolampra subaptera - 81
Lotus corniculatus - 59
Lullula arborea - 113, 125, 127
Lupinus angustifolius - 69
Lycoperdon - 50, 51
Lygeum spartum - 60
Macrolepiota - 50
Macrolepiota excoriata - 51
Macrolepiota procera - 50, 51
Majella thrift - 56
Malcolmia ramosissima - 70
Male wormwood - 39, 47, 55, 57
Malpolon monspessulanus - 110,
111
Mantis - 82
Mantis religiosa - 82
Marasmius - 50
Mat grass - 29, 31, 32, 58
Matthiola fruticulosa ssp.
valesiaca - 49
Matthiola tricuspidata - 71
Meadow clary - 42, 43
Meadow globe daisy - 40, 42,
45, 56
Meadow pipit - 106
Medicago litoralis - 70
Mediterranean bedstraw - 55
Mediterranean fumana - 40
Mediterranean gecko - 119, 125
Melanargia arge - 93, 138
Melanocorypha calandra - 121,
125, 127, 138
Melica ciliata - 41, 148, 149
Melilotus neapolitana - 66
Melisello lizard - 107, 110
Meotica marchica - 88
Merlin - 106
Merodon albifrons - 93
Merops apiaster - 118, 119
Messor - 74, 75
Micrillus - 88
Micromeria graeca ssp. graeca - 63
Micropus - 45
Micropus erectus - 45
Microtus arvalis - 103
Milk thistle leaves - 67
Milvus milvus - 120, 125, 127
Miniature rest-harrow - 40
Minuartia recurva - 29
Misumena vatia - 80
Mongolojassus - 87
Mongolojassus meritalicus - 87
Monticola solitarius - 115, 123,
125, 127
Montpellier aphyllantes - 55
Montpellier milk-vetch - 54
Montpellier snake - 110, 111
Moon carrot - 59
Moorish gecko - 119, 125
Moricandia - 61
Moricandia arvensis - 61
Moss campion - 28, 29
Mountain avens - 49
Mountain clover - 32, 56
Mountain germander - 55, 56
Mountain hare - 100
Mountain masterwort - 55
Mountain pasque flower - 40, 45
Mouse-ear hawkweed - 53
Mousetail-like elyna - 35
Mucronate sedge - 49
Muscari atlanticum - 57
Muscari botryoides - 144
Mylabris - 89
Mylabris connata - 89
Mylabris fabricii - 89
Mylabris obsoleta - 89
Mylabris pusilla latialis - 89
Mylabris quadripunctata - 89
Mylabris variabilis - 89
Myosotis incrassata - 70
Myotis blythii - 114
Myotis myotis - 114
Myrmoecia - 90
Narbonne flax - 45
Narbonne star of Bethlehem - 62
Nardus - 25
Nardus stricta - 29
Narrow leaved flax - 45, 54
Narrow leaved fleabane - 56
Narrowleaf cottonrose - 69
Narrowleaf crucianella - 66
Neapolitan melilot - 66
Neophron percnopterus - 121, 138
Nightjar - 101, 102, 115, 127
Nomada - 95
Nottingham catchfly - 32
Oat-grass - 62
Ocypus - 88
Ocypus fortunatorum - 88
Ocypus ophthalmicus - 88
Ocypus sericeicollis - 88
Odontites lutea - 54
Oedaleus decorus - 85
Oedemera - 73
Oedipoda - 83
Oedipoda caerulescens - 84
Oenanthe hispanica - 113, 115
Oenanthe oenanthe - 100, 115
Oglifa gallica - 69
Oneflower fleabane - 35
Onobrychis caput-galli - 56
Onobrychys - 93
Ononis - 87
Ononis minutissima - 40
Ononis natrix - 53, 54
Ononis reclinata - 40
Ononis spinosa ssp. spinosa - 59
Onosma echioides - 56
Onosma fastigiatum - 40
Onosma helveticum - 40
Onthophagus - 90
Opatrum - 91
Ophonus - 75
Ophrys - 54, 57, 74
Ophrys apifera - 45, 57
Ophrys bertolonii - 45
Ophrys fuciflora - 25
Ophrys insectifera - 57
Ophrys lunulata - 138
Ophrys sphegodes - 44, 45, 145
Opuntia compressa - 136
Opuntia dillenii - 136
Orange birdsfoot - 69
Orchis maculata - 45
Orchis morio - 45
Orchis provincialis - 45
Orchis tridentata - 145
Orchis ustulata - 45
Oreochloa disticha - 29
Ornithogalum narbonense - 62
Ornithopus pinnatus - 69
Orsini’s viper - 116
Oryctolagus cuniculus - 119
Oryzopsis miliacea - 60
Otus scops - 115, 123
Oxytropis helvetica - 35
Oxytropis pilosa - 38
Pachyiulus - 79
Pampanini’s rattle - 49
Pamphagid - 84
Pamphagus marmoratus - 84, 85
Pamphagus ortolanii - 84
Pamphagus sardeus - 84, 85
Pancratium illyricum - 62, 63
Panicle fescue - 32
157
158
Papilio hospiton - 138
Paradisea liliastrum - 32
Paragus finitimus - 93
Parapholis incurva - 66
Parasol mushroom - 50, 51
Parsley - 58
Partridge - 106, 107
Pedinus fallax - 91
Pennisetum villosum - 135
Perdix perdix - 106, 107
Petrorhagia saxifraga - 38
Peucedanum austriacum - 59
Peucedanum oreoselinum - 55, 56
Phleum ambiguum - 56
Phleum phleoides - 43
Phoenicurus ochrurus - 100, 117
Phyllodromica marginata - 81
Phyteuma hemisphaericum - 28
Phyteuma scorzonerifolium - 59
Pink - 57
Pipizella maculipennis - 93
Plantago amplexicaulis - 68
Plantago argentea - 47
Plantago coronopus - 68
Platystethus burlei - 88
Pleurochaete squarrosa - 34
Pleurotus - 50, 51
Pleurotus eryngii - 51
Plusia - 95
Poa buIbosa - 38
Podarcis melisellensis - 107, 110
Podarcis muralis - 107, 110
Podarcis sicula - 103, 123, 125,
127
Podarcis tiliguerta - 127
Podarcis wagleriana - 123
Podisma pedestris - 84, 85
Podospermum canum - 71
Podospermum laciniatum - 60
Polycarpon tetraphyllum - 64
Polygala flavescens - 59
Polygala nicaeensis - 145
Polygonum maritimum - 71
Polygonum tenoreanum - 61
Polygonum viviparum - 50
Polyommatus - 93
Polyommatus galloi - 93
Polyommatus humedasae - 93
Polypogon monspeliensis - 71
Potentilla aurea - 33
Potentilla crantzii - 33
Potentilla grandiflora - 28
Potentilla tommasiniana - 144
Prairie rocket - 47
Prickly pear - 136
Prickly saltwort - 71
Primrose - 29
Prionotropis - 83
Prionotropis appula - 83
Prionotropis hystrix - 83
Prostrate broom - 58
Prunella grandiflora - 43
Pseudocrossidium
hornschuchianum - 34
Psilurus incurvus - 68
Ptilostemon stellatus - 66
Puffball - 51
Pulsatilla alpina ssp. alpina - 33
Pulsatilla halleri - 40
Pulsatilla montana - 40, 144, 145
Pupilla muscorum - 78
Purple brome - 66
Purple toadflax - 57
Purple woodruff - 54, 57
Purple-stem catstail - 43
Pyramidal hair-grass - 41, 43
Pyrgus - 95
Pyronia cecilia - 93, 95
Quail - 114
Quedius - 88
Quedius boops - 88
Quedius semiaeneus - 88
Quedius semiobscurus - 88
Rabbit - 119
Racomitrium canescens - 34
Ramous gentian - 31
Rampion - 28, 29
Ranunculus gramineus - 62, 63
Rat snake - 103, 115, 123, 125,
127
Rayed broom - 59
Red-backed shrike - 100
Red-footed falcon - 105, 106
Red-legged partridge - 112
Ressmann’s scabious - 49
Rhagonycha - 73
Rhinanthus pampaninii - 49
Rhinoceros beetles - 81
Riccioli rat snake - 111, 115
Rice millet - 60, 62, 64
Rock bent - 28, 29
Rock speedwell - 31
Rockcress - 59
Rock-rose - 38, 54, 62
Rosemary - 62
Rosmarinus officinalis - 62
Rosy-yellow knapweed - 49
Rough dogstail - 68, 69
Rough feather-grass - 55
Round-headed leek - 57
Rumina decollata - 78
Rush-like feather-grass - 62, 63
Ryegrass - 70
Saga pedo - 83, 84
Sage - 58
Sagina maritima - 71
Sagina subulata - 70
Saintfoin milk-vetch - 38
Salad burnet - 53
Salerno’s violet - 58
Salix herbacea - 50
Salix reticulata - 50
Salix retusa - 50
Salsola kali - 71
Salvia officinalis - 58
Salvia pratensis - 42
Sanguisorba minor - 53
Sardinian hare - 126
Sardinian partridge - 126, 127
Satureja montana - 56
Satureja montana ssp. variegata
- 45, 47
Savi’s pygmy shrew - 111
Savona bellflower - 138
Saxicola rubetra - 99, 117
Saxicola torquata - 104, 105, 125,
127
Saxifraga caesia - 33
Scabious - 76
Scabiosa columbaria - 53, 54
Scabiosa holosericea - 38
Scarabaeus - 90
Scarlet hood - 51
Scilla autumnalis - 54
Scleranthus annuus - 70
Scoliid wasp- 81, 95
Scolopendra - 78
Scolopendra cingulata - 76, 79
Scolopendra oraniensis - 79
Scops owl - 115, 123
Scopula - 95
Scorpion - 79
Scorpion-vetch - 54
Scorzonera austriaca - 145
Scorzonera austriaca var.
stenophylla - 56
Sea barley - 71
Sea buckthorn - 26
Sea centaury - 69
Sea knotgrass - 71
Sea pearlwort - 71
Sea rocket - 71
Sea ryegrass - 68
Sedge - 28, 47
Sedum - 93
Selachina apicalis - 86
Sempervivum tectorum - 33
Senecio doronicum - 33
Senecio grisebachii - 136
Senecio incanus - 29
Sepedophilus nigripennis - 88
Serapias vomeracea - 45
Sermountain - 51
Seseli libanotis - 59
Sesleria - 25
Sesleria insularis ssp. barbaricina
- 62
Sesleria juncifolia - 47, 144
Sesleria varia - 32
Short-leaved gentian - 35
Short-toed eagle - 96, 112
Short-toed lark - 121, 125, 127
Shrubby clover - 62
Siberian bellflower - 45, 56
Sicilian caper - 61
Sicilian oat-grass - 63
Sicilian shrew - 123
Sicilian wall lizard - 123
Silene acaulis - 28, 29
Silene gallica - 69
Silene nicaeensis - 70
Silene nutans - 32
Silene otites - 38
Silky broom - 47, 56
Silky scabious - 38
Silver bluestem - 136
Silver broom - 47
Silver fir - 26
Silvery plantain - 47
Silybum marianum - 67
Singleflower knapweed - 32
Sisyphus - 90
Skylark - 100, 105, 121
Small hare’s-ear - 40
Small rest-harroe - 40, 45
Small scabious - 53
Small-flowered catchfly - 69
Smallish violet - 70
Smooth snake - 115
Smooth thyme - 38
Snow vole - 100
Solanum sodomaeum - 136
Somerset hair-grass - 38, 40
Sorex minutus - 111
Southern cudweed - 66
Southern daisy - 56
Southern timothy - 56
Spanish broom - 54
Spanish catchfly - 27, 38, 42, 55
Spartium junceum - 54
Spergularia marina - 71
Sphaeric vetchling - 66
Spialia sertorius - 95
Spiny broom - 58
Spiny rest-harrow - 59
Spiny spurge - 58
Spotted catsear - 32
Spotted rock-rose - 69
Squamarina - 30
Squamarina cartilaginea - 30
Squill - 62
Squinancywort - 38
St. Bernard’s lily - 54
St. Bruno’s lily - 32
Stachys recta ssp. labiosa - 58
Star anemone - 56
Star hare’s-ear - 31
Starling - 90
Stenus - 88
Stenus cribratus - 88
Stenus hospes - 88
Steppe kale - 49
Stipa bromoides - 62
Stipa capensis - 66
Stipa capillata - 38
Stipa eriocaulis - 145
Stipa offneri - 62, 63
Stipa pennata - 38, 148, 149
Stock - 71
Stone curlew - 107, 108, 109,
123, 125, 127, 138
Stone curlew (nest) - 109
Stonechat - 104, 105, 125, 127
Strand medick - 70
Strawflower - 45, 56, 58, 67
Striped buttom quail - 124, 125
Suncus etruscus - 111
Swallowtail - 76
Swiss milk-vetch - 35
Swiss violet - 31, 33
Swiss viper’s bugloss - 40
Syntrichia - 34
Tachysphex costae - 95
Tachytes - 95
Tanglehead - 40
Tapinoma - 90
Taraxacum alpinum - 29
Tarentola mauritanica - 119, 125
Tasgius falcifer - 88
Tasgius globulifer - 88
Tasgius morsitans - 88
Tassel grape hyacinth - 54
Tawny pipit - 113, 114
Telescopus fallax - 110
Tenore’s knotgrass - 61
Tenore’s yarrow - 56
Testudo graeca - 117
Testudo hermanni - 117
Tetrax tetrax - 127, 128, 138
Teucrium chamaedrys - 43
Teucrium marum - 62
Teucrium montanum - 55
Teucrium polium - 55
Thale cress - 69
Thatching grass - 60, 62, 63
Thesium divaricatum - 40
Thesium linophyllon - 38
Thlaspi praecox - 144
Threeawn - 64
Thyme - 55
Thymelaea - 62
Thymelaea tartonraira - 62
Thyme-leaved fumana - 62
Thymelicus acteon - 95
Thymelicus lineola - 95
Thymus glabrescens - 38
Thymus vulgaris - 37
Tiger beetle - 93
Timarcha pratensis - 91
Toadflax - 38
Tolpis umbellata - 69
Tortella tortuosa - 34
Tortula revolvens - 34
Tortula revolvens var. obtusata - 34
Tortula ruraliformis - 34
Tortula sp. - 34
Trachynia distachya - 66
Tree pipit - 99, 117
Tricholaena teneriffae - 64
Triest pink - 47
Triestine knapweed - 45
Trifolium arvense - 69
Trifolium montanum - 56
Trifolium montanum ssp.
rupestre - 32
Trinia glauca - 38
Trisetum splendens - 62
Truncatellina - 78
Truncatellina callicratis - 78
Truncatellina claustralis - 78
Truncatellina cylindrica - 78
Truncatellina monodon - 78
Tuberaria guttata - 69
Tuft false brome - 41, 43
Tunic flower - 38, 42
Turnix sylvatica - 124
Two-spike beardgrass - 63
Tylopsis liliifolia - 85
Tyrrhenian knapweed - 55
Tyrrhenian wall lizard - 127
Umbrella milkwort - 69
Upright brome - 40, 42, 43, 45,
47, 52, 53, 55, 57, 59
Urginea - 11
Urginea fugax - 62
Urginea undulata - 62
Urophora cardui - 92
Vallonia costata - 78
Vanessa - 76
Various fescue - 31
Various moor grass - 32, 33, 35, 49
Various scorpion-vetch - 45
Vascellum - 50, 51
Veronica bellidioides - 29
Veronica fruticans - 31
Vertigo - 78
Vertigo alpestris - 78
Vertigo pygmaea - 78
Villars’s hawkbit - 54, 55
Viola calcarata - 31
Viola parvula - 70
Viola pseudogracilis ssp.
pseudogracilis - 58
Viper - 100
Vipera aspis - 100, 115, 123, 125
Vipera berus - 100
Vipera ursinii - 116
Viper’s grass - 60, 61, 71
Viviparous knotgrass - 50
Vulpia bromoides - 68
Vulpia geniculata - 68
Vulpia ligustica - 68
Vulpia myuros - 68
Wahlenbergia bellflower - 69
Wahlenbergia nutabunda - 69
Wall barley - 64
Wall germander - 43, 45, 53
Wall lizard - 107, 110
Wallis fescue - 38, 41, 42, 43
Wallis wormwood - 39, 40
Warty milk-vetch - 62
Wasp - 81, 95
Water pipit - 100, 117
Web spinner - 76, 86
Western green lizard - 102, 107,
115, 123
Whinchat - 99, 117
White bedstraw - 54
White groundsel - 29
White hawksbeard - 38
White rock-rose - 38, 40
Winter savory - 45, 47, 56
Wood lark - 113, 125, 127
Woodchat shrike - 112, 125, 127
Woodruff - 56
Wormwood - 26, 37, 39
Xerolenta obvia - 78
Yellow bunting - 100
Yellow daisies - 69
Yellow milkwort - 59
Yellow odontite - 54
Yellow pheasant’s eye - 37
Yellow woundwort - 58
Yorkshire fog - 49
Zebrina detrita - 78
Zygaena fausta - 76
159
Thanks are due to
Emilio Balletto (butterflies)
Marco Bologna (oedemerid and meloid beetles)
Giuseppe Carpaneto (scarab beetles)
Vera D’Urso (homopterans)
Paolo Fontana (orthopterans)
Gianfranco Liberti (melyrid beetles)
Maria Manuela Giovannelli (molluscs)
Carlo Morandini (butterflies and moths)
Franco Mason (asilid flies)
Enrico Negrisolo (aculeate hymenopterans)
Sandro Ruffo (chrysomelid beetles)
Daniele Sommaggio (shyrphid flies)
Augusto Vigna Taglianti (carabid beetles)
Adriano Zanetti (staphylinid beetles)
Thanks are also due to Luigi Aita,
Gianluigi Bacchetta, Giuseppina Barberis,
Luca Gardini, Stefano Gardini, Gaudenzio Paola,
Ugo Sauro and Maura Tavano
The authors are exclusively responsible for
textual contents, and for any errors and
omissions.
The volume was published with funds from the
Italian Ministry of Environment and Territory
Protection.
Printed in april 2005
by Graphic linea print factory - Udine, Italy