Indagine sulla flora di aree umide collinari dell’Emilia centrale: il caso-studio del Paesaggio protetto “Collina Reggiana - Terre di Matilde”

Investigations on the wetland flora of the central Emilia hills: the study case of the Protected Landscape “Collina Reggiana - Terre di Matilde” (Italy). An investigation of the flora of 95 small wetlands (pools, ponds and springs) of the hills of Reggio Emilia province was carried out in 2020 and 2021. The scenario outlined is considerably rich biologically: 361 taxa are observed, including vascular plants, mosses and aquatic algae. Among them, 33 vascular species are protected at a regional or international level. In addition, 2 vascular species new for the province of Reggio Emilia and 1 subspecies new for the Emilia-Romagna flora were also recorded. Finally, 2 bryophytes were confirmed for Reggio Emilia province after more than one century. In 6 sites, some priority habitats were detected: first of all habitat 7220* “Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion)” and, in one of them, a probable presence of habitat 91E0* “Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae)”. In 13 other sites habitat 3140 “Hard oligo-mesotrophic waters with benthic vegetation of Chara spp.” was observed, a fairly rare and declining habitat all over Europe. In another site, habitat 9260 “Castanea sativa woods”, which is important for the conservation of many plants and lichens endangered at a European level, were recorded. The life form spectrum is dominated by perennial species, a clear indication of little human disturbance. Annual and biennial species are limited to 16.5% and some of them are indicators of grazing areas in a recent past. Half of the chorological spectrum is composed of species typical of a continental climate, whereas the Mediterranean and northern species are secondary. The thermochorotype spectrum notably differs from the one of Reggio Emilia hills, also because of the analysis of sites with particular environmental and microclimate characteristics, unlike those of the surrounding landscape. This study confirms the fundamental role of the small wetlands in the hills in preserving species that have disappeared elsewhere or are endangered with extinction: they are often man-made micro-environments, but they contribute in maintaining a biological diversity of paramount relevance.