HACQUETIA 10/2 ' 2011, 183-231
DOI: 10.2478/v10028-011-0011-9
NEW DRY GRASSLAND ASSOCIATIONS FROM THE AUSONI-AURUNCI MOUNTAINS (CENTRAL ITALY) - SYNTAXONOMICAL UPDATING AND DISCUSSION ON THE HIGHER RANK SYNTAXA
Romeo DI PIETRO*
Abstract
A phytosociological study on the most extensive dry grassland communities of the coastal limestone massif of the Ausoni-Aurunci mountains (southern Latium, central Italy) is here presented. Violo pseudogracilis-Koelerietum splendentis ass. nova is restricted to the montane belt of the Aurunci mountains where it is dynamically related to the mesophilous Ostrya carpinifolia or Fagus sylvatica woodlands. Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti ass. nova is found within the upper hilly and submontane belt of both the Ausoni mountains (typical aspect) and the Aurunci mountains (subassociation saturejetosum montanae), where it is dynamically related with termophilous Ostrya carpinifolia woods and mesophilous Quercus ilex woods. Helichryso-Brometum is differentiated from Violo-Koelerietum in that it has a higher incidence of the steno-Mediterranean therophytic component. As far as the higher rank syntaxa are concerned, in this study the following changes were made in accordance with the rules of ICPN: the name Phleo ambigui-Bromion erecti Biondi et al. 1995 was considered invalid due to the invalidity of its nomenclatural type Asperulopurpureae-Brometum erecti. In contrast, the validity of the old name Cytiso spinescentis-Bromion erecti Bonin 1978 was demonstrated and its nomenclatural type, Lavandulo-Asphodelinetum luteae Bonin 1978, was lectotypified. Thus Cytiso spinescenti-Bromion erecti Bonin 1978 henceforth substitutes Phleo ambigui-Bromion erecti (nom. inval.) as the syntaxonomical reference for the endemic alliance of the hilly and montane limestone dry grasslands of the central and southern Apennines. Cytiso-Bromion is here divided into two suballi-ances: Sideritidenion italicae Biondi et al. 1995, Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti Biondi et al. ex Di Pietro suball. nov. Cytiso-Bromion belong to the new suborder Festuco circummediterraneae-Seslerienalia nitidae (Ubaldi 2003) stat. nov. and to the order Artemisio albae-Brometalia erecti Ubaldi ex Mucina & Dengler 2009. New and updated packages of characteristic and differential species for both Cytiso spinescenti-Bromion erecti and its related suballiances are proposed. Furthermore the validity of the name Astragaletum calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Bonin 1978, was proved and the association lectotypified. This association, which was previously included in Cytiso-Bromion erecti, is moved into Koelerio brutiae-Astragalion calabrici. Finally some interesting coenological and syndynami-cal similarities with Scorzonero-Chrysopogonetalia western Dalmatia submediterranean dry pastures are discussed. Key words: Apennines, chorology, ICPN, nomenclatural types, phytosociology, syntaxonomy.
Izvleček
Fitocenološka raziskava predstavlja najbolj razširjene združbe suhih travišč obalnega masiva pogorja Ausoni-Aurunci (južni Lazio, osrednja Italija). Violopseudogracilis-Koelerietum splendentis ass. nova je razširjena samo v montanskem pasu gorovja Aurunci, kjer je v dinamični povezavi z mezofilnimi gozdovi črnega gabra (Ostrya carpinifolia) in gozdovi bukve (Fagussylvatica). Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti ass. nova najdemo na zgornjem delu gričevnatega in v podgorskem pasu tako gorovja Ausoni (tipični aspekt) in gorovja Aurunci (subasociacija saturejetosum montanae), kjer se dinamično navezuje na termofilne gozdove črnega gabra in mezofilne gozdove črničevja (Quercus ilex). Večji delež stenomediteranskega terofitskega elementa razlikuje asociacijo Helichryso-Brometum od asociacije Violo-Koelerietum. Glede višjih sintaksonov, smo v tem prispevku naredili naslednje spremembe v skladu z mednarodnim kodeksom fitocenološke nomenklature; poimenovanje Phleo ambugui-Bromion erecti Biondi et al. 1995 obravnavamo kot neveljavno, ker je neveljaven nomenklatorni tip Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti. Za razliko pa je prikazana veljavnost starega poimenovanja Cytiso spinescentis-Bromion erecti Bo' Department DATA, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Flaminia 72, I-00196 Rome, E-mail: romeo.dipietro@uniroma1.it
nin 1978, izbran je tudi nomenklaturni tip in sicer Lavandulo-Asphodeletum luteae Bonin 1978 kot lektotip. Tako poimenovanje Cytisospinescentis-Bromion erecti Bonin 1979 od sedaj zamenjuje Phleo ambigui-Bromion erecti (nom. inval.) kot sintaksonomska oznaka za endemično zvezo suhih travišč na apnencu, ki se pojavlja v gričevnatem in gorskem pasu v osrednjih in južnih Apeninih. Zveza Cytiso-Bromion je razdeljena v dve podzvezi: Sideritide-nion italicae Biondi et al. 1995 in Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti Biondi et al. ex Di Pietro suball. nova. Zvezo Cytiso-Bromenion uvrščamo v nov podred Festuco-Seslerienalia nitidae Ubaldi 2003 statt. nov. in red Artemisio albae-Brometalia erecti Ubaldi ex Mucina & Dengler 2009. Nove in posodobljene so tudi skupine značilnih in razlikovalnih vrst tako za zvezo Cytiso spinescenti-Bromion erecti in podrejeni podzvezi. Poleg tega pa se je poimenovanje asociacije Astragaletum calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Bonin 1978 izkazalo za pravilno in je bila asociacija lektotipificirana. Ta asociacija, ki je bila vključena v zvezo Cytiso-Bromion erecti, je bila premeščena v Koelerio brutiae-Astragalion calabrici. Na koncu smo obravnavali nekateri zanimive cenološke in sindinamske podobnosti z redom Scorzonero-Chrysopogonetalia, kamor uvrščamo suhe submediteranske pašnike v zahodni Dalmaciji. Ključne besede: Apenini, horologija, ICPN, nomenklaturni tipi, fitocenologija, sintaksonomija.
1. INTRODUCTION
Owing to their floristic richness and coenological diversity, the Central Apennines are globally recognized as one of the most important European centres of plant speciation and floristic richness (Blasi et al. 2005; 2010). A significant part of this biodiversity is concentrated in grassland environments, and in particular in the secondary Festuco-Brometea dry montane grasslands, where several endemic and rare plant species occur. Indeed the Italian Interpretation Manual of the 92/43/EEC Directive Habitats (Biondi et al. 2009) enlarged the ecological space of Habitat 6210* precisely to maintain such an important coenological and floristic heritage. From a phytosociological viewpoint the first studies on central Apennines dry grasslands were carried out at the end of the 1960s (Bruno & Covarelli 1968) and were significantly intensified in the period straddling 1970 and 1990 (Avena & Bruno 1975; Hruska-Dell'Uomo 1976; Ballelli et al. 1977; Bonin 1978; Avena & Blasi 1979; 1980; Biondi & Ballelli 1981; 1982; Ballelli & Biondi 1982; Biondi & Blasi 1982; Hruska 1982; Biondi et al., 1986; Biondi 1988; Biondi et al. 1988; Frattaroli 1988; Blasi et al. 1990). These studies led to the proposal of the endemic alliance Crepido lacerae-Phleion ambigui, (subsequently changed to Phleo ambigui-Bromion erecti in Biondi et al. 1995; 2005) as the Apennine vicariant of the European Xerobromion. During the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s, several other studies focused on the dry grasslands of central Italy and several new associations were proposed (Biondi et al. 1992; Castelli 1995; Blasi et al. 1998; Venanzoni & Gigante 1999; Castelli et al. 2001; Allegrezza 2003; Biondi et al. 2004; Ciaschetti et al. 2006; Catorci et al. 2007). Most of these studies dealt with geo-
graphical areas located in the core of the central Apennines or on the Adriatic side of the Italian Peninsula. In contrast, very few (Lucchese & Pig-natti 1990; Lucchese et al. 1995; Scoppola & Pelosi 1995; Di Pietro & Blasi 2002; Angiolini et al. 2003) phytosociological studies have ever been carried out on the perennial dry grasslands occurring in the coastal mountainous chains of the western side of the Italian Peninsula, which is separated from the true Apennines by large alluvial valleys furrowed by major rivers such as the Tiber, Sacco, Liri and Garigliano. This geographical discontinuity from the rest of the Apennines, together with the vicinity of the coast, are factors which have led to the development on these coastal massifs of a vegetation characterised by a greater influence of the Mediterranean floristic component in comparison to the vegetation found both in the core of the Apennines and on the Adriatic side of the peninsula. The present paper focuses on the most extensive Festuco-Brometea dry grasslands of the Ausoni-Aurunci range, for which neither a phytosociological study nor a syntaxonomical analysis had ever previously been carried out. In addition a coenological, syntaxonomical and no-menclatural analysis of the most important syn-taxa related to the dry grasslands of the Ausoni-Aurunci mountains is also performed here.
2. STUDY AREA
The Ausoni-Aurunci Mountains are a limestone mountain range of southern Lazio, in central Italy (Figure 1) which are bounded northwestward by the Lepini mountains, northward by the Liri river, southeastward by the Garigliano river and southward by the Tyrrhenian sea. Altitudes
Figure 1: Ausoni-Aurunci Mts. study area.
Slika 1: Raziskovano območje v hribovju Ausoni-Aurunci.
vary from 0 (Promontory of Gaeta and Sperlon-ga) to the 1,533 m a.s.l. of Mount Petrella. Main peaks include also Mount Redentore (1,252 m), Mount Sant'Angelo (1,402 m) and Mount Ruazzo (1,322 m). The Ausoni-Aurunci mountains mainly consist of friable cretaceous and paleocenic limestone (Figure 2) but the degree of faulting and cracking is so high that the mountains retain no rainfall. The stream beds are dry except for vernal pools. From a bioclimatic point of view the Aurunci mountains are located at the boundary between the Mediterranean and the Temperate regions (Figure 3). Mean annual rainfalls are quite abundant in the whole area, ranging from about
1000 mm at sea level to over 1600 mm in the mon-
tane belt (Blasi 2006). Mean annual temperature ranges between 18 °C and 10 °C moving from the coastal areas to the top of the mountains. The al-titudinal zonation of the potential vegetation provides primary Mediterranean maquis in the coastal promontory Quercus ilex woods on the south facing slopes of the hilly and submontane belts. Quercus pubescens woodlands prevail on the footslopes whereas Quercus cerris woodlands are located at the bottom of the intra-montane karst plateaus where a higher content of clay occurs. The north facing slopes are dominated by Carpinus orientalis woods (hilly belt) and Ostrya carpinifolia woods (submontane-montane belt). Fagus sylvatica woods characterise the upper part of the inner part of the range.
Figure 2: Geological features of tyrrhenian district of southern Latium and adjacent Campania region. 1: Continental and marine deposits (Holocene, late Pleistocene); 2: Volcanic deposits (Quaternary); 3: Arenaceous-clayey turbidites (Tortonian-Messinian); 4) Shallow water organogenic Limestone (Langhian-Serravallian); 5: shallow water limestone (Jurassic-Creata-ceous-Paleocenic).
Slika 2: Geološke lastnosti tirenskega distrikta južnega dela regije Lazio in sosednje Campanije. 1: celinske in morke usedline (Holocen, pozni Pleistocen); 2: vulkanske usedline (Kvartar); 3: arenitno-glinene turbiditne usedline (Tortonian-Messinian); 4) plitvi vodni organogeni apnenec (Langhian-Serravallian); 5: plitvi vodni apnenec (Jura-Kreda-Paleocen).
3. MATERIAL AND METHODS
In all, 49 phytosociological releves were made following the phytosociological methods of the Zu-rich-Montpellier school (Braun-Blanquet 1964). The cluster analysis was performed by means of the software SYNTAX 2000 (Podani 2001), using UPGMA and a similarity ratio coefficient on the phytosociological data converted according to the ordinal scale proposed by van der Maarel (1979).
The ordination diagram was obtained through PCA procedure. The Life form and chorological spectra (based on presence, frequency and specific cover index) were calculated for each community type and reference was made to Pignatti et al. (2005). Following the chorotype and the life form names, a sequence of three values (%) appears in the tables (Figures 8, 9, 10), corresponding, respectively, to the simple presence (Pres.),
the frequency (Frq.) and the specific cover index (Cov.) of a given chorotype/life form in each phytosociological table (Braun-Blanquet 1964). The "specific cover index" was obtained by summing up each species' cover-abundance central values (e.g. 5 = 87.5; 4 = 62.5 ^) and multiplying this sum by the ratio 100/numbers of releves. UP-GMA and similarity ratio coefficient were also used for the cluster analysis of the synoptic table (Table 3), which includes all the Peninsular Italy dry grassland associations exhibiting a high degree of floristic and coenological similarity to the Ausoni-Aurunci communities.
The plants collected in the field were determined using Tutin et al. (1968-1980; 1993) and Pignatti (1982), while species nomenclature was updated according to Conti et al. (2005). The rank of subspecies was specified only when it did not coincide with that of the nominal subspe-
Figure 3: Phytoclimatic map of the Ausoni-Aurunci Mts. (From Blasi, 1994). Tt = Thermotype; Ut = Umbrotype. 1: Medit. Region, thermo-Medit. Tt. - lower humid/upper subhumid Ut.; 2: Medit. Region, lower meso-Medit. Tt. - upper subhumid Ut.; 3: Medit./Temp. transiction Region, upper meso-Medit. Tt. - lower humid Ut.; 4: Medit./Temp. transiction Region, lower hilly Tt. - lower humid Ut.; 5: Temp. Region, upper hilly Tt. - upper humid/lower hyperhumid Ut.; 6: Temp. Region, submontane Tt. - lower hyperhumid Ut.; 7: Temp. Region, lower montane Tt. - upper humid/lower iperhumid Ut.
Slika 3: Fitoklimatska karta hribovja Ausoni-Aurunci (Blasi 1994). Tt = termotip; Ut = ombrotip. 1: sredozemska regija, termo-sredozem. Tt. - spodnji humidni/zgornji subhumidni Ut.; 2: sredozemska regija, spodnji mezzo-sredozem. Tt. - zgornji sub-humidni Ut.; 3: sredozem./zmerna prehodna regija, zgornji mezzo-sredozem. Tt. - spodnji humidni Ut.; 4: sredozem./zmerna prehodna regija, spodnji gričevnati Tt. - spodnji humidni Ut.; 5: zmerna regija, zgornji gričevnati Tt. - zgornji humidni/spodnji hiperhumidni Ut.; 6: zmerna regija, submontanski Tt. - spodnji hiperhumidni Ut.; 7: zmerna regija,spodnji montanski Tt. -zgornji humidni/spodnji hiperhumidni Ut.
cies. Owing to the wide time range over which the releves composing the synoptic table were performed (more than 40 years) and the impossibility of doing a taxonomical check on the older specimens, the reference to the collective group is given for all those taxa which could give rise to taxonomical uncertainity or which have only recently been split into different species and/ or subspecies (e.g. Koeleria lobata/K. splendens^,
1 As far as Genus Koeleria is concerned, the use of the diagnostic-key proposed recently in Brullo et al. (2009) for identifying Ausoni-Aurunci grasslands specimens resulted in the identification of three or four different taxa (species and/or subspecies) belonging to Koeleria splend-ens collective complex as occurring in the same grassland type. Similar problems were encountered in identifying Koeleria specimens during the two excursions of the Flo-ristic Group of the Italian Society of Botany (see Peruzzi et al. 2011; Conti et al. in prep.). The checklist of the Italian Flora (Conti et al. 2005) reports only Koeleria lobata
Bromus erectus/B. caprinus, Armeria canescens/A. majellensis, Potentilla pedata/P. hirta, Centaurea
(M. Bieb.) Roemer & Schult. as reference taxon for the Italian Peninsula. This hypothesis, however, is considered wrong by Quintanar et al. (2009) who consider K. splen-dens to be a different taxon from K. lobata, which is the correct name of some other species (e.g. K. brevis Steven or K. degenii Domin). For this reason we have preferred to make reference to the collective form of the taxon Koeleria splendens. The Koeleria specimens coming from Sila mountains (Calabria region) were reported as K. spendens Presl by Bonin (1978), and as K. splendens C. Presl subsp. brutia Brullo, Gangale et Uzunov by Brullo et al. (2004). This fact has a direct consequence on the name of the alliance Koelerio-Astragalion, which in Brullo et al. (2005) is reported as Koelerio brutiae-Astragalion calabrici (see Syn-taxonomic scheme). Obviously a correction of this name according to the Art. 43 of ICPN will be necessary if the subspecies Koeleria splendens subsp. brutia is definitively reported as synonym in the future by the main Floras and Checklists.
deusta (ssp. pl.), Acinos alpinus (ssp. pL), Festuca laevigata (ssp. pl.) (etc). The collected and exsiccated samples are deposited in the Herbarium Flaminio (Faculty of Architecture of the University of Rome).
The syntaxa here described as new have been named according to the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature (ICPN, Weber et al. 2000). Species which occur only once were excluded from both the phytosociological tables and the synoptic table, and are mentioned in Appendix 1. Place and date of releves are listed in Appendix 2. The list of associations included in the synoptic table is reported in Appendix 4.
The lists of characteristic species of the higher rank syntaxa that are critically analysed in the paragraph "syntaxonomical discussion" are shown at the end of the paper after the "syntaxonomical scheme". The "characteristic species" of alliance and suballiances are reported in the phytosociological tables according to the following categories of species (Poldini & Sburlino 2005):
"characteristic" (c): strongly related to the ecology and chorology of a given syntaxon.
"regional characteristic" (rc): having a distribution area wider than that of the syntaxon to which it is ecologically related.
"partial characteristic" (pc): having a distribution area smaller than that of the syntaxon to which it is ecologically related.
"transgressive" (t): species which, although considered as characteristic of a high-rank syn-taxon, exhibit their ecological optimum in a lower rank syntaxon included in that high-rank syntaxon.
"insgressive" (i): Species which, although considered as characteristic of a syntaxon of a different class, may occur frequently in a syntax-on of another class.
In agreement with Mucina et al. (2009), the characteristic species of the order Artemisio-Brometalia was reported as "provisional", since a wider classification that also takes into account the grassland communities of central and the south-eastern Europe is necessary to select a package of species which is ecologically and geographically consistent with the rank of order. The packages of characteristic species of the various associations making up the synoptic table are here reported acritically from the original papers. Critical comments are given in the "Discussion" paragraph.
4. RESULTS
4.a Multivariate analysis (restricted to Ausoni-Aurunci releves)
The dendrogram (Figure 4) shows two main clusters (A and B). Cluster A includes the grasslands developed within the lower montane belt and dominated by the Koeleria splendens-Carex humilis-Helianthemum incanum species group. Cluster B includes the Bromus erectus and Helichrysum italicum dry grasslands developed within the hilly and submontane belts of the Ausoni Mts. (B2) and Aurunci Mts. (B1) respectively. The PCA diagram on the first two axes (cumulative variance 18%) calculated on presence/absence data (Figure 5) confirms the cluster analysis separation showing a clear division between clusters A and B. This distribution of the clusters along the first PCA axis is correlated to an increasing altitudinal gradient, moving left to right.
A
B
B1
iB2

.-(N coffin coffin CD T

Figure 4: Cluster analysis dendrogram of Ausoni-Aurunci dry grasslands: cluster "A" = Violo-Koelerietum; cluster "B" = Helichryso-Brometum ("B1": subass. saturejetosum; "B2": sub-ass. typicum).
Slika 4: Dendrogram klastrske analize suhih travišč hribovja Ausoni-Aurunci: klaster "A" = Violo-Koelerietum;; klaster "B" = Helichryso-Brometum ("BI": subass. saturejetosum; "B2": subass. typicum).
4.B Vegetation
The two clusters of releves identified through the multivariate analysis are referred to two new associations named respectively Violo pseudogra-cilis-Koelerietum splendentis ass. nov. (cluster A) and Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti ass. nov. (cluster B).
0-
1264
2-
<N -
-2 H
-4
-6: -8: -10-
—T" -12
1—T" -10
I—r -6
—1—I—I—I—I—r 02 Axis 1
—T" 12
-8
-2
10
Figure 5: Ordination diagram (PCA) of Ausoni-Aurunci dry grasslands: cluster "A" = Violo-Koelerietum; cluster "B" = Helichry-so-Brometum (B1: subass. saturejetosum; B2: subass. typicum).
Slika 5: Ordinacijski diagram (PCA) suhih travišč hribovja Ausoni-Aurunci: klaster "A" = Violo-Koelerietum;; klaster "B" = Heli-chryso-Brometum (B1: subass. saturejetosum;; B2: subass. typicum).
4.b1 Violo pseudogracilis-Koelerietum
splendentis ass. nov. hoc loco
(Holotypus Table 1 rel. 2)
CHARACTERISTIC SPECIES: Carex humilis, Festuca stricta subsp. trachyphylla, Viola pseudogra-cilis subsp. pseudogracilis, Seseli montanum, Thymus striatus.
DIAGNOSIS: Violo-Koelerietum is found to range in altitude between about 1000 m and the summit of the Aurunci mountains (Mt. Petrella 1,534 m a.s.l.) where it occurs on limestone south-facing slopes in the form of a secondary open dry grassland (Figure 6). On the basis of the phyto-climatic map of the Latium region (Blasi 1993) this grassland community is developed within the lower montane/upper submontane thermotypes and the humid/hyperhumid umbrotype (units 6 and 7 in Figure 3) in the Temperate Region. The soil is shallow, pure in humus and nutrients, while stonyness and rockyness are considerable. Because of the specific characteristics of limestone for infiltration of rain water the surface remains dry, and this is the reason for the presence of xe-rothermic Mediterranean species even at higher
altitude. Although the floristic richness which leads one to observe a high number of coloured flowering plants in spring, the sward is scarce and almost completely dried out in the summer. There is not a single species which clearly dominates the community, although Koeleria splendens is the species showing the highest specific cover index. This species is constantly joined by other high frequency/abundance species such as Carex humilis, Heliathemum oelandicum subsp. incanum, Festuca stricta subsp. trachyphylla, Festuca inops and Thymus striatus. Of biogeographical interest is the abundance of Viola pseudogracilis, a rare species which exhibits a whole distribution area restricted to the southern part of the Tyrrhenian district of central and southern Italy. A variant with Sesleria juncifolia and Edrajanthus gramini-folius is described for those sites which exhibit a higher degree of rockyness (Table 1 rel. 15-22).
CHOROLOGY AND STRUCTURE: Almost 50% of Violo-Koelerietum cover is due to the sum of the SE-European (s.s.) species and the SE-European orophytes ones (Table 5). On the contrary, very scarce is the role of the western chorotypes (here identified by the "Atlantic"
4
Figure 6: Violo pseudogracilis-Koelerietum splendentis in the Mount Revole (1100 m). Slika 6: Violo pseudogracilis-Koelerietum splendentis na hribu Revole (1100 m).
component), although the biogeographic map of Europe (Rivas-Mart^nez et al. 2002) reports the Aurunci mountains as included in the Italo-Tyr-rhenian Province together with the rest of western southern Italy, Sardinia, Corsica, Balearic Islands and Catalonia). The contributions of the Eurasiatics, European-Caucasians and Italian endemics are also important, whereas the percentages of the Mediterranean chorotypes (Eurimed-it. + Stenomedit.) are relatively low and sharply decreasing, passing from the normal to the cover spectrum. Cosmopolitans are poorly represented since the few synanthropic species occurring in Violo-Koelerietum belong to the Steno/ Euri Mediterranean therophytic component. As far as the life form spectrum is concerned (Table 4), Violo-Koelerietum is mainly characterised by the hemicryptophytes, which are approached by chamaephytes observing frequency and cover values only. As expected, the contribution of the phanerophytes is negligible as well as that of the
therophytes, which are about 20% of the overall species composition but which cover for 2% only.
Table 4: Life form spectra of Violo-Koelerietum and Helichryso-Brometum.
Table 4: Spekter življenskih oblik asociacij Violo-Koele-rietum in Helichryso-Brometum.
■iS
iC ja
■iS ja
JS ts

js ts


s
-f3




-j3
Pres. Frq. Cov. Pres. Frq. Cov. Pres. Frq. Cov.
Ch 20	32	37
G	9,3	6,6	3,3
H	45	52	58
P	2,5 1,4	0,3
T	23	8,3	2,1
9,1	15	31
13	8	6,9
40	38	53
9,8	9,6	2,5
29	30	7,5
14	19	26
8,2	4,8	3,7
39	47	56
9,6	4,7	3,9
29	25	11
DYNAMISM: From a syndynamical point of view Violo-Koelerietum is related to thermophil-ous beech forests of Geranio versicoloris-Fagion at higher altitudes and mesophilous Ostrya capinifo-lia woods (Laburno-Ostryenion) at lower altitudes.
DISTRIBUTION: The Italian distribution of Violo-Koelerietum is restricted to the Aurunci mountains at present. However it is possible that similar communities could be found within the other coastal limestone massifs occurring southwards of the Aurunci mountains (Lattari Mts. and Castellamare Mts. in Campania Region) which exhibit quite similar physiographic and bioclimatic features.
4.b2 Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti ass. nov. hoc loco
(Holotypus Table 2 rel. 6)
Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti typicum sub-ass. nov. hoc loco
Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti saturejetosum montanae subass. nov. hoc loco (Holotypus Table 2 rel. 14)
CHARACTERISTIC SPECIES: Centaurea de-usta, Centaurium erythraea, Helichrysum italicum, Melica transsylvanica, Micromeria graeca, Sedum sexangulare.
DIAGNOSIS: Helichryso-Brometum erecti (Figure 7) is a secondary dry grassland which is widespread in the upper part of the hilly belt and in the submontane belt (in some cases it can even exceed 1000 m as is the case of Mt. delle Fate, Mt.
Figure 7: Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti saturejetosum montanae in the south facing slopes of Mount Fusco (650 m). Slika 7: Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti saturejetosum montanae na južnih pobočjih hriba Fusco (650 m).
Cervello and Mt. Fammera). Helichryso-Brometum finds its optimum in the meso-Mediterranean and upper hilly thermotypes with an upper subhumid umbrotype. From a coenological point of view Helichriso-Brometum erecti is characterised by the dominance of Bromus erectus, which is joined by other Brometalia erecti xerophilous grasses such as Koeleria splendens, Phleum hirsu-tum subsp. ambiguum, Festuca circummediterranea and F. stricta subsp. trachyphylla. Very frequent are also some micro-chamaephytes such as Thymus longicaulis, Teucrium chamaedrys, Helianthe-mum nummularium subsp. obscurum, and Helichrysum italicum (this latter, together with Erica multiflora, acts as a trait-d'union with the Steno-Mediterranean garrigues of the lower bioclimatic belts). In addition to the typical aspect (subass. typicum), a new subassociation named saturejetosum montanae is described to express the geographical separation between the Aurunci and Ausoni massifs. The characteristic species of this subassociation are selected in Satureja montana, Euphorbia spinosa subsp. spinosa, Linum tenuifo-lium. In particular Satureja montana and Linum tenuifolium are abundant in the Aurunci mountains (even at relatively low altitudes), whereas they are extremely rare in the Ausoni mountains where they are restricted to a few boundary areas only (Moraldo et al. 1990; Lucchese & Lat-tanzi 2000). Of biogeographic relevance is the presence of Asphodeline liburnica, which although being a common species in southern Italy, finds its Tyrrhenian northernmost limit precisely in the Aurunci mountains.
CHOROLOGY AND STRUCTURE: Both chorological and life form spectra are very different from those of Violo-Koelerietum. Indeed, the Mediterranean chorological component (Eurimedit. + Stenomedit.) is significantly stronger, reaching about 50% in the three spectra. In particular the Stenomediterranean is the dominant chorotype (Table 5). Hemicryptophytes and Chamaephytes (52-55% and 30-25% on the cover spectrum, respectively) still play a major role in the structure of the community but the contribution of thero-phytes is significantly higher than in Violo-Koeleri-etum, being about 30% of the whole specific composition and about 10% of the total cover.
DYNAMISM: On the north facing slopes Helichryso-Brometum is dynamically linked to thermophilous aspects of Melitto-Ostryetum or with Lonicero-Carpinetum orientalis woods. The mesophilous Quercus pubescens or Quercus ilex
woods (Ostryo-Quercetum ilicis) are the potential vegetation types of the southern facing slopes.
DISTRIBUTION: In addition to the Ausoni-Aurunci mountains, Helichryso-Brometum can also be found in other areas such as the limestone massifs surrounding the Rome area (Prenestini, Tiburtini, Cornicolani, Sabini, Lucretili), and in the hilly belt of inner massifs such as the Affilani, Simbruini-Ernici or Reatini mountains).
Table 5: Chorological spectra of Violo-Koelerietum and Helichryso-Brometum.
Table 5: Horološki spekter asociacij Violo-Koelerietum in Helichryso-Brometum.

M
M
M
c^ c^ c^ ^^ ^^ ^^
c^ c^ c^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^
Atlantic
Boreal
Endemic
Eurasiat
Europ-
Caucas
Oroph.
S-Europ.
SE-Europ
Euri-Medit.
Steno-Medit.
Subcosmop.
Pres. Frq.	Cov. 2,5 1 1
0,6 0,1	0,1
7,4 9,1	11,1
14,2 16,3	20,8
Pres. Frq. Cov. 2,6 2 0,6 1,8 0,8 0,2 4,8 3,8 4,5 13,2 14,4 22,3
Pres. Frq.	Cov.
1,2 0,5	0,1
1,2 0,5	0,1
4,9 4,1	10,2 15,4 20,2 30,1
9,2 8,1 10,4 6,6 4,2 3 6,2 6,2 2,7
21,6 23,6 27,8 10,2 14 18,1 9,2 9,1 9,9
14,2	18 20,2
20,4	15,5 6,4
8,02	7,6 2,2
1,85	0,5 0,08
9,7 11,8 8 27,8 27,5 16,4 21,7 20,6 26,6 1,3 0,6 0,2
9,2 9,3 3 31 30,5 36,2 20,4 18,2 7,3 1,2 1,2 0,3
4.c Multivariate analysis (synoptic table)
The synoptic table dendrogram (Figure 8) shows four main clusters. (A+B): communities of the Tyrrhenian side of central Italy (Latium + Tuscany) with (A) Violo-Koelerietum (montane belt) clearly separated by (B)the more termophilous communities (hilly belt). (C): Bromus erectus hilly dry grasslands of the Adriatic side of central Italy mainly identifiable in Asperulo purpureae-Brome-tum, Potentillo cinereae-Brometum and Trigonello-Sideridetum. (D): Fumano procumbentis-Stipetum appenninicolae. (E): Montane dry grasslands of the continental sector of the central Apennines (Mount Velino) described through the associations Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti, Onobry-
0.8 0.75 0-7 0.IS5 0.6 0.55 0.5
TO
^^ 0.45
In 0.4
tn
i:5 0.35 0.3 0.25 02 0.15 0.1 0.05 0
A
1
^ T
G
1 2 3 4 5 6 12 14 15 17 13 19 20 21 16 18 25 10 11 26 7 8 9 22 23 24
Figure 8: Cluster analysis dendrogram of the synoptic columns of the central Apennines main types of dry grasslands. A: Violo-Koelerietum; B: Helichryso-Brometum + Cerastio-Brometum; C: Asperulo purpureae-Brometum + Potentillo cinereae-Brometum group. D: Fumano-Stipetum; E: Saturejo-Brometum + Onobrychido-Brometum + Lavandulo-Asphode-linetum; F: Plantago-Heliantemetum + Koelerio splendentis-Brometum + Polygalo majoris-Brometum. G: Seslerio nitidae-Brometum.
Slika 8: Dendrogram klastrske analize sinoptične tabele glavnih tipov suhih travišč v srednjih Apeninih. A: Violo-Koeleri-etum; B: Helichryso-Brometum + Cerastio-Brometum; C: Aspe-rulo purpureae-Brometum + Potentillo cinereae-Brometum group. D: Fumano-Stipetum; E: Saturejo-Brometum + Onob-rychido-Brometum + Lavandulo-Asphodelinetum; F: Plantago--Heliantemetum + Koelerio splendentis-Brometum + Polygalo majoris-Brometum. G: Seslerio nitidae-Brometum.
chido albae-Seslerietum nitidae together with Pol-lino's Lavandulo-Asphodelinetum. (F) dry grasslands and micro-garrigue of the montane belt of the central Apennines which are enriched in Ely-no-Seslerietea companion species, and which are identifiable in Polygalo majoris-Brometum erecti, Koelerio splendentis-Brometum erecti and Plantago holostei-Helianthemetum cani. (G) Dry grasslands of the montane belt of the Umbrian-Marches Apennines (Seslerio nitidae-Brometum erecti).
5. SYNTAXONOMICAL DISCUSSION
5a Comparison between the Ausoni-Aurunci new associations and similar associations occurring in Peninsular Italy.
The most important result of this paper is that two new dry grassland associations have been identified for Peninsular Italy. According to Bi-ondi et al. (2005) the coenological group of the
D
C
B
Apennines dry grasslands already includes 37 associations (counting solely those included in the endemic alliance Phleo-Bromion). Actually, to propose yet further types and names to be inserted in a syntaxonomical box which probably already contains too much, may appear somewhat paradoxical. Nevertheless, it is the opinion of the author that these new associations have the appropriate floristic, coenological and nomenclatural requirements to enable them to "carve out" an ecological space for themselves in the Italian dry grasslands syntaxonomical framework - despite the fact that they display similarities to some other central Apennines dry grasslands types.
Violo pseudogracilis-Koelerietum splendentis exhibits physiognomical similarities to the association Plantago holostei-Helianthemetum cani, described for the stony pastures of Campo Imperatore (Gran Sasso range) at altitudes ranging between 1560 m and 1740 m (Biondi et al. 1992; 1999). High altitudes and geographical location make Plantago-Helianthemetum rich in species (Carex kitaibeliana, Iberis saxatilis, Brachypodium genuense, Draba aizoides, Centaurea ambigua, Sedum atratum, Anthemis cretica ecc.) which are common in the subalpine belt of the Apennines, but absent in the coastal mountains. For the same reason Plantago-Helianthemetum lacks the entire characteristic component of Violo-Koelerietum with the sole exception of Carex humilis.
Both Violo-Koelerietum and Helichryso-Bro-metum exhibit some similarities with Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti Avena & Blasi 1979. Sa-turejo-Brometum was one of the first associations to be described for the central Apennines, and, as a consequence, it was taken as the reference for several other central and southern Apennine areas (Avena & Blasi 1980; Abbate et al. 1984; Biondi & Blasi 1984; Francalancia & Orsomando 1981; Corbetta 1984; Corbetta et al. 1984; Petric-cione 1993; Lucchese et al. 1995; Tammaro 1995; Blasi et al. 1998, Maiorca & Spampinato 1999). In Lucchese et al. (1995) Saturejo-Brometum erecti was considered practically the only perennial dry grassland association of the Latium region, distributed from the core of the central Apennines to the coastal mountains (therefore including the Ausoni-Aurunci mountains too). According to these authors Saturejo-Brometum was divided into two distinct subassociations: S-B medicagi-netosum, (thermophilous and occurring at altitudes ranging between 300 and 700 m) and S-B leontodontidetosum (occurring at higher altitudes
up to 1400 m). This diagnosis, however does not correspond to the original diagnosis of Saturejo-Brometum made by Avena & Blasi (1979), which described a rich-in-chamaephytes dry pasture restricted to the montane belt of Mount Velino (the most "continental" massif of the central Apennines). Indeed the specific component of Saturejo-Brometum included several taxa (Sideri-tis italica, Plantago sempervirens, Cerastium tomen-tosum, Euphorbia myrsinites, Asperula cynanchica, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) which, although common in that area, were absent or extremely rare in the warmer and suboceanic mountains of the Tyrrhenian coastal district. In fact, the Tyrrhenian district is very rich in Mediterranean thermophilous perennial and annual species (Helichrysum itali-cum, Micromeria graeca, Convolvulus cantabrica, Medicago minima, Carlina corymbosa, Urospermum dalechampii, Bupleurum baldense, Trifolium sca-brum, Coronilla scorpioides, Trachynia distachya, Crupina vulgaris, etc.) which are extremely rare in the core of the Apennines. As a consequence, the two "hilly-submontane tyrrhenian" subasso-ciations of Saturejo-Brometum hypothesized by Lucchese et al. (1995) for the Ausoni-Aurunci mountains are quite unlikely. The synoptic table dendrogram (Figure 8) shows that both Saturejo-Brometum leontodontetosum and Saturejo-Brome-tum medicaginetosum (coll. 4 and 5 respectively) are floristically closer to Helichryso-Brometum (coll. 2 and 3) than to Saturejo-Brometum sensu Avena & Blasi 1979 (col. 10). Hence, it is probable that Saturejo-Brometum medicaginetosum and Saturejo-Brometum leontodontetosum p.p. should be included in Helichryso-Brometum, while only those few releves of the subass. leontodontetosum performed in the core of the central Apennines, could possibly be included in the true Saturejo-Brometum.
An association which shows similarities to Helichryso-Brometum is Cerastio etrusci-Brometum erecti, which was described in central and southern Tuscany (Angiolini et al. 2005). On the basis of the distribution of Cerastium arvense var. etruscum (according to Angiolini et al. 2005 this entity is restricted to the limestone massifs of central and southern Tuscany), and of the presence of some other species which are absent or rare in Helichryso-Brometum (Santolina etrusca, Marrubium incanum, Erysimum pseudorhaeticum, Eryngium campestre, Melica ciliata, Alyssum minus), this association behaves as a northern Tyrrhenian vicariant of Helichryso-Brometum. Observing the
rest of the characteristic species of Cerastio-Bro-metum (Carlina corymbosa, Fes^-uca iinops, Co'nvol-vulus cantabrica) and the whole syndistribution of the association (Tyrrhenian district of central Italy) there is a possibility that Cerastio-Brometum and Helichryso-Brometum might be considered as syntaxonomical synonyms in the future, especially if the taxonomical dubiousness surrounding the taxon Cerastium a'^-ve'nse var. etruscum is ever resolved (both Pignatti (1982) and Conti et al. (2005) refer this entity to Cerastium scarani Ten., while Barberis et al. (1995), Miceli et al. (1997), and Bechi (1998) refer C. arvense var. etruscum to the group of Cerastium arvense subsp. arvense).
Another association widely used in the phyto-sociological literature to describe thermophilous dry grasslands of the central Apennines is Aspe-rulo purpureae-Brometum erecti. This association was originarily proposed to descibe the hilly belt dry pastures of Mount Catria (northern Marches Apennines) but subsequently was extended to the whole of the Umbrian-Marches Apennines and surrounding areas (Biondi & Ballelli 1981; Ballel-li & Biondi 1982; Biondi & Ballelli 1982; Biondi et al. 1995). The characteristic species were selected to be Asperula purpurea, Eryngium amethystinum, Allium sphaerocephalon, Crepis laceTa and Dianthus ciliatus. The first four species are rather common in most of the central Apennines dry grasslands communities occurring on limestone, whereas Dianthus ciliatus exhibits a higher diagnostic role since it is an amphi-adriatic element restricted to the eastern side of the central Apennines (from the Marches to Apulia) and completely absent from the Tyrrhenian district. The presence of Dianthus ciliatus in Asperulo-Brometum, together with that of other species which are absent from the Ausoni-Aurunci mountains (Asperula cyn-anchica, Trinia glauca, Poa alp^^^a, Arte'misia alba, Centaurea ambigua, Ave'^'ula p'rate'nsis s.l.), prevent Asperulo-Brometum from being used as syntaxo-nomical reference for the Ausoni-Aurunci communities (this is also confirmed by the cluster analysis of Figure 8).
As far as the higher rank syntaxa are concerned the first dilemma is to choose between the classes Festuco-Brometea and Rosmarinetea/Cisto-Micromerietea which are closely related to each other in the central Apennines both in floristic and coenological terms (Biondi et al. 2005). It is known that the structural parameters of communities deduced by the life forms spectra can provide useful elements to be added to the coe-
Figure 9: Life form graphics showing a comparison between the Hemycryptophytic and Chamaephytic component in the three types of spectra in both Violo-Koelerietum and Helichryso-Brometum.
Slika 9: Primerjava deleža hemikriptofitov in hamefitov v treh spektrih v asociacijah Violo-Koelerietum in Helichryso-
T^rn-mpfn-m
nological diagnosis (Blasi et al. 2005; Di Pietro et al. 2008). As mentioned previously, Violo-Koele'rie-tum splendentis and Helichryso-Brometum erecti are composed of a mixture of hemicryptophytes and chamaephytes, so their syntaxonomical position in the Apennines' context can be considered as intermediate between Phleo-Bromion (Festuco-Bro-meted) and Artemisio-Saturejion (Cisto-Micromeriet-
ea). The physiognomical and structural distinction between these two alliances is not evident because their communities tend to be developed in similar environments and share a large number of micro-chamaephytes (Teucrium montanum, T. chamaedrys, T. capitatum, Dorycnium hirsutum, Micromeria graeca, Thymus striatus, T. longicau-lis, Plantago holosteum, Helianthemum nummu-larium s.l., Helianthemum oelandicum s.l. Fumana procumbens, Euphorbia spinosa, Aethionema saxa-tile, Satureja montana etc.) which may exhibit similar frequency/cover indexes passing from Phleo-Bromion communities to Artemisio-Sature-jion ones. In the specific case of Violo-Koelerietum and Helichryso-Brometum, the reference to Festuco-Brometea appears to be the most appropriate. In fact, in both communities a grass species which shows the highest specific cover index (Koeleria splendens and Bromus erectus resp.). Furthermore, in the structural diagrams (Figure 9) the curve related to the presence, frequency and cover degree of the hemicryptophitic component is above the parallel curve of chamaephytes and never intersects it.
5B NOMENCLATURAL ISSUES
The name Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti was invalidly described in Avena & Blasi 1979 (Art. 5). A further lectotypification of this name was provided in Biondi et al. (1995), identifying rel. 3 of Table 3 in Avena & Blasi 1979 as the lectotype. Although this lectotypification was formally not in accordance with the rules of the Code (since Saturejo-Brometum was published after 1/1/1979) it can nevertheless be used to validate the name (Art. 6) since the lectotypus provided in Biondi et al. 1995 is the true holotypus of Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti Avena & Blasi ex Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995. The two subasso-ciations (Saturejo-Brometum medicaginetosum and Saturejo-Brometum leontodontetosum), proposed in the same issue (Fitosociologia 30, 1995) by Luc-chese et al. (1995), and all the new subassocia-tions described - subsequently making reference to the name Saturejo-Brometum Avena & Blasi 1979 - are to be considered invalid (Art. 4 a).
The name Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti was proposed invalidly in Ballelli & Biondi (1981) due the lack of the nomenclatural type (Art. 5). The nomenclatural type was subsequently provided in Biondi et al. (1995), but unfortunately
still invalidly (Art. 2), because it made reference to rel. 6 in Table 3 in Biondi & Ballelli (1982), even though this table was composed of a single synoptic column only. The reference to Ballelli & Biondi made in the synoptic table's footnote and in the bibliographic list is not in accordance with the ICPN note 3 of Art. 2. The proposal of the new subassociation Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti asperuletosum purpureae as a typical subas-sociation of Asperulo purpureae-Brometum made in Allegrezza (2003) is also to be considered as invalid, since it makes reference to the same wrong type-releve provided in Biondi et al. (1995). This nomenclatural deficiency of Asperulo-Brometum was already pointed out in Catorci et al. (2007), but these authors did not to provide the necessary corrections. Moreover, this is not the only nomenclatural problem affecting Asperulo-Bro-metum. In fact, this name was proposed as new in Biondi et al. (1995), with the addition of two new subassociations: teucrietosum montani and sideridetosum syriacae. This latter was obtained by lowering the rank of the association Trigo-nello-Sideritidetum syriacae Hruska 1982 (indeed the type-relevee designed for Asperulo-Brometum sideritidetosum subass. nov. was the same as that provided originally for Trigonello-Sideritidetum in Hruska 1982). In this way a union of syntaxa of the same rank (Trigonello-Sideritidetum Hruska 1982 and Asperulo-Brometum Biondi et al. 1995) was established with nomenclatural priority being assigned to Trigonello-Sideridetum (Art. 25, 26). Summarizing, despite the common use of As-perulo purpureae-Brometum as a syntaxonomical reference for the Marches-Umbrian Apennines dry grasslands, it is at present to be considered both a nomen invalidum (Art. 5) and a nomen il-legitimum (Art. 29c).
Biondi et al. (1995) designated Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti Biondi et al. 1995 as the nomenclatural type of the alliance Phleo ambigui-Bromion erecti. The ascertained invalidity of As-perulo-Brometum has direct repercussions on the alliance Phleo-Bromion, which is, likewise, to be considered invalid (Art. 5, 17). As a consequence it is necessary to find the prior valid published name, which can be used in place of Phleo-Bro-mion. On the basis of the nomenclatural and coenological features of Phleo-Bromion the most suitable name turns out to be Cytiso-Bromion erecti Bonin 1978 (^ which is older than Phleo-Bromion and thus is even suitable to be used as a prior syn-taxonomical synonym). The Italian phytosocio-
logical literature has not treated this alliance in a uniform manner. In some cases (Biondi et al. 1995; 2005) it has been relegated to the Calabri-an Apennines (in spite of the original diagnosis which explicitly designated the whole central-southern apennines as syndistribution area of the alliance), while in other cases it has merely been considered as not validly published (Brullo et al. 2004). The need for shedding light on this topic can be explained as follows: Cytiso-Bromion erecti was proposed in Barbero & Bonin 1969 (sub Cytiso-Bromion caprini) as including the montane dry grasslands of central and southern Italy. In that paper the authors stated that Cytiso-Bromion caprini was identical (although with a wider distribution area) to Koelerio-Astragalion Giacomini & Gentile 1966, an alliance which described the dry grasslands and garrigiues developed on the siliceous substrates of Sila plateau in Calabria region (Giacomini & Gentile 1961; 1966). However, this first proposal of Cytiso-Bromion caprini was invalid (Art. 3, 5) since no reference to a valid lower-rank syntaxon was provided. It was only in Bonin (1978) that a list of eight grassland and/ or garrigue associations belonging to Cytso-Bro-mion erecti (new name) and the list of characteristic species were presented, together with a more complete and emended diagnosis of the alliance. Amongst the associations included in Cytiso-Bro-mion, only one (Astragaletum calabri) was related to siliceous, poor-in-carbonates, substrates, while the remainder (Lavandulo-Asphodelinetum lu-teae, Paronichyo-Astragaletum sempervirentis, Ono-brychido-Seslerietum nitidae, Eryngio amethystini-Polygaletum majoris, Jurineo mollis-Crepidetum rubrae, Cisto incani-Phlomidetum herba-venti, Heli-chryso italici-Teucrietum montani) were communities developed on the limestone substrates of the central and southern Apennines (in truth, in the same paper the alliance Cytiso-Bromion was also used to include some aspects of woody vegetation such as Genisto sericeae-Pinetum nigrae (nom. illeg. Art. 29 b) which are difficult to refer to grassland syntaxa). According to Brullo et al. (2004) both Koelerio-Astragalion Giacomini & Gentile 1966 and Cytiso-Bromion erecti Bonin 1978 were to be considered as invalid (resp. Art. 8 and Art. 1). Koelerio-Astragalion is effectively invalid (Art. 8), since neither of the two names proposed as new by Giacomini & Gentile (1966), which were suitable to be used as nomenclatural type of Koelerio-As-tragalion (Astragaletum calabrici and Foenicolo-Fes-tucetum spadiceae), was validly published (Art. 7).
However, the question concerning Cytiso-Bromion caprini, which was proposed invalidly (Art. 3b, 8) in Barbero & Bonin (1969), but further emended and validly proposed as Cytiso-Bromion erecti ten years later (Bonin, 1978), is somewhat different. The fact that this name was published in a Ph.D. thesis does not lead to its automatic invalidation. In fact, Bonin's Ph.D. thesis is to be considered as perfectly in accordance with art. 1 of ICPN, seeing that it was a printed book (not a photocopy) which was formally and legally deposited (Figure 10) in libraries accessible to botanists (e.g. it is regularly quoted in the bibliography of Avena & Blasi, 1979 where the new association Saturejo-Brometum erecti was proposed). Because Cytiso-Bromion was published before 1.1.1979 it is suitable to be lectotypified. The lectotypus of the alliance Cytiso spinescentis-Bromion erecti was designed in Ubaldi (2011) using the association La-vandulo-Asphodelinetum luteae Bonin 1978. (Bonin (1978) pages: 146; (complete description pp. 148153). The lectotypus of Lavandulo-Asphodelinetum luteae Bonin 1978 is selected hoc loco in rel. 509 of Table 21 in Bonin (1978), whose taxonomically updated version (based on the Italian checklist of Conti et al. 2005) is reported in Appendix 5. The characteristic species of Lavandulo-Asphodeline-tum luteae originally defined by the author were Lavandula angustifolia, Asphodeline lutea, Leonto-don crispus and Satureja montana.
CENTRE REGIONAL DE DOCUMENTATION PEDAGOGIQUE Service d'Impression - 55, Rue Sylvabelle - 13006 MARSEILLE
D^pöt legal : 3eme trim. 1978
Figure 10: Title page (tables and figures) of Bonin's PhD Thesis with the reference to the publisher office and to the legal date of publishing.
Slika 10: Naslovnica (tabele in slike) doktorske naloge Bonina z oznako založnika in datumom izdaje.
The lectotypification of Cytiso-Bromion erecti means that most of the dry grassland associations previously included in Phleo ambigui-Bromion erecti Biondi et al. 1995 (nom. inval.) can easily be included in Cityso-Bromion erecti Bonin 1978, which thus assumes the role of reference alliance for the hilly and montane grasslands endemic to the central-southern Apennines. According to Bonin 1978, Cytiso-Bromion erecti included all the montane dry grasslands and micro-chamaephitic garrigues of the central and southern Apennines on both siliceous and limestone substrates. The
geographical and ecological range of Cytiso-Bro-mion, as conceived by Bonin (1978), definitely appears too wide for a single alliance. The bio-geographical boundary which runs between the Pollino-Orsomarso massif (limestone) and Sila massif (granites and gneiss) separates two geographical districts which are different not only in respect of geological and edapho-morphological features, but also in respect of paleogeographic and paleobotanic vicissitudes which have led to clear floristic and coenological differences. On the one hand, there are several calcicolous species whose southernmost limit in Peninsular Italy corresponds to the Pollino limestone massif (Sesleria nitida, Carex macrolepis, Sideritis italica, Euphorbia myrsinites, Globularia meridionalis etc.), while on the other hand there is a group of acidophilous species which are endemics of the siliceous massifs of southern Calabria (Sila, Serre calabre and Aspromonte), or which are simply absent from the calcareous sector of the Apennines (Astragalus par-nassi subsp. calabrus, Armeria brutia, A. aspromon-tana, Avenula praetutiana subsp. rigida, Anthemis cretica subsp. calabrica, Hypericum calabricum, Genista silana, Centaurea sarfattiana). For this reason the distribution area of Cytiso-Bromion erecti is restricted to the central-southern Apennines from the northern Marches to northern Calabria (Or-somarso mountains). On the basis of this new coenological and synchorological diagnosis of Cytiso-Bromion erecti, the central Apennines endemic alliance Seslerio-Caricion macrolepidis proposed in Ubaldi (1997) is to be considered a syntaxonomi-cal synonym, together with (at least partially) Botriochloo-Bromion erecti, which was proposed as new in the same paper. At the same time, to be considered syntaxonomical synonyms of Cyt-iso-Bromion (see the syntaxonomical scheme) are the following alliances: Knautio calycinae-Bromion caprini Ubaldi 2011, Sideritidion italicae (Biondi et al. 1995) Ubaldi 2011, proposed subsequently in Ubaldi (2011) and Violo pseudogracilis-Bromopsion caprinae Terzi 2011 (Terzi 2011).
The dry grasslands and garrigues occurring in the mountain ranges of the Calabrian Arc (especially Sila plateau) and developed on a great variety of siliceous substrates, belong to a different alliance. According to Brullo et al. (2005) this alliance is Koelerio-Astragalion Giacomini & Gentile ex Brullo et al. 2005. The nomenclatural type of Koelerio-Astragalion was designated as Astragal-etum calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Brullo in Brullo et al. 2005. On the basis of ICPN, how-
ever, Astragaletum calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Brullo in Brullo et al. 2005 is an illegitimate and superfluous name (Art. 29b, 29c) beside being a heterotypic later homonym (Art. 31) of the name Astragaletum calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Bonin 1978 (which is mentioned as synonym in Brullo et al. 2005). According to ICPN, however, this fact do not invalidate the name of the alliance (Art. 17). As regards the name Astragaletum calabrici it was proposed invalidly by Giacomini & Gentile (1966) but subsequently validated by Bonin (1978) through a complete description of the association (pag. 140-145), including a phy-tosociological table composed of 10 releves and the list of characteristic species. For this reason the association Astragaletum calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Bonin 1978 (which lectotypus is selected hoc loco in rel. 628 of Table 16 in Bonin 1978 and which taxonomically updated version,
Figure 11: Distribution of the main alliances of dry grasslands in Peninsular Italy.
Slika 11: Razširjenost glavnih zvez suhih travišč Italijanskega polotoka.
based on the Italian checklist of Conti et al. 2005, is reported in Appendix 5) take the role of no-menclatural Typus of the alliance Koelerio-Astrag-alion. The choice of Astragaletum calabrici Giaco-mini & Gentile ex Bonin 1978 as type-association of Koelerio-Astragalion leaves open the problem of the choice of class in which to include this alliance. According to Barbero & Bonin (1969) this alliance had to be referred to Seslerietalia tenuifo-liae, while Bonin (1978) included it in Scorzone-ro-Chrysopogonetalia, Brullo et al. (2004; 2005) in Rumici-Astragaletea siculi and Ubaldi (2011) in Cerastio-Carlinetea nebrodensis. As mentioned previously, the floristic-coenological boundary between a chamaephytic class (Rosmarinetea or Rumici-Astragaletea) and an hemicryptophytic one (Festuco-Brometea) is almost indistinguishable, especially in the Apennine montane dry grasslands or micro-garrigues. The phytosocio-logical table of Astragaletum calabrici as reported in Bonin (1978) would suggest the inclusion of Koelerio-Astragalion in a chamaephytic class, since all the species showing the highest frequency and cover degree (Astragalus parnassi subsp. calabri-cus, Cytisus spinescens, Plantago serpentina, Thymus longicaulis and Helianthemum nummularium) are chamaephytes. At any rate, it is likely that only a wider-scale study able to merge the floristic and coenological data with ecological, paleobotani-cal and paleogeographical considerations could provide a plausible solution to this intricate question. (Figure 11 reports the map distribution of the main perennial dry grassland syntaxa in Peninsular Italy).
5c Coenological and syntaxonomi-cal framework of Cytiso spines-centi-Bromion erecti
According to Bonin (1978) Cytiso-Bromion erecti was restricted to the montane dry grasslands of the central and southern Apennines. Ubaldi (1997) referred Cytiso-Bromion to the montane dry grasslands of the southern Apennines, leaving those of the central Apennines to Seslerio-Caricion macrolepidis (montane belt) and Phleo-Bromion (hilly belt). According to Biondi et al. (1995), Cytiso-Bromion was restricted to southern Italy, too, but the dry grasslands of the central Apennines were all included in the single alliance Phleo-Bromion. It is also my opinion that the central-southern Apennine dry grasslands
on limestone cannot be divided at alliance level. In fact, the geographical location of the Apen-nine range, slicing as it does right through to the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, is responsible for a marked upward shift of Lygeo-Stipetea and Cisto-Micromerietea Mediterranean steppe-like grasslands and garrigues merged with Tubera-rietea guttatae grasslands, which in some cases are widespread up to the lower montane belt (especially on the Tyrrhenian coastal side of Peninsular Italy). This upward altitudinal shift of Mediterranean species and communities strongly reduces the coenological space for the Festuco-Brometea perennial dry grasslands which, moreover, also find themselves effectively competed with by Seslerietalia tenuifoliae communities in the upper montane belt and by Cynosurion communities in the intramontane plateaus. The different ecological and geographical enlargement of Cytiso-Bromion erecti (with respect to Bonin's 1978 proposal) requires a consequent enlargement in the list of the characteristic species of the alliance, which were selected by Bonin as comprised solely of Bromus erectus, Cytisus spinescens, Phleum hirsutum subsp. ambiguum and Centaurea deusta (Bonin 1978: 142), although other species, Thymus striatus, Sideritis italica, Asperula purpurea, Centaurea ambigua, Polygala major, Globularia meridionalis, Onobrychis alba were added as differentials in the various phytosociological tables. The new list (which is provided at the end of this paper and which only partially corresponds to the list proposed in Biondi et al. 1995 for Phleo ambigui-Bromion erecti) is composed of a core of endemic central-southern apennine species (testifying to a clear separation from the CS-European Xerobromion) and of a group of xerophitic species having a largely southeastern-European distribution.
As for the rank of suballiance, it has been necessary (for ecological and nomenclatural reasons) to dissect and reassemble what was proposed in previous papers, trying, where possible, to maintain the use of the old syntaxon names rather than propose new ones.
The phytosociological literature reports only a single suballiance for Cytiso-Bromion, namely, Plantaginenion serpentinae Bonin 1978. This subal-liance was typified by Astragaletum calabrici and was restricted to those communities developed on siliceous substrates which were subsequently included in Koelerio-Astragalion. Instead, the following three suballiances were proposed in Bi-
ondi et al. (2005) for Phleo-Bromion erecti: Phleo-Bromenion (hilly belt of the Marches-Umbrian Apennines), Brachypodenion genuensis (upper montane belt of central Apennines), Sideriden-ion italicae (recte: Sideritidenion italicae) (montane belt of southern Apennines). As mentioned previously, Phleo-Bromenion is to be considered invalid (Art. 17), while Brachypodenion genuensis and Sideritidenion italicae are validly described. Although Sideritidenion italicae was proposed as centered in the southern Apennines, its nomen-clatural type (Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti) is located in the central Apennines (Mount Ve-lino, Abruzzo region). The nomenclatural type of Brachypodenion genuensis (Koelerio splendentis-Brometum erecti) is also located in the central Apennines (Gran Sasso massif), being less than 50 km distant from Saturejo-Brometum. Saturejo-Bro-metum, Koelerio-Brometum are floristically, ecologically and coenologically very similar to each other, and it would be at the very least peculiar if they did not share the same suballiance. Since Si-deritidenion italicae and Brachypodenion genuensis were described in the same paper it is necessary to choose one of these names as reference name for the suballiance. This name is here designated as Sideritidenion italicae Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrez-za & Zuccarello 1995. Lavandulo-Asphodelinetum luteae (type-association of Cytiso-Bromion) is also included in Sideritidenion italicae. As a consequence Sideritidenion italicae Biondi et al. 1995 is to be considered the type-suballiance of the alliance Cytiso spinescentis-Bromion erecti Bonin 1978. This suballiance includes all the associatons developed on the montane belt of the central and southern Apennines on limestone substrate and has its nomenclatural type in the association Sa-turejo montanae-Brometum erecti Avena & Blasi ex Biondi et al. 1995 (the type-releve floristically updated to Conti et al. 2005 is reported in Appendix 5). The choice of Saturejo-Brometum as association-type of Sideritidenion italicae leads this suballiance to be centered in the central Apennines, while the presence of a high number of dry grassland species widespread throughout the entire central-southern Apennines (e.g. Ses-leria nitida, Stipa dasyvaginata, Carex macrolepis, Sideritis italica, Pimpinella tragium, Crepis lacera, Globularia meridionalis, Lomelosia crenata subsp. crenata, Onobrichis alba subsp. alba, Euphorbia myrsinites, Helianthemum oelandicum subsp. incanum, Cytisus spinescens, Ranunculus illyricus, Cerastium tomentosum, Carex kitaibeliana) justifies
its widening to the southern Apennines2. Nevertheless, the southern Apennines also host a group of dry grassland species which have an Italian distribution restricted to this area (e.g. Crepis rubra, Orchis collina, Orchys quadripunctata, Armeria macropoda, Seseli peucedanoides, Onobrychis alba subsp. pentelica, Viola aethnensis subsp. splendida, Achillea lucana, Sesleria calabrica, Festuca jeanpertii subsp. campana, Thymus thracicus, Ptilostemon stel-latus), or which are known also, as sporadics, for the central Apennines (e.g. Ophrys lacaitae, Ophrys lutea, Asphodeline liburnica, Viola pseudogracilis) which, although often showing a scattered presence in phytosociological and/or synoptic tables, could leave open the possibilities for alternative syntaxonomical schemes, such as the definition of an endemic suballiance only for southern Italy (in fact Art. 28a of ICPN would provide for the description of a new suballiance, named Cytiso spinescentis-Bromenion erecti, containing the no-menclatural type of the alliance).
Owing to the mountainous distribution of the suballiance Sideritidenion italicae, a different suballiance is required to include the dry grassland communities of the hilly and submontane belts of Peninsular Italy. Biondi et al. (2005) proposed (invalidly) the suballiance Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti selecting Silene otites, Hieracium piloselloides, Stachys recta, Leontodon villarsii and Reichardia picroides as characteristic species. In our opinion this group of species does not have any particular biogeographical and/or ecological differential role. Actually, the only real difference between Phleo-Bromenion and Sideritiden-ion italicae would seem to be that in the former some common dry grasslands species which do not extend their distribution area to the upper part of the Marches Apennine are absent (e.g. Sideritis italica, Euphorbia myrsinites, Pimpinella lithophila, Cytisus spinescens, Hypochoeris cretensis), whereas a few others (Sesleria apennina, S. pichi-ana, S. italica) which could be considered somewhat N-C-Apennines endemics (see Trombetta et al. 2005; Foggi et al. 2006; Di Pietro 2007) are sporadically present. In a certain sense Phleo-Bro-menion behaves as a sort of impoverished variant of Sideritidenion italicae (also geographically, if
2 Very few are those dry grassland species which characterise the hilly and montane belt of the central Apennines and which do not occur also in the southern Apennines. Among these taxa, those belonging to the Centaurea ambigua s.l. and Centaurea rupestris s.l. collective groups are probably the most relevant.

the syn-distribution areas of these two alliances - N-Marches Apennine vs. C-S Apennines - is compared). With the double aim of maintaining (partially) the proposal of Biondi et al. 2005 on the one hand, and to avoid the proliferation of new names on the other hand, the suballiance Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti Biondi, Allegrez-za & Zuccarello ex Di Pietro suball. nov. is here re-proposed hoc loco. The association Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti proposed invalidly in Biondi & Ballelli (1981) is reproposed here as a new association and it is designated as holotypus of the new suballiance Phleo-Bromenion Biondi, Allegrezza & Zuccarello ex Di Pietro suball. nov. The holotypus of Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti Biondi & Ballelli ex Di Pietro ass. nov. is designated hoc loco in rel. 21 of Table 3 in Ballelli & Biondi (1982). The new group of characteristic species of Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti is composed of the following taxa: Asperula purpurea, Erisymum pseudorhaeticum, Coronilla minima, Stachys recta subsp. recta, Artemisia alba, Dianthus ciliatus. The floristically updated version of the type-releve of Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti is reported in Appendix 5. The definition of a new type-releve for Asperulo-Brometum underlines the thermophilous character of this association, enabling it to be more clearly distinguishable from similar associations occurring in the submontane and lower montane belt of the Umbrian-Marches Apennines, such as Potentillo cinereae-Brometum, Trigonello-Sideridetum (etc.). In particular, the differences between Asperulo-Brometum and Trig-onello-Sideridetum appear to be more evident, and this allows a syntaxonomical separation to be hypothesised. The suballiance Phleo ambigui-Bro-menion erecti includes the dry grassland communities, which are developed within the hilly and the submontane belts of the central and southern Apennines and which are strongly characterised by a Mediterranean floristic component. It should be noted that, in contrast to the montane suballiance Sideritidenion italicae, which is characterised by a high number of endemic species such as Avenula praetutiana, Brachypodium genu-ense, Centaurea ambigua, Rhinanthus wettsteinii, Dianthus brachycalyx, Senecio tenorei, (etc.) and by the transgressive supply of some other endemic species of Cytiso-Bromion (Sesleria nitida, Carex macrolepis, Stipa dasyvaginata subsp. appenninico-la), the hilly suballiance Phleo-Bromenion does not possess an endemic component of its own. Nevertheless, the presence of a high Mediterranean
therophitic component and the lack of ingressive species from the upper montane and subalpine belts of the Apennines, allow Phleo-Bromenion to be clearly distinguished both from Sideritidenion italicae and from the thermophilous aspects of central-European Xerobromion. As a consequence, in addition to the characteristic species for Phleo-Bromenion, a group of differential species drawn from Lygeo-Stipetea, Tuberarietea guttatae and Cis-to-Micromerietea, has been selected with the role of ingressives (Figure 12 reports the map of distribution of Cytiso-Bromion suballiances in Peninsular Italy).
Applying this syntaxonomical framework to the specific case of the Aurunci mountains it can
Figure 12: Distribution area of the two suballiances of Cytiso-Bromion erecti (To note that inside the Sideritidenion italicae boundaries drawn on this map also the Phleo-Bromenion communities which are developed within the hilly belt of the main mountainous massifs are included). Slika 12: Razširjenost dveh podzvez zveze Cytiso-Bromion erecti (znotraj mej podzveze Sideritidenion italicae prikazanih na karti so vključene tudi združbe podzveze Phleo-Bromeni-on, ki jih najdemo v hribovitem pasu glavnega masiva).
be hypothesised that the montane Violo-Koeler-ietum is to be included in Sideritidenion italicae suballiance, whereas the hilly-submontane ther-mophilous Helichryso-Brometum is to be included in Phleo-Bromenion. The presence (in both associations) of a group of releves occurring in the upper submontane belt and having intermediate floristic features between the two suballiances is due to the fact that Violo-Koelerietum and Helichry-so-Brometum are distributed along an altitudinal gradient, and as a consequence give rise to stands of unclear syntaxonomical assignment in the contact areas.
On the basis of Mucina et al. (2009), the alliance Cytiso-Bromion caprini sensu Biondi et al. 1995 (supposedly including Cytiso-Bromion erecti Bonin 1978) is to be included in Artemisio-Bro-metalia (an order which replaces the nomen dubi-um Brometalia erecti). Differently, Ubaldi (2011) includes Cytiso-Bromion erecti in the new order Asphodelino liburnicae-Bromion erecti (nom. inval. art. 2). However, through different papers published between 1997 and 2011, Ubaldi proposed several new orders in which he included the dry grasslands associations described for the central and southern Apennines (see syntaxonomical scheme). Among these orders there is Festuco-Seslerietalia nitidae Ubaldi 2003, which, according to the author, includes only the calcicol-ous dry pastures of the central Apennines. The syn-distribution of Festuco-Seslerietalia nitidae, restricted to the central Apennines, makes it to cover just a minor part of the geographical range of Artemisio-Brometalia Ubaldi ex Mucina & Den-gler 2009. For this reason a new suborder, named Festuco circummediterraneae-Seslerienalia nitidae subord. nov. (= Festuco-Seslerietalia nitidae Ubaldi 2003 stat. nov. hoc loco) is proposed in the present paper3. This suborder exhibits the same distributional range as that of Cytiso-Bromion erecti, and, as a consequence, it shares with it the same specific characteristic component4. Likewise Cyt-
3	On the basis of Recommendation 10 B and 10 C of ICPN the specific epithet has been added to the first generic name (Festuca) of the new suborder. Since Ubaldi (2003) did not included any species of Festuca in the original characteristic component of Festuco-Seslerietdlid nitidae, the taxon Festuca circummediterrdned Patzke has been selected hoc loco for the new suborder Festuco (circummediterrdnede)-Sesleriendlid nitidae.
4	The specific characteristic component of Festuco-Seslerietalia as proposed in the original paper of Ubaldi (2003) as diagnostic for the central Apennines was composed of Trifolium montanum, Centaurea ambigua,
iso-Bromion also Festuco-Seslerienalia nitidae is distinguishable from the other (possible) sub-orders which are already known, or which are still to be defined for Artemisio-Brometalia, by the presence of a high number of both Apennine endemics and amphi-Adriatic species.
5d Similarities between the
Tyrrhenian dry grasslands and W-Balkans ones
According to Mucina et al. (2009) the two alliances, since they both have an Apennine distribution, Cytiso-Bromion (sub: Phleo-Bromion) and Artemisio-Saturejion, are included in the same order Artemisio-Brometalia, although they had previously usually been placed in separate classes (Fes-tuco-Brometea and Rosmarinetea/Cisto-Micromerie-tea, respectively) (Allegrezza et al. 1997; Pirone & Tammaro 1997; Biondi et al. 2005). The hypothesis of the one single order, which excludes (at least for the Apennines) the possibility of using different syntaxonomical classes to distinguish
Potentilla crantzii, Sedum rupestre, Astragalus sempervirens and Seseli viarum. Amongst these species, only Trifolium montanum subsp. rupestre was maintained in the characteristic component of Festuco-Seslerietalia in Ubaldi's subsequent revision (Ubaldi 2011), whereas several other species (defined without distinction characteristic/differential) were added (Cerastium arvense subsp. suffrutico-sum, Knautia purpurea subsp. calabrica, Cyanus triumfetti, Alyssum montanum, Primula veris, Carum flexuosum, Myo-sotis ramosissima, Bellis perennis, Stachys officinalis, Narcissus poeticus, Viola eugeniae, Rumex acetosella, Potentilla cinerea, Linum catkarticum). Such a peculiar characteristic component, which groups species having such different chorological and ecological/coenological features, is probably related to the fact that the author included in the same order a mesophilous sub-acidophilous alliance (Filipendulo vulgaris-Bromion erecti) and a xerophilous strictly calcicolous one (Seslerio-Caricion macrolepidis). Nevertheless, neither a biogeographical Apennine identity nor ecological/coenological homogeneous information would seem to be distinguishable by analysing this pool of species. In would seem more reasonable to include the mesophilous alliance Filipendulo-Bromion in a different order than Festuco-Seslerietalia nitidae (and than Artemisio-Brometalia as well), being the xerophilous alliance Seslerio nitidde-Cdricion (nom. type: Seslerio nitidae-Brometum erecti) the nomenclatural type of the order. The enlargement of the geographical range of the new sub-order Festuco-Seslerienalia, with the inclusion of the whole southern Apennines, leads this new range to be more or less completely overlapping that of the alliance Cytiso-Bromion erecti with the logical consequence of having a characteristic component shared by the alliance and the suborder.
perennial dry grasslands rich in chamaephytes and montane micro-garrigue rich in hemicryp-tophytes, finds strong similarities with the syn-taxonomical scheme proposed by several authors for the W-Balkans (Horvatic 1958a; 1958b; Horvatic 1973; Horvat et al. 1974; Horvatic 1975; Feoli-Chiapella & Poldini 1993) where there is a single order Scorzoneretalia villosae (or Scorzonero-Chrysopogonetalia) which includes both chamae-phytic alliances (e.g. Saturejion subspicatae) and hemicryptophytic ones (e.g. Scorzonerion villosae). It is likely, and not by chance, that it is precisely the Dalmatian dry grasslands - of all those occurring outside the Italian boundaries -which exhibit the highest degree of similarity to those of the Aurunci Mts. According to Horvat et al. (1974), the calcicolous and thermophilous dry grasslands of the western Dinarids are to be included in two major alliances: Saturejion subspicatae (Scorzoneretalia villosae) and Chrysopogo-no-Koelerion splendentis. According to Horvatic (1975), this latter alliance belonged to Thero-Brachypodietea through the order Koeleretalia splendentis. This theory was not followed by subsequent authors, who included Koelerietalia splen-dentis in Festuco-Brometea (Royer 1991; Trinajstic 1992; Redžic 2010). Finally Terzi (2011), included Koelerietalia splendentis in Scorzonero-Chrysopogon-etalia as a syntaxonomical synonym. Actually, it is not easy to trace an ecological-biogeographical boundary between Scorzonero-Chrysopogonetalia and Koeleretalia splendentis, as well as between these two orders themselves and Artemisio-Bro-metalia. In fact, there are several species (e.g. Koeleria splendens, Plantago holosteum, Carex humi-lis, Thymus longicaulis, Teucrium montanum, Inula hirta, Convolvulus cantabrica, Euphorbia spinosa, Satureja montana, Hippocrepis comosa, Asperula aristata etc.) which are considered "characteristic" of one or the other syntaxon, depending on the author who is taken as reference (Horvat et al. 1974; Horvatic 1975, Oberdorfer 1992; Royer 1991, Theurillat et al. 1995; Biondi et al. 1995; Poldini 1995; Mucina et al. 2009). Typical Scorzoneretalia villosae dry grasslands occur in Italy in the Friulian Carso, where they behave as the westernmost fringe of the Croatian and Slovenian steppe-like grasslands (Feoli-Chiapella & Poldini, 1993; Poldini 1995). Physiognomically similar dry grasslands with Stipa austroitalica and Scorzonera villosa subsp. columnae as dominant species and Bromus erectus relegated to a secondary role were found in southeastern Italy (Apulia,
Basilicata and Molise regions) and were referred to Scorzonero-Chrysopogonetalia (Fanelli et al. 2001; Forte et al. 2005; Biondi & Guerra 2008; Di Pietro & Wagensommer 2008; Terzi et al. 2010). As far as the central Apennines are concerned, strong floristic and coenological similarities to the SE-European Scorzonero-Chrysopogonetalia grasslands were already found by previous authors. Bonin (1978) included the alliance Cytiso-Bromion erecti in Scorzonero-Chrysopogonetalia, while Royer (1991), in his European synthesis of Festuco-Brometea, included the central Apen-nine dry grasslands in the order Brometalia erecti on the basis of a favourable floristic balance in the comparison Brometalia erecti vs. Scorzonero-Chrysopogonetalia. Royer's scheme is partially followed in the present paper, where all the central Apennine dry grasslands and most of the southern Apennine ones are included in the order Arte-misio-Brometalia erecti. Nevertheless, it is not possible to ignore the floristic similarities between the Aurunci Mountain Violo-Koelerietum and the Dalmatian Koelerio-Festucetum illyricae Horvatic 1963 corr Trinajstic 1993 (= Festuco-Koelerietum sensu Horvatic 1963), especially if we consider this latter in the form of subass. globularietosum cordifoliae (Trinajstic 1986; 1992). Violo-Koeleri-etum and Koelerio-Festucetum are similar not only as far as their floristic composition is concerned, but also in respect of the coenological mosaic in which they are included, as well as their syn-dynamical trends. Both Violo-Koelerietum and Koelerio-Festucetum globularietosum exhibit a spatial contact with Salvia officinalis garrigues and are dynamically related to Ostrya carpinifolia and Sesleria autumnalis woodlands (actually, the Koelerio-Festucetum ecological amplitude is significantly higher than that of Violo-Koelerietum, if it is true that Koelerio-Festucetum brachypodie-tosum retusi can be dynamically related to evergreen woods and shrubs such as Oleo-Juniperetum phoeniceae, Querco-Pinetum halepensis and Myrto-Quercetum ilicis, as reported by Kamenjarin & Pavletic (2003) for Čiovo island). However, both Violo-Koelerietum and Helichryso-Brometum lack species such as Festuca illyrica (according to Ale-gro & Šoštaric (2006) the records of F. illyrica of the Dalmatian area are to be reported to F. rupi-cola or F. valesiaca), Festuca valesiaca, F. dalmatica, Koeleria macrantha, Centaurea tommasinii, C. spi-noso-ciliata, Salvia bertolonii, Globularia cordifolia, Satureja cuneifolia, which are considered biogeo-graphically and physiognomically diagnostic in
Koelerio-Festucetum. In fact, the floristic context of the Aurunci mountains, and more in general of the whole Tyrrhenian district of central Italy, is clearly different from the context that currently exists in the Friulian Karst and Apulia. This is mainly due to the absence of some important diagnostic species. For example, Scorzonera villosa is absent, Chrysopogon gryllus is extremely rare, and amongst the Stipa pennata complex species solely Stipa dasyvaginata subsp. appenninicola occurs and always with the role of low-frequency companion. For this reason, the attractive hypothesis of using the same syntaxonomical reference (association) for grasslands communities in the western coastal side of both the Balkan and Italian peninsulas (as already happens for evergreen woodlands) is to be excluded (although the in-progress taxonomical revisions on the am-phiadriatic groups of genus Festuca could change in part some previous syntaxonomical assumptions). It is somewhat strange, however, that associations which exhibit such floristic, coeno-logical and syndynamical similarities could not share the same high-rank syntaxon. Therefore it will be necessary in the future to evaluate whether the degree of floristic autonomy between Scor-zonero-Chrysopogonetalia and Artemisio-Brometalia throughout the Balkan-Apennine biogeographi-cal province (sensu Rivas-Mart^nez et al. 2002) can be considered as sufficient to maintain these syntaxa as distinct, or, instead to hypothesize a single amphiadriatic order distinguishable both from the easternmost fringe of Scorzoneretalia vil-losae and from the central and western fringe of Artemisio-Brometalia erecti.
6. CONCLUSIONS
This phytosociological research has focussed on the dry grasslands of Ausoni-Aurunci mountains and has resulted in the establishment of two new associations for the Tyrrhenian side of Peninsular Italy: Violo-Koelerietum splendentis and Helichryso-Brometum erecti. The former occurs at altitudes from 900 to 1500 m and belongs mainly to the Fagus sylvatica dynamical series, while the latter occurs from 400 to 900 m and belongs to mesophilous Quercus ilex woods and Ostrya carpinifolia woods. The syntaxonomical and nomenclatural analysis of the dry grasslands of the whole of the central Apennines has led to significant changes to the old syntaxonomical schemes, which can be summarized as follows: the new suborder Festuco circum-mediterraneae-Seslerienalia nitidae is proposed; the invalid name Phleo ambigui-Bromion erecti Biondi et al. 1995 has been substituted with the valid name Cytiso spinescentis-Bromion erecti as representative of Peninsular Italy hilly, submontane and montane grasslands on limestone. This latter has been divided into two suballiances: Sideritidenion italicae (montane belt) and Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti (hilly and submontane belts). The syndistribu-tion area of Cytiso spinescenti-Bromion erecti ranges from the northern Marches to northern Calabria (Pollino-Orsomarso mountains). Moving south Cytiso-Bromion is vicaried by Koelerio-Astragalion, which includes the montane dry grasslands and garrigues developed on siliceous substrates. The syntaxonomical framework, the nomenclatural types of alliance and suballiances and the list of characteristic species have been reported in the subparagraphs below.
7. SYNTAXONOMICAL SCHEME
(Cl.) festuco-brometea Br.-Bl. & Tüxen ex Br.-Bl. 1949
(oR.) Artemisio albae-Brometalia erecti Ubaldi ex Mucina & Dengler 2009
[Artemisio albae-Brometalia erecti (Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995) Ubaldi 1997 nom. inval. Art. 5; Artemisio albae-Brometalia erecti (Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995) Ubaldi 2003 nom. inval. Art. 5; Brometalia caprini Ubaldi 1997 nom. inval. Art. 5; Euphorbietalia myrsinitetis Ubaldi 2011 Synt. synon.; Asphodelino liburnicae-Bro-metalia erecti Ubaldi 2011 nom. inval. Art. 2. Seslerio nitidae-Caricion macrolepidis Ubaldi 1997 Synt. synon; Botriochloo
ischaemoni-Bromion erecti Ubaldi 1997 Synt. synon. p.p. Violopseudogracilis-Bromopsion caprinae Terzi 2011 Synt. synon. p.p.]
(s-OR.) Festuco circummediterraneae-Seslerienalia nitidae (Ubaldi 2003) stat. nov. hoc loco [Original form: Festuco-Seslerietalia nitidae Ubaldi 2003]
Suborder typus: Seslerio nitidae-Caricion macrolepidis Ubaldi 1997 (Ubaldi, 2003: 247, 300) (all.) Cytiso spinescentis-Bromion erecti Bonin 1978
[Original form: Cytiso-Bromion erecti Bonin 1978; Cytiso-Bromion caprini Barbero & Bonin 1969 p.p. nom. inval. Art. 3; Crepido lacerae-Phleion ambigui Biondi & Blasi 1982 nom. inval. Art. 3, 5; Phleo ambigui-Bromion erecti Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995: nom. inval. Art. 2, 5; Seslerio nitidae-Caricion macrolepidis Ubaldi 1997 Synt. synon; Botriochloo ischaemoni-Bromion erecti Ubaldi 1997 Synt. synon. p.p.; Siderition italicae Ubaldi 2011 Synt. synon.; Knautio calycinae-Bromion caprini Ubaldi 2011 Synt. synon.; Violo pseudogracilis-Bromopsion caprinae Terzi 2011 Synt. synon. p.p.]
Alliance typus: Lavandulo angustifoliae-Asphodelinetum luteae Bonin 1978
(suball.) Sideritidenion italicae Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995 corr. Biondi, Allegrezza, Zuccarello 2005
[Original form: Sideridenion syriacae Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995. Seslerio-Xerobromion ap-enninum Bruno & Covarelli 1968 nom. illeg. Art. 34; Brachypodenion genuensis Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995: Synt. synon.)]
suballiance typus: Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti Avena & Blasi ex Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995
•	Lavandulo angustifoliae-Asphodelinetum luteae Bonin 1978
•	Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti Avena & Blasi ex Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995
•	Violopseudogracilis-Koelerietum splendentis ass. nov.
(suball.) Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti Biondi, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995 ex Di Pietro suball.nov.
[Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti Biondi, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 2005 (nom. inval. Art. 3, 5).] suballiance typus: Asperulopurpureae-Brometum erecti Biondi & Ballelli ex Di Pietro ass. nov.
•	Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti Biondi & Ballelli ex Di Pietro ass. nov.
•	Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti ass. nov.
[incl. Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti Avena & Blasi 1979 medicaginetosum Lucchese et al. 1995 nom. inval. Art. 4; Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti Avena & Blasi 1979 leontodontetosum Lucchese et al. 1995 nom. inval. Art. 4 p.p.]
(Cl.) Rumici-Astragaletea siculi Pignatti & Nimis in Pignatti E., Pignatti S., Nimis & Avanzini 1980
(s-OR.) Anthemidetalia calabricae Brullo, Scelsi & Spampinato 2001
(all.) Koelerio brutiae-Astragalion calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Brullo, in Brullo, Corma-ci, Giusso del Galdo, Guarino, Minissale, Siracusa, Spampinato 2005.
[Koelerio-Astragalion calabri Giacomini & Gentile 1961 nom. inval. Art. 8; Koelerio-Astragalion calabri Giacomini & Gentile 1966 nom. inval. Art. 8; Koelerio-Astragalion calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Brullo, Gangale & Uzu-nov 2004 nom. inval. Art. 5]
Alliance typus: Astragaletum calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Bonin 1978
LIST OF THE CHARACTERISTIC SPECIES OF ORDER, SUBORDER, ALLIANCE, AND SUBALLIANCES
Artemisio albae-Brometalia erecti Ubaldi ex Mucina & Dengler 2007
Characteristic species (provisional): Aethio-nema saxatile, Allium sphaerocephalon, Alyssum montanum, Anthericum liliago, Anthyllis vulnera-ria subsp. rubriflora, Anthyllis vulneraria subsp. weldeniana, Arabis collina, Arabis sagittata, Artemisia alba, Asperula aristata, Asperula purpurea, Asperula cynanchica, Astragalus monspessulanus, Biscutella laevigata, Brachypodium rupestre, Bu-nium bulbocastanum, Carlina acaulis subsp. cau-lescens, Cota tinctoria, Cyanus triumfetti, Dianthus sylvestris, Dorycnium penthaphyllum, Echinops ritro, Eryngium amethystinum, Festuca circumme-diterranea, Galium lucidum, Globularia bisnaga-rica, Helianthemum apenninum, Helianthemum nummularium subsp. obscurum, Hieracium pi-loselloides, Hippocrepis comosa, Inula hirta, Inula montana, Knautia purpurea, Koeleria cristata, Koeleria splendens, Koeleria vallesiana, Leontodon crispus, Linum tenuifolium, Melica ciliata, Musca-ri neglectum, Narcissus poeticus, Ononis spinosa, Ophrys apifera, Ophrys holoserica, Orchis antro-pophora, Orchis tridentata, Petrorhagia prolifera, Plantago sempervirens, Polygala major, Polygala nicaeensis (subsp. pl.), Potentilla hirta, Potentil-la tabernaemontani, Pseudolysimachion barrelie-ri, Satureja montana, Scabiosa columbaria, Sese-li montanum, Silene otites, Stachys recta (subsp. pl.), Teucrium chamaedrys, Teucrium montanum, Thesium humifusum, Trinia glauca.
Festuco circummediterraneae-Seslerienalia nitidae (Ubaldi 2003) stat. nov.
Characteristic species: (the same as for the alliance Cytiso-Bromion erecti)
Cytiso spinescentis-Bromion erecti Bonin 1978
Characteristic species: Asphodeline lutea, Ca-rex macrolepis, Centaurea ambigua, Centaurea deusta subsp. deusta, Centaurea rupestris subsp. ceratophylla, Crepis lacera, Elaeoselinum ascle-pium, Erysimum pseudorhaeticum, Festuca inops, Hypochoeris cretensis, Laserpitium siler subsp. siculum, Phleum hirsutum subsp. ambiguum, Polygala flavescens, Potentilla detommasii, Stipa dasyvaginata subsp. apenninicola, Sideritis ita-lica, Leontodon cichoraceous, Thymus striatus, Scabiosa holosericea, Sesleria nitida.
Regional characteristic species: Alyssum diffusum, Argyrolobium zanonii, Euphorbia myr-sinites, Helianthemum apenninum, Minuartia verna subsp. collina, Orchis pauciflora, Pimpi-nella tragium, Potentilla pedata, Ranunculus monspeliacus, Ranunculus illyricus, Ruta grave-olens, Seseli palasii, Thlaspi praecox, Tragopogon samaritani.
Partial Characteristic species ("S": Restricted to southern and eventually central Apennines; "N": Restricted to central/northern Apennines). Armeria macropoda (S), Asphodeline liburnica (S), Ophrys tenthredinifera (S), Ophrys lacaitae (S) Ophrys lutea (S), Orchis quadripunctata (S), Ornithogalum etruscum, Ornithogalum exscapum, Trifolium brutium (S), Festuca robustifolia (N), Sesleria apennina (N), Festuca stricta subsp. sulcata (N).
Transgressive species: (CM/R = shared with Cisto-Micromerietea/Rosmarinetea): Aethionema saxatile, Asperula aristata, Festuca stricta subsp. trachyphylla, Galium corrudifolium, Globularia bisnagarica, Plantago holosteum, Ranunculus millefoliatus, Insgressive species: Cytisus spi-nescens (CM/R), Euphorbia spinosa (CM/R), Onosma echioides (CM/R)
Sideritidenion italicae (Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995) Biondi, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 2005
Characteristic species: Acinos alpinus subsp. meridionalis, Anthemis cretica subsp. columnae, Avenula praetutiana, Brachypodium genuense, Dianthus brachycalyx, Onobrychis alba subsp. alba, Potentilla rigoana, Rhinanthus wettsteinii, Senecio tenorei, Silene notarisii, Trinia dalecham-pii, Veronica orsiniana.
Regional characteristic species: Allium fla-vum, Carex humilis, Plantago argentea subsp. ar-gentea, Potentilla incana, Gymnadenia conopsea, Acinos alpinus subsp. meridionalis, Valeriana tuberosa, Armeria canescens s.l.
Partial Characteristic species: Viola pseudo-gracilis
Transgressive species: Sesleria nitida, Carex macrolepis, Cerastium arvense subsp. sujjruticosum,.
Ingressive species: Lomelosia crenata subsp. crenata (CM/R), Helianthemum oelandicum subsp. incanum (CM/R), Globularia meridionalis (CM/R), + species from Seslerion apenninae, Seslerietalia tenuifoliae, Elyno-Seslerietea (Anthyl-lis montana subsp. jaquinii, Cerastium tomento-sum, Edrajanthus graminifolius, Festuca laevigata
(ssp. pl)., Sesleria juncifolia, Paronichya kapela, Draba aizoides, Thymus praecox subsp. polytri-chus, etc.).
Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti Biondi, Allegrezza & Zuccarello ex Di Pietro suball. nov.
Characteristic species: Allium tenuiflorum, Ca-rexflacca subsp. serrulata, Centaurium erythra-ea, Cephalaria leucantha, Convolvulus cantabri-ca, Coronilla minima, Crepis neglecta, Crupina vulgaris, Dianthus ciliatus, Hieracium cymosum, Linum bienne, Marrubium incanum, Melica transsylvanica, Melica ciliata, Muscari comosum, Ononis pusilla, Silene gallica, Silene paradoxa, Trifolium strictum.
Regional characteristic species: (most of the characteristic species).
Partial Characteristic species: Klasea flave-scens, Lomelosia crenata subsp. pseudisetensis.
Transgressive species: Eryngium campestre, Elaeoselinum asclepium, Erysimum pseudorhae-ticum.
Ingressive species: Helichrysum italicum (CM/ R), Teucrium capitatum (CM/R), Micromeria graeca (CM/R), + species from Lygeo-Stipetea and Trachynetalia distachyae (Avena barbata, Briza maxima, Brachypodium retusum, Bupleu-rum baldense, Cynosurus echinatus, Linum stric-tum (ssp. pl.), Medicago minima, Ononis reclina-ta, Petrorhagia saxifraga, Reichardia picroides, Sideritis romana Trigonella gladiata, Trigonella monspeliaca, Triticum ovatum, Urospermum da-lechampii)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper is dedicated to Giovanna Abbate, Marina Allegrezza, Giancarlo Avena, Sandro Bal-lelli, Edoardo Biondi, Carlo Blasi, Gilles Bonin, Franco Bruno, Francesco Corbetta, Krunica Hruska and Gianfranco Pirone, whose pioneering studies shed the first light upon the floristic and coenological originality of the central Apennines dry grasslands. Thanks also to the younger phytosociologists who subsequently contributed to enlarging the phytosociological knowledge of this peculiar environment. Sincere thanks are given to Jean-Paul Theurillat, for his precious help in sorting out the intricate nomenclatural questions, and to Massimo Terzi for the preliminary revision of the manuscript. Thanks also to
the anonymous reviewers for their useful suggestions and comments. The present research was partially supported by a financial (and logistical) contribution from Monti Aurunci Regional Park. The present research was partially suported by a financial (and logistical) contribution from Monti Aurunci Regional Park, where a special mention is dedicated to all the members of the Parkguards corp.
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Received 18. 5. 2011 Revision received 8. 10. 2011 Accepted 12. 10. 2011
APPENDIX 1 Sporadic species
Phytosociological Table 1 Rel. 3: Minuartia mediterranea +, Geranium colum-binum +, Orlaya daucoides 1; Rel. 4: Romulea bul-bocodium +; Rel. 5: Alyssum alyssoides +; Rel. 7: Ornithogalum exscapum +; Rel. 9: Acinos arvensis subsp. arvensis +; Rel. 10: Poa alpina subsp. alpina 1; Rel. 12: Rhamnus saxatilis subsp. infectoria +, Rel. 13: Hieracium racemosum +; Rel. 14: Medicago minima +, Trifolium angustifolium angustifolium +, Trifolium scabrum scabrum 1, Trifolium stellatum +, Vulpia ciliata 1, Aira caryophyllea +, Sedum sexangu-lare 1, Acer opalus subsp. obtusatum +, Gastridium ventricosum +, Potentilla micrantha +, Sedum dasy-phyllum 1, Sherardia arvensis +, Trifolium arvense +; Rel. 19: Silene vulgaris subsp. vulgaris +; Rel. 22: Vulpia myuros +; Rel. 25: Cynosurus echinatus +.
Phytosociological Table 2 Rel. 1: Myosotis ramosissima +; Rel. 2: Acer monspes-sulanum +, Acer opalus subsp. obtusatum +, Biarum tenuifolium +; Rel. 3: Trifolium nigrescens 1, Arenaria leptoclados +, Crocus suaveolens +, Fragaria vesca +, Geranium rotundifolium +, Hypericum perfoliatum +, Hypochaeris glabra +, Veronica arvensis +; Rel. 4: Rosa agrestis +, Geranium sanguineum +; Rel. 5: Euphorbia characias 1; Rel. 6: Cornus mas +, Rosa deseglisei +, Hedypnois rhagadioloides +; Rel. 7: Carex distachya +; Rel. 8: Hypericum montanum +; Rel. 10: Bellis perennis +, Taraxacum julvum +, Cerastium pumilum +, Cerastium arvense subsp. strictum 1; Rel. 12: Anthoxanthum odoratum +, Allium amethystinum +, Asphodelus albus subsp. delphinensis +, Centau-rium pulchellum +; Rel. 13: Asparagus acutifolius +, Silene italica +; Rel. 17: Polygala monspeliaca; Rel. 18: Trifolium pratense +, Rosa spinosissima 1, Lathy-russylvestris 1, Vulpia ligustica 1; Rel. 19: Pallenis spi-nosa +, Silene gallica +; Rel. 20: TrUolium striatum +, Erophila verna +, Pyrus pyraster +, Orlaya daucoides +, Trifolium infamia-ponertii +, Trigonella monspeliaca +; Rel. 21: Allium vineale +; Rel. 22: Daphne gnidium +, Phillyrea latifolia +, Linaria purpurea +, Pulicaria odora 1, Serapias vomeracea +; Rel. 23: Erica arborea 2, Iberis umbellata 1; Rel. 24: Clematis flammula +, Quercus cerris +, Ceterach officinarum +; Rel. 27: Centaurea calcitrapa 1, Crepis capillaris +.
Synoptic Table 3
COL. 1 - Helianthemum nummulatium subsp. gla-brum: 1, Daphne oleoides: 1, Sorbus aria:: 1, Cuscuta epithymum subsp. kotschyi: 1, Hieracium racemo-
sum: 1, Iris relicta: 1, Orobanche gracilis:: 1, Potentilla micrantha:: 1; COL. 2 - Calicotome villosa: 2, Carex distachya:: 1, Euphorbia characias:: 1, Acer monspes-sulanum: 1, Clematis vitalba: 2, Cornus mas:: 1, Rosa agrestis:: 1, Rosa deseglisei: 1, Anemone hortensis: 2, Biarum tenuifolium: 1, Crepis capillaris:: 1, Crocus suaveolens: 1, Fragaria vesca:: 1, Hedypnois rhagadioloides:: 1, Hypericum montanum:: 1, Hypericum perfoliatum:: 1, Hypochaeris glabra:: 1, Myosotis ramosissima:: 1, Viola pseudogracilis subsp. cassinensis: 2; COL. 3 - Iberis umbellata:: 1, Clematisflammula: 1, Daphne gnidium:: 1, Pistacia lentiscus: 1, Erica arborea: 1, Pyrus pyraster: 1, Quercus cerris: 1, Allium amethystinum:: 1, Biscutella didyma:: 1, Centaurium pulchellum:: 1, Gladiolus italicus: 1, Ophrys lacaitae: 1, Polygala monspeliaca:: 1, Pulicaria odora:: 1, Serapias vomeracea:: 1, Silene gallica:: 1, Trifolium infamia-ponertii: 1, Vulpia ligustica:: 1; COL. 4 - Juniperus oxycedrus:
1,	Ononis minutissima: 1; COL. 5 - Kengia serotina:
2,	Thlaspi perfoliatum:: 1; COL. 6 - Andryala inte-grifolia:: 1, Armeria denticulata::1, Astragalus hamo-sus: 1, Bromus sterilis: 1, Carduus pycnocephalus: 1, Centaurea aplolepa:: 1, Convolvulus arvensis:: 1, Crepis vesicaria: 1, Crepis zacintha: 1, Echinops ritro subsp. siculus: 1, Echium italicum: 1, Hordeum leporinum:
1,	Lactuca virosa:: 1, Muscari comosum: 1, Orlaya grandiflora:: 3, Orobanche caryophyllea:: 1, Papaver rhoeas: 1, Petrorhagia velutina: 1, Santolina etrusca:
2,	Scabiosa uniseta: 1, Sedum rubens: 1, Trifolium cherleri: 1, Trifolium ligusticum: 1, Verbascum lychni-tis: 1, Vicia cracca: 1, Vicia disperma: 1, Vicia lutea::
1,	Xeranthemum cylindraceum: 2; COL. 7 - Iberis saxatilis:: 4, Tolpis staticifolia:: 1; COL. 9 - Saxifraga granulata: 1, Klasea nudicaulis: 4, Senecio apenninus:
2,	Tulipa australis: 2; COL. 10 - Marrubium vulgare:: 2, Rumex acetosa: 1, Salvia sclarea: 1; COL. 11 - Allium paniculatum: 1, Bunium petraeum:: 1, Corylus avellana: 1, Filago arvensis:: 1, Helleborusfoetidus:: 2, Hieracium bifidum:: 2, Juniperus alpina:: 2, Pedicula-ris petiolaris: 1, Pimpinella anisoides: 1, Ranunculus garganicus: 1, Saxifraga granulata:: 1, Sedum hispani-cum: 1, TriJolium squarrosum: 1, Vincetoxicum hirun-dinaria: 1; COL. 13 - Bupleurum falcatum subsp. cernuum: 1, Cytisophyllon sessiliJolius:: 1, Primula veris: 1, Senecio doronicum: 2, TriJolium rubens:: 1, Vicia onobrychioides: 1, Vicia tenuifolia: 1;COL. 17 - Reseda lutea: 2; COL. 18 - Arenaria grandiflora: 1, Crepis pulchra:: 2, Gnaphalium uliginosum: 3, Lactuca saligna: 1, Orobanche alba:: 1, Polygala vulgaris:: 1, TriJolium tomentosum: 3; COL. 19 - Allium cari-natum: 1, Alyssum campestre: 2, Cerastium semidecan-drum: 1, Myosotis arvensis subsp. arvensis: 1, Ophrys JuciJlora:: 2, Senecio provincialis:1; COL. 20 - Thy-
mus oenipontanus: 1, Thymus pannonicus: 1, Ferulago campestris: 1, Inula spiraeifolia: 1, Stachys sylvatica: 1; Col. 25 - Osyris alba:: 1, Teucrium Jlavum:: 1; COL. 26 - Senecio doronicum: 3, Helianthemum nummularium subsp. grandiflorum:: 3, Orlaya gran-diflora:: 2, Hypochaeris cretensis: 1, Solenanthus ap-enninus: 1, Allium carinatum: 1, Cytisus sessilifolius: 1, Potentilla calabra:1, Anchusa azurea: 1, Lamium maculatum: 1, Geranium robertianum: 1, Pinus leu-codermis: 1, Sorbus aucuparia: 1.
APPENDIX 2 Place and date of the releves
Phytosociological Table 1 Rel. 1-2: M. Redentore, 16/06/2000, Rel. 3-5: M. Revole, 01/06/2010; Rel. 6-16, 19-20: M. Petrella, 18/06/1997; Rel. 7-8: M. Redentore, 23/06/1997 Rel. 9: M. Faggeto, 28/06/1997; Rel. 10-11 22: M. Ruazzo, 27/06/1997; Rel. 12: M. Forte 24/07/2002; Rel. 13: M. Altino, 02/07/1996; Rel 14: M. Faggeto, 02/07/1996; Rel. 15: M. S. Ange lo, Rel. 17-18: M. Redentore, 16/06/2000; Rel. 21 M. Redentore, 22/06/1997.
Phytosociological Table 2 Rel. 1-2: Serra Palombi (Monti Ausoni), 14/ 05/1997, Rel. 3: M. delle Fate (Monti Ausoni), 14/05/1997; Rel. 4: Forcella Buana (Monti Ausoni), 16/05/1997; Rel. 5: Limatella (Monti Ausoni), 16/05/1997; Rel. 6: M. Caruso (Monti Ausoni), 29/05/1997; Rel. 7: Valle Case Nuove (Monti Ausoni), 07/05/1997; Rel. 8-9-10: M. delle Fate (Monti Ausoni), 14/05/1997; Rel. 11: Polleca (M.ti Aurunci), 14/06/2010; Rel. 12: M. Maio (M.ti Au-runci orient.), 04/07/1997; Rel. 13: M. Fammera (M.ti Aurunci), 07/07/1996; Rel. 14-15-16: M. Fusco (M.ti Aurunci), 06/07/1996; Rel. 17: Monte Le Pezze (M.ti Aurunci), 24/06/1996; Rel. 18: Fe-litto-Acquaviva (M.ti Aurunci), 24/06/1996; Rel. 19: Sella tra M.te Le Pezze e M.te Cervello (M.ti Aurunci), 24/06/1996; Rel. 19: Sella tra M.te Le Pezze e M.te Cervello (M.ti Aurunci), 24/06/1996 Rel. 20: M.te Cervello (M.ti Aurunci), 24/06/1996 Rel. 21: M.te Trino (M.ti Aurunci), 24/06/1996 Rel. 22: Pendici M.te Le Pezze (M.ti Aurunci) 23/06/1996; Rel. 23: Santuario della Civita (M.ti Aurunci), 23/06/1996; Rel. 24: Forcella di Fammera (M.ti Aurunci), 03/07/1996; Rel. 25: Monte Doro (M.ti Aurunci), 21/07/1996; Rel. 26: Monte Fammera (M.ti Aurunci), 07/07/1996; Rel. 27: Monte Vele (M.ti Aurunci), 23/06/1996.
APPENDIX 3
List of the syntaxa quoted in the text
Artemisio albae-Brometalia erecti Ubaldi ex Mucina & Dengler 2009; Artemisio albae-Satureion monta-nae Allegrezza, Biondi, Formica & Ballelli 1997; Artemisio-Brometalia Ubaldi ex Dengler & Mucina 2009; Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti Biondi & Ballelli ex Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarel-lo 1995; Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti sideri-detosum syriacae (Hruska, 1982) Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995; Botriochloo-Bromion erecti Ubaldi 1997; Brometalia erecti Koch 1926; Ce-rastio-Carlinetea nebrodensis Brullo 1984; Chrysopo-gono-Koelerion splendentis Horvatic 1975; Cisto creti-ci-Micromerietea julianae Oberdorfer 1954; Cynosu-rion cristati Tüxen 1947; Euphorbietalia myrsinitides Ubaldi 2011; Festuco-Brometea Br.-Bl. & Tüxen ex Br.-Bl. 1949; Festuco-Koelerietum Horvatic 1963; Festuco circummediterraneae-Seslerienalia nitidae (Ubaldi 2003) stat. nov. hoc loco; Festuco-Sesleri-etalia nitidae Ubaldi 2003; Filipendulo vulgaris-Bro-mion erecti Ubaldi 2011; Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti ass. nov.; Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti eu-phorbietosum spinosae subass. nov.; Koelerio-Astraga-lion calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Bonin 1978; Koelerio-Astragalion calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Brullo, Gangale & Uzunov 2004 nom. inval.; Koelerio brutiae-Astragalion calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Brullo, in Brullo, Cormaci, Giusso del Galdo, Guarino, Minissale, Siracusa, Spampinato 2005; Koeleretalia splendentis Horvatic 1975; Koele-rio splendentis-Festucetum illyricae brachypodietosum retusi Trinajstic 1992; Knautio calycinae-Bromion caprini Ubaldi 2011; Koelerio splendentis-Festucetum illyricae globularietosum cordifoliae Trinajstic 1992; Koelerio-Festucetum illyricae Trinajstic 1992; La-vandulo angustifoliae-Asphodelinetum luteae Bonin 1978; Lonicero etruscae-Carpinetum orientalis Blasi, Di Pietro, Filesi & Fortini 2001; Myrto-Quercetum ilicis, Horvatic ex Trinajstic 1983; Oleo-Junipere-tum phoeniceae, Arrigoni, Bruno, De Marco, Veri in De Marco, Dinelli, Caneva 1985; Ostryo-Quer-cetum ilicis Trinajstic (1965) 1974; Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti Biondi, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 2005; Phleo ambigui-Bromion erecti Biondi & Blasi ex Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995; Plantago holostei-Helianthemetum cani, (Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza, Frattaroli & Taffetani 1992) Biondi & Ballelli in Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995; Querco-Pinetum halepensis Loisel 1971; Rosmarinetea officinalis Rivas-Martinez, Diaz, Prieto, Loidi & Penas 1991; Rumici-Astragaletea
siculi Pignatti & Nimis in Pignatti, Pignatti Nimis & Avanzini 1980; Saturejion subspicatae (Horvat 1974) Horvatic 1975; Saturejo montanae-Brome-tum erecti Avena & Blasi 1979; Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti leontodontetosum Lucchese, Persia & Pignatti 1995; Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti medicaginetosum minimae Lucchese, Persia & Pig-natti 1995; Scorzoneretalia villosae Horvatic 1973; Scorzonerion villosae Horvatic 1963; Scorzonero villosae-Chrysopogonetalia grilli Horvatic & Horvat in Horvatic 1963; Seslerietalia tenuifoliae Horvat 1930; Sideritidenion italicae Biondi, Ballelli, Alle-grezza & Zuccarello 1995 corr. Biondi, Allegrezza & Zuccarello; Siderition italicae (Biondi, Ballelli, Allegrezza & Zuccarello 1995) Ubaldi 2011; Thero-Brachypodietea Br.-Bl. ex O. Bolos 1950 em. Rivas-Mart.1978; Trigonello monspeliacae-Sideritidetum syriacae Hruska (1982); Violo pseudogracilis-Bro-mopsion caprinae Terzi 2011; Violo pseudogracilis-Koelerietum splendentis ass. nov.; Xerobromion (Br.-Bl. & Moor 1938) Moravec et al. 1967.
APPENDIX 4
List of the plant communities referred to the
columns of the synoptic table
•	COL. 1: Violo pseudogracilis-Koelerietum splendentis ass. nov. (Aurunci Mts, southern Lati-um)
•	COL. 2: Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti typi-cum subass. nov. (Aurunci Mts, southern La-tium)
•	COL. 3: Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti sat-urejetosum montani subass. nov. (Aurunci Mts, southern Latium)
•	COL. 4: Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti leontodontetosum Lucchese et al., 1995 (from Table 4 in Lucchese et al. 1995 Fitosociologia, 30); (Latium region mountains)
•	COL. 5 Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti medicaginetosum Lucchese et al. 1995 (from Table 4 in Lucchese et al., 1995, Fitosociologia, 30); (Latium region mountains)
•	COL. 6: Cerastio etrusci-Brometum erecti Angio-lini et al., 2003 (from Table 3 in Angiolini et al. 2003, Lazaroa, 24); (Tyrrhenian southern Tuscany mountains)
•	COL. 7: Plantago holostei-Helianthemetum cani (Biondi et al., 1992) Biondi & Ballelli 1995 (from Table 16 in Biondi et al. 1999, Braun-Blanquetia, 16); (Campo Imperatore, Gran Sasso massif)
COL. 8: Plantago holostei-Helianthemetum cani (Biondi et al., 1992) Biondi & Ballelli 1995 (from COL. 33 in Biondi et al. 2005, Phyto-coenologia, 35(1); (central Apennines) COL. 9: Plantago holostei-Helianthemetum cani (Biondi et al., 1992) Biondi & Ballelli 1995 (from Table 3 in Biondi & Ballelli 1995, Fitosociologia 30); (Umbrian-Marches Apennines) COL. 10: Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti Avena & Blasi 1979 (from Table 3 in Avena & Blasi 1979, Arch Bot. Biogeogr. Ital., 55); (Mount Velino massif, Abruzzo) COL. 11: Onobrychido albae-Seslerietum niti-dae Bonin 1978 (from Table 18 in Bonin 1978, These Univ. Marseille; Mount Velino, Abruz-zo Apennines).
COL. 12: Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti Biondi & Ballelli ex Biondi et al. 1995 (from COL. 8 in Biondi et al. 2005, Phytocoenolo-gia, 35(1); (Umbrian-Marches Apennines) COL. 13: Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti Biondi & Ballelli ex Biondi et al. 1995 (from Table 9 in Catorci et al. 2007, Braun-Blanque-tia, 42); (Umbrian-Marches Apennines) COL. 14: Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti Biondi & Ballelli ex Biondi et al. 1995 (from COL. 19 Table 2 in Biondi et al. 1995, Fitosociologia 30); (Umbrian-Marches Apennines) COL. 15: Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti teucrietosum montani Biondi & Ballelli ex Bi-ondi et al. 1995 (from COL. 20 Table 2 in Bi-ondi et al. 1995, Fitosociologia 30); (Umbrian-Marches Apennines)
COL. 16: Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti sideridetosum syriacae (Hruska 1982) Biondi et al. 1995 (from COL. 22 Table 2 in Biondi et al. 1995, Fitosociologia 30); (Umbrian-Marches Apennines)
COL. 17: Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti Biondi & Ballelli ex Biondi et al. 1995 (from Table 3 in Ballelli & Biondi 1982, CNR AQ/1/130); (Mount Catria, Marches) COL. 18: Trigonello monspeliacae-Sideridetum syriacae Hruska 1982 (From COL. 30 Table 1 in Hruska, 1982, Guide-Itineraire - Excursion Int. de Phytosoc. en Italie centrale); (Colle-longo, Umbria)
COL. 19: Potentillo cinereae-Brometum erecti Biondi et al. 2004 (from Table 10 in Catorci et al. 2007, Braun-Blanquetia, 42); (Umbrian-Marches Apennines)
COL. 20: Potentillo cinereae-Brometum erecti Biondi et al. 2004 (from Table 18 in Biondi et al.
2004,	Fitosociologia, 41(2) suppl. 1; (Mount Cucco, Umbrian-Marhes Apennines)
COL. 21: Seselio viarum-Brometum erecti Biondi et al.1992 (from COL. 7 in Biondi et al. 2005, Phytocoenologia 35(1); (Abruzzo National Park)
COL. 22: Koelerio splendentis-Brometum erecti Biondi et al.1992 (from COL. 1 in Biondi et al. 2005, Phytocoenologia 35(1); (Gran Sasso massif)
COL. 23: Polygalo majoris-Brometum erecti Biondi et al.1995 (from COL. 3 in Biondi et al.
2005,	Phytocoenologia 35(1); (Gran Sasso Massif)
COL. 24: Seslerio nitidae-Brometum erecti Bruno in Bruno & Covarelli 1968 (from COL. 5 in Biondi et al. 2005, Phytocoenologia 35(1); (Monte Catria, Marches Apennines) COL. 25: Fumano procumbentis-Stipetum ap-penninicolae Taffetani et al. 2004 (from Table 27 in Taffetani et al. 2004, Fitosociologia 41(2) suppl. 1; (I Cingoli range, Marches-Apennines).
COL. 26: Lavandulo angustifoliae-Asphodeline-tum luteae Bonin 1978 (from Table 21 in Bonin 1978, These Univ. Marseille; Pollino range, southern Apennines).
APPENDIX 5:
Type releve of Lavandulo angustifoliae-Aspho-delinetum luteae Bonin 1978. Rel. 509 of Table 21 in: Bonin 1978. Site: Pollino range southern slopes, 1967. author: G. Bonin C. Altitude: 1570 m, Aspect: S, Slope 40%, Cover 50%, Area: 100 m2. List of species: Lavandula angustifolia 1, Asphodeline lutea 1, Leontodon crispus 1, Satureja montana +, Festuca circummediterranea 2, Sideritis italica 2, Centaurea deusta +, Cytisus spinescens 1, Phleum hirsutum subsp. ambiguum 1, Acinos alpi-nus 1, Polygala alpestris 1, Trifolium pratense 1, Thymus longicaulis +, Anthoxantum odoratum +, Allium carinatum +, Koeleria splendens 2, Bromus erectus 2, Festuca rubra +, Sanguisorba minor 1, Medicago lu-pulina 1, Lotus corniculatus 1, Anthyllis vulneraria subsp. rubriflora +, Senecio doronicum +, Poa alpina 1, Bunium bulbocastanum 1, Arabis collina +, Poten-tilla detommasii +, Linaria purpurea +, Solenanthus apenninus +, Scabiosa holosericea +
Type releve of Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti Avena & Blasi ex Biondi, Ballelli, Alle-
grezza & Zuccarello 1995. Rel. 3 of Table 3 in: Avena & Blasi 1979 (Arch. Bot. Biogeogr. Ital., 55). Site: Petrella Salto, 15.7.1972. authors Avena G.C. & Blasi C. Altitude: 1000 m., Aspect: S, Slope 20%, Cover 45%, Bedrock cover: 15%, Area: 200 m2. List of species: Satureja montana 2, Sideritis italica 2, Plantago sempervirens 2, Cytisus spinescens 1, Globularia punctata +, Globularia me-ridionalis 1, Helianthemum oelandicum subsp. incanum 1, Cerastium tomentosum 1, Thymus pulegioides +, Euphorbia myrsinites 2, Bromus erectus 1, Sanguisorba minor subsp. balearica +, Carlina vulgaris subsp. vulgaris +, Allium sphaerocephalon +, Helianthemum apenninum 1, Alyssum alyssoides +, Teucrium chamaedrys +, Cerastium arvense subsp. arvense +, Armeria canescens +, Geranium pyrenaicum 1, Digitalis lutea subsp. australis +, Verbascum pulverulen-tum +, Cruciata laevipes +, Bunium bulbocastanum +, Erysimum pseudorhaeticum 1, Hornungia alpina +, Centaurea calcitrapa 1, Marrubium vulgare 1.
Type releve of Astragaletum calabrici Giacomini & Gentile ex Bonin 1978. Rel. 623 of Table 16 in: Bonin 1978 (in Bonin G. 1978. - These Univ. Marseille 1-318.). Site: Sila Plateau, Fossiata, 1975. author: G. Bonin. Altitude: 1070 m., Aspect: N, Slope 35%, Cover 60%, Area: 100 m2. List of species: Astragalusparnassi subsp. calabri-cus 2, Jasione montana +, Anthemis cretica subsp. ca-labrica 1, Bromus erectus +, Phleum hirsutum subsp. ambiguum 1, Plantago maritima subsp. serpentina 2, Aira caryophyllea 1, Koeleria splendens subsp. brutia 1, Petrorhagia saxifraga subsp. gasparrinii 1, Hypericum calabricum 1, Anthoxantum odoratum +, Viola aethnensis subsp. messanensis +, Luzula multiflora +, Helianthemum nummularium subsp. tomentosum 1, Thymus longicaulis 2, Armeria brutia 1, Festuca circummediterranea 1, Sedum amplexicaule subsp. tenuifolium +, Anthyllis vulneraria subsp. maura +, Avenula praetutiana subsp. rigida 1, Bunium bulbocastanum +, Hieracium pilosella +, Clinopodium vulgare +, Pinus nigra subsp. calabrica +, Thesium humifusum +, Genista silana 1, Helichrysum italicum +, Scrophularia scopolii +, Lotus corniculatus +.
Type releve of Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti Biondi & Ballelli ex Di Pietro ass. nov. Rel. 3 of Table 3 in: Ballelli & Biondi 1982
(Carta della vegetazione del Foglio Pergola, 1:50.000. P.F. "Promozione della qualita dell'ambiente", C.N.R., Roma, 1982, AQ/1/86, 1-33). Site: Colle Aiale, 31.7.1981. authors Ballelli S. & Biondi E. Altitude: 278 m, Aspect: SE, Slope 45°, Cover
95%, Area: 100 m2. List of species: Asperula purpurea 1, Eryngium amethystinum 1, Crepis lacera +, Satureja montana 2, Stachys recta subsp. recta +, Petrorhagia saxifraga +, Reichardia picroides +, Globularia punctata +, Teucrium capitatum 1, Pimp-inella saxifraga +, Cephalaria leucantha +, Phleum hirsutum subsp. ambiguum 1, Hippocrepis comosa 1, Bromus erectus 2, Teucrium chamaedrys 1, Artemisia alba 1, Dianthus sylvestris s.l. +, Linum tenuifolium +, Sanguisorba minor subsp. balearica +, Convolvulus cantabrica +, Spartium junceum +, Orchis pur-
purea +, Brachypodium rupestre 2, Allium tenuiflo-rum 1, Thymus longicaulis +, Hieracium pilosella +, Lactuca perennis +, Helichrysum italicum 1, Galium lucidum +, Knautia arvensis +, Sedum acre +, Silene vulgaris +, Erysimum pseudorhaeticum +, Dactylis glomerata +, Carlina acanthifolia subsp. acanthifo-lia +, Cuscuta epithymum subsp. epithymum +, Lotus corniculatus +, Hypericum perforatum 1, Leontodon hispidus +, Sedum album +, Linum bienne +, Inula montana +, Echium vulgare +, Avena barbata +, Asparagus acutifolius +.
Table 1 (Tabela 1): Violo pseudogracilis-Koelerietum splendentis ass. nov.
Releve nr.
Altitude (m) Aspect Slope ° Area (m2) Cover (%)
Number of species per releve
1 2(T) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
o o o ^^ ^
(N (N
3
3600 2 2 1 1
ne	ene	s	s	.	sw	w wsw
15	20	10	5	.	25	5 5
20	30	50	60	70	40	20 20
65	75	60	65	70	70	80 80
37	40	39	36	52	48	25 32
. ssw ssw se . 5 25 25 30 30 40 80 70 90 80 85 35 34 24 41
w nnw 25 20 70 50 90 80 52 60
15 16 17 18 19	20	21	22
50500 in	in CN o
45335
nne ese s n se wnw	w	sw
5 10 5 5 35	40	15	10
50 40 30 30 50	40	20 40
80 60 70 75 60	90	80 80
36 33 26 19 37	51	23	37
Violo pseudogracilis-Koelerietum splendentis
21
2
33
3 + + .
22 2. 1. 2. +.
2
Viola pseudogracilis
Thymus striatus	2 2 2 2
Carex humilis	3 3 2 2
Festuca stricta subsp. trachyphylla .12 2 Seseli montanum	+ + + +
variant with
Sesleria juncifolia	. . . .
Edraianthus graminifolius	. . . .
Sideritidenion italicae i Helianthemum oelandicum	3 3 3 3
t Sesleria nitida	. +
c Avenula praetutiana	1 +
i Globularia meridionalis c Acinos alpinus rc Allium flavum t Carex macrolepis c Trinia dalechampii rc Potentilla incana t Anthyllis montana i Festuca laevigata rc Cerastium arvense i Paronychia kapela
Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti c Petrorhagia saxifraga	+ . + + . . . .
c Centaurium erythraea	+ +......
c Allium tenuiflorum	......+ +
c Melica transsilvanica	........
Cytiso spinescenti-Bromion erecti / Festuco-Seslerienalia nitidae t Globularia bisnagarica	1 2 1 2 2 + + 1
i Cytisus spinescens	1 + + 1 1 + . .
t Plantago holosteum	+ 3 3 3 + 1 3 3
+ . + 1 12 2 + 2132 + 31 + 1 + . .
11 2+ 22
21 +.
11
1112 . . + . . . + . 1...
2	2	1	2	1	1	2	2
2	2	3	3		2	2	2
1				2	2		2
1	+	+			+	1	+
2	2	+	+	1	+	1	1
2	1	+		+	1		+
2	2		2		2	2	1
		+		3	2		
					1		
+2
21
+.
+1
11 1.
1+
+ + 1 1 . + + .
4 . . .
11 +.
2+
1 2 + 1 1 +
2 3 .
1+
2
+
+
2
2
+
+
+
+
3
Releve nr.
1 2(T) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
c Festuca inops	1
t Galium corrudifolium	1
rc Potentilla pedata	+
i Onosma echioides	.
rc Thlaspi praecox	+
t Asperula aristata	+
i Euphorbia spinosa c Crepis lacera c Ornithogalum gussonei c Laserpitium siler c Centaurea deusta c Phleum hirsutum t Aethionema saxatile rc Orchis pauciflora rc Scabiosa holosericea rc Helianthemum apenninum c Stipa dasyvaginata rc Alyssum diffusum
Artemisia albae-Brome^alia erecti Koeleria splendens	3
Anthyllis vulneraria	+
Teucrium montanum	2
Asperula purpurea	.
Satureja montana	.
Thesium humifusum	.
Teucrium chamaedrys	.
Leontodon crispus	+
Helianthemum nummularium	.
Allium sphaerocephalon	.
Muscari neglectum	+
Eryngium amethystinum	+
Festuca circummediterranea Knautia purpurea Hippocrepis comosa Biscutella laevigata Inula hirta Linum tenuifolium Polygala major Cyanus triumfetti Narcissus poeticus Galium lucidum Dianthus sylvestris Pseudolysimachion barrelieri Hieracium piloselloides Bunium bulbocastanum Orchis tridentata Inula montana Stachys recta Brachypodium rupestre Scabiosa columbaria Festuco-Brometea Bromus erectus Cerastium arvense Thymus longicaulis Herniaria glabra
+
1
2 1 1 1 2
2 1
1
+
1
3
+
1
11
1
33
2
+
+ +
3
+
2
2
2
1 1
1
+
+
2
+
1
1
+
1		1	2	3
+	+	1	1	
+		+	+	+
+	1			+
22
.2
++
++
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
2
3
+
+
2
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
++
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
2
2
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Releve nr.
1 2(T) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Sanguisorba minor Cerastium ligusticum Plantago argentea Euphorbia cyparissias Lotus corniculatus Gymnadenia conopsea Euphrasia salisburgensis Carex caryophyllea Euphrasia stricta Medicago lupulina Trifolium campestre Carduus micropterus Rhinanthus alectorolophus Hieracium pilosella Linum catharticum Trifolium strictum Prunella laciniata Carduus nutans Trifolium ochroleucum Anthemis arvensis Bromus hordeaceus Plantago lanceolata Knautia arvensis Geranium pyrenaicum Arabis sagittata Helianthemum nummularium Other species Sedum rupestre Genista tinctoria Rosa spinosissima Sedum album Thalictrum minus Bombycilaena erecta Poa bulbosa Bupleurum baldense Asphodelus albus Salvia officinalis Fumana procumbens Genista januensis Orobanche teucrii Sorbus aria Arenaria serpyllifolia Saxifraga tridactylites Crepis neglecta Geranium sanguineum Orobanche gracilis Polygala alpestris Catapodium rigidum Poa molinerii Cuscuta epithymum Iris relicta
Sempervivum tectorum Daphne oleoides
11
+ .
+1
++
++ +.
.+ 1.
+1 .+
1
1
+.+
1	.	+	+	+
.	. .	.	+
.	+	+	.	.
+	1 .	.	.
.	+ .	.	.
1 + + + 1 . .1.
1+
1 . . . . + + . 1 . . . + . . . . + . . .
+. +.
.+
+1
+ . + . . .+.. 1 . . . . +
1+.
3.2
11
.2
++
.+
+
+ . .
+.+
. + + 1 . + + .
+ + . .
... 1 .+..
CAPTION: c: characteristic; rc: regional character.; pc: partial character., t: transgressive; i: ingressive
+
++
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
2
+
+
++
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
2
2
+
Table 2 (Tabela 2): Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti ass. nov.
Releve nr.
Altitude (m)
Aspect Slope (°) Area (m
Cover (%)
Number of species per releve
1 2
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (T)
00
3 5 7 5 8 7 3 0 0 7 7 7 7 7 4 6 6 1 1 9
s ^
^ ^ ^
(D (D
25 35	25	20	30	25	5 20 15	25
30 50	70	60	50	50 40 40 40	50
70 75	65	90	80	90 90 85 80	80
46 50	52	74 45	78 28 33 32	47
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 (t)
33 8 6 8 6 5 2 9 5 0 5 5 4 5 7 8


35	25	35 20	. 10	30 15	20	30	10	20 2	30 25	25	10
50	50 40 30	30 30	40 30	40	40	40	30 35	70 50	40	50
80	80 70 80	60 70	80 95	90	90	85	85 90	80 80	70	80
44	50 49 75	34 36	55 60	69 64	60	55 52	72 54	66	74
Helichryso italici-Brometum erecti
Helichrysum italicum	3	3	3	2	2	2	212	2	+	11	1	+	+			+				1	3	3	+
Centaurea deusta	+	1	+	+	1	+	+ + .	1	2		1	+	2	3	1	+	1		.1		+	+	3
Melica transsilvanica	1	+	+	+	+	1	1..				2	+	1	1		+		. 1 1		1		2	2
Centaurium erythraea		+	+	+		1	+ . .	+		.+	+	+	+		1	+		. 1 +				+	
Sedum sexangulare	1		+	+	+	+	1.+		+		+				+	+	1	+	.3		1		
Micromeria graeca	+	+	+	1	1	1	2 +				1		1	+	+		+	. 1 +		+	+		1
subass.																							
Satureja montana									1	1 2	1	3	2	+	+	1	3	3	.+	2	1	3	2
Euphorbia spinosa									3	.2	2	2	1	2		2	3	2	.1	1	3	2	3
Linum tenuifolium									1	1 .	+				1			+++			1	1	+
Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti
i Bupleurum baldense c Convolvulus cantabrica rc Elaeoselinum asclepium i Reichardia picroides i Linum strictum c Cephalaria leucantha Brachypodium retusum Urospermum dalechampii Carlina corymbosa Cynosurus echinatus c Carex flacca c Crupina vulgaris c Ononis pusilla i Linum strictum i Petrorhagia saxifraga c Crepis neglecta Sideritis romana Medicago minima Avena barbata pc Asphodeline liburnica i Ononis reclinata i Fumana thymifolia c Hieracium cymosum c Trifolium strictum c Dasypyrum villosum c Linum bienne c Silene gallica c Allium tenuiflorum i Trigonella monspeliaca i Teucrium capitatum
+ + + + + +
+ 1 1
+++
+ . .
1
.+ .+.
+++
+ +
1
++
12
+++++ .... 1
++
1. +.
+			+
1			+
+	+	1	1
+			+
+	+		1
+	1	2	1
3	2	3	1
+	+		
1			
			2
1		1	1
++ .1
+	+	1	+	+
1	+	1		1
1	+	+	+	2
	1	1	+	1
+			+	1
		1	1	1
	3		2	+
1	1	+	+	1
	+		1	+
1	1	1		+
	+			
	1		1	
		1	+	
1	1	1		
+	1	1		+
	1			
1 2 3
++
+
+
+
++
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
2
+
+
+
+
2
2
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Releve nr.	123456 7	8 9 10	11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
	(T)		(t)
. + 1 1 1 1 1 + . + + 1 . 1 + 1 . 1 + + . 2 + . . 2 . 1 1 2
Sideritidenion italicae
t Acinos alpinus	. . . + . . . 1 .
pc Viola pseudogracilis	. . . . . . . . .
t Sesleria nitida	. . . . . . . + 1
t Carex macrolepis	. . . . . . . 1 1
t Carex humilis	. . . . . . . . .
t Avenula praetutiana	. . . . . . . . .
Cytiso spinescenti-Bromion erecti / Festuco-Seslerienalia nitidae t Galium corrudifolium rc Potentilla pedata t Festuca stricta
t Globularia bisnagarica	..........
t Aethionema saxatile	..........
c Festuca inops	.312. . .333
c Crepis lacera	1 . . +......
rc Thlaspi praecox	. . . . . . . . . +
rc Orchis pauciflora	.......+ 1 +
i Cytisus spinescens	..........
c Phleum hirsutum	..........
c Thymus striatus	. . . +.....1
t Asperula aristata	.........+
c Ornithogalum gussonei	.....+ . . . .
c Polygala flavescens	. . . + . 1 . . . .
c Laserpitium siler	.........+
c Scabiosa holosericea	..........
c Festuca robustifolia	..........
rc Helianthemum apenninum	. . . . . . . . . .
rc Ruta graveolens	. . . . . . . . . .
t Ranunculus millefoliatus	.......1.1
i Onosma echioides	..........
c Stipa dasyvaginata	..........
rc Argyrolobium zanonii	. . . . . . . . . .
pc Ophrys lacaitae	. . . . . . . . . .
Artemisio albae-Brometalia erecti
Teucrium chamaedrys	1 1 2 2 1 2 . 2 1
Koeleria splendens	. . . 2 1 1 . 2 2
Helianthemum nummularium	+ 1 + 1 + 1 . + 1
Eryngium amethystinum	. . + + + + . . .
Stachys recta	. . . . . . . . . .
Anthyllis vulneraria	. . . . . + . . . .
Teucrium montanum	. . . + . + . . 1 .
Festuca circummediterranea	2 + . 1 . 2 . . 1 1
Thesium humifusum	. . . + . . . . . .
Dianthus sylvestris	. . . . . . . . . .
Scabiosa columbaria	+ . . . . . 2 . . .
Knautia purpurea	. . . 1 . 2 . + . + Leontodon crispus Hippocrepis comosa Galium lucidum
Muscari neglectum	. . . . . + . . + .
Asperula purpurea	. . . . . . . . . .
Arabis collina	+ + . . . . . + . .
Narcissus poeticus	. . . . . . . 1 + 4
Cyanus triumfetti	. . . . . . . + . +
121 .+.
1+ .1 .1
1+ 1+
.3 11
. 1 1 + 1 + . 1 2332 1 1 1 . + + 1 .
.21. . + . .
. .	+ .
. +	. .
+ .	1 .
22.2
+2+
11 +.
. + + 1 + .
+	+1		2	.1	1
1	1.	1	+	1+	
2	2.		2	.2	
+	+1	+	1	.1	1
+	1.		+	.1	+
				.2	
1	+.		+	.1	+
+	+.			.+	+
		+			
+			2	.2	
		1	1		
+	+.				
. . +
.. 1 1.1
...1. + . + . .
. + + . .
+ . .	+ +
112 1
1111211
3 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 3
+ 2 1
1 + +
+ + + + + + 1
1+2	+ 11
1	1 1 . + 1
.	1 1 + . 1
.	11...
1 + + + 1 +
+ 1 1 1 1+11 . . 1 + 11
2+21 1112 2 12 111. 1+1 . + + 1 11
1.
++
+
11
.+ + 21 + . 1 + . + .
. 1 . . . 1 + .	.
.....2 + +	.
.....+ . .	.
.....+ . +	+
.....1...
.......1	+
2.......2
+++ . . +
.1. + . .
++++
. 1 . + ... 1
2+ 21 .1 +1 2
+
2
2
+
+
++
++
+
++
+
+
+
+
2
+
+
+
Releve nr.
123456789 10 (T)
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 (t)
Allium sphaerocephalon Brachypodium rupestre Seseli montanum Arabis sagittata Orchis anthropophora Anthericum liliago Biscutella laevigata Asphodeline lutea Hieracium piloselloides Bunium bulbocastanum Ophrys holosericea Festuco-Brometea Bromus erectus Plantago lanceolata Sanguisorba minor Dactylis glomerata Thymus longicaulis Carduus nutans Trifolium campestre Medicago lupulina Lotus corniculatus Carex caryophyllea Cerastium ligusticum Cerastium arvense Prunella laciniata Hieracium pilosella Geranium pyrenaicum Tanacetum corymbosum Trifolium ochroleucum Euphrasia stricta Anthemis arvensis Leontodon hispidus Ranunculus bulbosus Bromus hordeaceus Herniaria glabra Crocus biflorus Ophrys apifera Daucus carota Filipendula vulgaris Euphrasia salisburgensis Lygeo-Stipetea + Tuberarietea Catapodium rigidum Hypochaeris achyrophorus Trifolium scabrum Ampelodesmos mauritanicus Trachynia distachya Hippocrepis biflora Coronilla scorpioides Blackstonia perfoliata Briza maxima Trifolium stellatum Bromus madritensis Linum trigynum Euphorbia exigua
3233333223 + . + + 1 + + . . + + .1 + 1111.1 + + + 1 1 1 1 . . . 2221223231
++ ++
.2 +. .1
1.
+. +.
11
3323
+	+ . 1 1...
2	1 . 1
.	. . +
.	. . +
.	. . +
.	+ . .
334332 + 1 + + + . 1 + 1 + . . 2 1 . . . 1 .21....
. + + 1 + . + +++++++
. 1 + . . . .
1
233 1.+ 1 + . 2 . .
1 + + +
111. . + . .
+ . . . 1... 1...
+1 .+
++ 1+
+3 .2
+++			1	+	+	+
1..		1	+	1	+	1
+++		+	1	+	+	1
	1	2		+		+
1..	2	2		2 +	+	+
+.
++ +.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
2
+
+
+
2
+
+
+
+
+
2
+
+
+
+
+
++
+
+
+
+
+
+
++
+
+
2
+
+
+
+
2
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
++
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Releve nr.
123456789 10
_(T)_
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 _(t)_
Asphodelus ramosus Vulpia myuros Trifolium angustifolium Scorpiurus muricatus Euphorbia falcata Vulpia ciliata Crupina crupinastrum Sonchus tenerrimus Lotus ornithopodioides Convolvulus althaeoides Euphorbia peplus Arisarum vulgare Sixalix atropurpurea Melilotus sulcata Dactylis glomerata Other species Hypericum perforatum Sedum rupestre Quercus ilex Acinos arvensis Crataegus monogyna Fumana procumbens Romulea bulbocodium Carex halleriana Poa bulbosa Ostrya carpinifolia Fraxinus ornus Triticum ovatum Filago pyramidata Genista tinctoria Sherardia arvensis Orobanche teucrii Sedum amplexicaule Geranium columbinum Dorycnium hirsutum Cistus creticus Erica multiflora Crepis sancta Euphorbia helioscopia Tordylium apulum Plantago lagopus Nigella damascena Picris hieracioides Silene paradoxa Echium vulgare Gastridium ventricosum Orobanche minor Sesleria autumnalis Minuartia mediterranea Quercus pubescens Anacamptis pyramidalis Onopordum acanthium Salvia verbenaca Pistacia terebinthus
+ . + . . +
.+
1+ 11 1+
. . +
.+. + 1 .
++ .1
.+
1. .+
.+
+.
+1 +.
.1
1+ 1.
2 1 . .+.
11
.+. . . +
++ +.
+1
++
+.
1+
+.
++
+ .+1+ + + 1	+	. . .+11 + .
. .+11 + +.	.	1 + . .++. 1
. . +1. . . +	.	. . + . . + . .
. . . + . . 1 .	1	. . 1 1 . 2 . .
.	+......+........
1
. . 1 . . . 1 1 + + + . . + . . . .
+.
++
1
+ . 2 + . . . .
. . + + + . + + . . . . + 1 . .
+.
1.
3+
1 2 . . . . .2.3..
12
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
2
2
+
+
+
+
+.
+
+
2
+
+
+.+
+
+
2
+
+
+
+
++
+
++
+
+
+
+
+
++
+
+
+
+
Releve nr.
123456789 10 (T)
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 (t)
Gladiolus italicus Galactites elegans Althaea hirsuta Rhamnus saxatilis Bombycilaena erecta Salvia officinalis Cistus salviifolius Fumana arabica Cerastium luridum Clematis vitalba Crocus vernus albiflorus Viola pseudogracilis Anemone hortensis Anagallis arvensis Allium subhirsutum Rosa canina Calicotome villosa Saxifraga tridactylites Thalictrum minus Stachys officinalis Trifolium lappaceum Arenaria serpyllifolia Lolium perenne Pistacia lentiscus Spartium junceum Silene vulgaris Centaurea solstitialis Cerastium brachypetalum Geranium dissectum Biscutella didyma Genista januensis
1 . + . 1 +
+
++
+1 +. 1.
++ ++
CAPTION: c: characteristic; rc: regional character.; pc: partial character., t: transgressive; i: ingressive
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
3
+
2
+
+
+
+
+
+
++
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
++
+
Table 3: Synoptic table of the main dry grassland associations of Peninsular Italy. Tabela 3: Sinoptična tabela glavnih asociacij suhih travišč Italijanskega polotoka.
Associations (List in Appendix 4) Column number
p	at	o	e
		le	m
CQ	PQ	PQ	
el ffi	el ffi	S	S
2	3	4	5
^^	I
pq ^ ^^rn

la
e la la la at

PQ		CQ		ip	p s
	el			CO	
es S	o	ol P	es S	:3	
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Violo-Koelerietum splendentis
Spc	Viola pseudogracilis	4		2								
CBt	Festuca stricta	4	4	4						.1..	. . . . 2 . . .	
Src	Carex humilis	5		1				255	.1		. . . 2 . . 2 .	1..
AB	Seseli montanum	3	1	1	3	1			.1		......11	
CBc	Thymus striatus Helichryso-Brometum erecti	5	2	2	3			.11	.3	5.51		.. 3
PBi	Helichrysum italicum		5	4	3	5	5				5 4 2 2. . .	.4.
CBc	Centaurea deusta	2	5	4			3				.....3 . .	1 4
PBc	Centaurium erythraea	1	4	3	2		1			.1..	...1....	.1.
PBc	Melica transsilvanica	1	4	3								
PBi	Micromeria graeca		5	3	1	3					.....3 . .	
	Sedum sexangulare	1	4	3	2	2	2	133		.2..	..2.21..	.5.
	Cerastio etrusci-Brometum erecti											
	Cerastium arvense						3					
	Marrubium incanum						4					
	Alyssum minus						3		.1			
	Carlina corymbosa		4	2	2	4	4			.2..	.2......	.2.
Plantago holostei-Helianthemetum cani
CBt	Plantago holosteum	4.					5 5	5										4	..1..	
St	Helianthemum oelandicum	5.		3	1		5 5	5	5	5	3	2	3	5	2	4	2	5	4 15 5 1	
	Saturejo montanae-Brometum erecti																			
AB	Satureja montana	3.	5	3	3				5	3	4		4	5	5	5			2 ... 1	.3
AB	Plantago sempervirens			2	2				5	2	1		1	3		3			1....	
CBi	Cytisus spinescens	4.	3	2	1				5	4										.5
CBc	Sideritis italica			1					5						5		5		.5...	.5
CBt	Globularia bisnagarica Onobrychido albae-Seslerietum nitidae	5.	4	3	2	1	.2		3	1	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	2		5.
Sc	Onobrychis alba						.1	1		3								1		.1
CBc	Centaurea ambigua			1	1	1	22	2		4	1	4	1	5		2		3	4 12 2.	
CBc	Sesleria nitida	32	1	1			.1	1	2	3									... 5 5	
Asperulo purpureae-Brometum erecti
AB Asperula purpurea	4	23	...11.3	5	4	5	5	3	5	. 3	4	43	.1.
CBc Erysimum pseudorhaeticum		.2	4 4. . .21	3	3	3	5		4	. 2	4	43	2 3 .
PBc Coronilla minima			2......	4		4	3	2	5	1 3	2	.1	1..
AB Artemisia alba			2.....1	4		4	5	3	5	4 2	2	2.	.. 5
Stachys recta	1	5 2	11.....	4	2	4		1	3	1 3	1	1.	3.4
PBc Dianthus ciliatus					1	2							
PBt PBt PBt
Src
Trigonello monspeliacae-Sideritidetum syriacae
Trigonella gladiata Trigonella monspeliaca Ononis reclinata
Potentillo cinereae-Brometum erecti
Potentilla incana AB Alyssum montanum AB Cyanus triumfetti CBrc Minuartia verna
111
1
	...55..		5	.3
2 2 1 .	. . . . 2 . .	.2.	5	.3
	..3.511	. 1		
5	3
	4
2	3
3	3
2 1 3
4
Column number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Seseli viarii-Brometum erecti
CBrc Seseli pallasii
Euphorbia nicaeensis
Koelerio splendentis-Brometum erecti
Src Valeriana tuberosa Pedicularis comosa Gentianella columnae Trifolium alpestre
Polygalo majoris-Brometum erecti
AB Biscutella laevigata CBc Laserpitium siler
Seslerio nitidae-Brometum erecti
44 1.
111
Fumano procumbentis-Stipetum appenninicolae
CBc Stipa dasyvaginata	1 . 1 1 1
Fumana procumbens	1 2 2 3 2
Lavandulo angustifoliae-Asphodelinetum luteae
1.
24
42242
suballiance: Phleo ambigui-Bromenion erecti
PBc	Ononis pusilla	. 3 2
PBc	Crupina vulgaris	. 2 3
PBc	Melica ciliata	. . .
PBc	Cephalaria leucantha	. 1
PBc	Crepis neglecta	1 2
PBc	Hieracium cymosum	. .
PBc	Linum bienne	. .
PBc	Allium tenuiflorum	1 .
PBc	Silene paradoxa	. .
PBc	Trifolium strictum	1 1
PBc	Carex flacca	. 3
PBc	Convolvulus cantabrica	.
PBt	Petrorhagia saxifraga	2
PBt	Bupleurum baldense	1
PBt	Reichardia picroides
PBt	Eryngium campestre
PBt	Cynosurus echinatus
PBt	Urospermum dalechampii
PBt	Linum strictum
PBt	Medicago minima
PBt	Avena barbata
PBt	Sideritis romana
PBt	Brachypodium retusum
PBt	Briza maxima
PBi	Teucrium capitatum
PBi	Triticum ovatum
suballiance: Sideritidenion italicae
Sc	Avenula praetutiana
Sc	Potentilla rigoana
Sc	Trinia dalechampii
Sc	Brachypodium genuense
11 11 22 1.
23
21
44
.1 12 .1
232.1 2.222 111.1 ...1.
.... 1
.... 1
.2.42 1....
CBc Carex macrolepis	12		2 2 11.	1..	...11.	.4	3	
Si Festuca laevigata	1.	.2.	. .5 5 2 3				5	
Cytisus hirsutus					. . . 2 . .		3	
CBc Asphodeline lutea	.1...1.					.. 3	5
Lavandula angustifolia							5
Leontodon crispus	3 2 2 5 1 . .	.3	1	.3	.5 2 3 2 3 2. .	.. 2	5
4	3	2	4	3 . .			2		2	.3	2	3	2		2 . .	.5.
	2	3	4	1..	.4	2	4	1	4		2	1	2	2	4 . .	.51
4	5	2	3	4 . .				3		.4		4	4	2		.4.
3	3	1	4	2 . .			3				2	1			1..	.4.
		1	2	4 . .	.3	1	1		1	1.	1				1..	.2.
2	3			4 . .	.1	1		2				1	3	2		.1.
2	3	1	3	1..				2			1	1				
2	3		1					2						1		.1.
2	1	2	4	2 . .												
1	2		1	2 . .												.1.
	2		1	2 . .												.1.
1	2															
1	2															
	1	1	2	1..		1					1	2	1			4.
2	2		2	2 . .								1				1.
	1	3		. 2 4	4.	5		3					3		. 5 2	
				.. 4	.1			1		4.			2	2	. 4 1	
		2	1			1			1	.3				3		
322
55
3
2
3
3
2
2
3
Column number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Sc Veronica orsiniana Sc Anthemis cretica Sc Allium flavum Sc Rhinanthus wettsteinii Src Armeria canescens Src Gymnadenia conopsea Src Plantago argentea Cerastium arvense Acinos alpinus Globularia meridionalis Anthyllis montana Paronychia kapela Draba aizoides Sesleria juncifolia Thymus praecox Edraianthus graminifolius Lomelosia crenata Cerastium tomentosum
11
55
1
... 1 1 1
1.....
1.....
11.22. 2 2 3 4 3 1 2 . . 2 1 .
1.....
1..1..
1222 1 2 . .
1. 22 1.
. 4 4 233 . 5 5 25553 155.2 155.. 3 2 2 . . 1 . . . 1
5 1 . 1 2 .
1......1 . . . 3 . .
. 14... 3. 442344 12.23241223421 1 1
52 44 12 11
1.
42
44
alliance: Cytiso spinescentis-Bromion erecti; suborder: Festuco-Seslerienalia nitidae
CBc Phleum hirsutum CBc Crepis lacera CBc Festuca inops CBc Leontodon cichoraceus CBc Polygala flavescens CBc Centaurea rupestris CBc Scabiosa holosericea CBc Elaeoselinum asclepium CBc Potentilla detommasii CBi Onosma echioides CBi Euphorbia spinosa CBpc Ornithogalum etruscum CBpc Festuca stricta CBpc Asphodeline liburnica CBpc Ornithogalum exscapum CBpc Sesleria apennina CBrc Helianthemum apenninum CBrc Argyrolobium zanonii CBrc Thlaspi praecox CBrc Orchis pauciflora CBrc Tragopogon samaritani CBrc Ranunculus illyricus CBrc Ruta graveolens CBrc Euphorbia myrsinites CBrc Alyssum diffusum CBrc Potentilla pedata CBrc Pimpinella tragium CBt Galium corrudifolium CBt Aethionema saxatile CBt Asperula aristata CBt Ranunculus millefoliatus
Order: Artemisio albae-Brometalia erecti
Koeleria splendens
Hippocrepis comosa
Teucrium chamaedrys
2.2 3 4 5 223211 4 4 2 . . 5
..... 1
.21111
4422353533343522 . . . .3434151244. 1 . . 1 . . 1 . . . 2 5 1 2 . . . 44. ..1.....31
1
.1
53
1 2 2 4 1 1
1. 5. 21
12
1.12. 1 2 1 31211 222
11112
2.4.432 13131.1
.1.
121
53 .1
454
54.15 .4 3 3. 1 2 4 2.
14
11
3. .2 51 2.
2
545423255343434.4355544414 222311313125443141124122. 1 355444.5232255535345553.4.
3
2
2
2
2
3
4
2
2
3
2
5
5
2
2
2
Column number	1	2	3	4	5	6	7 8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19 20 21			22 23 24 25 26	
Muscari neglectum	3	2	1	2	1		.4	4	2		1	3	1	2	3	1	3	5	4	3	2	..11
Dianthus sylvestris	1		3	2	1	3	.5	5		1	3	2	3	5	2	4	2	2	4	4	3	2 . . .
Brachypodium rupestre	1	1	1	2	2	2			3	1	5	4	5	5	2	5	2	2	3	1		.41.
Allium sphaerocephalon	2	1	1	1	2	4			3		3	1	3	5	1	3	1	3	3	1		2 3 . .
Eryngium amethystinum	3	3	5	3	4	2	.5	5	3	1	5	5	5	5	3	5	3	5	5	4	1	
Helianthemum nummularium	3	5	4	3	3	1			1	1	1	4	1	3		1	1	2	3		1	2.5.
Festuca circummediterranea Asperula cynanchica Silene otites Knautia purpurea Galium lucidum Linum tenuifolium Thesium humifusum Teucrium montanum Anthyllis vulneraria Anthyllis vulneraria Arabis collina Bunium bulbocastanum Scabiosa columbaria Trinia glauca Inula montana Carlina acaulis Hieracium piloselloides Polygala major Cota tinctoria Arabis sagittata Ophrys apifera Petrorhagia prolifera Ononis spinosa Orchis tridentata Pseudolysimachion barrelieri Inula hirta Narcissus poeticus Orchis anthropophora Koeleria cristata Ophrys holoserica Anthyllis vulneraria Anthericum liliago Echinops ritro Polygala niceensis Dorycnium pentaphyllum Astragalus monspessulanum Class: Festuco-Brometea
24353
.	2	1
2	.	.
1	4	3
3	3	1
4	3	1 4	3	1 . 5423
44423 2 2 2 2. 11 22 44
2
1
.1
23
.3..
2224 2322 4445
122 1 4 2 .. 2 222 .. 3 .. 2 1.3 122 . 1 4 2 2 2
2333 4113
23
333 343 333 4 4 . . 4 4 .1 1 2 2 3 1
2 2 . 133 1..
3.2 555
22
5. 21 22
11 22 2 1
Bromus erectus	4	5	5	5	5	53	5	5	3	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Thymus longicaulis	3	5	1	3	4	55	2	2		1	4	5	4	5	5	4	5	4	4	3	5	3	2	5	1
Hieracium pilosella	1	2	1	5	2	14	3	3	3		4	5	4	5		5	1	5	4		5	4	3	3	
Lotus corniculatus	1	4	1	3	1	2.	1	1	2	2	2	5	2	5	2	5	2	3	4	2	3	4	1		2
Sanguisorba minor	2	5	3	5	5	5.	3		3	4	3	4	3	5	4	5	4	5	5	4	2	2		4	2
Medicago lupulina	1	4	2	3	2	12	1	1			1	2	1		2	1	2	1		3	2	1			1
Carex caryophyllea	1	3	1	3	1	1.	4	4			2	1	2	4	1	4	1	3	3		5				
Dactylis glomerata		4	3	2	5	5.	1		2		4	2	4	2	3	4	2		1	2					2
Trifolium campestre	1		4	2	3	2.	2	2		1		2			3		3	2	1		1				
Arabis hirsuta				2	1	1.	1	1	1		3		3	2	1	2	1		1		1				
Plantago lanceolata	1	4	5	1	3	4.		2	2			2						2	1	4				3	1
2
3
2
2
Column number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Euphrasia stricta Euphorbia cyparissias Ranunculus bulbosus Orchis morio Trifolium ochroleucum Onobrychis viciifolia Knautia arvensis Tanacetum corymbosum Leontodon hispidus Trifolium montanum Carduus nutans Linum catharticum Campanula glomerata Centaurea jacea Cerastium arvense Cerastium ligusticum Herniaria glabra Anacamptis pyramidalis Achillea millefolium Bromus hordeaceus Prunella laciniata Anthemis arvensis Avenula pratensis Achillea collina Geranium pyrenaicum Dactylorhiza sambucina Potentilla tabernaemontani Potentilla recta Dianthus carthusianorum Pimpinella saxifraga Salvia pratensis Crocus vernus Rhinanthus alectorolophus Filipendula vulgaris Stachys germanica Briza media Campanula rapunculus Plantago media Leucanthemum vulgare Crocus biflorus Daucus carota Euphrasia salisburgensis Orchis mascula Linum viscosum Thymus pulegioides Sanguisorba minor Parentucellia viscosa Parentucellia latifolia Achillea setacea Orchis purpurea Thesium linophyllon Jasione montana Orchis coriophora Phleum bertolonii
1
.2. 111
21 3. 11 12
11 11
1
3 3 1 221 3.1 . 2 1
12
121
1. .1 1. 21 .11. 2 1 2 1
11 12
41 3
1 1 2 1
.2 12 11 1. 1 2
2 1 .
442
2
2
2
4
2
2
2
2
3
Column number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
11
1
1
Cisto-Micromerietea / Rosmarinetea
Cistus creticus Genista januensis Genista tinctoria Dorycnium hirsutum Erica multiflora Cistus salviifolius Fumana arabica Salvia officinalis Fumana thymifolia	.
Elyno-Seslerietea / Nardetea / Thlaspietea rot.
Carlina acanthifolia	.
Poa alpina Astragalus depressus Minuartia verna Carum flexuosum Myosotis alpestris Poa molinerii Ranunculus oreophilus Anthyllis vulneraria Cardus carlinaefolius Alchemilla glaucescens Androsace villosa Carex kitaibeliana Festuca trichophylla Galium magellense Gentiana lutea Gentiana utriculosa Gentiana verna Hutchinsia alpina Leontodon montanus Pedicularis elegans Polygala alpestris Robertia taraxacoides Sedum atratum Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Lygeo-Stipetea/Thero-Brachypodietea
Ampelodesmos mauritanicus Asphodelus ramosus Sixalix atropurpurea Arisarum vulgare Convolvulus althaeoides Dactylis glomerata Allium subhirsutum Molinio-Arrhenatheretea s.l. Festuca rubra Anthoxanthum odoratum Taraxacum fulvum Cynosurus cristatus Bellis perennis Rhinanthus minor Trifolium incarnatum Trifolium repens Trifolium striatum
11
13
3 5 14
55 .3 5.
11
11
15
.2
22
11
41
314
11
1
5
1
3
3
2
5
5
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
2
2
Column number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Galium verum Viola eugeniae Luzula campestris Agrostis capillaris Carex flacca Colchicum lusitanum Lolium perenne Lathyrus pratensis Poa pratensis Rumex acetosella Trifolium nigrescens Trifolium pratense Arrhenatherum elatior Cruciata laevipes Taraxacum officinale Tragopogon pratensis Holcus lanatus Phleum pratense Poa compressa Tragopogon porrifolius
Tuberarietea / Sedo-Scleranthetea
Sedum rupestre Sedum acre Trifolium scabrum Arenaria serpyllifolia Sedum album Catapodium rigidum Coronilla scorpioides Trifolium stellatum Bombycilaena erecta Alyssum alyssoides Sherardia arvensis Euphorbia exigua Acinos arvensis Saxifraga tridactylites Hypochaeris achyrophorus Linum trigynum Trachynia distachya Vulpia ciliata Cerastium glutinosum Linum strictum Vulpia myuros Aira caryophyllea Anagallis arvensis Erophila verna Hornungia petraea Trifolium arvense Xeranthemum inapertum Crupina crupinastrum Trifolium angustifolium Althaea hirsuta Arenaria leptoclados Sedum reflexum Blackstonia perfoliata
4	3	3	4	2	2
			2	1	
1		3	2	2	3
1		1	1	1	2
2			1	1	3
1	2	3	1	3	2
	2	2		3	1
1	3	1		2	3
1		1	1	1	2
1			2	2	
1	3			3	2
	2	1	1	2	1
1	3	2	1	1	1
1	2		1	1	
	2	3		1	1
		1			
	1	3		3	1
1	1	1			1
	1				1
	1	2			3
1	1	1			1
1					
	2			1	
		1	1	1	
			1	1	
				1	2
		1			1
		2			1
		1			1
	1		2	3	
	2	2			
11 2
55 22
3.342 3135 1 1
4 1
22 32 .1
4. 21 11
422 2 5 1
1	4	2
2	1	. ..	2 . 1	1 . 2	1 22
2
Column number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Hippocrepis biflora Medicago rigidula Scorpiurus muricatus Sonchus tenerrimus Cerastium brachypetalum Filago pyramidata Minuartia mediterranea Sedum amplexicaule Filago vulgaris Plantago lagopus Asterolinon linum-stellatum Bromus madritensis Euphorbia falcata Euphorbia peplus Lotus ornithopodioides Melilotus sulcata Urospermum picroides Galium parisiense Linaria simplex Silene conica Trifolium lappaceum Tuberaria guttata Onobrychis caput-galli Other species Hypericum perforatum Lactuca perennis Carex halleriana Spartium junceum Geranium columbinum Astragalus sempervirens Echium vulgare Poa bulbosa Silene vulgaris Digitalis lutea Quercus pubescens Allium vineale Euphorbia helioscopia Odontites lutea Picris hieracioides Romulea bulbocodium Veronica arvensis Ornithogalum comosum Cuscuta epithymum Gastridium ventricosum Orobanche minor Scrophularia canina Medicago prostrata Carlina vulgaris Asparagus acutifolius Quercus ilex Rhamnus saxatilis Asphodelus albus Centaurea solstitialis Ceterach officinarum Crepis sancta
31
1
1. 11 1.
11 .1 .2
2. 21
11
21 2. 1. 1. 1.
24343 ..11. 2 12 2. .112 1 12.1.
..2.12 14.223 1.1.. 2
		......1...	
		......1...	... 1
.. 1	.1....... .1......		
32
2 2.121. 1..... 3
11 3. 1. 1.
122
2232
32
21
31
14
.2	1	1	1.				......1.
	1		.1	......2 . .			1.......
.3		1	21				1.......
		2	11		.1	1	
	2	1	11				
13	1		1.			2	
.1		1	1.	......2 . .			2 . . . . . . .
						3	5 3 .... 4 .
		1	11		.3		
	2		.1				
	1	1	1.				
		1	11		.2		
				.44......			...1....
				...4.1.1.			
	1		2.				......1.
	2						......1.
1.	1						
1.	1			. . 2......			....... 1
	1		.1				
	1	1	1.				
21
2
3
2
2
Column number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Galactites elegans Lathyrus sylvestris Leontodon villarsii Minuartia hybrida Orobanche purpurea Orobanche teucrii Salvia verbenaca Saxifraga bulbifera Scilla autumnalis Sedum dasyphyllum Silene italica Stachys officinalis Thalictrum minus Tordylium apulum Verbascum longifolium Carduus micropterus Dasypyrum villosum Ophrys bertolonii Phillyrea latifolia Acer opalus obtusatum Crataegus monogyna Fraxinus ornus Ostrya carpinifolia Rosa canina Rosa spinosissima Sesleria autumnalis Helianthemum oelandicum Astragalus sirinicus Buxus sempervirens Calamintha nepeta Centaurea calcitrapa Echium plantagineum Geranium dissectum Geranium rotundifolium Geranium sanguineum Hieracium sabinum Leontodon rosani Linaria purpurea Nigella damascena Onopordum acanthium Orlaya daucoides Pallenis spinosa Pistacia terebinthus Ranunculus gramineus Scabiosa gramuntia Sempervivum tectorum Carthamus lanatus Muscari comosum
13 .2
21 .1
11 .4 .2 .3 .1 2. .1
.1
.1 11
.2 1.
.1
1
.1 11 21
11. . 2 1
11
11
11
1
1....... 1
...12.2..
2 ... 1.....1 .
.......5.5.1
1.2
12
1 2 .
1.1
11
44
Legend of the abbreviations in the synoptic table:
AB = Artemisio-Brometalia; PBc = char. species of Phleo-Bromenion; PBt = transgr. species in Phleo-Bromenion; PBi = in-sgr. species in Phleo-Bromenion; CBc = char. species of Cytiso-Bromion; CBrc = regional char. species of Cytiso-Bromion; CBpc = partial char. species of Cytiso-Bromion; CBt = transgr. species in Cytiso-Bromion; CBi = insgr. species in Cytiso-Bromion; Sc = char. species of Sideritidenion italicae; Src = regional char. species of Sideritidenion; Spc = partial char. species of Sideritide-nion; St = transgr. species in Sideritidenion; Si = insgr. species in Sideritidenion.
2
2
2
2