EVSItalia Database of Mires and Wetlands of Italy

Abstract

A database of vegetation plots of mires & wetlands of Italy is presented (EVSItalia Database of Mires and Wetlands of Italy, GIVD ID EU-IT-016). The database currently stores 263 georeferenced releves from published certified phytosociological sources and from personal archives. But it is rapidly growing. Currently the data are mostly from the geographic range of the peninsular Italy (personal data), where relic mires are recorded. For the Alpine region, data are derived from literature sources. All the vegetation types recorded along the hydrological gradient are included: submerged and floating plants (macrophytes), emergent helophytes stands, swamps, etc. The aim is to provide data for a review of the classification of Italian wetlands, and namely mires, and its parameterisation by the means of the geostatistical analysis. This is done mostly to provide reasonably valid data for plans and programs on the conservation of mires and related ecosystems and to facilitate the exchange of information about mires. All the releves are uploaded to TURBOVEG. An ArcGis Database stores information about localization: Operational Geographic Units (OGU), corresponding to the quadrates of the Italian floristic grid, precise GPS or toponym information as well as descriptive records of locations extracted from geographical information systems are also stored.