Abstract
The distribution of the threatened fern Ophioglossum vulgatum L., a plant with extremely small populations (PSESPs) in Sardinia, is characterized by small disjunct populations with only a few individuals, and little is known about its status in the wild. To provide information for the conservation of O. vulgatum and with the aim to develop an in situ conservation strategy, we investigated its distribution, population size, and habitat. Field surveys confirmed that the species grows in only five localities. Two representative populations were selected for this study (Funtanamela and Gedili), and in each population, all plants were mapped and monitored monthly from April to August over an 8-year period. During the study, the populations had a very low number of reproductive plants and the populations appeared to be in decline, with the total number of plants per population slightly decreased in Gedili while a sharp reduction was recorded in Funtanamela due to wild boar threat. A fence was built in order to protect the site from further damage, but no noticeable signals of recovery were observed. The most urgent conservation requirement for this species is to preserve the threatened habitat of the remnant populations. Further field surveys and research are also required for an improved understanding of the species’ status.
Highlights
Island ecosystems have always played a leading role in conservation biology, and generally are hotspots of biodiversity [1,2,3], with legacies of relatively recent human impact and native species’ extinctions, and provide significant challenges when considering how to conserve biodiversity
As a result of our study, and considering both historical and newly discovered populations, O. vulgatum was recorded in five Sardinian localities; in particular, three of them reported in bibliography for Funtanamela [36], Riu Monte Cresia and Sa Castangedda [37], and two for which old herbarium specimens had been preserved in Herbarium FI (Gedili; Piccitto and Giotta, 28.VI.1995) or CAG (Riu Giuanni ‘e Cannas; Lai, 15.V.1998; Table 1 and Figure 1)
Key characteristics of plants with extremely small populations (PSESPs) are the small remaining populations, often restricted habitat, serious natural and/or human disturbance, and extremely high risk of extinction [28]; it is important to study and conserve plant species with a small population, their distribution is over large territories, for of their contribution to increase the floristic richness of a territory, but especially for their evolutionary potential [19]
Summary
Island ecosystems have always played a leading role in conservation biology, and generally are hotspots of biodiversity [1,2,3], with legacies of relatively recent human impact and native species’ extinctions, and provide significant challenges when considering how to conserve biodiversity. Mediterranean islands encompass a wide range of habitats within a small and restricted range; past geographical and climatic changes, combined with current environmental heterogeneities, have molded, within them, unusually high levels of biodiversity, which is very important for their own value of biodiversity, both in term of plant species (i.e., numerous endemics, presence of “climate relicts”) and of ecosystems’ assemblage [2,6,19,20] As they comprise a variety of valuable habitats, insular ecosystems are considered more fragile than continental ones, while the uncertainty regarding the conservation of valuable native flora is much more exacerbated in insular habitats than in their mainland counterparts [21]
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