Plant Sociology 54 (2) S1 2017

M.S. Pinna, D. Cogoni, G. Fenu

Biological diversity is hardly threatened at global level and this is causing an increasing and constantly loss of wild plant diversity. This biodiversity crisis, mainly due to human actions (e.g. fragmentation of habitats, invasive alien species, pollution, climate change), leads to drastic increase of species extinction rate. Aiming to halt the continuing loss of plant diversity, international conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) and the European Strategy for Plant Conservation (ESPC) have been underwritten.
Understanding, documenting and developing conservation strategies are key issues that need to be urgently faced. In particular, conservation studies represent a crucial issue in the Mediterranean context, which represents a key area for the conservation of plant due to high rates of overall and regional endemism and the elevated species richness. Nowadays, this diversity is subjected to both natural and anthropogenic factors, particularly in insular contexts where endemic plants therefore deserve particular attention.
Convention on Biological Diversity defined in situ and ex situ conservation as two distinct approaches to the protection of wild species. In situ conservation is needed to ensure the survival of species as a key element of biodiversity and it is particularly required for species considered of priority importance because they are endangered. It is considered the most appropriate way of preserve biodiversity, while ex situ conservation approaches should be applied as critical components of an integrated conservation programme.
In this special issue of Plant Sociology, we assembled selected papers issued from the “X International Meeting Biodiversity Conservation and Management: Conservation studies on Mediterranean threatened flora and vegetation” that was held in Villacidro (Sardinia, Italy) and organised by the Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity (CCB) and Hortus Botanicus Karalitanus (HBK) of the University of Cagliari on June 13-18, 2016; it ended with a post-congress excursion in Sulcis-Iglesiente biogeographic sector, carried out on 18th June.
The congress saw the participation of students and researchers from different countries of the Mediterranean area, such as Spain, Italy, Lebanon, France and Egypt. The selected papers covered the following main topics:
• General aspects of European and national legislation related to the flora/vegetation conservation;
• Evaluation of plant and habitat conservation status: international procedures;
• Monitoring and conservation actions (in situ and ex situ) on threatened flora and habitat;
• Concrete conservation actions: plant reintroduction, reinforcement and translocations, habitat restoration and rehabilitation;
• Study cases of conservation and management of flora and habitats diversity.
Specifically, papers on conservation and management of the flora and habitats diversity in the Mediterranean area, phytosociology as plant synecology and towards an ecological characterization of Mediterranean landscapes and related themes were selected for this special issue.
The organization of the International Meeting was possible thanks to the hard work of the local Organizing and Scientific Committees; the conference organizers thank the SISV, Forestas Agency, Cagliari Province, the AUSER Association and all the other scientific associations for their significant support.

E. Cano¹, C.M. Musarella², A. Cano-Ortiz¹, J.C. Piñar¹, C.J. Pinto Gomes³, A. Rodríguez Torres⁴, G. Spampinato²

¹Dpt. of Animal and Plant Biology and Ecology, Botany Department, University of Jaén, Campus Universitario Las Lagunillas s/n. 23071 Jaén, Spain.

²Dpt. of Agraria, University “Mediterranea” of Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy.

³Dpt. of Landscape, Environment and Planning, Institute for Mediterranean Agrarian and Environmental Sciences (ICAAM), School of Science and Technology, University of Évora, Portugal.

⁴Environment and Rural Development, Board of Castilla-La Mancha, Junta de Castilla-La Mancha, C/ Quintanar de la Orden, s/n. 45071 Toledo, Spain.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/01

A study was made of waterlogged areas in C-W Spain, and revealed the presence of the alliance Genistion micrantho-anglicae, and a series of associations belonging to Isoeto-Nanojuncetea included in habitat 3170*. This work describes the new association Ericetum scopario-lusitanicae in Genistion micrantho-anglicae, and assigns it to habitat 4020*. Due to the importance of these areas, we study their state of conservation and analyse their diversity by applying Shannon’s index and establishing a relationship between the characteristic and companion species abundance in the community. The analysis of the diversity and state of conservation of the sampled plots at a global scale over the whole territory shows a conservation level of VmCa-VmCo > 0. However the study of individual plots reveals a trend towards the transformation of heathland into plant communities of Molinia caeruelea, Junxcus acutiflorus, Pteridium aquilinum and Rubus ulmifolius.

L. Lastrucci¹, M. Cerri², A. Coppi¹, F. Ferranti², V. Ferri², B. Foggi¹, L. Lazzaro¹, L. Reale², R. Venanzoni³, D. Viciani¹, D. Gigante³

¹Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.

²Department of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.

³Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/02

It is well known that since more than half a century, in Europe, Phragmites australis is suffering a process of decline, known in literature as ‘common reed die-back’. Several hypotheses have been formulated but the actual causes of the phenomenon have been only partially understood. The several studies produced on this topic generally focused on the population approach and took seldom into account the floristic and vegetational features of the reed-dominated plant communities involved in die-back processes. The present study tries to fill this knowledge gap. Starting from a phytosociological approach, supplemented by the results of a recent three-year-long research project focused on morphological and ecological traits of dying-back reed beds, we analyzed the floristic and vegetational differences between declining and non-declining stands, based on a data set constituted by 80 relevés. Data refer to reed-dominated stands along the shores of five freshwater ecosystems in central Italy: the Lakes Trasimeno, Chiusi and Vico, the Fucecchio and Colfiorito Marshes. The statistical process, including cluster analysis and PCA, allowed to refer all the relevés to the association Phragmitetum australis Savič 1926, with eight variants differentiated from an ecological and floristic point of view. The indicator species analysis pointed out the taxa playing a diagnostic and/or differential role in each group, and provided useful information to understand pattern and processes occurring in the declining and non-declining reed-dominated phytocoenoses. As a general outcome, a clear inverse relation between number of species per relevé and intensity of the die-back process was showed. This supports the idea that the aquatic monospecific reedbeds are the most suffering ones, while the nitrophilous species-rich phytocoenoses, colonizing drier sediments and often in contact with disturbed areas, are the ones where common reed grows most healthily.

J.C. Piñar Fuentes¹, A. Cano-Ortiz¹, C.M. Musarella², C.J. Pinto Gomes³, G. Spampinato², E. Cano¹

¹Department of Animal and Plant Biology and Ecology, Botany Department, University of Jaén, Campus Universitario Las Lagunillas s/n. 23071 Jaén, Spain.

²Department of AGRARIA – University “Mediterranea” of Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy.

³Department of Landscape, Environment and Planning, Institute of Mediterranean Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (ICAAM), University of Évora, Portugal.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/03

We studied the Quercus rotundifolia Lam. formations in the central-southern Iberian Peninsula, working particularly in areas in the Rondeño and Subbético biogeographical sectors. As a result we propose two new plant associations with an edaphoxeric character: Bupleuro gibraltarici-Quercetum rotundifoliae; and Junipero phoeniceae-Quercetum rotundifoliae included in habitat 9340. In both formations there is a high number of endemic plants often found in habitat 8210 “Calcareous rocky slopes with chasmophytic vegetation” like Antirrhinum graniticum, Antirrhinum onubense, Saxifraga reuteriana, Cerastium gibraltaricum.

J. Stephan, D. Issa

Lebanese University, Faculty of Science II, Department of Life and Earth Sciences, Fanar, Lebanon.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/04

This study contributes in listing and understanding the distribution of riparian species according to environmental and anthropogenic factors, recognizing the impact of these factors on biodiversity and tree growth and conducting an easy method for the assessment of habitat quality in a typical riparian ecosystem in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin. The methodology involved field assessment and the evaluation of riparian habitat quality by giving scores to different criteria, composing the habitat quality index. The results showed that river channel deviation is the most significant factor affecting riparian habitat quality. Non disturbed sites have significant higher scores, yet they are not classified as in natural conditions due to the effect of intrinsic environmental factors on habitat quality, namely bioclimatic conditions and river flow regime. An increase of biodiversity was recorded when habitat quality improved. Higher riparian habitat quality resulted in the presence of old growth trees, and climax species. This study allowed us to assess the requirements of major riparian species in terms of habitat quality, and to classify them based on their functional adaptation, in order to adopt appropriate ecosystem restoration and conservation plans.

D. Gargano¹, S. Aiello¹, T. Abeli², A. Schettino³, L. Bernardo¹

¹Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, via P. Bucci, I-87036, Rende (CS). Current address: Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden, University of Calabria, Loc. Polifunzionale, I-87036, Rende (CS), Italy.

²Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, via S. Epifanio 14, I-27100, Pavia, Italy.

³Pollino National Park, Complesso Monumentale Santa Maria della Consolazione, I-85048, Rotonda (PZ), Italy.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/05

We are monitoring three mountain herbaceous communities (a snow-bed community, a mesophile meadow and a xeric pasture) in the Pollino National Park (S-Apennines, Italy), in order to investigate relationships among climate, soil properties, vegetation structure (composition and spatial heterogeneity) and dynamics (seasonal patterns of species richness). To date, field data revealed striking differences of climate, soil and vegetation traits among the communities. The mesophile and the xeric community show a higher species richness than the snow-bed one, while the mesophile and the snow-bed community have a higher floristic relatedness. Species-area relationships evidence a substantial spatial heterogeneity in all sites. In two cases local plant diversity patterns appear significantly related to soil traits. Differences in seasonal biodiversity patterns are also evident, suggesting that contrasting mountain communities may be differently affected by climate warming components (i.e. summer drought vs. spring warming).

F.J. Pérez-García, F. Martínez-Hernández, A.J. Mendoza-Fernández, M.E. Merlo, F. Sola, E. Salmerón-Sánchez, J.A. Garrido-Becerra, J.F. Mota

University of Almería, Biology and Geology Dpt. CITE II – B. Ctra. Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, E-04120 Almería, Spain.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/06

Interest in plants growing on special substrates has increased considerably in recent years. The studies on halophytes (plants restricted to saline soils) and serpentinophytes (those restricted to ultramafic rocks) are good evidence of this trend. Research on the phenomenon of gypsophily has not been developed as widely as the other two before-mentioned fields, but important progress has been reached. The existence of a global database about gypsophytes and territories with gypsum substrates would imply a big leap in quality. The bibliographical criterium was selected in order to build this compilation as the only preliminary way to face the problem. According to the research about reviewing of distribution and ecology patterns of 209 taxa, it is possible to asure that there are gypsum outcrops in 112 countries. In 71 of those countries some clues point to the existence of a flora on gypsum, in which clear and undoubted cases of plant species directly related to gypsum soils in 53 countries have been found. These results show, on the one hand, the need of a deep correction to increase the data contained in previous reviews on gypsum outcrops distribution and, on the other hand, the diffussion of gypsophily phenomenon in plant species. Although the presence of genuinely gypsophyte taxa is much higher in dry climates, gypsum outcrops also show floristic peculiarities in wet climates, such as a refuge for xerothermophilic taxa, which clearly fits within the phenomenon of gypsum edaphism.

S. Ercole¹, G. Fenu², V. Giacanelli¹, M.S. Pinna², T. Abeli³, M. Aleffi⁴, F. Bartolucci⁵, D. Cogoni², F. Conti⁵, A. Croce⁶, G. Domina⁷, B. Foggi⁸, T. Forte⁹, D. Gargano¹⁰, M. Gennai⁸, C. Montagnani¹¹, G. Oriolo¹², S. Orsenigo¹³, S. Ravera¹⁴, G. Rossi³, A. Santangelo¹⁵, C. Siniscalco⁹, A. Stinca¹⁶, E. Sulis², A. Troia¹⁷, M. Vena¹⁰, P. Genovesi¹, G. Bacchetta²

¹Department for the Monitoring and Protection of the Environment and for Biodiversity Conservation, Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), via Vitaliano Brancati 60, I-00144 Roma, Italy.

²Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity (CCB), Department of Environment and Life Science (DISVA), University of Cagliari, v.le Sant’Ignazio da Laconi 11-13, I-09123 Cagliari, Italy.

³Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, via S. Epifanio 14, I-27100 Pavia, Italy.

⁴School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, Plant Diversity & Ecosystems Management Unit, Bryology Laboratory & Herbarium, Camerino University, via Pontoni 5, I-62032 Camerino (MC), Italy.

⁵Floristic Research Center of the Apennines, University of Camerino – Gran Sasso-Laga National Park, San Colombo, I-67021 Barisciano (AQ), Italy.

⁶via Chiesa, 44, frazione Tuoro, I-81057 Teano (CE), Italy.

⁷Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences (SAAF), University of Palermo, viale delle Scienze, bldg. 5, I-90128 Palermo, Italy.

⁸Department of Biology, University of Firenze, via La Pira 4, I-50121 Firenze, Italy.

⁹Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, viale P.A. Mattioli 25, I-10125 Torino, Italy.

¹⁰Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, via P. Bucci, I-87030 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy.

¹¹Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca Piazza della Scienza 1, I-20126 Milano, Italy.

¹²via Cecconi 26, I-33100 Udine, Italy.

¹³Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, University of Milano, via Celoria 2, I-20122 Milano, Italy.

¹⁴Italian Lichen Society (SLI) c/o Regional Museum of Natural Sciences, via G. Giolitti 36, I-00123, Torino, Italy.

¹⁵Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, via Foria 223, I-80139 Napoli, Italy.

¹⁶Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, via Vivaldi 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy.

¹⁷Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), section of Botany and Plant Ecology, University of Palermo, via Archirafi 38, I-90123 Palermo, Italy.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/07

The results of a project for the identification of species-specific monitoring protocols for the Italian plant species protected under the Habitats Directive (Annexes II/IV/V) are presented. The project led to the development of 118 monitoring factsheets, providing an operational guidance for 107 vascular taxa, 10 bryophytes and 1 lichen taxon. Each factsheet includes information on the species (distribution, biology, ecology, conservation status, threats, etc.) and the description of field methodologies for the detection of the two main reporting parameters, i.e. population size and habitat quality. Practical information to plan field activities are also given. Protocols were designed to address the requirements of the European reporting system with the aim to standardize future monitoring activities, optimize efforts at national scale and overcome some current problems related to data heterogeneity and discrepancies from the EC standards. More than 60 botanists collaborated to identify the best practices and to design an operational field survey format through several stages of discussion and sharing. The protocols, developed by ISPRA and Scientific Societies and shared with the Italian institutions responsible for the Directive application, were published in a dedicated National handbook. The work provides a first uniform technical basis for future national monitoring plans.

S. Sciandrello, G. Giusso del Galdo, P. Minissale

Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, v. A. Longo 19, I-95125 Catania, Italy.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/08

Muscari gussonei (Parl.) Nyman (Hyacinthaceae) is a rare endemic psammophyte occurring in southern Sicily (Italy). It is listed as Endangered species (EN) in the Red Book of Italian plants, included in the Annex I of Berne Convention (1979), and Annex II of the Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC as a priority species. This species characterizes the psammophilous plant communities ascribed to the Vulpio-Leopoldietum gussonei, together with many therophytes of the Cutandietalia maritimae order. Aims of this work were to examine the structure and floristic composition of the M. gussonei community, assess its conservation status and propose conservation measures. This study is part of a LIFE project (LIFE11 NAT/IT/000232 – Action
D.1). Distribution and population structure were investigated through many field surveys carried out between 2013 and 2015. In order to define the ecological requirements of M. gussonei, 10 permanent plots were designed, while for characterizing the habitat of M. gussonei 41 phytosociological reléves were randomly carried out. Classification of relevés by using cluster analysis revealed three plant communities with M. gussonei, each with specific key species and linked to different environments. Three vegetation types (white dunes, grey dunes, inland or fossil dunes) were confirmed by canonical component analysis (10 plots) and they are correlated to a gradient of ecological features ranging from coastal to inland areas. After a census of M. gussonei populations joined to the their mapping, the conservation status, according to IUCN guidelines, was assessed confirming the EN category. Finally, this study provides some relevant issues for the implementation of conservation measures.

J. Stephan, P. Teeny

Lebanese University, Faculty of Science II, Department of Life and Earth Sciences, Fanar, Lebanon.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/09

The taxonomy of oaks in Lebanon relies on the works of Mouterde (1966). Since half a centrury, there were no taxonomic revision for these species, namely for Quercus pinnatifida Gmelin, which is no more in use worldwide after successive nomenclature revisions. This name was replaced by Quercus pubescens Willd. subsp. pubescens which has never been recorded in Lebanon. However, Quercus kotschyana O. Schwarz is cited as an endemic species of Lebanon, but it was never mentioned by Mouterde works, nor by the literature that followed (i.e. Abi Saleh, 1976, 1996; Menitsky, 2005; Tohme & Tohme, 2014). This work aims at revealing the taxonomy of an endemic oak of Lebanon, and clarify the existing confusion in the nomenclature of species. The comparison of collected plant material from different sites, with the holotype of Quercus kotschyana, and the botanical description and drawings found in the literature, allowed us to conclude that Quercus pinnatifida Gmel. was wrongly attributed to the taxon found in Lebanon, and that the actual present species is Quercus kotschyana O. Schwarz.

G. Fenu¹, G. Giusso del Galdo², B. Montmollin de³, P. Gotsiou⁴, D. Cogoni^1,5, C. Piazza⁶, C. Fournaraki⁴, A.C.  Kyratzis⁷, M. Vicens⁸, C.S. Christodoulou⁹, G. Bacchetta^1,5

¹Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity (CCB), Life and Environmental Sciences Department, University of Cagliari, Viale S. Ignazio da Laconi 11-13, 09123 Cagliari, Italy.

²Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Italy.

³Mediterranean Plant Specialist Group (IUCN/SSC).

⁴CIHEAM Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICh), Greece.

⁵Hortus Botanicus Karalitanus (HBK), University of Cagliari, Italy.

⁶Office de l’Environnement de la Corse (OEC), France.

⁷Agricultural Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Nicosia, Cyprus.

⁸Jardí Botànic de Sóller Foundation (JBS), Spain.

⁹Department of Forests, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Nicosia, Cyprus.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/10

The Mediterranean Basin is one of the world’s most biodiverse regions and it roughly counts 30,000 different plant taxa, of which approximately 50% are endemic taxa to the region. Thus, this area has been recognized among the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots. Furthermore, the rate of endemism of the big Mediterranean islands is higher than that usually recorded in the neighbouring mainland areas. Plants are vulnerable to many threats mainly represented by physical factors, such as climate change, extreme weather events, recurrent fires, agriculture, as well as by biological factors, such as invasive species and pests. All these factors are particularly worrying in island ecosystems where urban sprawl and human activities may represent a major source of threat hampering the preservation of important habitats and plant species, especially when circumscribed to small areas. In addition, less than 10% of these areas is protected (e.g. nature reserves, regional or national parks, etc.) and, likely most worrying, their management is not always based on the specific scientifically based plant needs. Given these circumstances, many plant species of the Mediterranean area are facing the risk of a severe decline and require urgent protection measures. While in-situ conservation is the fundamental approach to biodiversity conservation, ex-situ conservation is an alternative and effective way to prevent immediate extinction. The CARE-MEDIFLORA project, an initiative of eigh institutions all having a long experience in plant conservation, will make a step forward by using ex situ collections to experiment with in situ active management actions and measures for some taxa within the period of three years of the project. The involved institutions will jointly work to address both short-term and long-term needs, including: (1) in situ conservation for some of the most endangered plant species of the Mediterranean islands through active management actions (e.g. reintroduction, reinforcement, fencing, etc.), in collaboration with the most relevant local authorities to ensure the sustainability of the results; (2) ex situ conservation of the most endangered plant species of the Mediterranean islands through the collection and seed banking of accessions that will be representative of the overall diversity of the selected taxa; (3) establishing a network connecting scientific institutions from the Mediterranean islands in order to ensure the circulation of information, knowledge and project results sustainability. In addition, great efforts will be devoted to the training of conservation plant specialists, in order to increase collaboration among institutions dealing with in situ and ex situ conservation and to increase awareness about the vulnerability of the native flora through the involvement of local stakeholders and environment-related agencies.

M. Porceddu^1,2, A. Santo^1,2, M. Orrù^1,2, F. Meloni^1,2, M. Ucchesu^1,2, R. Picciau^1,2, M. Sarigu^1,2, A. Cuena Lombraña^1,2, L. Podda^1,2, S. Sau^1,2, M.C. Fogu³, G. Bacchetta^1,2

¹Sardinian Germplasm Bank (BG-SAR), Hortus Botanicus Karalitanus (HBK), University of Cagliari, Viale S. Ignazio da Laconi, 9-11, Cagliari 09123, Italy.

²Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity (CCB), Life and Environmental Sciences Department, University of Cagliari, Viale S. Ignazio da Laconi 11-13, 09123 Cagliari, Italy.

³Botany Section, Life and Environmental Sciences Department, University of Cagliari, Viale S. Ignazio da Laconi, 11-13, Cagliari 09123, Italy.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/11

The Sardinian Germplasm Bank (BG-SAR) is a facility of the Hortus Botanicus Karalitanus (HBK), which belongs to the University of Cagliari (Italy). Its main objective is the conservation, study and management of the germplasm of Sardinian endemic, threatened and policy species (i.e., species inserted in the Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC, CITES and Bern convention), taxa from insular territories of the Mediterranean region, as well as Crop Wild Relatives (CWR), landraces, useful plants and plant remains. A summary of the procedures implemented by BG-SAR for the ex situ conservation, some international scientific results achieved, and some research projects at regional, national and international level in which the bank is involved, are reported in this work, with the main aim to highlight how a germplasm bank can be considered an important tool for the preservation of plant biodiversity. This paper allows to make a reflection about the importance of the germplasm banks, as well as their staff members, who constantly and daily work in order to preserve and conserve the planet’s biodiversity.

T. Abeli¹, D. Alberti², M. Miozzo³, F. Buldrini⁴, S. Biondini⁵, G. Rossi¹

¹Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.

²Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna National Park, Pratovecchio, Italy.

³D.R.E.Am. Pratovecchio, Italy.

⁴Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

⁵Centro Nazionale Carabinieri Biodiversità of Pieve Santo Stefano, Pieve S. Stefano, Italy.

doi: 10.7338/pls2017542S1/12

The LIFE project “Conservation of amphibians and butterflies of open wet areas and their habitats at the Foreste Casentinesi National Park” aims at improving the conservation status of three endangered amphibia (Bombina pachypus, Salamandrina perspicillata and Triturus carnifex) and two butterflies (Euplagia quadripunctaria and Eriogaster catax) of EC interest, inhabiting open wet areas. The project consists of different actions in 156 planned areas. Actions includes restoration of existing wetlands, creation of new wetlands, removal of trees and shrubs and the reintroduction of B. pachypus and S. perspicillata in some sites. The restoration of wetland habitats includes the creation of patches of the EC habitat interest H6430 Hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities of plains and of the montane to alpine levels. The project started in 2015 and has a duration of 6 years. Here the challenge represented by different ecological requirements of target animals and plants is described as well as the solutions found to achieve the project aims.