Multifaceted and multitaxa approach to study the biodiversity of semi-natural grasslands in Tuscany (Italy)

Abstract

Grasslands are among the most studied environments for their biodiversity. Indeed, the high diversity connected with grassland communities makes them highly suitable systems for the investigation of the processes that shape plant assemblages. To disentangle the multitude of drivers which act on such biodiversity it is fundamental to look at species (i.e., taxonomic diversity) but also to consider their functional traits (i.e., functional diversity), thus adopting a multifaceted approach. Moreover, given the multitude of groups of organisms inhabiting grasslands in addition to vascular plants, it is worthwhile to follow a multitaxa approach broadening the assessment of other taxa, such as animals or cryptogams, to comprehensively depict the biodiversity occurring in such habitats. Grassland diversity is well represented in Italy, due to the high ecological heterogeneity and the long history of traditional human practices linked with this type of environment. Within the Italian territory, the administrative region of Tuscany encompasses a high variety of grasslands, and many of them occur in protected areas as habitats listed within the Habitat Directive (Dir. 92/43/EEC). The present thesis provides an assessment of the biodiversity occurring in grassland habitats from Tuscany. A multifaceted and multitaxa approach was adopted to decipher the processes responsible for the biodiversity observed in grasslands. In particular, the investigations focused on the effect of spatial scale considered (through alpha and beta components of diversity), the role of environmental factors such as microtopography and altitude in the assemblage of plant communities, and the relationships with other organisms, like ants, bryophytes, and lichens. We also present an upscaling of the topic addressed, through the presentation of richness patterns in Palearctic grasslands and the description of ecological drivers responsible for diversity in Atlantic European grasslands.