From dunes to wetlands: plant communities along the Ariscianne coast (Apulia, southern Italy)

This study investigates the floristic composition and vegetation structure of the Ariscianne coastal wetland (Apulia, Southern Italy), aiming to fill knowledge gaps and provide a scientific basis for its conservation and potential inclusion in the Natura 2000 network. The study area represents a coastal system characterized by the coexistence of psammophilous dune environments and artificial canal networks hosting aquatic vegetation, forming a heterogeneous ecological mosaic of particular interest. A phytosociological approach following the Zürich–Montpellier method was adopted, focusing on both dune and inland psammophilous vegetation, as well as aquatic plant communities associated with irrigation channels. Field surveys were carried out during the period of maximum vegetative expression, and the collected data were analysed through multivariate statistical techniques (cluster analysis) to support the classification of plant communities. In addition, biological spectra were elaborated and ecological gradients were interpreted using Ellenberg indicator values. Potamogeton trichoides [1], a submerged macrophyte previously considered absent from the native flora of Apulia, was found out in this study area. The phytosociological analysis led to the identification of 12 plant communities, referable to seven different vegetation classes, highlighting a relatively high diversity in relation to the spatial extent of the study area. Several of the recognized communities correspond to habitat types of European conservation interest under the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), including: 1210 (annual vegetation of drift lines), 1310 (pioneer Salicornia communities), 1420 (Mediterranean halophilous scrubs and grasslands), and 3150 (natural eutrophic lakes with Magnopotamion or Hydrocharition vegetation), the latter here reported as new regional Annex I Habitat record [2]. Overall, the results provide a first comprehensive syntaxonomical and ecological framework of the vegetation of the Ariscianne coastal system, contributing to the reduction of knowledge gaps. Despite the effects of anthropogenic disturbance and coastal erosion, which have partially altered the natural dune morphology, the area still hosts a diverse set of plant communities of notable ecological relevance. These findings suggest that further research and monitoring efforts are needed to better understand ongoing ecological dynamics and to prevent potential regression processes and biodiversity loss. In this context, studies of this kind play a key role in supporting conservation-oriented planning and in promoting the recognition of overlooked and marginal coastal areas, which, although often neglected, can represent locally important reservoirs of plant diversity.