Rocky habitats are suitable refuges for numerous rare and endemic plants. Due to their inaccessibility and the unreliability of traditional survey methods, assessing the survival status of these plants is quite a hard task. In order to address this sampling issue, we employed the drones and carried several field activities to investigate the vascular flora of Rocca di Novara massif located in Northeastern Sicily (NE Sicily hereafter). Located on the southern border of the Peloritani Mountains, Rocca di Novara, also known as Rocca Salvatesta, is a small carbonate massif and it represents one of the highest and most characteristic peaks in NE Sicily. According to our investigation, 300 taxa have been recorded, belonging to 189 genera and 51 different families. The results obtained show the presence of 13 endemic species to Italy (4.3%) and 12 strictly endemic to Sicily (4%). Some taxa of high phytogeographical value have been detected, such as Aubrieta columnae subsp. sicula, Daphne oleoides subsp. oleoides, Edraianthus graminifolius subsp. siculus, Fritillaria messanensis, Odontites bocconei subsp. bocconei, Phelipanche gussoneana, Saxifraga callosa subsp. australis. This latest species was rediscovered after 100 years on the high cliffs of Rocca di Novara thanks to the use of the drone imagery. Our results provide valuable insights into the floristic diversity of Rocca di Novara and offers a solid starting point for further phytogeographical and floristic studies on the vascular plants of the Peloritani district.

In this contribution, new data concerning algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the algal genera Chara and Nitella, the bryophyte genera Brachythecium, Didymodon, Fissidens, Physcomitrium, and Riccia, the fungal genera Biatoropsis, Cantharellus, Coprinellus, Dacrymyces, Inosperma, Nigropuncta, Urocystis, and Xanthoriicola, and the lichen genera Arthonia, Bellemerea, Circinaria, Lecania, Lecanora, Lecidella, Mycobilimbia, Naetrocymbe, Parmelia, Peltigera, Porpidia, Scytinium, and Usnea.

Pohlia cruda (Hedw.) Lindb. is a cryophilous moss species with a boreo-arctic montane distribution. As global temperatures continue to rise, high-mountain plant species are increasingly forced to migrate to higher elevations to remain within their ecological and physiological tolerance limits. In this study, we applied ensemble species-distribution modeling (SDM) to evaluate the future niche availability of P. cruda in Italy under two greenhouse gas-emission scenarios and two time periods (2050 and 2090). Projections under the intermediate emission scenario (SSP2-4.5) indicate a habitat loss ranging from −24.1% to −46.7%, whereas predictions under the very high emission of greenhouse gases (SSP5-8.5) suggest even greater losses, between −28.1% and −59.9%. These findings point to a substantial reduction, fragmentation, and potential disappearance of suitable habitats for P. cruda in the coming decades. This study represents a pioneering application of bryophyte-distribution modeling for the territory of Italy and provides a foundation for integrating such approaches into conservation decisions aimed at preserving biodiversity.

In this contribution, new data concerning Algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the algal genus Nitella, for the bryophyte genera Anthoceros, Dicranodontium, Fontinalis, and Riccia, the fungal genera Inocybe and Xerophorus, and the lichen genera Bagliettoa, Biatora, Calicium, Cladonia, Coniocarpon, Lecanora, Opegrapha, Placynthium, Rhizocarpon, Scytinium, Solenopsora, Stereocaulon, and Verrucaria.

A phytosociological analysis of the plant communities in high-altitude volcanic caves of Mount Etna (Sicily), based on literature data and unpublished relevés, is presented. A total of 147 phytosociological relevés were processed and analyzed using classification and ordination methods. Classification of the relevés, supported by ordination, showed two main vegetation groups: the first one includes communities of the Pohlion crudae alliance, and the other includes the vegetation from the Pohlio crudae–Asplenion septentrionalis alliance. Furthermore, two new communities, Pohlio crudae–Cystopteridetum dickieanae subass. amphidietosum mougeotii and Pohlio crudae–Cystopteridetum dickieanae subass. polystichetosum lonchitis, are proposed for Etna. The high-altitude caves can be considered a refuge for these ptero-bryophytic rare communities.