Tackling the Sicilian woody vegetation as a case-study, this work aims to verify the correspondence between Rivas-Martínez's bioclimatic units and the main vegetation series in the Mediterranean region. Following this approach, one macrobioclimate and 25 bioclimatic type belts can be recognized in Sicily. By means of a geostatistical analysis based on WorldClim data sets, cartographic models of the distribution range of each single bioclimatic unit were obtained and combined with vegetation data, in order to develop a new regional spatial framework, integrating climatic and vegetation data. Fidelity of each vegetation unit to a given climatic range was then evaluated as percent distribution of the occupied surface within a given bioclimatic unit, while the predictive power of the WorldClim data sets was tested by using half of the spatial data of the processed vegetation units as independent variables. Our results suggest that: (1) any kind of numerical threshold used to define bioclimatic units is not effective a priori, but only after it has been adjusted to the territory and to the spatial scale used to set the model; (2) bioclimatic indices being an empirical tool, the model can be trained and eventually adjusted when applied to different territories; (3) fidelity of vegetation units to a given bioclimatic unit is highly variable; (4) the mechanistic pitfall that climatophilous vegetation has to be necessarily linked to a single bioclimatic unit should be avoided

Monumental olive trees, with their longevity and their remarkable size, represent an important information source for the comprehension of the territory where they grow and the human societies that have kept them through time. Across the centuries, olive trees are the only cultivated plants that tell the story of Mediterranean landscapes. The same as stone monuments, these green monuments represent a real Mediterranean natural and cultural heritage. The aim of this paper is to discuss the value of monumental trees as “biocultural heritage” elements and the role they play in the interpretation of the historical stratification of the landscape. We present the results of a survey of the most significant olive trees growing in Sicily. The selection was based on the “monumentality” aspects of trees, taking into account dendrometric parameters and environmental contexts. The collected dataset constitutes a heterogeneous sample of 367 specimens of considerable size that, in some cases, reach a circumference of about 19 m. Starting from the data presented here, the whole Sicilian territory shows a historical relationship between human and olive. The presence of these plant monuments is, therefore, evidence of long-term, often centennial, landscapes as a result of sustainable use of the territory.

Flavescence dorée (FD) is one of the most widely known grapevine yellows disease and one of the most unabated worldwide in the viticulture sector. In this paper, we outline a strategy for developing an integrated system of technologies to enable rapid, early disease FD detection and diagnosis. We propose the deployment of a newly developed sensor device, the differential mobility spectrometer (DMS), which has shown positive results with a similar vector-borne disease in Citrus. We have previously demonstrated that the gas chromatograph DMS (GC/DMS) can distinguish various citrus diseases, and the system may also allow detection of volatile organic compound (VOC) signals from a tree of other plant systems of unknown health status. This would be achieved by comparing it with the expected VOC profile analysis of healthy or infected trees for health status determination. We can map regions in the GC/DMS signal to gas chromatography mass spectrometry data, thus allowing for deconvolution of specific GC/DMS signatures. We showed that RNA-seq will allow identifying genes involved in volatile pathways (terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, and mevalonate pathways) and could be used to guide the DMS use for the discovery of new biomarkers.

In this study pollen grains of 13 cultivars and 3 rootstocks belonging to 5 species (P. armeniaca, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. persica, P. avium) of the genus Prunus collected from North-East Sicily were examined for the micromorphological characterization through the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The length of polar axis (P) and the equatorial diameter (E) of grain, P/E ratio, the length of colpi (C), diameter of perforations (DP) and the number of perforations in 25 μm2 (PN), the width of muri (WM), the distance between muri (DM) and their number in 25 μm2 (MN), the width of grooves (WG) were measured and their variation was compared among studied taxa. Moreover multivariate statistical analysis was carried out to distinguish morphometric information from measured parameters. All pollen grains are trizonocolpate, isopolar, medium-large sized and their shape varies from prolate to perprolate. Regarding outline pollen grains are subtriangular in polar view and elliptic in equatorial view. Exine sculpturing is striate with perforations on grain surface. The arrangement of ridges appears roughly parallel but too sloped (sometimes curved) compared to polar axis, or branched and oriented in different directions, or perfectly parallel or more irregular with bifurcated ridges often sinuous. The analyses showed a great variability (particularly in P. domestica cultivars) related in some cases to the diversity in the morphological features of the leaves and the fruits of the investigated entities.

Plant communities are complex and dynamic elements of the landscape, intertwined with both natural factors and human activities. Vegetation series reflect the environmental characteristics of the landscape, but also the anthropic impact, one of the exogenous forces that most profoundly affects the landscape formation process. This paper aims to investigate the interactions between long-term human settlement catchment areas and vegetation series. The case study area of the Sicani Mountains (Central-Western Sicily) proved to be an ideal place to perform GIS-based spatial analysis in order to compare a data set of rural archaeological sites and land units created through the mapping of vegetation series. The existence of a causal link between vegetation series and human settlement patterns allows us, as well as future researchers, to find new explanations for the formation of the multifaceted Mediterranean rural landscape.

Since 2015, the ongoing project “Harvesting Memories” has been focused on long-term landscape dynamics in Sicani Mountains (Western Sicily). Archaeological excavations in the case study site of Contrada Castro (Corleone) have investigated a settlement which was mainly occupied during the Early Middle Ages (late 8th–11th century AD). This paper aims to understand the historical suitability and sustainability of this area analysing the correlation between the current dynamics of plant communities and the historical use of woods detected by the archaeobotanical record. An integrated approach between phytosociology and archaeobotany has been applied. The vegetation series of the study area has been used as a model to understand the ecological meaning and spatial distribution of archaeobotanical data on charcoals from the Medieval layers of the Contrada Castro site. The intersection between the frequency data of the archaeobotanical record and the phytosociological analysis have confirmed the maintenance of the same plant communities during the last millennium due to the sustainable exploitation of wood resources. An integrated comparison between the structure and composition of current phytocoenoses with archaeobotanical data allowed us to confirm that this landscape is High Nature Value (HNV) farmland and to interpret the historical vegetation dynamics linked to the activities and economy of a rural community.