Acacia saligna: an invasive species on the coast of Molise (southern Italy)

Abstract

Italy is one of the European countries most affected by biological invasions. In this study, we focused on the impact of Acacia saligna, an Australian invasive plant species, on the coastal ecosystem’s ecology and biodiversity along the sandy coasts of Molise (southern Italy). We analyzed data from 61 vegetation plots recorded in coastal pine forest and Mediterranean scrub habitats of Molise throughout the preparatory actions of the “LIFE Maestrale” project (NAT/IT/000262). In order to study the ecological impact of Acacia saligna comparing invaded and non-invaded areas, we first assigned the Ellenberg’s indicator values to each plant species, which were then used to relate the presence of Acacia saligna with ecological characteristics of sites through a generalized linear model (GLM). Our results showed a significant positive relationship between the presence of Acacia saligna and high levels of soil nutrients and, on the contrary, a negative relationship with the presence of mesophilic species, which are typical of the community interest habitats of pine forest (2270*). The use of ecological indicators is effective to pinpoint the ecological effects of biological invasions, as well as to evaluate habitat conservation state and to identify vulnerable native species.

Keywords

• Alien Species
• Acacia Saligna
• EC Priority Habitat
• Nitrophilous Species
• Molise