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Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology: Official Journal of the Click for updates Societa Botanica Italiana Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tplb20 Under the shadow of a big plane tree: Why Platanus orientalis should be considered an archaeophyte in L. Rosatia, A. Masib, M. Giardinib & M. Marignanic a Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi della , Potenza, Italy b Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Roma, Italy c Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, Macrosezione Botanica ed Orto Botanico, Università di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy Published online: 22 Jan 2015.

To cite this article: L. Rosati, A. Masi, M. Giardini & M. Marignani (2015): Under the shadow of a big plane tree: Why Platanus orientalis should be considered an archaeophyte in Italy, Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology: Official Journal of the Societa Botanica Italiana, DOI: 10.1080/11263504.2014.998312 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2014.998312

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Under the shadow of a big plane tree: Why Platanus orientalis should be considered an archaeophyte in Italy

L. ROSATI1, A. MASI2, M. GIARDINI2, & M. MARIGNANI3

1Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Universita` degli Studi della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy; 2Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Universita` di Roma “La Sapienza”, Roma, Italy and 3Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Macrosezione Botanica ed Orto Botanico, Universita` di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

Abstract In Italy, Platanus orientalis L. is judged as an endangered species by some authors and non-native by others: these contrasting assessments can mislead the prioritization of management actions to preserve the species and the riparian vegetation that is its host. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, including palaeobotanical and ecological information, we assessed its status in Italy including the ecological and conservation value of the riparian plant communities hosting it in the National Park (S-Italy). Palaeobotanical data showed that P. orientalis in Italy should be considered an archaeophyte. According to the ecological assessment of the riparian plant communities hosting P.orientalis, the presence of the species can be interpreted as an indicator of an unfavourable state for the conservation of riparian vegetation. Knowing the status of a species remains one of the first steps to take to correctly propose scientifically based solutions for the conservation of plant diversity. However, there are no absolute criteria for conservation because all conservation objectives can be considered as cultural values. In this context, P. orientalis should be protected as a symbolic tree, an archaeophyte testifying an ancient common Mediterranean cultural heritage, worthy of preservation but outside of natural habitats.

Keywords: Habitats Directive, naturalness, palaeobotany, riparian vegetation

Introduction considered native in the southern regions (Cam- pania, Calabria, Apulia and Sicily) and alien in all the At present, Platanaceae is a small family showing a other regions. In the inventory of Italian non-native relict distribution in the warm-temperate zone of the flora (Celesti et al. 2009), the species is not listed, Northern Hemisphere, with only one genus and

Downloaded by [151.24.120.115] at 12:50 30 January 2015 confirming that it is appraised as an indigenous seven species (Friis et al. 2011). All the taxa are element and not as an archaeophyte. In addition, in wind-pollinated and wind-dispersed. Italy, it is considered as a species of conservation In the Northern Hemisphere, fossils are conspic- concern and reported as “Endangered” in the recent uous in several Mid and Late Cretaceous sediments National Red list (Rossi et al. 2014). and, until the Early Cenozoic, the family was much To confirm the importance given to this species at more diverse displaying highly distinct morphologies the European level, the habitat hosting P. orientalis in vegetative and reproductive organs (Tschan et al. has been inserted in the Habitats Directive (92C0 2008; Friis et al. 2011). Platanus orientalis and Liquidambar orientalis woods) Platanus orientalis L. (plane tree), a SE European and a specific subtype has been recognized in Italy and SW Asiatic floristic element of warm riparian (44.713 – Sicilian plane tree canyons), characterized forests, is the only species of Platanaceae which by either relict P. orientalis-dominated or P. orientalis- survived in the Old World (e.g. Tutin et al. 1993; rich galleries. More recently, in the Italian Manual Zhiyun et al. 2003). In Italy, at the westernmost limit for habitat interpretation (Biondi et al. 2009), the of its distribution (Conti et al. 2005; Peruzzi & habitat is reported to be in Calabria and ; Uzunov 2007; Caruso et al. 2008), P. orientalis is moreover, the habitat has been proposed as being of

Correspondence: A. MASI, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Universita` di Roma “La Sapienza”, Roma, Italy. Tel: 39 06 49912402. Email: alessia. þ [email protected]

q 2015 Societa` Botanica Italiana 2 L. Rosati et al.

special interest due to the risk of extinction by of P. orientalis in Italy using a multidisciplinary anthropogenic pressure. approach based on palaeobotanical data which is one Nevertheless, the Global IUCN Red list of of the most reliable method for determining the assessment does not list P. orientalis as indigenous native status of a species in a given location (Decocq to Italy (World Conservation Monitoring Centre et al. 2004; Preston et al. 2004; van Leeuwen et al. 1998) and several authors in the past have pointed 2005; Froyd & Willis 2008). out that the species is doubtfully native to Europe, The aims of the paper are to understand: (i) outside of Eastern Mediterranean regions (e.g. whether P. orientalis has to be considered a native Marchi et al. 2013). species in southern Italy; and (ii) the ecological and In the Mediterranean area, the presence of conservational value of the riparian plant commu- P. orientalis is linked not only to ecological and nities hosting P. orientalis, in order to discuss the phytogeographical issues but also to an ancient rationale for conserving non-native species and the human interest, as attested by classical historical plant communities in which they live. sources of Greek and Roman literature. For example, The contrasting evaluation of the status of the in Crete the plane tree was related to the Great species in Italy, being judged as an endangered Mother’s cult and to the myth of Europe (Theo- species by some authors and non-native by others, phrastus, Historia plantarum, I 9, 5); in Lidia (East can lead to a different evaluation of the conserva- Turkey) it was a holy tree (Herodotus, Historiae 7, tional value of the relative riparian habitats and 31); in the Iliad it has a prophetic role (Iliad II, 307). consequently can influence the prioritization of Moreover, Greek authors often mention the plane management actions. Indeed, in the framework of tree as a hallowed tree for its pleasant shadow (e.g. conservation biology, it is considered crucial to the Aesop’s fable “The Travellers and the Plane- furnish appropriate scientific information to the Tree”). Plato describes the tree along the Ilisso River managers of protected areas so that they may (near Athens), under which Phaedrus leads Socrates efficiently allocate the scarce resources for conserva- to discuss an essay (Phaedrus 229–230), thus tion and habitat restoration. inventing the prototype of the philosophical scene for the following centuries (Roselli 2012). Athenian philosophers, writers and artists loved to talk under Material and methods the plane trees along the walk of the Academy (Pliny Study area the Elder, Naturalis Historia 12, 9). Roman authors (e.g. Ovid, Virgil, Martial, Pliny The Cilento National Park (Campania) is one of the the Elder, Cicero and Petronius) appreciated this widest Italian National Parks, with an area of tree for the useful shade provided in gardens but also 178,172 ha. Altitudes range from sea level to Mt. venerated it as a sort of “genius loci” (Curbera & (1898 m). Two bioclimatic zones are present: Galaz 1995). Martial (9.61) reported that Caesar the Mediterranean along the coast and hills, and the planted a plane tree in Corduba (), imitating Temperate zones prevailing in the mountain and Agamemnon and Menelaus when they planted some inner areas. Precipitation varies from 730 to 1700 mm year21, depending on altitude, with a

Downloaded by [151.24.120.115] at 12:50 30 January 2015 plane trees before leaving for Troy. After Caesar’s death, the tree was worshipped, which explains the peak in winter and a period of aridity in summer. watering with wine described by Martial and also Limestone and silicoclastic substrata of “Flysch of reported by others as Macrobio (Saturnalia 3.13), the Cilento” dominate, in the latter the main river Ovidio (Remedia amoris 141) and Pliny the Elder basins (Alento, Calore, Mingardo and Bussento) are (Naturalis Historia 12, 6). Interestingly, Pliny the established. Olive orchards and sclerophyllous Elder reported that plane tree was introduced in Italy Mediterranean vegetation prevail along the coast, from a foreign country only for its shade: the tree whereas forest landscapes dominate in the inner area arrived across the Ionian Sea, around 390 BC, at first (mainly represented by Quercus cerris or Fagus in the Tremiti islands at the tomb of Diomedes, then sylvatica woods) with a non-negligible amount of imported to Sicily by Dionysius the Elder (432–367 riparian forest dominated by Salix alba, Populus nigra, BC), tyrant of Syracuse (Naturalis Historia 12, 3–7) P.alba and Alnus glutinosa. Detailed analyses of forest and in the city of Rhegion (, Italy). vegetation can be found in Corbetta et al. (2004), Later, the plane tree has been spread to present-day Rosati et al. (2010) and Fascetti et al. (2013). , where it was subjected to taxation, so that Pliny sarcastically observes that people had to pay a Palaeobotanical data fee for the shadow too. Within this controversial phytogeographical and Among the data concerning the presence of Platanus cultural framework, we considered it was important in Europe in the past, the focus is on the presence of for biological conservation to disentangle the status and past distribution of P.orientalis in the Mediterra- Under the shadow of a big plane tree 3

nean basin and in Italy (e.g. Bertini & Martinetto IN (C R)–(A N) that can be considered as 2008; Tschan et al. 2008; Moser et al. 2013). We also an¼ indexþ of naturalness.þ Differences among main used The European Pollen Database (www. types of riparian forest communities were tested by europeanpollendatabase.net)tochecksporadic means of ANOVA and Tukey contrasts. plane pollen.

Results Current species and habitat distribution in Campania Palaeobotanical data: An overview of the past presence of To describe qualitative and quantitative features of Platanus in Europe P. orientalis vegetation in the Cilento region, we referred to a large database regarding the vegetation The Platanaceae family has an excellent fossil record of Cilento National Park (Rosati et al. 2012) that dating back to the Early Cretaceous in Europe. The contains approximately 2300 phytosociological most ancient Platanus fossils (leaf and reproductive releve`s that are now migrating to the on-line database structure) were discovered in (Tschan VEGITALY (Gigante et al. 2012). Current et al. 2008). Macrofossils belonging to several species P. orientalis distribution in Cilento National Park of Platanus were found in the Tertiary of several was inferred from data collected for the project European countries, e.g. P. n e p t u n i from the “Riparian vegetation analyses and mapping” Palaeocene/Eocene of Scotland, from Eocene of (Lapenna et al. 2014), funded by Cilento National Germany and Czech Republic and from the Park. Habitats were identified according to the Oligocene of Germany (Kvacˇek 2010), Serbia Italian Manual for habitat interpretation (Biondi (Djordjevic´-Milutinovic´ & Dulic´ 2009) and Greece et al. 2009). The taxonomic nomenclature follows (Velitzelos & Gregor 1990; Velitzelos et al. 2014); Conti et al. (2005); alien taxa status (except P. schimperi from the Palaeocene of and P.orientalis) refers to Celesti et al. (2009); attribution England (Kvacˇek 2010); P. leucophylla from upper of species to syntaxa and vegetation classification are Miocene and Pliocene of Italy (Martinetto et al. according to Rivas-Martı`nez et al. (2002) and more 2007; Bertini & Martinetto 2008) and Greece recent specific literature (e.g. Poldini et al. 2011). (Velitzelos et al. 2014); and P. academiae from upper Miocene and Pliocene of Greece (Velitzelos et al. 2014). Data analyses In the Pleistocene, once the glacial/interglacial Limited to actual habitat and species distribution of cycles became established, thermophilous taxa, very Cilento National Park, we evaluated the conserva- sensitive to abrupt temperature decreases, appear tional value of P. orientalis stands compared to the only in the warm interglacial and interstadial periods, other riparian vegetation forests found in the Cilento showing a discontinuous record in central Europe. region. This data-set was stratified according to land In the Mediterranean Europe, various thermophilous units, identified using an ecological land classifi- taxa still occurred in the Upper Pleistocene. In the cation approach (Blasi et al. 2000). Vegetation Iberian Peninsula (Postigo Mijarra et al. 2007, 2008,

Downloaded by [151.24.120.115] at 12:50 30 January 2015 classification of riparian forests was performed 2010), for example, an important group of taxa using the modified divisive method TWINSPAN; including Castanea, Carpinus, Celtis, Fagus, Juglans we set four pseudo-species cut levels (0%, 5%, 25% and Platanus was found, persisting throughout the and 50%) and total inertia as measures of whole Quaternary, resisting the cold and dry climates heterogeneity. The analyses were implemented in of the Lower and Middle Pleistocene. Pollen of JUICE 7.0 (Tichy´ 2002). Platanus, in particular, disappeared only in very To assess the ecological and conservational value recent times reaching, residually, the Holocene. of the riparian plant communities hosting In France, plane pollen was found only sporadically P. orientalis, we calculated at plot level and at in small quantities in either Pliocene or Early community level six indicators: species richness, Pleistocene sediments (Gauthier 1992;Argant number of species of conservation concern (C), 2004). Sporadic grains of plane tree were found number of alien species (A), number of riparian also in three marine cores in the sediments of the forest species (R), number of nitrophilous/ruderal Upper Pleistocene and the first part of the Holocene species (N) and evenness. The use of these indicators of the Gulf of Lions (Beaudouin et al. 2005). complies with the approach used for the ecological In Greece, the presence of plane tree is seen since and environmental evaluation of habitat quality in the Oligocene with Platanus neptuni in Evros (NE the framework of Natura 2000 network (e.g. Poldini Greece; Velitzelos, Kvacˇek, et al. 2002). Some et al. 2007; Aguiar & Ferreira 2013). To sum up the species of Platanus dating back to the Upper Miocene results in a single index, we used a combination of the were found in Macedonia/Thrace (N Greece) and on indicators, according to the following formula Island of Corfu. Platanus was also found in several 4 L. Rosati et al.

sites of Pliocene age (Velitzelos & Gregor 1990). Its been found in the Pleistocene sequences of central presence was confirmed by the finding, on the Island Italy, while in southern Italy the presence of plane of Rhodes, of Pleistocene macrofossils attributed to pollen seems to have been reported only in the Early Platanus lineariloba (syn. P. academiae, Velitzelos, Pleistocene sites of Saticula (Sant’Agata de’ Goti, Teodoridis, et al. 2002, 2014)andofMiddle ; Russo Ermolli et al. 2010) and Semaforo Pleistocene pollen in the Tsampika pollen record section (Crotone; Combourieu-Nebout 1995). The (Kouli, pers. comm.). plane pollen does not appear in the pollen sequences In Italy Platanus leucophylla (Unger), Knobloch of the Middle Pleistocene of Italy, even in the leaves occur frequently in the Messinian evaporits sequences from the regions where plane trees (Martinetto et al. 2007; Bertini & Martinetto 2008). currently live (Figure 1). For the Upper Pleistocene, This taxon is always accompanied by the same its presence is indicated by Renault-Miskovsky et al. deciduous (e.g. Acer, Alnus, Fagus, Liquidambar, (1984) in Northern Italy (Liguria and Veneto). Populus, Pterocarya, Quercus, Salix and Zelkova) and Pollen grains of Platanus were never recorded in evergreen (e.g. Lauraceae, Engelhardia, Smilax and the Holocene records of Basilicata (Mercuri et al. Trigonobalanopsis) broad-leaved taxa associated with 2010;Florenzano&Mercuri2012), Calabria several conifers (Tetraclinis, Taxodium, Sequoia and (Canolo Nuovo, Schneider 1985; Lago di Trifo- Pinus). Regarding the Messinian age, pollen ascribed glietti, Joannin et al. 2012) and Sicily (Lago Preola, to Platanus was frequently found in Italian sediments Calo` et al. 2012; Gorgo Basso, Tinner et al. 2009; (Ghetti et al. 2002; Bertini 2006). It was also frequent Lago di Pergusa, Sadori & Narcisi 2001, Sadori et al. in Pliocene sediments, for example, at Stirone in 2008, 2013; Biviere di Gela, Noti et al. 2009). The Northern Apennines (Bertini 2001), at Poggio Rosso origin of some sporadic founds in Middle Bronze age in the Upper Valdarno basin (Bertini et al. 2010) and sites in Northern Italy is under investigation because at Fosso Bianco in the Tiberino Basin (Pontini & the plane pollen may be attributable to long-distance Bertini 2000). Surprisingly, Pleistocene fossils of transport (Mercuri in verbis). Platanus are very rare. No traces of plane pollen have Downloaded by [151.24.120.115] at 12:50 30 January 2015

Figure 1. Current distribution of P. orientalis in Italy and its presence/absence in palaeobotanical records (pollen and macroremains). Main Greek colonies in the study area are shown. Under the shadow of a big plane tree 5

The only recent finds are of Roman age, with P. orientalis, we artificially separated two types of findings in Campania concentrated in the area of forests: P.orientalis riparian forests, where the species . Many historical sites show the sporadic but is present but not dominant, and P. orientalis- quite continuous presence of Platanus. At the Greco- dominated riparian forests, where the species cover Roman harbour of Neapolis (Russo Ermolli et al. is more than 50%. 2014), rare plane pollen has been found since the 1st The comparison of indices shows that P.orientalis century BC. The sediments of Lago d’Averno record stands have the lower number of characteristic an important expansion of plane in the Roman age, species of riparian forests and the higher number of present, even if sporadic, until 8th century AD aliens, nitrophilous and ruderal species. They also (Gru¨ger & Thulin 1998; Gru¨ger et al. 2002). All have the lower mean values of richness and evenness other finds are from the Vesuvian area, from sites (Table I). Salix alba–Populus nigra community (S) destroyed by the eruption of 79 AD. Charcoals of showed the lowest number of species of conserva- P. orientalis have been recently found by Moser et al. tional concern. (2013) in the soil of the northern garden of the Villa There is a trend of decreasing ecological of Poppea at where, previously, Jashemski conservation values from montane Alnus glutinosa (1979) had found root cavities, while pollen has often community (A) to Salix alba vegetation (S): the index been found in the gardens of the Vesuvian Roman of naturalness synthesizes it, showing that P.orientalis villas (Mariotti Lippi & Mori Secci 1997; Mariotti stands have a lower value compared to the others Lippi 2000; Mariotti Lippi & Bellini 2006). communities, except for Salix alba stands. Moreover, The available data from sites covering the Roman the P.orientalis-dominated stands show a lower value, age, in sites located north of Naples, did not report suggesting that the more the P. orientalis, the worse plane remains (e.g. Mercuri et al. 2002, 2013). the ecological value of the stand (Figure 2). In particular, the Roman harbours of and Pisa, However, based on the results of ANOVA and investigated under the archaeobotanical point of Tukey test, only a few pairwise comparisons were view, did not provide any trace of Platanus (Mariotti statistically significant (Table I): the amount of alien Lippi et al. 2007; Sadori et al. 2010, 2014; Pepe et al. species is higher in P. orientalis stands than in any 2013; Goiran et al. 2014). other riparian community.

The ecological value of the riparian plant communities hosting P. orientalis in Cilento region Discussion and conclusions Among 87 selected releve´sofriparianforest Palaeobotanical data indicate that different species of vegetation in the Cilento database, we found 10 Platanus were present in Europe, relatively wide- releve´s with P.orientalis, surveyed from 1999 to 2011: spread in the Pliocene and Pleistocene records of the distribution of these stands is limited to two river central Europe, Greece, France and Italy. These tributaries of the Alento River (Badolato and populations persisted in Spain and France until the Palistro) close to the Greek colonies of Elea early Holocene.

Downloaded by [151.24.120.115] at 12:50 30 January 2015 (Figure 1). Pollen records of the Near East and Balkan In the same land unit and river morphology regions show, instead, in recent times, a spreading of where P. orientalis is present, vegetation classification Platanus from Near East to Greece. In fact, in the of riparian forests identified three main types: Salix former Lake Hula (Israel), Platanus pollen is alba–Populus nigra community (cf. Rubo ulmifolii– observed during the last glacial period, dating back Salicetum albae Allegrezza et al. 2006), lowland Alnus 20,000 years BP (van Zeist et al. 2009). At Lake Van, glutinosa community (Hyperico hircini–Alnetum gluti- in Turkey, traces of plane trees are found dating back nosae Gafta & Pedrotti 1995) and montane Alnus about 12,500 years BP (Wick et al. 2003), while the glutinosa community (Euphorbio corallioidis–Alnetum oldest macroremains, dated back to at about glutinosae Barbagallo et al. 1982). 9300 cal. BP, are from the Neolithic site of According to this vegetation classification, a C¸atalho¨yuk East (Asouti & Hather 2001). specific P. orientalis type of riparian vegetation based In Greece, after having disappeared hundreds of on floristic composition was not identified: most of thousands of years before the Middle Pleistocene, P. orientalis stands are interspersed within the cluster plane tree pollen is present in the pollen diagrams of lowland Alnus glutinosa riparian forests (Hyperico since about 8000 BP, becoming very common since hircini–Alnetum glutinosae). This is in contrast with about 4500 BP. The late Holocene spread of Platanus Corbetta et al. (2004) that recognized a specific in Greece and in its islands has been interpreted as an community for P. orientalis stands of Cilento (Petasiti effect of human action (Bottema & Sarpaky 2003), hybridi–Platanetum orientalis). Hence, to allow a which is in agreement with classical literature comparison of the riparian communities hosting sources. 6 L. Rosati et al.

Table I. Number of species and diversity indexes of riparian vegetation in Cilento region.

Vegetation types

Overall P. orientalis Cilento Montane Lowland P. orientalis dominated riparian A. glutinosa A. glutinosa riparian riparian Salix alba forests forests (A) forests (H) forests (P) forests (Pd) forests (S)

Number of plots 87 44 25 6 4 8 Species of conservation concern Mean 1.74 a 2.63 b 1.04 a 1.00 ab 0.50 ab 0.25 a SD 1.64 1.68 1.09 0.63 1.00 0.46 Species typical of riparian forests Mean 16.13 a 20.93 c 11.2 b 15.33 abc 8.25 ab 9.75 ab SD 7.31 4.61 6.73 5.12 4.99 5.20 Nitrophilous/ruderal species Mean 3.44 a 2.93 a 3.24 a 6.17 a 3.25 a 4.87 a SD 3.35 1.97 3.14 4.58 4.03 6.93 Alien species Mean 0.72 ab 0.34 a 0.60 ab 2.83 c 0.25 ab 1.87 bc SD 1.45 0.60 1.00 3.19 0.50 2.53 Richness Mean 34.06 a 38.18 a 29.96 a 37.00 a 21.50 a 24.87 a SD 13.46 8.29 13.99 18.60 13.89 20.21 Evenness Mean 0.73 a 0.74 a 0.69 b 0.76 a 0.71 ab 0.76 a SD 0.06 0.03 0.07 0.04 0.01 0.09 Index of naturalness Mean 13.72 a 20.29 c 8.40 b 7.33 ab 5.25 ab 3.25 b SD 8.86 5.53 5.81 6.83 2.75 7

Notes: The lowest value for each index is shown in bold. Letters (a, b, c) show the differences in pairwise tests in ANOVA analyses.

The palaeobotanical data show the common suggested also by representations on wall paintings presence of Platanus in Southern Italy only since the and mosaics (Jashemski et al. 2002), by leaf Roman period, confirming its introduction for impressions (in Stabiae, Jashemski 1979), by pollen ornamental use as reported by Pliny the Elder, (Vesuvian area, e.g. Mariotti Lippi & Bellini 2006) Downloaded by [151.24.120.115] at 12:50 30 January 2015

Figure 2. Box plot of the index of naturalness of main riparian plant communities of Cilento National Park. A: Montane A. glutinosa forests; H: Lowland A. glutinosa forests; P: P. orientalis riparian forests; Pd: P. orientalis-dominated riparian forests; S: S. alba forests. Under the shadow of a big plane tree 7

and by charcoals and root cavities (Oplontis, Moser coenoses the lowland riparian Alnus glutinosa com- et al. 2013). munity (Hyperico hircini–Alnetum glutinosae) that has Furthermore, the striking coincidence between to be considered as the Potential Natural Vegetation the present distribution sites of plane trees and the (sensu Farris et al. 2010) of this habitat, and not the locations of some cities of Magna Grecia (e.g. Elea- P. orientalis stands. Paradoxically, P. orientalis seems in Campania; Megara Hiblea, Siracusai, Naxos to have none of the claimed features that are required in Sicily; Kroton, Scolacium, Caulonia in Calabria; to be considered as important for conservation, apart Figure 1) suggests an introduction in these sites, from being rare and having a scatter distribution in dating back to the Greek colonization of Southern the Italian territory. Italy. This fact is supported by Pliny the Elder There are no absolute criteria for conservation reporting that Dionysius the Elder imported the because all conservation objectives can be considered plane tree for the marvel of his palace in Rhegion as cultural values (Froyd & Willis 2008). The (Reggio Calabria). In Cilento, the current presence archaeophytes are a particularly fascinating group of P. orientalis is limited to two rivers, Badolato and as they constitute “cultural relics”, so in discussing Palistro, close to the Greek colonies of Elea-Velia, the meaning of their conservation, we might consider which was the home of the pre-Socratic school of a species’ historical value as a reason for its philosophers founded by Parmenides. preservation. In this conceptual framework, The genus Platanus, being wind-pollinated and P. orientalis should be protected as a symbolic tree, wind-dispersed, complies with the precondition for a vestige of a common Mediterranean cultural the assessment of a native or introduced status of a heritage connecting the ancient cult of the Eastern species, i.e. it produces sufficient and identifiable Mediterranean people with the sophisticated paint- fossils (such as pollen and fruits; van Leeuwen et al. ings in the Roman villas in Pompei. Accordingly, it 2005). However, it should be noted that all the should be cultivated in botanical gardens or used for Southern Italy sites, where palynological investi- ornamental purposes in archaeological sites, not in gation are available, are far away from the areas natural habitats. where Platanus is present today and they do not This study proves that a multidisciplinary coincide with Greek and/or Roman settlements. The approach combining phytosociological, ecological, absence of plane pollen could indicate that this phytogeographical, palaeobotanical and historical pollen is rare but not surely absent because sporadic data could help to disentangle conservation ques- presence is usually not reported in pollen diagrams tions (Willis & Birks 2006; Froyd & Willis 2008), like for brevity. However, the scant presence of some the status of a species, whether they are native or pollen may be attributable to some long-distance introduced (Decocq et al. 2004; Preston et al. 2004; transport and not to the local plant presence van Leeuwen et al. 2005). (Mercuri in press). It is true that to efficiently set conservation goals In the Italian territory, P. orientalis, as shown in we should focus on the role and ecological function palaeobotanical data and historical sources, should of the species rather than their origin (Davis et al. be considered a non-invasive archaeophyte, in 2011), but the correct determination of the status of

Downloaded by [151.24.120.115] at 12:50 30 January 2015 opposition to recent National assessments (Celesti a species remains one of the first steps to correctly et al. 2009; Rossi et al. 2014). propose scientifically based solutions for the con- According to our results on the ecological value of servation of plant diversity. the riparian plant communities hosting P.orientalis in Cilento, the presence of the species can be interpreted as an indicator of unfavourable state of Acknowledgements conservation of riparian vegetation. The plant M. Leo improved the English in the manuscript. community hosting it seemed to be closer, in terms of composition and naturalness, to the Salix alba stands that can be found in highly disturbed areas, Funding where the anthropic pressure is higher. Salix alba communities are generally considered to be among Data gathering on riparian vegetation was supported the most altered habitats due to human pressures and by the Cilento National Park under the project vulnerable to colonization by alien species (e.g. “Riparian vegetation analyses and mapping”. Aguiar & Ferreira 2013). This is particularly important for the practical consequences it implies: local managers need to be informed so that they may References decide where and how to invest funds. In Cilento Allegrezza M, Biondi E, Felici S. 2006. A phytosociological National Park, for the ecological restoration of analysis of the vegetation of the central sector of the Adriatic riparian habitats, we should use as reference aspect of the italian peninsula. Hacquetia 5: 135–175. 8 L. Rosati et al.

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