A peer-reviewed open-access journal Nature ConservationDemography, 22: 169–190 reproduction (2017) and genetics of the Italian population of Cistus laurifolius 169 doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.22.19809 RESEARCH ARTICLE http://natureconservation.pensoft.net Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation Conservation biology of the last Italian population of Cistus laurifolius (Cistaceae): demographic structure, reproductive success and population genetics Giovanni Astuti1, Francesco Roma-Marzio1, Marco D’Antraccoli1, Gianni Bedini1, Angelino Carta1, Federico Sebastiani2, Piero Bruschi3, Lorenzo Peruzzi1 1 Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy 2 IPSP, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Firenze, Italy 3 DISPAA, Università degli studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italy Corresponding author: Francesco Roma-Marzio (
[email protected]) Academic editor: M. Kleyer | Received 25 July 2017 | Accepted 29 September 2017 | Published 20 October 2017 http://zoobank.org/48F827B9-9250-47C4-91D8-61C4BDE6FEEB Citation: Astuti G, Roma-Marzio F, D’Antraccoli D, Bedini G, Carta A, Sebastiani F, Bruschi P, Peruzzi L (2017) Conservation biology of the last Italian population of Cistus laurifolius (Cistaceae): demographic structure, reproductive success and population genetics. Nature Conservation 22: 169–190. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.22.19809 Abstract Isolated populations are usually subject to low fitness and reduced genetic diversity, both of which may negatively affect their survival and adaptive potential. Hence, these issues cannot be neglected when plan- ning conservation actions for isolated populations. The Italian population of Cistus laurifolius subsp. lau- rifolius is extremely isolated. Furthermore, it is affected by fragmentation, being constituted by a single larger subpopulation, surrounded by three much smaller subpopulations, a few hundred metres to a few kilometres apart.