DISTRIBUZIONE STORICA E ATTUALE DELLE SPECIE DEL GENERE JUNIPERUS (Cupressaceae) IN SICILIA

Abstract

The distribution of the three juniper species occurring in Sicily, namely Juniperus communis, J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa and J. turbinata, was updated. The setup of a critical inventory of the vernacular plant names referring to these species has also allowed to carry out a systematic search for place names reported on ancient and recent cartographic documents and to identify other coastal juniper populations neglected by botanists or certainly extinct. This paper points out the probable extinction of several stands of J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa and J. turbinata, reported in the literature or documented by herbarium specimens. Sporadic references made in the past two centuries to the presence of J. sabina L. in Sicily and of J. communis on the Nebrodi and Erei Mountains have not been confirmed by the surveys carried out over the past decades. Finally, several occurrence and demographic data are presented concerning several unpublished or poorly known nuclei of J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa and J. turbinata; some of them have been recently discovered, such as the one near Rasocolmo on the northeastern coast of Sicily, while others, documented by herbarium specimens or already reported in old publications, had been neglected by the most recent botanical literature devoted to these conifers. Numerous field surveys enabled the authors to provide updated and detailed information on the current distribution of J. communis on Mount Etna and of J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa and J. turbinata in the coastal and hillside areas of the provinces of Caltanissetta and Ragusa, previously available information on these areas being generic, dated and fragmentary. Moreover, some populations of J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa found along the sandy beaches of the Agrigento and Ragusa areas probably derive from the widespread use of this species in the reforestations carried out during the last century on the dune systems once widespread along the coast of the Strait of Sicily. All the traditional local uses of the different juniper species are reported, too. Focusing on the Sicilian territory, thanks to its interdisciplinary approach and the effort to provide a spatial-temporal perspective as complete as possible, this work may represent a replicable model for conducting similar research, aimed at reconstructing the past and potential distribution of other forest species, in order to better direct future reforestation interventions and the restoration of native vegetation on a regional scale.