Segetal flora of Italy
Citation
Fanfarillo E, Latini M, Iberite M, Abbate G (2020). Segetal flora of Italy. Version 1.8. Laboratory of Systematic Botany and Floristics - Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/44yxfz accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-09-01.Description
The concept of “weed” is very subjective, as any plant that interferes with human activities can be considered a weed. Almost exclusively annual, weeds of arable land are called “agrestals” or “segetals” and were negatively affected, in Europe, by the intensification of agriculture. In recent years, many studies highlighted the ecological and agronomic benefits of these species in agricultural systems. In climates with a cold season, segetal plants can be divided in two main groups according to their phenology, following the one of the cultivated species: taxa of winter crops, like winter wheat, and taxa of summer crops, like maize. Segetal species of winter crops are mostly native or archaeophyte in Europe, and often strong specialist of their habitat. They also include several anecophytes, “homeless weeds” that evolved in the last 10,000 years under agricultural conditions and do not have a natural habitat. Weed species are selected and evolve according to their ability to mimic crop attributes as lifecycle and ecology and, then, to survive agricultural practices. Many segetal plants are crop wild relatives and consequently a potential source of genes to improve the features of crop species. Thus, the segetal flora of winter cereal crops is particularly valuable from a conservation and evolutionary perspective.
This dataset contributed to provide the first inventory of the segetal flora of Italian winter cereal crops and allied crop types, including flax and autumn-sown legumes (Fanfarillo et al. 2020). The entire database consists of over 30,000 records, derived from different sources: phytosociological and floristic relevés, local and regional floras, single floristic notes and, subordinately, herbarium samples. Here, we publish 24,676 occurrence data deriving from 1,240 relevés.
Sampling Description
Study Extent
The study aimed to create an inventory of all the vascular flora growing in Italian winter cereal crops and allied crop types. The data were collected from the whole Italian territory, in a temporal range spanning from 1946 to 2018.Sampling
The occurrence data were retrieved through extensive literature searches and intensive field samplings all across Italy. As regards literature, we used a habitat-based criterion for data selection, i.e. we collected only the records for taxa unambiguously reported to grow in winter cereals, flax and autumn-sown legumes.Quality Control
We excluded all the records with no information on the growing habitat or with only a generic reference to “fields” or “cultivated land”. All the records of taxa at the genus or higher level, doubtful identifications, nomenclatural ambiguities, and cultivated species were also removed.Method steps
- The occurrence data were georeferenced and the taxonomic nomenclature was updated according to current standards available for Italy.
Taxonomic Coverages
Geographic Coverages
Bibliographic Citations
- E. Fanfarillo, M. Latini, M. Iberite, G. Bonari, G. Nicolella, L. Rosati, G. Salerno & G. Abbate (2020): The segetal flora of winter cereals and allied crops in Italy: species inventory with chorological, structural and ecological features, Plant Biosystems - 10.1080/11263504.2020.1739164
Contacts
Emanuele Fanfarillooriginator
position: Research Fellow
Sapienza University of Rome
IT
email: emanuele.fanfarillo@uniroma1.it
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5742-737X
Marta Latini
originator
position: Research Fellow
Sapienza University of Rome
IT
email: latini.marta@gmail.com
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8576-3933
Mauro Iberite
originator
position: Researcher
Sapienza University of Rome
IT
email: mauro.iberite@uniroma1.it
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2771-2935
Giovanna Abbate
originator
position: Associate Professor
Sapienza University of Rome
IT
email: giovanna.abbate@uniroma1.it
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2876-6345
Marta Latini
metadata author
position: Research Fellow
Sapienza University of Rome
IT
email: latini.marta@gmail.com
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8576-3933
Emanuele Fanfarillo
metadata author
position: Research Fellow
Sapienza University of Rome
IT
email: emanuele.fanfarillo@uniroma1.it
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5742-737X
Marta Latini
administrative point of contact
position: Research Fellow
Sapienza University of Rome
IT
email: latini.marta@gmail.com
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8576-3933
Emanuele Fanfarillo
administrative point of contact
position: Research Fellow
Sapienza University of Rome
IT
email: emanuele.fanfarillo@uniroma1.it
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5742-737X