Species and Functional Composition of some Abandoned Fields in the Northern Apennines (Italy). A Detailed Overview with particular Reference to the Habitat 6210 in the EU 92/43 Directive

Abandoned croplands can be considered a new category of “scattered elements” of mountain landscapes. To gain deeper understanding of the conservation status (sensu EEC Directive 92/43) of abandoned cropland in the northern Apennines, we coupled the concepts of the social behavior type (SBT) and the functional assessment of plant communities. SBTs refer to behaviour and ecological attributes of species at a given observation level and allow the understanding of the plant community conservation status, while the functional approach may help in predicting changes of species composition along disturbance and stress gradients. We found that topographic and soil conditions drive the species assemblage in pastures after crop abandonment, but long-term abandonment does not lead per se to the recovery of the semi-natural grassland communities deemed worthy of conservation in the EEC Directive. It was mainly due to the lack of appropriate disturbance regimes that allows the spread of dominant tall herbs, which, in turn, reduces the site suitability for subordinate plants. Moreover, their spread fosters the presence of elements such as ruderals and fringe species. We conclude that, these abandoned croplands have a good potential to develop into Habitat of EU Directive but without appropriate management plans they will remain of low representativeness.