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iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry
IntroductionThe Mediterranean basin is one of the major plant diversity hotspots and among the richest in endemism over the world (Médail & Quézel 1999, Myers et al. 2000. In Europe, 80% of all endemic plants are Mediterranean species (Blondel & Aronson 1995, Fady-Welterlen 2005, and Mediterranean forests are exceptionally rich in endemics: 201 of the 290 woody species and subspecies (shrubs and trees) in Europe are found exclusively or preferentially under Mediterranean bioclimates (Quézel & Médail 2003).Around the Mediterranean Basin, changes in land-use and different forms of forest utilization over several millennia have shaped diverse landscape mosaics with different and often impacting consequences on biodiversity (Thirgood 1981, Blondel & Aronson 1995, Blondel 2006. Forest distribution in Mediterranean landscapes is characterized by diverse environmental conditions in relation to climate, soils, and geology, as well as frequency and intensity of disturbance, both natural and anthropogenic. In the last decades, rapidly changing environmental conditions coupled with even more rapid changes in socio-economic conditions, especially in rural and mountain areas, are posing new challenges for the conservation of forest habitats (Linares et al. 2009, DeSoto et al. 2010. Thus, an accurate knowledge base of ecological and anthropogenic drivers affecting the vegetation distribution is necessary for forest planning and for designing vegetation models (Tappeiner et al. 1998, Hoersch et al. 2002, Li et al. 2012). This knowledge is particularly important in highly sensitive areas such as in mountain territories, and especially within the Natura 2000 network, where habitat and species conservation is a mandatory goal. Laricio pine (Pinus nigra J.F. Arn. ssp. laricio (Poiret) Maire), a sub-specific entity of the collective species Pinus nigra, includes 2 varieties: Corsican pine (var. Corsicana) and Calabrian pine (var. Calabrica -Debazac 1965). Corsican pine is the dominant species between 1000 and 1800 m a.s.l. on the mountains of Corsica, where it covers approximately 45000 ha, of which 21000 ha are pure Corsican pine stands (LIFE 2005).Calabrian pine is endemic to southern Italy with a natural range extending from Calabria to Sicily. Calabrian pine forests (Cod. Eunis, G3.55, Calabrian Pinus laricio forest; Cod. CORINE Biotopes, 42.65, Calabrian laricio pine forests) are a priority habitat according to the Natura 2000 Directive (Cod. 9530* (Sub)-Mediterranean pine forests with endemic black pines -EC 2007, Zaghi 2008.During the last ice age (the Würm period in the Alps) Calabrian pine covered vast areas of the Apennines. In the Boreal period, Calabrian pine expansion slowed down due to competition with silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) and beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) at higher altitudes, and with oaks at lower altitudes (Barbéro et al. 2000), restricting pine distribution to the less favorable site conditions (Tongiorgi 1938). At the end of this period, Calabrian pine started to expa...