Forest biodiversity of the Gargano Peninsula and a critical revision of the syntaxonomy of the mesophilous woods of southern Italy

Here we present a phytosociological analysis of the forest biodiversity of the Gargano Peninsula, located in the eastern part of the Italian peninsula. As well as presenting all of the woods described and classified in terms of their phytosociology to date, we present the following plant associations that are mainly distributed in the low supratemperate and upper mesotemperate bioclimatic belts: Carici halleranae-Ostryetum carpinifoliae ass. nova; Polysticho setiferi-Ostryetum carpinifoliae ass. nova; Rubio peregrinae-Aceretum campestris; Physospermo verticillati-Quercetum cerris; Doronico orientalis-Carpinetum betuli; Pulmonario apenninae-Aceretum neapolitani ass. nova; Teucrio siculi-Aceretum campestris ass. nova; Festuco exaltatae-Tilietum platyphylli ass. nova; Phyllitido scolopendri-Lauretum nobilis ass. nova and Aremonio agrimonioidis-Fagetum sylvaticae ass. nova. For these, subassociations and variants are described. The syntaxonomic classification allows the description of two new syntaxa at the heirarchical level of alliances: Physospermo verticillati-Quercion cerris, all. nova, the southern Italian substitute for the alliance Erythronio-Carpinion, which includes the southern mesophilous Turkey oak, European hornbeam, Neapolitan maple and field maple woods; Lauro nobilis-Tilion platyphylli all. nova, the southern substitute for the alliance Tilio platyphylli-Acerion pseudoplatani.