EFFECT OF LONG-TERM ABANDONMENT AND SPRING GRAZING ON FLORISTIC AND FUNCTIONAL COMPOSITION OF DRY GRASSLANDS IN A CENTRAL APENNINE FARMLAND

摘要

Semi-natural dry grasslands host some of the most valuable habitats in Europe, due to their biodiversity heritage. Nevertheless, a strong decline in their extension, due to the cessation of traditional management, has been observed in the last decades. The aim of the study was to assess plant community changes due to abandonment and the effect of spring grazing in sub-Mediterranean dry grasslands, focusing on the plant functional traits involved in this turnover.