A relic wood of Juniperus turbinata Guss. (Cupressaceae) in Sicily: Structural and ecological features, conservation perspectives

Juniperus turbinata Guss. (Cupressaceae) is a threatened tree species occurring in the Mediterranean area. It is listed as avulnerable species in the Red Book of Italian plants and its various communities are included in Annex I of the HabitatsDirective 92/43/EEC as a priority habitat for conservation. During field investigations carried out to analyse the plantbiodiversity of coastal habitats in southern Sicily, a new interesting population was found. This study aims to characterize thisrelevant new finding with a marked focus on demography and synecology of the plant community in question in order todefine its habitat, assess its conservation status and propose conservation measures. Our data highlight that the juniper ischaracterized by low turnover population dynamics. In order to understand the role of J. turbinata in sandy soil communitiesof south-eastern Sicily, comparisons of 21 plots (releve´s) with 25 established plots in south-eastern Sicily were carried outusing cluster analysis and canonical component analysis. This has allowed three different plant communities with differentecological features to be identified