Action plan for protection of the Juniperus phoenicea arborescent matorral habitat on the Island of Pianosa - LIFE Natura project

The Tuscan Archipelago National Park Authority intervened to safeguard the juniper and its habitat by restricting growth of ailanthus and, above all, Aleppo pines, invasive plants in competition with this important species, through a LIFE project implemented on the Island of Pianosa.

The 'coastal shrublands dominated by Juniperus phoenicea ssp. turbinata' habitat ( Natura 2000 code: 5212, 'Juniperus phoenicea arborescent matorral') is one of the Tuscan Archipelago's protected plant habitats. Phoenician juniper is only found in coastal areas of Italy, both in sandy locations, where it is part of the shrub flora typically colonising the dunes together with Juniperus macrocarpa, and on rocky terrain, preferably limestone. It is a heliophilous and thermophilous species, highly resistant to sea spray and extremely long-lived, which can establish itself on a suitable site and survive even after the vegetation has been destroyed, therefore belonging to various types of dynamically interrelated formations.

In Tuscany, significant formations of the species are only found south of Rosignano. Of those found on rocky coasts, the most significant are localised in the following areas: the Piombino promontory, the Island of Elba, the Island of Pianosa, the Maremma Regional Park, Mount Argentario, the Island of Giglio and the Island of Giannutri. The largest and best-preserved formations are found on Pianosa and then Giannutri. On the Island of Pianosa, the habitat of coastal juniper groves was threatened by progressive expansion of the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) originating from artificial nuclei of this species. One of the primary goals of the LIFE Natura project was therefore to safeguard coastal juniper groves against this threat and encourage them to expand further, containing and restricting the Aleppo pine along some coastal stretches of this flatter island of the Tuscan Archipelago.