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Fig. 4: examples of traditional rural landscapes of Sicily: preparation of a charcoal kiln in coppice, Etna,
1967, courtesy of Salvatore Cavallaro (above, left); the wheat harvest at Milena, 1927, courtesy
of Charlotte Day Gower (above, right); parceled Hyblaean agricultural landscape, Donnafugata,
2002 (bottom, left); terraced olive grove, Ragusa, 2017 (bottom, right). (Photos Guarino)

communities have been degraded or permanently altered throughout Sicily and surrounding
islets. The natural vegetation is threatened by continuing conversion to agriculture, pasture-
lands and urban areas. Land abandonment, frequent fires, logging of remaining native wood-
lands, exotic species, intensive grazing and browsing are also common threats, as well as the
touristic exploitation of the coastal districts. As Sicily has been a central crossroad of human
activity for thousands of years, it offers a major perspective on all the problems and challenges
of accommodating humans and nature in the much trampled Mediterranean basin.

Conclusions
The vascular flora of Sicily and surrounding islets is currently estimated in around 3250
native taxa and approximately 400 xenophytes (GIARDINA et al. 2007): floristically, the Sici-
lian territory turns out to be one of the richest in the Mediterranean. The high species-richness
is primarily related to the high topographic and climatic heterogeneity of the island. Moreover,
for its geographical position, Sicily can be defined the crossroad of the Mediterranean flora,
as many species are reaching here the northern (Reaumuria vermiculata, Rhus tripartita, Zizi-
phus lotus, etc.), southern (Allium ursinum, Fagus sylvatica, Ferulago campestris, etc.), eas-
tern (Ambrosina bassii, Chamaerops humilis, Cistus crispus, etc.), and western (Fritillaria
messanensis, Salvia fruticosa, etc.) limit of their distribution range. These occurrences testify
ancient biogeographical connections with the Eurasian and African mainlands (starting from
the Messinian), as well as the plant migrations driven by the Plio-Pleistocenic climate swings.
At the same time, the insularity and the geographical segregation of refuge areas (coastal
capes, high mountain districts, N-facing mid altitudes of the Tyrrhenian mountain ranges) pro-

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