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242 FERRAUTO G. / Ann. Bot. (Roma), 2013, 3: 237–244
almond and carob tree orchards are particularly widespread
and it is from these areas that the main productions of
multifloral and unifloral honey derive. In addition to those
traditional types of honey such as Citrus, Eucalyptus,
Castanea, there are other less well known varieties which
come from carob tree, medlar or almond orchards. However,
the intense human activity we find today, has led to an
elevated impoverishment and fragmentation of both natural
ecosystems and of agroecosytems as can be clearly seen from
the two maps.
Some of the principal human activities which have
contributed in recent times to the continuous modification of
the landscape are: growing urbanization, increase in
transport and agricultural infrastructure, agricultural
mechanization and the simplification of the agricultural
landscape. Some measures introduced by the European
Community have shown a lack of sensitivity to the
preservation of land and the maintenance of biodiversity and
have contributed to the further fragmentation of the landscape
by favouring some crops to the disadvantage of others and
leading to the planting, uprooting, sowing or even the
abandonment of a number of crop types. In addition to this,
it must be added the incentive to use some particular cultivars Amiri F., Mohamed Shariff AR., Saadatfar A., 2011. Modeling
characterized by sterility which while being the most
profitable from an economic standpoint, bring a variety of
problems. Among these, there is a considerable erosion of
the genetic agrarian makeup and from a melissopalynologi-
cal point of view a considerable reduction of the pollen in
honey. An example is the monofloral honey of Citrus in
which the percentage of pollen of Citrus sp. pl. can also
be <10% in the presence of sterile cultivars (Ricciardelli
D’Albore, 1998), as has been found in Sicilian honey.
Other changes that occur in agroecosystems and that affect
the quality and quantity of honey production over time
should be mentioned: the expansion of areas under
cultivation, the use of specific methods of cultivation,
indiscriminate use of herbicides, expansion of homogeneous
agricultural landscapes. These practices, especially
widespread in Sicily, produce a reduction of natural habitats
and of buffer belts, contributing to a greater fragmentation
and insularisation of these agroecosystems. From the
qualitative viewpoint these modifications may engender,
generally, variations in the pollinic spectrum of honeys
(presence and/or absence of specific pollen types , and/or
changes in the pollinic frequency). The native vegetation
plays a significant part in the composition of pollinic
spectrum of honey and it is thanks to the presence of these
wild species that it is possible to determine the botanical and Vegetationskunde, Springer, Wien.
geographical origin of honey.
From the quantitative viewpoint the reduction or disappearance
of specific crops could lead to a reduction in the purity of
those monofloral honeys, but also at times to a significant
decrease or complete disappearance of those honeys.
CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of the fragmentation map has highlighted a high
state of fragmentation of the nectariferous areas caused by
the presence of intense urbanization as illustrated in map of
Urban Interference. In fact, this map shows the disturbance
caused by the presence of transport infrastructure and of
urban and suburban areas within the natural ecosystems and
agroecosystems used by bees.
The maps produced are useful not only to identify those areas
that are particularly valuable for beekeeping but also to point
out those most sensitive to fragmentation processes due to
high urbanization of the territory and so to better define
the future planning guidelines for the protection and
management of environment.
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