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The vascular flora of the satellite islands of Sicily

Seasonal tourism
Mass summer tourism provides rapid, short-term economic benefits but
causes long-lasting ecological and economic damage. Summer tourism heavily
impacts coastal ecosystems, especially sandy beaches (on Lampedusa, Linosa,
Favignana, Vulcano, Panarea, and Stromboli), whose plant communities are
greatly altered or even destroyed. Moreover, the continuous increase of off-road
vehicles and parking areas near the coasts not only threatens the survival of
many noteworthy species by increasing the fragmentation of their communities
but also reduces their reproductive success because the dust generated by cars
outcompetes pollen. This seems to be the sad fate of many endemic Limonium
species such as L. aegusae at Favignana.
Some species, like rupicolous ones, seem to be safe from this form of
disturbance because they colonize sites that are difficult to reach and/or are
far from the most crowded areas. In contrast, species like Juncellus laevigatus
subsp. laevigatus, Limonium secundirameum, and Schoenoplectus lacustris
subsp. thermalis live along the borders of “Lago di Venere” at Pantelleria and are
subject to high anthropogenic pressure; because of their extreme localization,
they seem somehow “self-condemned” as they become rarer and rarer due to
high human pressure near the hot springs during summer.

Fig. 5. The Aeolian Islands have experienced deep land use changes over recent decades.
Here we see the touristic centre of Vulcano (photo T. La Mantia).

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