Abstract
The marked environmental aridity featuring the Maltese Island has clearly a confirmation in the occurrence and spread mainly in rocky habitats of annual plant communities, linked to the edaphic xericity. Most of them show a pioneer character fitting well to shallow soils in contact with the rock, as well as to sands and clays. From the floristical viewpoint, they are differentiated by small therophytes and geophytes, showing a short biological life cycle, with their optimum in springtime. These communities must be referred to Stipo capensis-Trachynietea distachyae, while that ones linked to sandy soil belong to Vulpietalia, order of Tuberarietea guttatae.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Barbagallo C, Brullo S, Guglielmo A (1980) Esempi di cartografia della vegetazione di alcune aree della Sicilia. Carta della vegetazione di Monte Cofano. Quaderni CNR ser. AQ/1/39:43–52, Roma
Bartolo G, Brullo S, Marcenò C (1982) La vegetazione costiera della Sicilia sud-orientale. Contributo alla interpretazione delle fasce di vegetazione delle coste mediterranee. Quad CNR ser. AQ/1/226, Roma
Brullo S (1975) Aspetti di vegetazione tero-xerofitica del territorio ibleo (Sicilia meridionale-orientale). Boll Acc Gioenia Sci Nat Catania 12:5–16
Brullo S (1985) Sur la syntaxonomie des pelouses therophytiques des territoires steppiques de l’Europe sud-occidentale. Doc Phytosoc, n s 9:1–24
Brullo S, Grillo M (1985) Le associazioni psammofile effimere dei Malcolmietalia rinvenute in Sicilia. Boll Acc Gioenia Sci Nat Catania 18:271–282
Brullo S, Scelsi F (1998) Contributo alla conoscenza della vegetazione terofitica costiera del territorio ibleo. Boll Acc Gioenia Sci Nat Catania 29:151–168
Brullo S, Siracusa G (1996) Studio fitosociologico dell’ isola di Linosa. Doc Phytosoc, n s 16:123–174
Brullo S, Lanfranco E, Pavone P (1982) Allium lojaconoi sp.nov. e sue affinità con Allium parciflorum Viv. Webbia 35(2):295–306
Brullo S, Guglielmo A, Pavone P (1985) La classe Pegano-Salsoletea in Sicilia. Boll Acc Gioenia Sci Nat Catania 18:247–254
Brullo S, Guarino R, Ronsisvalle G (2000) La vegetazione del litorale di Manfria, presso Gela (Sicilia), area soggetta a vincolo archeologico. Arch Geobot 4(1):101–107
Brullo S, Scelsi F, Spampinato G (2001c) La vegetazione dell’Aspromonte. Laruffa Editore, Reggio Calabria
Brullo S, Giusso del Galdo G, Minissale P, Spampinato G (2003) Considerazioni tassonomiche sui generi Catapodium Link, Desmazeria Dumort. e Castellia Tineo (Poaceae) in Italia. Inform Bot Ital 35(1):158–170
Brullo S, Brullo C, Cambria S, Lanfranco E, Lanfranco S, Minissale P, Sciandrello S, Giusso del Galdo G (2017b) A new species of Silene sect. Dipterosperma (Caryophyllaceae) from Malta. Phytotaxa 297(3):245–256
Díez-Garretas B, Asensi A, Gavilán R (2003) Sabulicolous therophytic plant communities in the Mediterranean Region: a proposal of phytosociological synthesis. Phytocoenologia 33(2–3):495–526
Mifsud S (2007) Updates in the flora of the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean). Centr Medit Natur 4:171–179
Mifsud S (2013) Distribution of some rare or endemic chasmophytic and rupestral species growing along the coastal cliffs of the Maltese Islands. Webbia 68(1):35–50
Mifsud S, Lanfranco E, Fiorentino J, Mifsud SD (2016a) An updated flora of Selmunett (St. Paul’s Island) including Mosses and Lichens. Xjenza Online 4:142–159
Minissale P, Sciandrello S (2013) A relic wood of Juniperus turbinata Guss. (Cupressaceae) in Sicily: structural and ecological features, conservation perspectives. Plant Biosyst 147(1):145–157
Pignatti S (1953) Introduzione allo studio fitosociologico della pianura veneta orientale con particolare riguardo alla vegetazione litoranea. Continuazione. Arch Bot 29(2):65–98
Rivas-Martinez S (1978a) Sur la syntaxonomie des pelouses thérophytiques de l’Europe occidentale. Coll Phytosoc 6:55–69
Rivas-Martinez S (1978b) Sobre la vegetacion nitrofila del Chenopodion muralis. Acta Bot Malac 4:71–78
Sciberras J, Sciberras A, Pisani L (2012) Updated checklist of flora of the satellite islets surrounding the Maltese Archipelago. Biodivers J 3(4):385–396
Weber HE, Moravec J, Theurillat J-P (2000) International code of phytosociological nomenclature. 3rd ed. J Veg Sci 11(5):739–768
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Brullo, S., Brullo, C., Cambria, S., Giusso del Galdo, G. (2020). Annual Xerophilous Vegetation. In: The Vegetation of the Maltese Islands . Geobotany Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34525-9_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34525-9_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-34524-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-34525-9
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)