Conservation action for yellow gentian in Sardinia

22 December 2016

The CARE-MEDIFLORA team in Sardinia (Hortus Botanicus Karalitanus, HBK partner) started their first CARE-MEDIFLORA in situ conservation action, which consisted in a translocation of yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea L. subsp. lutea). This action is possible with the support of the Agenzia Fo.Re.S.T.A.S (Agenzia Forestale Regionale per lo Sviluppo del Territorio e l'Ambiente della Sardegna, Autonomous Region of Sardinia). 
Preliminarily, seeds of G. lutea were collected from the largest and representative population in order to maximize the genetic diversity of material. Successively, several plants were cultivated in the greenhouse of Agenzia FoReSTAS, located in the municipality of Talana.
The translocation has been performed after conducting a preliminary analysis of historical and current natural distribution ranges of this plant. In particular, the area chosen for the translocation was supported by results of Species Distribution Models (SDMs), which were based on the relationship among abiotic drivers and current/extinct localities in Sardinia. Accordingly, the locality chosen for this action is “Serra Siccorruli” in “Monte Genziana” (Talana) at an altitude of 1,425 m a.s.l. and with a slope of approximately 20%, where the plant has gone extinct during the last decades.

*Gentiana lutea L. (Gentianaceae) is a perennial plant which occurs in Central-Southern European mountains. It has a long-standing history of human exploitation, mainly for liqueurs preparation and in the pharmaceutical industry and it is currently listed in the Annex V of the EU Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC. In Sardinia, it has been recently assessed as Endangered (EN; see Fois et al. 2016).

Fois, M., Cuena-Lombraña, A., Fenu, G., Cogoni, D., & Bacchetta, G. (2016). The reliability of conservation status assessments at regional level: Past, present and future perspectives on Gentiana lutea L. ssp. lutea in Sardinia. Journal for Nature Conservation 33: 1-9