Aula Magna “A. Quistelli” Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria - Via dell'Università 25, 89124 Reggio Calabria RC
Wednesday, 2nd September 2026
08:30 – 09:30 Registration
09:30 – 10:00 Opening ceremony and institutional greetings
Prof. Giuseppe Zimbalatti: Rector of the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria
Prof. Marco Poiana: Director of the AGRARIA Department
Prof. Massimo Finocchiaro Castro: Director of the DiGiES Department
On. Francesco Cannizzaro: Mayor of Reggio Calabria
Col. Giovanni Misceo: Regional Commander of the Carabinieri Forestale of Calabria
Sen. Vincenzo D’Anna: National Federation of the Professional Orders of Biologists
Dr. Domenico Luca Laurendi: Professional Order of Biologists of Calabria
Dr. Michele Rocco Valenzise: Professional Order of Agronomists and Foresters of Calabria
Prof. Antonella Canini: President of Italian Botanical Society
In memory of Sandro Pignatti
(Chairpersons: Franco Pedrotti and Francesco Maria Raimondo)
10:00 – 10:30 Enrico Feoli
“Sandro Pignatti: un professore, uno scienziato, un maestro”
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
I Symposium
PLANT DIVERSITY AND BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
IN A CHANGING WORLD
(Chairpersons: Alessandro Chiarucci and Gianniantonio Domina)
Key words: Plant conservation, Climate change, Land-use change, Archaeobotany, Biological invasion, Natural selection, Taxonomic advances, Vegetation, Functional traits and Life strategies, Agrobiodiversity, Biodiversity informatics, Phylogeography, Plant macroecology, Biodiversity modelling (SDMs – Species Distribution Models), Conservation policies, CITES
11:00 – 11:35 Invited lecture: Thomas Wohlgemuth, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL (25 + 10 min)
“Global change effects on plant species are context-dependent”
11.35 – 13:05 Communications
- Giovanni-Breogán Ferreiro-Lera, Norma-Yolanda Ochoa-Ramos, Ángel Penas et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Species-specific climate vulnerability in four protected Euro-Mediterranean orchids revealed by distribution modelling”
- Emanuele Pelella, Diego Cantini, Simona Ceschin et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Tracing plant invasions in freshwater habitats: spatial and temporal insights from herbarium metadata”
- Michele Lussu, Leonardo Ancillotto, Ilaria Bonini et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Spatial mismatch between orchid diversity, land-use change and conservation coverage in Italy”
- Emanuele Del Guacchio, Daniele De Luca, Adriana De Luca et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Too far from home: The disjunct range of Cephalaria joppensis explained by introduction”
- Ricardo Jorge Quinto-Canas, D. Xarepe, A. Cano-Ortiz et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Micro-reserves as a strategic tool for the conservation of threatened flora and habitats in a Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot (Algarve, Portugal)”
- Diana Maria Cruz Tejada, Efisio Mattana, Clara Espinosa del Alba et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Warming enhances photoinhibition of seed germination under water stress in Mediterranean back-dune annuals”
13:00 – 14:30 Lunch break
14:30 – 16:30 Communications
- Claudia Moricca, Erasmo Di Fonso, Rachele Nicolini et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Digital Archaeobotany: Standardizing Macro-remain Data for Central Italy using the ARBOREA System”
- Domenico Amantea, Massimo Guccione, Claudia Ferraro et al. (10 + 5 min)
“A QGIS-based tool for implementing ensemble multi-scale Species Distribution Models for planning plant conservation under global change”
- Antonio Morabito, Carmelo Maria Musarella, Domenico Caridi et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Bioclimatic Mapping of Calabria: An Integrated Model Combining Climate Analysis and Habitat Distribution”
- Antonio Zumbo, Salvatore F. Papandrea, Angelo Mammoliti et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Management and Monitoring of Monumental Trees: Investigative experiences for Conservation and Valorization”
- Eliane Sayde, Daniela Gigante, Adele Tironi et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Ecogeographic diversity analysis to identify priority sites for in-situ conservation and ex-situ collection of Crop Wild Relatives”
Special Announcement
Stefano Martellos, Ilaria Rosati, Gabriele Bucci et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Italy joins the GBIF: new opportunities for botanical data mobilization”
16:30 – 17:00 Coffee Break
17:00 – 19:00 Public event (in Italian)
ALBERI MONUMENTALI E BOSCHI VETUSTI
UN PATRIMONIO DA CONOSCERE E PROTEGGERE
(Chairperson: Francesco Tarantino)
Link for the remote public event
Participant: Antonella Canini (Presidente della Società Botanica Italiana); Laura Canini (Ministero dell’Agricoltura, della Sovranità alimentare e delle Foreste – MASAF); Giovanni Misceo (Comandante regionale dei Carabinieri “Forestale” della Calabria); Gianluca Piovesan (Università della Tuscia); Francesco Iovino (Accademia Italiana Scienze Forestali); Francesco Besio (Servizio Aree protette, Foreste e Sviluppo della Montagna – Regione Emilia-Romagna); Vincenzo Malacrinò (Giornalista); Giovanni Aramini (Settore Tutela del Patrimonio naturale, Parchi e aree naturali protette – Dipartimento Territorio e Tutela dell’Ambiente – Regione Calabria); Donato Salvatore La Mela Veca (Università of Palermo); Andrea Proto (Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria)
19:00 – 20:30 “Ensemble Mediterranea” Jazz concert and welcome cocktail
Thursday, 3rd September 2026
II Symposium
PLANT AND HABITAT MONITORING
(Chairpersons: Roberto Canullo and Daniela Gigante)
Key words: Bioindicators, Natura 2000 Network, EEC 42/93 Habitat Directive, Plant and community dynamics, Phytoremediation, Habitat restoration, Conservation priorities and Habitat assessments, Red list, Field and remote monitoring, Floristic knowledge, Forestry, Monumental trees, Old growth forests, Palynology, Vegetation resurvey, Long-term ecological monitoring, Citizen science in plant monitoring, Forest ecology and management
9:00 – 9:35 Invited lecture: František Máliš, University in Zvolen, Slovakia (25 + 10 min)
“Europe-wide spatial patterns of forest vegetation responses to environmental changes”
9.35 – 11:05 Communications
- Luana Bertolotti, Paolo Mazzetto, Valeria Fochi et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Primary succession and grazing shape biodiversity patterns along alpine deglaciation gradients”
- Raffaella Margherita Zampieri, Riccardo Cicchi, Giulia Adembri et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Delayed tree mortality assessment after wildfires using biosensors”
- Chiara Scalet, Marco Cervellini, Giandiego Campetella et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Contrasting responses of understory plant functional groups to canopy cover in Italian forests”
- Mattia Bosio, Fulvio Amato, Elisa Sanguineti et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Role of Urban Green in Particulate Matter Capture and Allergenic Risk Mitigation: A Multifactorial Approach for Sustainable Urban Green Infrastructure”
- Matteo Vita, Mattia Soppelsa, Fabio Mondello et al. (10 + 5 min)
“DNA barcoding reveals the diversity of biomass-forming Cladophoraceae (Chlorophyta) in two Natura 2000 sites in Sicily (Italy)”
- Leopoldo de Simone, Mauro Lo Brutto, Luigi Naselli-Flores et al. (10 + 5 min)
“A new approach to sample orthophoto vegetation plots using Structure from Motion photogrammetry”
11:05 – 11:30 Coffee Break
III Symposium
BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS
(Chairpersons: Stefano Loppi)
Key words: Interspecific and Intraspecific Interactions, Plant–Microbe Interactions, Reproductive Strategies, Pollination, Facilitation, Competition, Applied symbiotic interactions, Functional and integrative biology, Plant–soil feedback, Trophic networks, Co-evolution, Chemical ecology, Invasion ecology
11:30 – 13:00 Communications
- Silvia Mazzuca, Amalia Piro, Daniela Oliva et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Root hair differentiation and microbial consortium promote early anchorage strategies in Posidonia oceanica seedlings”
- Miriam Patti, Agostino Sorgonà, Carmelo Maria Musarella et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Evaluating Native Species Performance and Substrate Interaction for Mediterranean Green Walls: A Morpho-Physiological Study”
- Gabriele Briganti, Carolina Elena Girometta, Simone Buratti et al. (10 + 5 min)
“What is a DSE? A global synthesis of diversity and host association in Dark Septate Endophytes”
- Valentina Lucia Astrid Laface, Giovanni Spampinato, Carmelo Maria Musarella et al. (10 + 5 min)
“The role of seed priming in promoting growth and abiotic stress tolerance in the endemic and rare Salvia ceratophylloides”
- Diletta Bisonni, Andreea Daniela Dam, Leonardo Baciarelli Falini et al. (10 + 5 min) “Differences in the mycorrhization evolution of Tuber melanosporum Vittad. of two plant species in a long-term unmanaged truffle orchard”
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 16:30 Public event (in Italian)
RESTORATION ECOLOGY, REGOLAMENTO PER IL RIPRISTINO
DELLA NATURA E PIANO DELLA NATURA PER IL FUTURO DELLE CITTÀ
(Chairperson: Carlo Blasi)
(Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca “Biodiversità, Servizi Ecosistemici e Sostenibilità” – CIRBISES, Sapienza Università di Roma)
Link for the remote public event
Participant: Francesco Tomas (Direttore Generale “Tutela della Biodiversita e del Mare” – MASE); Marco Franchini (Assessore con delega alle infrastrutture strategiche, rigenerazione urbana, decoro urbano e turismo del Comune di Reggio Calabria); Antonella Canini (Presidente della Società Botanica Italiana); Giorgio Centurelli (Capo della Segreteria Tecnica del MASE); Antonio Maturani (Dirigente della Direzione Generale “Tutela della Biodiversita e del Mare” – MASE); Michele Munafò (Responsabile del Servizio per il Sistema Informativo Nazionale Ambientale (DG-SINA) – ISPRA); Massimo Labra (National Biodiversity Future Center, Università di Milano Bicocca); Simona Maccherini (Università degli Studi di Siena); Rodolfo Filippo Gentili (Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca); Carmelo Maria Musarella (Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria)
16:30 – 17:00 Coffee Break
17:00 – 18:30 General Meeting of the Italian Botanical Society (members only)
21:00 Congress Social Dinner – L’Accademia Gourmet – Via Largo Cristoforo Colombo, 9, 89125 Reggio di Calabria RC
Friday, 4th September 2026
IV Symposium
PLANT CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY,
GENETICS AND BIOTECHNOLOGIES
(Chairpersons: Marcello Salvatore Lenucci and Anna Maria Mercuri)
Key words: Plant breeding, Gene regulation, Genome editing, Stress responses, Plant growth, Morphogenesis, Biotechnologies, Transcriptomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics, Epigenetics, Single-cell biology, Plant signaling pathways, Plant developmental genetics, Synthetic biology, Plant phenotyping platforms, Conservation genomics
9:00 – 10:30 Communications
- Amalia Piro, Dante Matteo Nisticò, Daniela Oliva et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Proteomic insights into Limnospira maxima: photosynthetic pigment valorisation and stress responses to emerging environmental pollutants”
- Lorenzo Ferroni, Laura Brancaleoni, Edi Simoni et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Unveiling the reflectance profile of Selaginella martensii Spring (Lycopodiophyta) microphylls via hyperspectral dark-field microscopy”
- Emanuela Talarico, Marina Camoli, Eleonora Greco et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Exploring inflorescence diversity in wild Oryza species through comparative developmental analysis”
- Pietro Giovannelli, Faustino Scarcelli, Silvia Mazzuca et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Local thermal history drives the resilience of Posidonia oceanica to present and future marine heatwaves: physiological and molecular features”
- Daniele Torre, Viviana Bressi, Claudia Espro et al. (10 + 5 min)
“From Excess Algal Biomass to High-Value Bioproducts: Hydrothermal Carbonization as a Circular Biotechnology Platform for Sustainable Resource Recovery”
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
V Symposium
ETHNOBOTANY AND NATURAL PRODUCTS
THROUGH SUSTAINABILITY
(Chairpersons: Maria Paola Germanò and Gianni Sacchetti)
Key words: Biomolecules, Plant products, Plant biostimulants, Medicinal plants, Food plants, Cultural heritage, Phytochemistry, Plant metabolites, Chemotaxonomy, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Sustainable harvesting, Green extraction technologies, Pharmacognosy, Nutraceuticals, Crop Wild Relatives, Agroecology
11:00 – 11:35 Invited lecture: Milen I. Georgiev, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (25 + 10 min)
“Unveiling аnti-obesity and longevity potential of natural products”
11.35 – 13:05 Communications
- Valentina Parisi, Maryam Kharatha, Giuliana Donadio et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Ferula ammoniacum, the plant of one thousand and one nights: new chromandione sesquiterpenoids and antibacterial activity of gum ammoniacum”
- Chiara Fanciaresi, Donya Bashiri, Roberta Di Lecce et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Sustainable valorisation of fruit agro-industrial by-products for phenolic compound recovery as potential plant biostimulants”
- Anna Cacciola, Emanuele Rosa, Shiva Pouramin Arabi et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Phytochemical analysis, antioxidant activity and toxicity evaluation of an extract from Crataegus laciniata fruits”
- Benedetta Galletta, Maria Fernanda Taviano, Federica Davì et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Phenolic content, antioxidant properties, and brine shrimp toxicity of wild Hirschfeldia incana (L.) Lagr.-Foss. from Sicily (Italy): comparative study of leaf, flower, and stem extracts”
- Gianniantonio Domina, Giulio Barone, Emilio Di Gristina (10 + 5 min)
“Giuseppe Pitrè’s contribution to the ethnobotanical knowledge of Sicily”
- Maria Vitiello, Marinella De Leo, Vera M. S. Isca et al. (10 + 5 min)
“Skin-related bioactivity of Teucrium flavum subsp. flavum aligned with its ethnobotanical use”
13:05 – 14:00 Lunch break
PARALLEL SESSIONS OF ORAL POSTER PRESENTATIONS
14:00 – 16:00 Oral poster presentations (2 + 1 minutes) in 3 parallel sessions
Parallel session A (Chairperson: Stefano Martellos)
1.1 Plant conservation, 1.2 Climate change, 1.5 Biological invasion, 1.7 Taxonomic advances, 1.8 Vegetation, 2.15 Vegetation resurvey, 1.9 Functional traits and Life strategies, 1.10 Agrobiodiversity, 1.11 Biodiversity informatics
Parallel session B (Chairperson: Roberto Vananzoni)
1.11 Biodiversity informatics, 2.1 Bioindicators, 2.2 Natura 2000 Network, 2.3 EEC 42/93 Habitat Directive, 2.4 Plant and community dynamics, 2.6 Habitat restoration, 2.7 Conservation priorities and Habitat assessments, 2.9 Field and remote monitoring, 2.10 Floristic knowledge, 2.12 Monumental trees, 2.13 Old growth forests, 2.18 Forest ecology and management
Parallel session C (Chairperson: Silvia Mazzuca)
2.14 Palynology, 3.6 Competition, 3.9 Plant–soil feedback, 4.4 Stress responses, 4.5 Plant growth, 4.15 Conservation genomics, 5.2 Plant products, 5.4 Medicinal plants, 5.6 Cultural heritage, 5.7 Phytochemistry, 5.8 Plant metabolites, 5.13 Pharmacognosy, 5.15 Crop Wild Relatives, 5.16 Agroecology
16:00 – 16:30 Coffee Break
16.30 Italian Botanical Society awards
16:45 Introduction to the excursion
17:00 Congress Closure
Saturday, 5th September 2026
Post-Congress Event
07:30 – 16:30 Field trip in the Aspromonte National Park
