Biancana badland vegetation in relation to morphology and soil in Orcia valley, central Italy

An investigation on biancana badland vegetation in relation to morphology and soil was carried out in a study area, located in the Orcia valley (southern Tuscany, Italy) characterised by Pliocene sea clay outcrops. Both vegetation communities and soils were homogeneous and lacking in evolved stages. The distribution of plant communities was influenced more by soil moisture, generally related to morphology, than by soil type. Two vegetation types were found to be closely related to environmental types: the Parapholido-Artemisietum cretaceae to biancana micropediments and the Phalarido coerulescentis-Agropyretum to impluvium lines and slope bottoms. Bromus erectus grasslands with different shrub cover were found on several morphologies and soil types with different species abundance in relation to the environment, but without any special floristic differentiation.