An updated checklist of the vascular flora of Montarbu massif (CE Sardinia, Italy)

The Montarbu (CE Sardinia) is the second highest carbonate massif of Sardinia. This area mainly consists of a group of limestone mountain outcrops named “tonneri” or “tacchi”, with a great variety of micro-environmental and topographic conditions that host a high floristic richness. The main aim of this work is to present an updated checklist of the vascular flora of Montarbu to assess its conservation priorities. Based on several field surveys carried out from 2012 to 2023 and integrated by bibliographic and herbaria analyses, the updated checklist of the vascular flora is presented here. The flora amounts to 874 taxa, belonging to 94 families and 425 genera. Regarding the endemic component, we found 126 taxa, of which 44 are exclusive to Sardinia and 40 are shared with Corsica. The alien taxa are 33, but it appears worrying that 20 are recorded for the first time during the last two decades. The analysis of biologic and chorologic data highlighted the peculiarities of this territory and its biogeographic autonomy. Due to the relatively high number of endemics exclusive to Montarbu and its geological and geomorphological peculiarities, despite the already implemented initiatives, we suggest further activities supporting the conservation of this area.