A checklist of the exclusive vascular flora of Sardinia with priority rankings for conservation

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and its isolation and high geological diversity have created a wide range of habitats with high levels of endemism, especially on its mountain massifs, where there are conditions of ecological insularity. In this study the exclusive endemic flora of Sardinia has been updated to 168 taxa, 139 of which are species, 23 subspecies, 4 varieties and 2 hybrids, belonging to 37 families and 72 genera. Despite this rich biodiversity and the threats to these species, few biological conservation studies have been carried out up to now. A conservation project for the most threatened exclusive endemic species of Sardinia was therefore funded in 2007 by the “Regione Autonoma della Sardegna”. To categorize these species of conservation interest, a priority list was created by applying 11 parameters based on rarity, threats and protection status. This work allowed the identification of the most threatened species of the Sardinian endemic flora.