Article

The coastal dune vegetation in Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli Regional Natural Park (NW Tuscany, Italy) was studied using morphological and functional traits of 34 species. The species composition of the vegetation was recorded in 5 different sites, from Viareggio (Province of Lucca) to Marina di Vecchiano (Province of Pisa). A multivariate analysis applied to a single matrix of traits vs. species made it possible to classify all the plant units living on dune ecosystems into five functional types. The identified PFTs may be related to the most important community types described for coastal dunes, which range from annual communities on the shoreline to Mediterranean “macchia” on the inland stabilized dunes. The occurrences of these functional groups in the different sites was analysed in order to check any differences along the coastline studied.