{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T03:49:26Z","timestamp":1791431366805,"version":"4.3.3"},"reference-count":85,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788220800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788220800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Ecology and Evolution"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Old\u2010growth forests (OGFs) provide key benchmarks for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, yet relationships among stand structural heterogeneity, topographic gradients, and multilayered understorey composition remain insufficiently quantified in Mediterranean mountain systems. This study aimed to (i) quantify forest structural heterogeneity in Southern Apennine OGFs, (ii) examine relationships among site conditions, vascular plant diversity and forest structure and (iii) identify the structural attributes most strongly associated with vascular plant species composition while disentangling their contribution from that of topography. Location: Pollino National Park, southern Italy. Structural attributes, topographic variables and vascular plant species composition were recorded across nine candidate OGF sites. After exclusion of one site, the analytical dataset comprised 142 subplots from eight sites. Structural complexity was quantified using a Structural Heterogeneity Index (SHI). Linear mixed\u2010effects models accounted for subplot nesting within site, while canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and variation partitioning (VP) assessed structural\u2010topographic\u2010floristic relationships. Floristic sampling completeness and sensitivity to the taxon\u2010frequency threshold were also evaluated. SHI values varied markedly among forest types, with beech and mixed forests exhibiting the highest structural heterogeneity. Across the full multivariate gradient, topographic variables explained 18.8% of variation in structural attributes. In site\u2010adjusted mixed models, aspect had a significant joint association with SHI, whereas elevation and slope were not significant. Floristic ordination was highly stable across taxon\u2010frequency thresholds, and pooled sample coverage was 98.65%. VP analysis revealed that the forest\u2010structure predictor set had a larger unique contribution to floristic variation (23.5%) than topography alone (12.8%), with a substantial shared fraction; large\u2010tree abundance, canopy cover and decay\u2010class diversity were among the structural variables significantly associated with vascular plant composition. The ecological complexity of Southern Apennine OGFs reflects an interplay of structural, topographic, historical and floristic dimensions. Integrating stand structure, topographic context and vascular plant composition provides a more robust framework for interpreting and conserving old\u2010growth forests than any single structural metric.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/ece3.74230","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T00:35:35Z","timestamp":1788309335000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Structural Attributes Outweigh Topographical Effects in Determining Vascular Plant Diversity Within Southern Apennine Old\u2010Growth Forests"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-6471-1796","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Danilo","family":"Travascia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences University of Basilicata  Potenza 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Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0598-6548","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Costanza","family":"Fiorentino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences University of Basilicata  Potenza Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4677-3730","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Domenico","family":"Gargano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Ecology, and Earth Science University of Calabria  Arcavacata Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antonio","family":"Lapolla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences University of Basilicata  Potenza 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