A multitaxa and expert based approach for the identification of Priority Areas for biodiversity conservation in the Verbano Cusio Ossola Province, Italy

In this article we present the results of a multitaxa and expert based methodology aimed at the identification of Priority Areas for Biodiversity Conservation in the Province of Verbano Cusio Ossola (VCO), located in North Eastern Piedmont, Italy. The multitaxa approach was based on the selection of focal species and habitats that were considered indicators of high levels of biodiversity, belonging to one of the following themes: a) Flora and Vegetation, b) Invertebrates, c) Aquatic Ecosystems and Fish, d) Amphibians and Reptiles, e) Birds, f) Mammals. We gathered a group of 25 expert naturalists, biologists and researchers, possessing wide knowledge built during field studies and researches carried out in VCO, to whom we asked to select Important and Peculiar Areas for the conservation of biodiversity related to their themes and to draw them on the map. [...]