Shifts of arable plant communities after agricultural intensification. A floristic and ecological diachronic analysis in maize fields of Latium (central Italy)
Changes in agricultural practices represent one of themain causes of shift in species composition of arable plant communities. In particular, the intensification of agriculture going on worldwide since several decades led to heavy transformations of arable plant diversity. Basing on a study conducted in 1964 in Latium (central Italy), we re-surveyed the arable plant communities of 21 maize fields in order to assess the shifts that occurred over 50 years.