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10 Pág. Centro de Investigación Forestal (CIFOR), Riparian vegetation supports high biodiversity providing many services and is, therefore, an important landscape element. Riparian ecosystems are subject to numerous pressures leading to population decline and genetic erosion of riparian plants. This may have cascading effects at various ecosystem levels, including decreasing ecosystem services, so identifying the current status of genetic diversity of riparian tree species is vital to improve the effectiveness of restoration efforts. We aimed to elicit expert views on the status and importance of genetic diversity of tree species, and conservation needs across European riparian ecosystems. Sharing of such information among researchers, managers and policymakers has the potential to enhance ecological restoration and management of riparian ecosystems. We identified experts in riparian genetic resources conservation and management across Europe. These included stakeholders with different perspectives, ranging from researchers to practitioners. We designed a set of questionnaires where our identified experts were asked to answer questions related to the status and conservation of genetic diversity of riparian tree species in their respective countries. Specifically, we asked about societal awareness, legislative tools, good practices and conservation or restoration projects accounting for intraspecific genetic diversity and differentiation of tree species in riparian ecosystems. Questionnaire responses were analysed and discussed in light of the scientific literature to define needs and priorities related to the management and conservation of genetic diversity of riparian tree species. The experts recognized that a combination of in situ and ex situ measures and/or integrative conservation of riparian ecosystems is the most appropriate option for conserving the genetic diversity of riparian tree species. Simultaneous application of conservation measures at the level of priority species, identified by experts, and protection of riparian areas are required. Synthesis and applications. This study revealed the importance of recognizing the ecological processes that shape the genetic diversity of riparian tree species in hydrographic networks (dendritic spatial configuration, specific patterns of gene flow among riparian populations, fragmentation of river by dams) but also the need to overcome socio-economic barriers, such as lack of policy priority, deficiency in funding and weak legislation framework., The work leading to this paper was developed within the COST Action (CA16208)—CONVERGES (Knowledge Conversion for Enhancing Management of European Riparian Ecosystems and Services), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology; www.cost.eu) and by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union. We thank three anonymous reviewers for comments and suggestions that greatly improved the paper. JM was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, according to the agreement No. 0801-417/1. PMRG was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the 2020.03356.CEECIND grant, and through PTDC/ASP-SIL/28593/2017 grant; and Forest Research Centre by the FCT (UIDB/00239/2020) grant. RP was supported by the grant from the National Science Centre, Poland (2019/35/B/NZ8/01901).

The long-lived and evergreen olive tree dominates the Mediterranean landscape, representing an agroecological and cultural symbol and a genetic heritage of inestimable value. Sicily, for historical, geographical, and cultural reasons, has a very rich and distinctive olive germplasm. In this work, a large survey was conducted to discover, collect, and characterize the genetic diversity of centennial monumental olive trees from historical sites, such as the Greek Temple Valley (Agrigento), ancient gardens, or farmland present in the western part of the island. Trees were chosen based on their height, trunk, stump size, and presumed age; particularly, only olive trees with an age estimated at more than 400 years old were taken into consideration. For the morphological characterization, the leaf, fruit, and endocarp traits were analyzed. For the molecular characterization, 11 polymorphic microsatellite markers largely used for fingerprinting analysis were used. Reference cultivars were included in the analysis for comparison. Nuclear DNA was extracted from different parts of the plant (young leaves of shoots taken from the canopy and young leaves taken from suckers, which arose from the basal part of the tree) to check if the trees were grafted and to explore their diversity. Most of the monumental trees have been grafted at least one time during their long life, and some genotypes showed unique genetic profiles combined with peculiar phenotypic traits. Suckers (rootstock of the trees) showed a strict genetic relationship with an ancient monumental oleaster tree, also included in the study. “Patriarch” (original mother plants) trees of local cultivars were also identified. This research revealed a high level of the still unexplored genetic diversity of the Sicilian olive germplasm and highlighted its importance as a gene reservoir, which could support new breeding programs for the evaluation and possible selection of traits linked to putative resilience to abiotic and biotic stresses (particularly Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca ST53 or soil- borne diseases or insects). The results will be useful for improving the conservation process, enriching existing collections of olive genetic resources, and supporting on-farm conservation projects.

Groves with ancient olive trees (Olea europaea L.) could be considered remnants of old agroforestry systems. Anything but static, these agro-ecosystems have undergone drastic transformational processes in Mediterranean countries, where abandonment or intensification have been observed far more than continuity, expansion or renaissance, leading to environmental degradation of rural areas. Starting from this assumption and inspired by historical ecology and historical geography, we consider centuries-old olive trees as living archives of human-nature interactions and are thus proxies of past agroforestry. Our aim is to better understand what has driven dynamics of change and persistence, happening today as well as in the past. We first travel backward in time, looking at the ecology of land management systems during the Roman period (ca 200 BC-400 AD) and late Antiquity (ca AD 400-700). The special focus is the island of Sicily, the granary of the Empire, well known as a region where cereal production increased around the latifundia economy. We reconstruct the diversity of land tenure and the ecology of such complex systems, by combining records from Roman agriculturalists and palaeoenvironmental evidence of the past. We then zoom out, to look at today’s management practices in olive groves, thus drawing a parallel between Antiquity and today. Our work provides valuable insights into the correlation between certain organisation models, ecological strategies and adaptation capacity over the long term, clearly showing that human and nature dimensions are interconnected. Such entanglement may be a key element for ensuring these agroecosystems resilience. All elements that may contribute to the re-invention of sustainable forms of their management, for the present and the future.

Valorisation and sustainable exploitation of woody biomass from cultivation interventions might be an important opportunity to track alternative development trails for rural communities in natural protected areas. The governance of Mediterranean protected areas is characterized by overlapping, sometimes conflicting institutions, stakeholders and regulations, causing negative impacts on decision-making processes. We present an open source GIS-based decision support system tool for mapping forest accessibility and optimizing woody biomass extraction. Two models were implemented to support forest managers during the decision-making process in designing and managing wood-energy supply chains. The optimal grid resolution to run the models was determined via a Least Cost Path analysis. The models were executed at different scales, performing satisfactorily when distances between recorded and modelled paths were lower than the grid unit. The higher the scale, the more the percentile of distances lower than the grid unit. The models were validated in Madonie mountains, Sicily, Italy.

In the context of global change, the integration of non-native tree (NNT) species into European forestry is increasingly being discussed. The ecological consequences of increasing use or spread of NNTs in European forests are highly uncertain, as the scientific evidence is either constraint to results from case studies with limited spatial extent, or concerns global assessments that lack focus on European NNTs. For either case, generalisations on European NNTs are challenging to draw. Here we compile data on the impacts of seven important NNTs (Acacia dealbata, Ailanthus altissima, Eucalyptus globulus, Prunus serotina, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quercus rubra, Robinia pseudoacacia) on physical and chemical soil properties and diversity attributes in Europe, and summarise commonalities and differences. From a total of 103 publications considered, studies on diversity attributes were overall more frequent than studies on soil properties. The effects on soil properties varied greatly among tree species and depended on the respective soil property. Overall, increasing (45%) and decreasing (45%) impacts on soil occurred with similar frequency. In contrast, decreasing impacts on biodiversity were much more frequent (66%) than increasing ones (24%). Species phylogenetically distant from European tree species, such as Acacia dealbata, Eucalyptus globulus and Ailanthus altissima, showed the strongest decreasing impacts on biodiversity. Our results suggest that forest managers should be cautious in using NNTs, as a majority of NNT stands host fewer species when compared with native tree species or ecosystems, likely reflected in changes in biotic interactions and ecosystem functions. The high variability of impacts suggests that individual NNTs should be assessed separately, but NNTs that lack European relatives should be used with particular caution., Neobiota, 78, ISSN:1619-0033

Invasive non-native trees (INNTs) are increasingly recognized to have negative effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services in protected areas. The management of INNTs is one of the major challenges to preserving native species and ecosystems, to which more and more efforts and resources are bound to be destined in the coming decades. Indeed, the combined effects of climate change and increasing disturbance factors (e.g. wildfires) are likely to aid the spread of many INNTs in the Mediterranean protected areas, as well as favouring their competitive relationships with native species. However, the effective implementation of control measures is far from being fully achieved. I assessed how the problem of INNTs is currently addressed within the Natura 2000 sites in Sicily, designed according to the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). In particular, I will check the management plans of some selected Special Areas of Conservation searching for the activities provided for the management and control of INNTs. My research will be focused on the most widespread INNTs occurring on the island, such as Ailanthus altissima and Acacia saligna, along with taxa characterized by a very recent spread such as Parkinsonia aculeata and Vachellia karroo. Furthermore, some of these non-native trees are included in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern pursuant to Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on invasive alien species. The study will address some main questions: (1) Are invasive non-native trees well managed in protected sites in Sicily? (2) Do different protected sites deal with the same non-native species in the same way? (3) Are planned activities effectively implemented and successful? The result of the study could be used to favour the cooperation and exchange of information about the control of INNTs between the managing bodies of different protected sites, thus increasing the efficacy of the necessary interventions.

Precision forestry is becoming a key sector for forest planning because it allows complex analyses of forest data to be carried out simply and economically. It contributes to the integration between technicians and operators in the sector by guaranteeing the transparency of the forest management operations (Corona et al., 2017). In the context of the progressive development of technology, we investigated the feasibility of using the hand-held mobile laser scanner (HMLS) system in different types of forest sites and comparison of the characteristics of individual trees (tree height, diameters at breast height) with traditional surveys, applied with the aim to validate the performance of the system for a future alternative methodology for forest planning thanks to the collaboration with the forestry company “Dimensione Ricerca Ecologia Ambiente Italia” (D.R.E.Am. Italia). GEOSLAM ZEB HORIZON ™ laser scanner is a hand-held mobile laser scanner containing SLAM technology that can be solved the problem of no GNSS signal or poor signal under the forest canopy making it more practical for forest investigations (Gollob et al., 2020). 15 forest sample plots are selected to reflect different stand conditions in Mediterranean forests taking into count the development stage and density of the sub-canopy vegetation, as well as the species composition in the forest stands. The aim of this study is to show the possible extrinsic circumstances that make the method fail by varying the ecological status of forest plots.

Climate change is forcing the redistribution of life on Earth at an unprecedented velocity1,2. Migratory birds are thought to help plants to track climate change through long-distance seed dispersal3,4. However, seeds may be consistently dispersed towards cooler or warmer latitudes depending on whether the fruiting period of a plant species coincides with northward or southward migrations. Here we assess the potential of plant communities to keep pace with climate change through long-distance seed dispersal by migratory birds. To do so, we combine phenological and migration information with data on 949 seed-dispersal interactions between 46 bird and 81 plant species from 13 woodland communities across Europe. Most of the plant species (86%) in these communities are dispersed by birds migrating south, whereas only 35% are dispersed by birds migrating north; the latter subset is phylogenetically clustered in lineages that have fruiting periods that overlap with the spring migration. Moreover, the majority of this critical dispersal service northwards is provided by only a few Palaearctic migrant species. The potential of migratory birds to assist a small, non-random sample of plants to track climate change latitudinally is expected to strongly influence the formation of novel plant communities, and thus affect their ecosystem functions and community assembly at higher trophic levels., The ‘Molecular Ecology Laboratory’ (LEM–EBD–CSIC; ISO9001:2015 and ISO14001:2015 certifications) and the ‘Research Unit of Biodiversity’ (UO–CSIC–PA) provided logistical support for molecular analyses. We thank L. Viesca and E. Cires for laboratory assistance, and J. M. Varela for the bird illustrations. Barcoding data were obtained within an Individual Fellowship from the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (H2020-MSCA-IF-2014-656572: MobileLinks) and supported by a GRUPIN grant from the Regional Government of Asturias (IDI/2018/000151). ‘King Jaume I’ awarded to A.T. supported data collation during two postdoctoral contracts. J.P.G.-V. is supported by a Spanish ‘Ramón y Cajal’ fellowship (RYC-2017-22095) and a grant from the Spanish MICINN (PID2019-104922GA-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). B.R. is supported by a Spanish ‘Juan de la Cierva Incorporación’ fellowship (IJCI-2017-33475). R.H.H. is funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (UID/BIA/04004/2020). B.I.S. is supported by a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellowship. W.J.S. is funded by Arcadia.

I report here the first record of Heptapleurum arboricola Hayata (syn. Schefflera arboricola (Hayata) Merr.) (Araliaceae) as a casual non-native plant throughout the Mediterranean area. I observed the natural regeneration in urban areas at Castellammare del Golfo, a small coastal town in north-west Sicily (Mediterranean Italy). Due to the lack of self-sustaining populations and the short-term observational period, Heptapleurum arboricola should be considered as a casual species according to the classification of non-native plants. The detection of early signs of naturalization of non-native plants is of crucial importance for the management and control of invasive species. The main abiotic and biotic factors involved in the possible future spread of the species are briefly discussed.

The uneven presence of the cork oak (Quercus suber L.) within its distribution range is not only determined by its climatic requirements but also by specific edaphic needs. Although most of the natural populations thrive in acidic soils deriving from metamorphic or volcanic rock outcrops, some cork oak populations are found growing in soils deriving from calcareous bedrock, which are considered less suitable. We carried out a multidisciplinary investigation at the south eastern edge of the Q. suber distribution range (Mountains of Palermo, NW Sicily), including soil, floristic, and vegetation surveys, aimed at: (i) assessing the native or introduced origin of some peculiar cork oak populations; (ii) describing the associated plant communities and soils; (iii) identifying the ecological factors which could explain the local adaptation to soils deriving from calcareous bedrock; (iv) discussing the ecological role played by this species in the study area and within its distribution range. The collected information suggest that the detected cork oak stands are native to these areas. We hypothesized that the co-occurrence of high fire frequency, high soil calcium content and erosion, which caused the intermixing of different parent materials, might favor its competitive interactions with other Mediterranean tree species, thus accounting for the local presence of Q. suber. The study of cork oak populations thriving in peculiar substrates at the driest end of the range could be of great importance for the future conservation of this species, which is expected to face growing threats in the coming decades.

In the recent decades, growing demand for wood products, combined with efforts to conserve natural forests, has supported a steady increase in the global extent of planted forests. In this paper, a two-phase sampling strategy for large-scale assessment of hybrid poplar plantations in Northern Italy was implemented. The first phase was performed by means of tessellation stratified sampling on high-resolution remotely sensed imagery, covering the survey area by a grid of regular polygons of equal size and randomly and independently selecting one point per quadrat. All the plantations spotted by at least one sample point were selected. In the second phase, we randomly chosen a subset of plantations by stratified sampling that were visited on the ground to collect qualitative and quantitative attributes. The resulting estimates were reliable, and the survey demonstrated relatively easy to be implemented and replicated. These considerations support the use of the proposed sampling strategy to frequently update information on fast-growing forest plantations within agricultural farms, like hybrid poplar crops. Moreover, the results of the case study here presented highlight the relevance of hybrid poplar plantations in Italy, in the context of sustainable development strategies under a green economy perspective.

Climate change is increasingly favouring the occurrence of extreme weather events, affecting species distribution and tree growth. It has been proposed that mixed forests are more resistant to drought spells and heat waves than corresponding monocultures. We sampled tree cores in nine plots along a latitudinal gradient of the Italian Peninsula (Trentino, Molise and Calabria). The objective of the study was to identify radial growth responses in mixed-species and pure plots of European beech and silver fir to climate dynamics and extreme events. Pointer years, as well as correlation and response functions, were used to analyse the climate–growth relationships in mixed-species and pure plots. Climate–growth relationships showed differences between mixed-species and pure plots only at the regional level. In particular, Trentino differed from Molise and Calabria, when considering maximum temperatures. In Trentino, winter (for silver fir) and summer (for both species) temperatures had a less negative impact on the radial growth of trees, in comparison with Molise and Calabria. Nevertheless, correlations between the radial growth and drought indices, and the principal component analysis, showed that plots were relatively unresponsive to summer drought. These results can be important for the implementation of operational techniques that increase the adaptation of silver fir and European beech to climate change, as well as for assisted migration.

Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-12T01:54:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-04-02 Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) The classification of tree species can significantly benefit from high spatial and spectral information acquired by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) associated with advanced classification methods. This study investigated the following topics concerning the classification of 16 tree species in two subtropical forest fragments of Southern Brazil: i) the potential integration of UAV-borne hyperspectral images with 3D information derived from their photogrammetric point cloud (PPC); ii) the performance of two machine learning methods (support vector machine–SVM and random forest–RF) when employing different datasets at a pixel and individual tree crown (ITC) levels; iii) the potential of two methods for dealing with the imbalanced sample set problem: a new weighted SVM (wSVM) approach, which attributes different weights to each sample and class, and a deep learning classifier (convolutional neural network–CNN), associated with a previous step to balance the sample set; and finally, iv) the potential of this last classifier for tree species classification as compared to the above mentioned machine learning methods. Results showed that the inclusion of the PPC features to the hyperspectral data provided a great accuracy increase in tree species classification results when conventional machine learning methods were applied, between 13 and 17% depending on the classifier and the study area characteristics. When using the PPC features and the canopy height model (CHM), associated with the majority vote (MV) rule, the SVM, wSVM and RF classifiers reached accuracies similar to the CNN, which outperformed these classifiers for both areas when considering the pixel-based classifications (overall accuracy of 84.4% in Area 1, and 74.95% in Area 2). The CNN was between 22% and 26% more accurate than the SVM and RF when only the hyperspectral bands were employed. The wSVM provided a slight increase in accuracy not only for some lesser represented classes, but also some major classes in Area 2. While conventional machine learning methods are faster, they demonstrated to be less stable to changes in datasets, depending on prior segmentation and hand-engineered features to reach similar accuracies to those attained by the CNN. To date, CNNs have been barely explored for the classification of tree species, and CNN-based classifications in the literature have not dealt with hyperspectral data specifically focusing on tropical environments. This paper thus presents innovative strategies for classifying tree species in subtropical forest areas at a refined legend level, integrating UAV-borne 2D hyperspectral and 3D photogrammetric data and relying on both deep and conventional machine learning approaches. Division of Remote Sensing National Institute for Space Research (INPE) Department of Forest Engineering Santa Catarina State University (UDESC) Department of Electrical Engineering Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC) Department of Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources Research and Innovation Centre Department of Geography Santa Catarina State University (UDESC) Department of Cartography São Paulo State University (UNESP) Department of Cartography São Paulo State University (UNESP) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina: 2017TR1762 CNPq: 313887/2018-7 CAPES: 88882.330700/2018-01

Leucaena leucocephala is worldwide used for wood production, reforestation and for feeding livestock. To assess the potential use of leucaena for animal nutrition, we analysed the composition of methanolic extracts of leaf samples of two varieties occurring in Sicily (Mediterranean area), also determining the presence of mimosine.

Andrea Giacobbe, a forester who deserves to get out from oblivion. The scientific production of Andrea Giacobbe, a Sicilian forester who worked in central and northern Italy in the last century, has been revisited. The aim is to highlights how his contribution to botany, forest ecology and forestry has been largely overlooked. He was the protagonist of a lively debate with the greatest for est scientists of his time, he produced 64 papers and books, but above all he proposed many inno vative reforestation techniques that today should be rediscovered and applied.

Although Prunus dulcis has been frequently listed in non-native floras all around the world, its naturalization has been rarely studied in the field. Probably, because this species has generally invaded synanthropic habitats. We assessed the density of natural regeneration of almond, biometric parameters (height and basal stem diameter), and the distribution in life stage classes in three different ecological contexts in Sicily (Mediterranean Italy): one natural habitat (maquis), one pine afforestation and two prickly pear orchards. We recorded 236 naturally regenerating almond individuals, with density ranging from 140 individuals per hectare (prickly pear orchard 1) up to 2,400 individuals per hectare (pine afforestation). Despite the higher density, almond individuals presented the lowest height and basal stem diameter under pine afforestation, suggesting a more recent establishment. Reproductive individuals were dominant (67.8%), followed by pre-reproductive (22.1%), and juveniles (10.1%). Although the naturalization of the almond in Mediterranean contexts is not new, in the last two decades there is evidence of an increasing trend. Most importantly, for the first time, we found the almond thriving within a natural habitat in large areas covered by Mediterranean maquis. Since the almond appears to be perfectly integrated within local plant communities, the origin and meaning of this peculiar vegetation aspect deserve to be further deepened.

La acción COST NNEXT ha financiado el coste para publicar este artículo en abierto, por lo que aparece en la web de la revista como acceso abierto: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12511, Non-native tree (NNT) species have been transported worldwide to create or enhance services that are fundamental for human well-being, such as timber provision, erosion control or ornamental value; yet NNTs can also produce undesired effects, such as fire proneness or pollen allergenicity. Despite the variety of effects that NNTs have on multiple ecosystem services, a global quantitative assessment of their costs and benefits is still lacking. Such information is critical for decision-making, management and sustainable exploitation of NNTs. We present here a global assessment of NNT effects on the three main categories of ecosystem services, including regulating (RES), provisioning (PES) and cultural services (CES), and on an ecosystem disservice (EDS), i.e. pollen allergenicity. By searching the scientific literature, country forestry reports, and social media, we compiled a global data set of 1683 case studies from over 125 NNT species, covering 44 countries, all continents but Antarctica, and seven biomes. Using different meta-analysis techniques, we found that, while NNTs increase most RES (e.g. climate regulation, soil erosion control, fertility and formation), they decrease PES (e.g. NNTs contribute less than native trees to global timber provision). Also, they have different effects on CES (e.g. increase aesthetic values but decrease scientific interest), and no effect on the EDS considered. NNT effects on each ecosystem (dis)service showed a strong context dependency, varying across NNT types, biomes and socio-economic conditions. For instance, some RES are increased more by NNTs able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, and when the ecosystem is located in low-latitude biomes; some CES are increased more by NNTs in less-wealthy countries or in countries with higher gross domestic products. The effects of NNTs on several ecosystem (dis)services exhibited some synergies (e.g. among soil fertility, soil formation and climate regulation or between aesthetic values and pollen allergenicity), but also trade-offs (e.g. between fire regulation and soil erosion control). Our analyses provide a quantitative understanding of the complex synergies, trade-offs and context dependencies involved for the effects of NNTs that is essential for attaining a sustained provision of ecosystem services., Ministerio de Ciencia y Competitividad, Comunidad de Madrid

Natural disturbances and management are key drivers for forest carbon balance. We modelled the impact of Vaia storm on forest sink at national scale in Italy. We demonstrate that after Vaia, carbon fluxes among pools and through harvested wood products from salvage logging limit the carbon losses. Our findings can improve the effectiveness of mitigation actions under disturbance scenarios. Climate change increasingly modifies frequency and magnitude of extreme events, such as windstorms, with subsequent strong impacts not only on forest health and stability but also on the forest carbon balance. We aim to assess the combined impact of natural disturbances and forest management on the overall forest carbon accounting, including the mitigation potential from harvested wood products. We modelled the impact of Vaia storm on the evolution of forest carbon balance at national scale until 2030. We considered the effect of Vaia storm in combination with current management practices and salvage logging. Our results suggest that the overall carbon sink decreased only by 4% due to Vaia, because of internal carbon transfers among forest pools (about 3.1 Mt C from living biomass to dead organic matter), and that the potential negative effects of salvage logging, removing about 1.2 Mt C from dead organic matter, can be counterbalanced by long-term carbon accumulation in harvested wood products. Based on our findings, there is an increasing need to robustly consider, through novel approaches (e.g. comprehensive and integrated modelling framework), the effects of natural disturbances in current accounting frameworks, with the final purpose to improve the effectiveness of mitigation strategies in the forestry sector.

È stata compiuta una ricerca storica sulla attività di rimboschimento a Monte Pellegrino. Le vicende legate alla gestione del territorio e alle vicissitudini che hanno portato a rimboschire il Monte sono paradigmatiche del modo di concepire la gestione del territorio in Sicilia. L’incendio che il 16 giugno del 2016 ha interessato Monte Pellegrino ha riacceso i riflettori sul bosco e su quel che rimane dei rimboschimenti. Le pubblicazioni individuate attraverso questa ricerca, se adeguatamente studiate, possono essere una buona base di partenza per evitare di compiere gli errori del passato e fare tesoro di questa lunga esperienza. Historical research was carried out on reforestation activities on Mt. Pellegrino. The events relating to the management of the territory and the vicissitudes that led to the reforestation of the Mt. Pellegrino are paradigmatic of a way of conceiving land management in Sicily. The firewhich swept over the Mount on 16th June 2016 has turned the spotlight onto the forest once again on what remains of reforestation. The papers found during this research, if properly studied, could be a good starting point to avoid making the same mistakes of the past and to build upon this long experience.

Soil quality is fundamental for ecosystem long term functionality, productivity and resilience to current climatic changes. Despite its importance, soil is lost and degraded at dramatic rates worldwide. In Europe, the Mediterranean areas are a hotspot for soil erosion and land degradation due to a combination of climatic conditions, soils, geomorphology and anthropic pressure. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is considered a key indicator of soil quality as it relates to other fundamental soil functions supporting crucial ecosystem services. In the present study, the functional relationships among SOC and other important soil properties were investigated in the topsoil of 38 sites under different land cover and management, distributed over three Mediterranean regions under strong desertification risk, with the final aim to define critical SOC ranges for fast loss of important soil functionalities. The study sites belonged to private and public landowners seeking to adopt sustainable land management practices to support ecosystem sustainability and productivity of their land. Data showed a very clear relationship between SOC concentrations and the other analyzed soil properties: total nitrogen, bulk density, cation exchange capacity, available water capacity, microbial biomass, C fractions associated to particulate organic matter and to the mineral soil component and indirectly with net N mineralization. Below 20 g SOC kg−1, additional changes of SOC concentrations resulted in a steep variation of all the analyzed soil indicators, an order of magnitude higher than the changes occurring between 50 and 100 g SOC kg−1 and 3–4 times the changes observed at 20–50 g SOC kg−1. About half of the study sites showed average SOC concentration of the topsoil centimetres

Climate-Smart Forestry (CSF) is an emerging branch of sustainable forest management that aims to manage forests in response to climate change. Specific CSF strategies are viewed as a way forward for developing suitable management responses and enhancing the provision of ecosystem services. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive and cohesive assessment to implement CSF. This paper describes the step-by-step process that developed a comprehensive and shared definition of CSF, and the process for selecting indicators that assess the “climate-smartness” of forest management. Adaptation, mitigation and social dimensions are the core focus of the CSF definition, which recognises the need to integrate and avoid development of these aspects in isolation. An iterative participatory process was used with a range of experts in forest-related fields from the CLIMO project, this was subsequently supported by a network analysis to identify sustainable forest management indicators important to CSF. The definition developed here, is an important first step in to promote CSF that will aid practice in the forestry sector. It can be used as a template across Europe, tailored to local contexts. Further work communicating CSF to practitioners and policy-makers will create a CSF practice and culture that will help to safeguard future forest economies and communities.

The expected benefits and potential risks of non-native tree species (NNT) to European geographic regions have polarized the opinions of experts and citizens. Benefits include climate change (CC) mitigation and adaptation, contributions to bioeconomy, urban and peri-urban green infrastructure and mitigation of natural hazards. However, NNT may become invasive and thus may pose risks to native biodiversity, ecosystem functioning or socio-economy. In critical and vulnerable ecosystems such as the Alpine Space (AS), such risks and benefits must be carefully considered before management decisions are made. Experiences in the management of NNT in urban areas, peri-urban, rural territories and forests are often region- or city-specific and rarely shared. Given the challenges in NNT management with respect to both benefits and risks, an European transnational approach is needed to qualify the role of NNT in future AS ecosystems. The objective is to provide a transnational strategy for a responsible use and sustainable management of NNT in the AS with the help of an integrated Decision Support System. The project fits within the context of national and regional site-derived policy aiming at protecting and enhancing biodiversity to ensure ecological connectivity and cultural resources while maintaining a high level of resilience and ecosystem services across the AS. Implementation activities of the ALPTREES project include developing a comprehensive database on NNT, projecting the current and potential distribution of NNT in the AS under CC scenarios determining their invasive potential and analyzing the different ecosystem services provided by NNT to assess the tradeoffs between risks and benefits. developing a comprehensive database on NNT, projecting the current and potential distribution of NNT in the AS under CC scenarios determining their invasive potential and analyzing the different ecosystem services provided by NNT to assess the tradeoffs between risks and benefits. ALPTREES will formulate management recommendations for NNT under different climate and economic scenarios based on experience from sample plots combined with model projections, citizen science, and multiple stakeholder meetings. With the help of policy briefs, a handbook of lessons learned, transnational pilot actions for best management practices, and an inter-active online Decision Support System a close stakeholder interaction and -benefit will be ensured Another innovative output of the project is the Open ALPTREES Knowledge Hub, that will support the transnational and interdisciplinary knowledge transfer.

Soil is a key component of ecosystems as it provides fundamental ecosystem functions and services, first of all supporting primary productivity, by physical, chemical and biological interaction with plants. However, soil loss and degradation are at present two of the most critical environmental issues. This phenomenon is particularly critical in Mediterranean areas, where inappropriate land management, in combination with the increasingly harshening of climatic conditions due to Climate Change, is leading to significant land degradation and desertification and is expected to worsen in the future, leading to economic and social crisis. In such areas, it is of fundamental importance to apply sustainable management practices, as conservation/restoration measures, to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality. This approach is at the core of the LIFE project Desert-Adapt “Preparing desertification areas for increased climate change” which is testing a new framework of sustainable land management strategies based on the key concept that the maintenance of ecosystems quality is necessarily connected to economic and social security in these fragile areas. The project will test adaptation strategies and measures in 10 sites of three Mediterranean areas under strong desertification risk, Alentejo in Portugal, Extremadura in Spain and Sicily in Italy. We present the baseline data of soil quality analysis from 32 sites in the 10 study areas of the project. Key drivers of soil quality and quantity were identified and used as basis to select sustainable management strategies focused on the maintenance, improvement and/or recovery of soil-based ecosystem services, with particular attention to climate change adaptation and land productivity. The final objective of the project is to demonstrate, according to the LDN approach, the best adaptation strategies to recover degraded areas from low-productive systems into resource-efficient and low-carbon economies to preserve ecosystem quality and booster economy and social security

The apparent lack of surface energy balance closure is one of the most crucial challenges in the measurement of biosphere-atmosphere exchange. In principle, this issue can have a variety of potential reasons, including instrumental errors and errors introduced in the data processing chain. In addition, secondary circulations have been identified as one of the main reasons for a non-closure of the surface energy balance, since the related energy transport cannot be captured by common eddy-covariance tower flux measurements. When present, neglecting this process will result in an underestimation of turbulent fluxes. Secondary circulations can, however, be represented by means of large-eddy simulations, which have been employed to develop a novel semi-empirical model to correct for the missing large-scale flux (De Roo et al. 2018, DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0209022). In this study, we compare the results of this process-based method with two other previously published bulk-correction methods (Mauder et al. 2013, DOI 10.1016/j.agrformet.2012.09.006; Charuchittipan et al. 2014, DOI 10.1007/s10546-014-9922-6). These three correction methods are applied for multiple sites in different biomes around the world. Independent data of energy fluxes from these sites are used to assess which of these methods leads to the most reliable results, and we discuss the limitations of these corrections methods with respect to meteorological conditions and site characteristics, such as measurement height, the landscape-scale heterogeneity and terrain complexity.

The increased frequency and severity of extremes climatic events determined by the current and predicted scenarios of global climate changes have a large potential impact on the functionality of forest ecosystems and on their capacity of providing ecosystem services. These include climate warming mitigation capacity of forests which is exerted through carbon sequestration, carbon storage and the regulation of the energy balance by allocating incoming solar energy into transpiration rather than thermal energy. Assessing the size of the effects of increasing atmospheric temperature and climate anomalies on the functionality of forests, both in the short and mid-term, as well as their resilience capacity, is therefore of utmost importance in ecological research. European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests, extensively represented over the continent, are known to be particularly vulnerable to late frosts, which limit their distribution into continental areas, and droughts, especially in the southernmost area of their geographical distribution.The object of this study is an alpine mixed forest at the site of Cembra (46.20N; 11.12E, 1250 m a.s.l) in the Trentino province (Italy). In May 2019 the forest experienced a late spring frost during the early development stage of beech leaves with resulting damage to canopies differing remarkably among individual plants. The ecological monitoring of beech trees started in June 2019 and has been since then carried out by means of clusters of traditional and Internet of Things based devices (Valentini et al. 2019) recording trees radial growth, sap flow density and characterizing the forest microclimatic space. The adopted experimental design consisted in the formation of two groups of trees (n=18) featuring contrasting damaged/undamaged canopies, all selected from the dominant or subdominant layer of the forest canopy structure.Here we present the rates and the seasonal patterns of beech trees stem radial growth and transpiration from June to November 2019, highlighting the differences among plants directly dependent on the damage conditions and interpreting the total observed tree level variability in relation to microclimate, surrounding forest structure and microtopography. The functional recovery dynamics of transpiration and stem growth in damaged plants will be addressed as an initial evaluation of short-term resilience capacity of the beech forest .

Inland waters (rivers, lakes and ponds) are important conduits for the emission of terrestrial carbon in Arctic permafrost landscapes. These emissions are driven by turnover of contemporary terrestrial carbon and additional “pre-aged” (Holocene and late-Pleistocene) carbon released from thawing permafrost soils, but the magnitude of these source contributions to total inland water carbon fluxes remains unknown. Here we present unique simultaneous radiocarbon age measurements of inland water CO2, CH4 and dissolved and particulate organic carbon in northeast Siberia during summer. We show that >80% of total inland water carbon emissions were contemporary in age, but that pre-aged carbon contributed >50% at sites strongly affected by permafrost thaw. CO2 and CH4 were younger than dissolved and particulate organic carbon, suggesting emissions were primarily fuelled by contemporary carbon decomposition. The study region was a net carbon sink (-876.9 ± 136.4 Mg C for 25 July to 17 August), but inland waters were a source of contemporary (16.8 Mg C) and pre-aged (3.7 Mg C) emissions that respectively offset 1.9 ± 1.2% and 0.4 ± 0.3% of CO2 uptake by tundra (‑897 ± 115 Mg C). Our findings reveal that inland water carbon emissions from permafrost landscapes may be more sensitive to changes in contemporary carbon turnover than the release of pre-aged carbon from thawing permafrost.

Increasing frequency and intensity of droughts affect forest ecosystems. There are already higher rates of tree mortality and forest drought-induced dieback. Since climate change affects the soil conditions, the precipitation rates and the growth seasons, it is expected that trees will develop acclimation and adaptation strategies in order to maintain vigor. Since the two most important reasons of mortality are carbon starvation and hydraulic failure, adjustments in physiological traits are expected to be related to the maintenance of the tree carbon and water balances. This thesis focused on understanding how trees respond under different environmental conditions (e.g. wet vs dry) both at the intraspecific and interspecific level. The conducted studies focused on biomass allocation, xylem and phloem anatomies of stem and branches, xylem anatomy of leaves, plant hydraulics, and wood density. Mostly, data from personal measurements were used, but also published data to compare the results. The aim was to understand which structural traits are linked to the acclimation and adaptation strategies of trees and how. The structure of the thesis is: (i) general introduction, (ii) five main chapters based on different studies, (iii) one main chapter describing in short three more studies, (iv) overall conclusion, (v) additional information for each of the main chapters (if applicable), (vi) acknowledgments, (vii) anatomical images for some chapters, (viii) literature cited listed per chapter.

Managing genetic diversity is of key importance in fostering resilience of forest ecosystems to climate change. We carried out a survey reaching over 200 forest owners and managers from 15 European countries to understand their perceptions of the main threats to forest ecosystems, their knowledge of forest genetic resources (FGR) and their attitude toward actively managing these resources to strengthen the resilience of forest ecosystems to climate change. Respondents perceived pests and diseases to be the top-ranking threats to forests, followed by windstorms and drought, with differences across countries. They stated to be aware of the potential offered by managing FGR and indicated that they paid attention to origin and quality in their choice of planting material. Generally, respondents showed a positive attitude in using forest reproductive material foreign to the planting site, to better match the projected future climate conditions, introducing either a new native tree species or a new non-local genotype of a species already planted (keeping the same species but changing the source of planting material). However, forest reproductive material from local sources was largely preferred over non-local material (both genetically improved and not improved). Forest managers and owners may need to be exposed to more evidence of the potential benefits deriving from active adaptation and mitigation management of FGR before implementing adaptive measures. Also, more efforts should be invested in understanding perceptions and motivations of European forest owners and managers, in order to better tailor advice on optimal measures to counteract the detrimental effects of climate change.

Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-12T02:34:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-03-01 Università degli Studi di Palermo Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca Vegetation natural regeneration after agricultural abandonment is changing the landscape patterns in many areas worldwide. However, the expansion rate, spatio-temporal dynamics, and the role of past vegetation cover in shaping such patterns are still barely quantified in fine and meso scales. Here, we aim to quantify the expansion rate and assess the spatio-temporal patterns and the effects of past cover on natural woody vegetation cover increase. We sampled woodland and shrubland cover from 1992 to 2016 in 30 ha in a formerly managed pastureland in Sicily, Italy. We combined field sampling, GIS tools, and spatial analysis to assess the spatial structure dynamics and test the effects of past cover amount and type and distance from forest or nearest woody patch on the proportional expansion of natural regeneration. After 24 years, woody cover increased 68%, despite the aggregated spatial structure in 1992 remaining almost unchanged in 2016. The past vegetation cover was the best predictor of woody vegetation expansion in two out of three plots. Distance to continuous forest and to the nearest woody patch, as well as cover type, was not relevant. Our study highlights the importance of fine- and meso-scale studies to reveal both the deterministic and stochastic facet of woody vegetation dynamics. Natural regeneration may strongly change landscape patterns even under constant herbivory pressure and long-term deforestation. The detection of cold and hotspots of regeneration provide an important prompt for the design of restoration programs and landscape management. Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie Alimentari e Forestali Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA) Departamento de Ecologia Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas – UMIB University of Oviedo Departamento de Ecologia Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca: 201049EXTW

The genus Eucalyptus has been widely introduced into many regions of the world outside its native range and has become invasive in some Mediterranean biomes (e.g. in southern Africa and California). In the Mediterranean Basin and Europe, eucalypts were introduced at the end of the 18th century. However, natural regeneration events in these regions are recent in time and limited in terms of affected areas, except for the Iberian Peninsula. An updated overview about the natural spread of Eucalyptus species in Italy is still lacking. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap, using both published data and unpublished field data regarding naturalisation events, with a specific focus on Sicily. Three species have naturalised on the island: Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. globulus and E. occidentalis. According to our data, E. camaldulensis showed a clear ‘switch’ in the past decade towards naturalisation and invasive behaviour on the pebbly shores of watercourses that have a torrential rainfall regime and erodible substrates, threatening native plant communities and species. Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa were found to be particularly vulnerable to E. camaldulensis invasion. This is significant because the A. glutinosa communities are a native habitat of particular conservation value and protected under the Habitats Directive 92/43. The uncontrolled spread of Eucalyptus species may represent a higher threat to native biodiversity than previously considered. The situation in Sicily could be indicative of the invasion process by eucalypts currently ongoing around the Mediterranean Basin, the management of which requires special attention, urgent action and sound choices.

The availability of data time series spanning a long period is crucial for landscape change analysis. A suitable dataset, both in terms of time span and information content, must be available for the use with a GIS.In Italy, one of the most important historical source of land cover analysis is the GAI (Gruppo Aereo Italiano) photogrammetric survey (“Volo GAI”) commissioned in 1954 by the Italian national mapping agency, Istituto Geografico Militare Italiano (IGMI).The survey covers the whole Italy, but so far only some Regions, namely Lombardia and Veneto, have carried out the image rectification and the successive analyses to map land cover and use.This work describes the process of image orthorectification of the Volo GAI images for the Province of Trento (Provincia Autonoma di Trento).Image orthorectification must be performed to transform the images in maps available for analysis. This procedure corrects the geometry according to the terrain surface described by a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) to create an image compatible with the cartographic projection in use.To this end, the orthorectification modules available in GRASS GIS have been used, with the advantage of using the same GIS environment which will be used for the landscape analysis. The dataset covering the whole Province contains almost 100 images, this paper presents the preliminary results of the orthorectification of a quarter of the images. A reduced dataset has been used to test the results obtained using different settings with respect to: digital image resolution, DTM resolution and number of Ground Control Points (GCPs) used for the external orientation.These preliminary tests show that for the average quality of the Volo GAI images scan resolution beyond 600 DPI and DTM resolution above 10 m do not provide significant improvements for orthorectification images. The minimum number of GCPs to guarantee the requested accuracy can vary from image to image, depending on the image quality and recognizable features position, but it is usually in the 15–20 points range.

The effect of different supplementary feeding rates for grazing cattle on high-altitude pastures dynamics was evaluated. A field experiment was carried out during three years in a subalpine pasture...

Cudlín, Pavel et. al.- 16 páginas.- Ilustraciones.- Se acompaña suplemento de 3 páginas.- © The autors 2017. Open Access under Creative Commons by Attribution Licence. Use, distribution and reproduction are unrestricted. Authors and original publication must be credited., A growing body of evidence suggests that processes of upward treeline expansion and shifts in vegetation zones may occur in response to climate change. However, such shifts can be limited by a variety of non-climatic factors, such as nutrient availability, soil conditions, landscape fragmentation and some species-specific traits. Many changes in species distributions have been observed, although no evidence of complete community replacement has been registered yet. Climatic signals are often confounded with the effects of human activity, for example, forest encroachment at the treeline owing to the coupled effect of climate change and highland pasture abandonment. Data on the treeline ecotone, barriers to the expected treeline or dominant tree species shifts due to climate and land use change, and their possible impacts on biodiversity in 11 mountain areas of interest, from Italy to Norway and from Spain to Bulgaria, are reported. We investigated the role of environmental conditions on treeline ecotone features with a focus on treeline shift. The results showed that treeline altitude and the altitudinal width of the treeline ecotone, as well as the significance of climatic and soil parameters as barriers against tree species shift, significantly decreased with increasing latitude. However, the largest part of the commonly observed variability in mountain vegetation near the treeline in Europe seems to be caused by geomorphological, geological, pedological and microclimatic variability in combination with different land use history and present socio-economic relations., This paper is based firstly upon work from the COST Action ES 1203 SENSFOR, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology; www.cost.eu). This international work was further supported by projects granted by the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, grant NPU I LO1415 and LD 14039, by the agency APVV SR under projects APVV-14-0086 and APVV-15-0270. We acknowledge the E-OBS dataset from the EU-FP6 project ENSEMBLES (http://ensembles-eu.metoffice.com) and the data providers in the ECA&D project (www.ecad.eu)

Site productivity is essential information for sustainable forest management and site index (SI) is the most common quantitative measure of it. The SI is usually determined for individual tree species based on tree height and the age of the 100 largest trees per hectare according to stem diameter. The present study aimed to demonstrate and validate a methodology for the determination of SI using remotely sensed data, in particular fused airborne laser scanning (ALS) and airborne hyperspectral data in a forest site in Norway. The applied approach was based on individual tree crown (ITC) delineation: tree species, tree height, diameter at breast height (DBH), and age were modelled and predicted at ITC level using 10-fold cross validation. Four dominant ITCs per 400 m 2 plot were selected as input to predict SI at plot level for Norway spruce ( Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.). We applied an experimental setup with different subsets of dominant ITCs with different combinations of attributes (predicted or field-derived) for SI predictions. The results revealed that the selection of the dominant ITCs based on the largest DBH independent of tree species, predicted the SI with similar accuracy as ITCs matched with field-derived dominant trees (RMSE: 27.6% vs 23.3%). The SI accuracies were at the same level when dominant species were determined from the remotely sensed or field data (RMSE: 27.6% vs 27.8%). However, when the predicted tree age was used the SI accuracy decreased compared to field-derived age (RMSE: 27.6% vs 7.6%). In general, SI was overpredicted for both tree species in the mature forest, while there was an underprediction in the young forest. In conclusion, the proposed approach for SI determination based on ITC delineation and a combination of ALS and hyperspectral data is an efficient and stable procedure, which has the potential to predict SI in forest areas at various spatial scales and additionally to improve existing SI maps in Norway.

Studying the genetic diversity and structure of the current forest populations is essential for evaluating the ability to survive to future biotic and abiotic changes and planning conservation strategies. Quercus trojana is an eastern Mediterranean tree species with a fragmented distribution range, and its westernmost outposts are located in southern Italy. The demand for timber and cropland over the centuries has severely reduced it s occurrence in this part of the range. We assessed the genetic diversity and structure of the extant Italian populations of Q. trojana and derived conservation guidelines. A total of 322 samples were genotyped with six polymorphic nuclear microsatellite markers. Our results reveale d a high genetic diversity in all populations, structured into two main gene pools, and a highly divergent single population. Based on the allelic richness and heterozygosity estimation, we identified populations which can be considered as valuable source material for conservation programs, and those requiring adequate measure to reestablish gene flow and reduce fragmentation. Finally, a comparison with a set of eastern Mediterranean samples indicated a relationship between the Italian and the Greek gene pool; different hypotheses on the Italian gene pool origin were discussed. The need to protect these marginal, disjunct populations was further reinforced. ` survivre aux changements biotiques et abiotiques futurs et planifier les stratégies de conservation. Quercus trojana Webb est une espèce arborescente de l’est de la région méditerranéenne caractérisée par une aire de distribution naturelle fragmentée. Ses avant-postes les plus a` l’ouest sont situés dans le sud de l’Italie. Au cours des siècles, la demande pour le bois et les terres destinées a` l’agriculture a sévèrement réduit son occurrence dans cette partie de son aire de distribution. Nous avons évalué la diversité génétique et la structure des populations actuelles de Q. trojana en Italie, afin d’en déduire des lignes directrices pour la conservation. Un total de 322 échantillons ont été génotypés pour six marqueurs nucléaires polymorphes de type microsatellite. Les résultats indiquent qu’il y a une grande diversité génétique dans toutes les populations, structurée en deux pools génétiques principaux, ainsi qu’une population unique très divergente. Sur la base des estimations de richesse allélique et d’hétérozygotie, les populations pouvant être considérées comme une source utile de propagules pour les programmes de conservation ont été identifiées, ainsi que les populations nécessitant des mesures adéquates pour restaurer le flux génique et réduire la fragmentation. Enfin, la comparaison avec un jeu d’échantillons provenant de l’est de la région méditerranéenne montre qu’il existe un lien entre le pool génétique de l’Italie et celui de la Grèce. Différentes hypothèses concernant l’origine du pool génétique italien sont abordées dans la discussion. La protection de ces populations marginales disjointes a encore besoin d’être renforcée.

Poiché le foreste forniscono molteplici beni e servizi (ad esempio legno, sequestro del carbonio, turismo, ecc.), il settore che si occupa della gestione delle risorse forestali ha un potenziale molto elevato di eco-innovazione e può dare un contributo significativo alla soluzione di problemi altamente complessi (wicked problems). Allo stesso tempo, il settore forestale è uno di quelli più tradizionali, spesso caratterizzato da un’organizzazione gerarchica e dal dominio degli attori pubblici, che sono considerati ostacoli all'innovazione. Nell’ultimo decennio, l'Unione Europea ha fortemente promosso l'innovazione sociale e ha esercitato crescenti pressioni sul settore pubblico affinché introducesse innovazioni per risolvere problemi altamente complessi e fornire beni e servizi pubblici. Poiché la capacità di governance degli attori pubblici per l'innovazione sociale nel settore forestale è un campo di indagine nuovo e finora poco esplorato, questa ricerca mira a colmare questa lacuna. In particolare, questa ricerca esplora la capacità di governance degli attori pubblici per l’innovazione sociale nel settore forestale adottando vari metodi di ricerca (una analisi bibliografica, un sondaggio su scala europea, e un caso studio di approfondimento), che corrispondono a quattro diversi studi tra loro correlati: 1) lo sviluppo di un quadro analitico e concettuale di riferimento; 2) un test dell'ipotesi relativa al ruolo degli attori pubblici nell’innovazione sociale; 3) un’analisi approfondita dei ruoli svolti dagli attori pubblici e delle loro capacità nel sostenere l'iniziativa selezionata come caso studio in Slovenia (Charchoal Land Initiative); 4) un’analisi approfondita delle condizioni del quadro politico e istituzionale in cui si è potuta sviluppare l’iniziativa usata come caso-studio. Poiché i concetti di capacità di governance e di innovazione sociale sono molto ampi ed elusivi, il primo studio di questa ricerca ha identificato costrutti e interconnessioni concettuali chiave per chiarirne il significato e le interrelazioni. I costrutti-chiave identificati come elementi portanti di questi concetti sono: gli attori (singoli individui, organizzazioni e la stessa iniziativa di innovazione sociale esplorata come caso studio), i loro ruoli, le sotto-capacità di governance (legate ai compiti specifici assegnati agli attori ma anche alla loro personalità) e il contesto (temporale, spaziale e sociale). Il costrutto centrale della struttura teorico-concettuale e analitica di riferimento è quello dei ruoli, in quanto crea un ponte tra i singoli attori, le organizzazioni pubbliche e l'iniziativa di innovazione sociale. . Il quadro analitico proposto presuppone che gli attori pubblici agiscano come agenti di innovazione sociale. Il primo passo nell’indagine empirica è stato quello di identificare i ruoli organizzativi degli attori pubblici nell’innovazione sociale, e di verificare se tali ruoli influenzino significativamente le iniziative di innovazione sociale. A tal fine, nel secondo studio è stato utilizzato come metodo di base un ampio sondaggio realizzato attraverso un questionario online a scala europea. Sebbene il tasso di risposta dell'indagine sia stato troppo basso per consentire di testare l'ipotesi, i risultati indicano che gli attori pubblici svolgono ruoli multipli nelle iniziative di innovazione sociale. Tali ruoli vanno dal ruolo amministrativo e consultivo al ruolo di lobbing, a quello di erogazione di risorse e al networking. I risultati indicano anche che i ruoli degli attori pubblici influenzano le iniziative di innovazione sociale, sia positivamente che negativamente. . Il quadro teorico-concettuale e analitico proposto è stato ulteriormente applicato nel caso di studio di approfondimento. Utilizzando interviste semi-strutturate combinate ad osservazioni partecipative ed etnografiche, il caso di studio ha esplorato l'iniziativa denominata Charcoal Land, che ha innovato e riconfigurato la pratica tradizionale della produzione del carbone di legna e ha portato ad una sua diffusione in Slovenia. Il terzo studio che compone la ricerca complessiva si è concentrato sugli attori individuali e su quelli strutturati in organizzazioni, nonché sui loro ruoli. I risultati di questo terzo studio indicano che i singoli attori pubblici fungono da ponti tra la loro organizzazione e l'iniziativa di innovazione sociale, e che le capacità legate alla personalità – capacità di adattamento, di apprendimento e di prendere decisioni - sono cruciali per ottenere il supporto organizzativo e avere accesso a tutte le risorse necessarie per lo sviluppo dell'iniziativa. Infine, il quarto studio si è concentrato sulle condizioni del quadro politico e istituzionale per l'innovazione sociale in Slovenia. Tale studio ha dimostrato che l'attuale quadro legislativo e delle politiche sostiene la creazione di imprese sociali, pertanto altre iniziative di innovazione sociale non commerciali che siano sviluppate in ambito forestale non vengono ricosciute come tali e non trovano collocazione adeguata nel quadro istituzionale attuale. Iniziative di innovazione sociale realizzate in ambito forestale, come il caso della Charcoal Land esplorato in questa ricerca, dovranno destreggiarsi a trovare una loro strada nella complessità delle condizioni quadro delle politiche e delle leggi in essere, utilizzando unicamente le proprie capacità per identificare e accedere a possibili risorse disponibili attraverso ad esempio il Programma di Sviluppo Rurale europeo o gli strumenti di politica forestale che supportano la cooperazione e la creazione di reti.

The occurrence of old-growth forests is quite limited in Mediterranean islands, which have been subject to particularly pronounced human impacts. Little is known about the carbon stocks of such peculiar ecosystems compared with different stages of secondary succession. We investigated the carbon variation in aboveground woody biomass, in litter and soil, and the nitrogen variation in litter and soil, in a 100 years long secondary succession in Mediterranean ecosystems. A vineyard, three stages of plant succession (high maquis, maquis-forest, and forest-maquis), and an old growth forest were compared. Soil samples at two soil depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm), and two litter types, relatively undecomposed and partly decomposed, were collected. Carbon stock in aboveground woody biomass increased from 6 Mg ha-1 in the vineyard to 105 Mg ha-1 in old growth forest. Along the secondary succession, soil carbon considerably increased from about 33 Mg ha-1 in the vineyard to about 69 Mg ha-1 in old growth forest. Soil nitrogen has more than doubled, ranging from 4.1 Mg ha-1 in the vineyard to 8.8 Mg ha-1 in old growth forest. Both soil parameters were found to be affected by successional stage and soil depth but not by their interaction. While the C/N ratio in the soil remained relatively constant during the succession, the C/N ratio of the litter strongly decreased, probably following the progressive increase in the holm oak contribution. While carbon content in litter decreased along the succession, nitrogen content slightly increased. Overall, carbon stock in aboveground woody biomass, litter and soil increased from about 48 Mg ha-1 in the vineyard to about 198 Mg ha-1 in old growth forest. The results of this study indicate that, even in Mediterranean environments, considerable amounts of carbon may be stored through secondary succession processes up to old growth forest. The occurrence of old-growth forests is quite limited in Mediterranean islands, which have been subject to particularly pronounced human impacts. Little is known about the carbon stocks of such peculiar ecosystems compared with different stages of secondary succession. We investigated the carbon variation in aboveground woody biomass, in litter and soil, and the nitrogen variation in litter and soil, in a 100 years long secondary succession in Mediterranean ecosystems. A vineyard, three stages of plant succession (high maquis, maquis-forest, and forest-maquis), and an old growth forest were compared. Soil samples at two soil depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm), and two litter types, relatively undecomposed and partly decomposed, were collected. Carbon stock in aboveground woody biomass increased from 6 Mg ha(-1) in the vineyard to 105 Mg ha(-1) in old growth forest. Along the secondary succession, soil carbon considerably increased from about 33 Mg ha(-1) in the vineyard to about 69 Mg ha(-1) in old growth forest. Soil nitrogen has more than doubled, ranging from 4.1 Mg ha(-1) in the vineyard to 8.8 Mg ha(-1) in old growth forest. Both soil parameters were found to be affected by successional stage and soil depth but not by their interaction. While the C/N ratio in the soil remained relatively constant during the succession, the C/N ratio of the litter strongly decreased, probably following the progressive increase in the holm oak contribution. While carbon content in litter decreased along the succession, nitrogen content slightly increased. Overall, carbon stock in aboveground woody biomass, litter and soil increased from about 48 Mg ha(-1) in the vineyard to about 198 Mg ha(-1) in old growth forest. The results of this study indicate that, even in Mediterranean environments, considerable amounts of carbon may be stored through secondary succession processes up to old growth forest.

Paulownia tomentosa is native to different regions of East Asia. Here, the first case of natural regeneration in Sicily is reported. Although Paulownia is not still invading typically Mediterranean areas, mainly due to ecological constraints, its recognized invasiveness at a global level imposes the need to monitor the ongoing process.

Scarce information is available on the biological reasons why a small subset of introduced species can effectively establish within novel ecosystems. A comparison of early growth traits can help to explain the better performance of alien invasive species versus native co-occurring species. In one year-long experiment, we compared the early life stages of Ampelodesmos mauritanicus (Poir.) Dur. & Schinz (Amp), a native perennial Mediterranean grass, and Pennisetum setaceum (Forssk.) Chiov (Penn), an emerging invader grass in sub-arid and Mediterranean-climate areas. The Penn seedlings grew significantly faster and were approximately 2.5 times taller than the Amp seedlings, reaching a final average height of 90 cm. The shoot and root dry masses of the Penn seedlings were, respectively, more than 14 times and 4 times higher than those of the Amp seedlings. As a consequence, the shoot:root ratio was significantly higher in Penn, which resulted in a greater allocation of resources to the photosynthetic organs. Penn showed a more rapid life cycle compared with Amp. Penn produced seeds 9 months after sowing while no spikelet was produced by Amp until the end of the experiment. As a consequence, Penn may gain a reproductive advantage due to rapid seed dissemination. Ultimately, a suite of peculiar early growth traits makes Penn an aggressive competitor against Amp, which is an important floristic element of native Mediterranean grasslands. Penn seems better suited than Amp in colonizing frequently disturbed sites with fluctuating resource availability or irregular rainfall distribution and Penn is gradually replacing Amp.

In this note the authors report the first case of naturalization of the Malagasy smoke bush within Italian territory. Along with a description of the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the invaded site, the current demographic and dynamic trends of the detected population by means of growth-ring analysis was also assessed. Moreover, an overview on the history of its introduction in Europe is provided, underlining the key role played by the Mediterranean cities with respect to the acclimatization and spread of alien tropical and subtropical plants. Due to its low frequency under cultivation, the Malagasy smoke bush should not behave as an invader in the future; on the other hand, its ability to cover and smother neighbouring trees in very short times, make its spread within the whole Mediterranean area worth regular monitoring.

Forest ecosystems are fundamental for the terrestrial biosphere as they deliver multiple essential ecosystem services (ES). In environmental management, understanding ES distribution and interactions and assessing the economic value of forest ES represent future challenges. In this study, we developed a spatially explicit method based on a multi-scale approach (MiMoSe-Multiscale Mapping of ecosystem services) to assess the current and future potential of a given forest area to provide ES. To do this we modified and improved the InVEST model in order to adapt input data and simulations to the context of Mediterranean forest ecosystems. Specifically, we integrated a GIS-based model, scenario model, and economic valuation to investigate two ES (wood production and carbon sequestration) and their trade-offs in a test area located in Molise region (Central Italy). Spatial information and trade-off analyses were used to assess the influence of alternative forest management scenarios on investigated services. Scenario A was designed to describe the current Business as Usual approach. Two alternative scenarios were designed to describe management approaches oriented towards nature protection (scenario B) or wood production (scenario C) and compared to scenario A. Management scenarios were simulated at the scale of forest management units over a 20-year time period. Our results show that forest management influenced ES provision and associated benefits at the regional scale. In the test area, the Total Ecosystem Services Value of the investigated ES increases 85% in scenario B and decreases 82% in scenario C, when compared to scenario A. Our study contributes to the ongoing debate about trade-offs and synergies between carbon sequestration and wood production benefits associated with socio-ecological systems. The MiMoSe approach can be replicated in other contexts with similar characteristics, thus providing a useful basis for the projection of benefits from forest ecosystems over the future L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.elsevier.com/locate/envres

The main hypothesis of this work was that Sicilian forestry resources are suitable for the production of equipment to be used in cheese making and indigenous milk lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are able to develop stable biofilms providing starter and nonstarter cultures necessary for curd fermentation and cheese ripening, respectively. Hence, the present work was carried out with deproteinized whey to evaluate LAB biofilm formation on different woods derived from tree species grown in Sicily. Microbiological and scanning electron microscopy analyses showed minimal differences in microbial levels and compositions for the neoformed biofilms. The specific investigation of Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes , Escherichia coli , coagulase-positive staphylococci (CPS), and sulfite-reducing anaerobes did not generate any colony for all vats before and after bacterial adhesion. LAB populations dominated all vat surfaces. The highest levels (7.63 log CFU/cm 2 ) were registered for thermophilic cocci. Different colonies were characterized physiologically, biochemically, and genetically (at strain and species levels). Six species within the genera Enterococcus , Lactobacillus , Lactococcus , and Streptococcus were identified. The species most frequently present were Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactococcus lactis . LAB found on the surfaces of the wooden vats in this study showed interesting characteristics important for dairy manufacture. To thoroughly investigate the safety of the wooden vat, a test of artificial contamination on new Calabrian chestnut (control wood) vats was carried out. The results showed that LAB represent efficient barriers to the adhesion of the main dairy pathogens, probably due to their acidity and bacteriocin generation. IMPORTANCE This study highlights the importance of using wooden vats for traditional cheese production and provides evidence for the valorization of the Sicilian forest wood resources via the production of dairy equipment.

Extreme climatic events, such as droughts and heat stress, influence terrestrial ecosystem physiology and phenology. These impacts induce anomalies in ecosystem-atmosphere CO2 fluxes, such as gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Reco), and can change the net ecosystem carbon balance. However, despite our increasing understanding of the underlying mechanisms, the magnitudes of the impacts of different types of extremes on GPP and Reco within and between ecosystems remain poorly predicted. Stand structure, species composition, ecosystem history, and the timing and duration of the extremes may influence the ecosystem's response in different ways. Here we aim to identify the major factors controlling the amplitude of extreme event impacts on GPP, Reco, and the resulting net ecosystem production (NEP) from observational data. We focus on the impacts of heat and drought and their combination. Wealso investigate the effects of event duration and how impacts differ between ecosystem types.We identified hydrometeorological extreme events in consistently downscaled water availability and temperature measurements over a 30 year time period. We then used FLUXNET eddy-covariance CO2 flux measurements to estimate the C flux anomalies during these extreme events across dominant vegetation types and climate zones. Overall, our results indicate that short-term heat extremes increased respiration more strongly than they down-regulated GPP, resulting in a moderate reduction of the ecosystem's carbon sink potential. In the absence of heat stress, droughts tended to have smaller and similarly dampening effects on GPP and Reco, which often resulted in neutral NEP responses. The combination of drought and high temperatures typically led to a strong decrease in GPP, whereas heat and drought impacts on respiration partially offset each other. Taken together, compound heat and drought events led to the strongest C sink reduction compared to any single-factor extreme. A key insight of this paper, however, is that duration matters most: for heat stress during droughts, the magnitude of impacts systematically increased with duration, whereas under heat stress without drought, the response of Reco over time was qualitatively contrasting: an initial increase for about two to three weeks was followed by a down-regulation of Reco for long-term heat events. This confirms earlier theories that not only the magnitude but also the duration of an extreme event determines its impact. Our study corroborates the results of several local site-level case studies on the different responses of primary production and respiration, but as a novelty generalizes these findings at the global scale. Specifically, we find that the different response functions of the two antipodal land-atmosphere fluxes GPP and Reco can also result in increasing NEP during certain extreme conditions. Apparently counterintuitive findings of this kind bear great potential for scrutinizing the mechanisms implemented in state-of-the-art terrestrial biosphere models and provide a benchmark for future model development and testing.

Eucalyptus stands in semi-arid areas may contribute to enhance carbon (C) stocks in both biomass and soil. However, the limited information available is mainly focused on short-rotation plantations. In this study, the above- and below-ground C pools in five 50-year-old Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. stands planted on Miocenic evaporitic deposits in Sicily, Italy, with a xeric and thermic pedoclimate, were measured. Above-ground biomass was determined by partitioning and weighing branches, stem and leaves. Below-ground C pools included the determination of litter, root biomass, and soil organic and inorganic C. In terms of the above-ground biomass, the E. camaldulensis stand accumulated on average 116 Mg ha-1 corresponding to 55 Mg C ha-1. Below-ground biomass consisted mainly of larger roots, followed by fine and medium roots (33 Mg ha-1 corresponding to 14 Mg C ha-1). Litter accumulation on the soil surface accounted for 13 Mg ha-1 corresponding to 5 Mg C ha-1. The amount of C stored in soil was 554 Mg C ha-1, of which 75% was in organic form. Although E. camaldulensis is planted extensively throughout the Southern Hemisphere and tropics where it is managed over short rotations (c. 2–4 years), the results obtained from this study make this species important in terms of future afforestation planning for longer rotations due to its potential to sequester C, particularly in the below-ground components.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may promote plant invasion by enhancing plant performance and competitiveness. However, only a small number of studies have considered the interactions between local soil microbial communities and invasive plants, and even fewer have focused on alien trees. Ailanthus altissima is a serious problem in the Mediterranean Basin, where it has invaded many habitats. We investigated the symbiosis between A. altissima and indigenous AMF in two invaded, ecologically different Mediterranean woodlands. Mycorrhizal infection was high at both sites (> 60% of the root fragments were mycorrhizal), indicating that A. altissima roots may be infected by AMF under different ecological conditions. In a greenhouse experiment, A. altissima seedling growth was evaluated in untreated soil (natural soil containing the entire soil microbial community), in sterilized soil, and in sterilized soil containing the entire microbial community except AMF. Seedling growth was greater in the natural soil than in the other two soils. Seedlings in natural soil but not in the other two soils were extensively colonized by AMF, indicating that AMF may have been responsible for the greater growth in the natural soil. Growth was poorer in the sterile soil that had been inoculated with a soil suspension lacking AMF than in the sterile soil, suggesting that the natural soil also contained pathogens and that the AMF countered the effects of these pathogens. Overall, the results indicate that AMF are an important component of Mediterranean woodlands invaded by A. altissima and AMF may facilitate A. altissima's invasion in these woodlands.

The availability of common standardized geospatial information on composition, structure and distribution of forests is essential to support environmental actions, sustainable forest management and planning policies. Forest types maps are suitable tools for supporting both silvicultural and forest planning choices from local to global scale levels. For this reason local authorities may develop forest types maps independently, in which case a standardized/harmonized framework for their comparison and aggregation is essential. At the same time local forest types maps may not be directly related to pan-European forest resources assessments and classification systems. This paper presents results of the harmonization of four forest types maps available for central Italy. The process is based on a bottom-up approach aimed at maintaining the most detailed common nomenclature system across the different Regions. The final results, in terms of forest types area, are compared with several independent sources of information: (i) two forest maps, one developed at national level on the basis of the Corine Land Cover 2006, and one for high resolution forest / non forest classification developed at pan-European level; and (ii) two sample based inventories: the Italian National Forest Inventory (INFC) and the Italian Land Use Inventory (IUTI). The results show that the proposed bottom- up harmonization approach is a suitable tool to guarantee the integrity and homogeneity of local forest types nomenclature systems, and to integrate such local data with European standards.

During the last 50 years, the Italian landscape has been subjected by different land use and land cover changes (LULCC). The IUTI inventory (Inventario dell’Uso delle Terre d’Italia) is proved to be acheaper, fast and statistically accurate method for LULCC monitoring. The aim of this study is to summarize the LULCC trends at national level, in Italy, focusing on natural reforestation processes at macroregions level. Some of the LULCC effects on ecosystem services provisioning (carbon storage and sequestration,and biodiversity conservation) have been also analysed. Although on one side the forest re-growth represents a positive opportunity in terms of mitigation strategies due to the enhancement of potential carbon sinks,on the other side, the abandonment of agro-pastoral practices, has several potential negative impacts from an environmental, economic and social perspective.