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Featured Application: This study provides a general methodology for the assessment of the impact of climate change on reliability of structures, combining observations and climate projections, to the aim of giving guidance for the adaptation of climatic load maps in structural Codes. Climatic loads on structures are commonly defined under the assumption of stationary climate conditions; but, as confirmed by recent studies, they can significantly vary because of climate change effects, with relevant impacts not only for the design of new structures but also for the assessment of the existing ones. In this paper, a general methodology to evaluate the influence of climate change on climatic actions is presented, based on the analysis of observed data series and climate projections. Illustrative results in terms of changes in characteristic values of temperature, precipitation, snow, and wind loads are discussed for Italy and Germany, with reference to different climate models and radiative forcing scenarios. In this way, guidance for potential amendments in the current definition of climatic actions in structural codes is provided. Finally, the influence of climate change on the long-term structural reliability is estimated for a specific case study, showing the potential of the proposed methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental factors amplified by climate change contribute significantly to the global burden of disease, disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations, such as individuals with rare diseases. Researchers require innovative, dynamic data linkage methods to enable the development of risk prediction models, particularly for diseases like vasculitis with unknown aetiology but potential environmental triggers. In response, we present the Semantic Environmental and Rare Disease Data Integration Framework (SERDIF). SERDIF was evaluated with researchers studying climate-related health hazards of vasculitis disease activity across European countries (NP1 = 10, NP2 = 17, NP3 = 23). Usability metrics consistently improved, indicating SERDIF's effectiveness in linking complex environmental and health datasets. Furthermore, SERDIF-enabled epidemiologists to study environmental factors in a pregnancy cohort in Lombardy, showcasing its versatility beyond rare diseases. This framework offers for the first time a user-friendly, FAIR-compliant design for environment-health data linkage with export capabilities enabling data analysis to mitigate health risks posed by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a climate risk index that has been developed to inform national climate adaptation planning in Italy and that is further elaborated in this paper. The index supports national authorities in designing adaptation policies and plans, guides the initial problem formulation phase, and identifies administrative areas with higher propensity to being adversely affected by climate change. The index combines (i) climate change-amplified hazards; (ii) high-resolution indicators of exposure of chosen economic, social, natural and built- or manufactured capital (MC) assets and (iii) vulnerability, which comprises both present sensitivity to climate-induced hazards and adaptive capacity. We use standardized anomalies of selected extreme climate indices derived from high-resolution regional climate model simulations of the EURO-CORDEX initiative as proxies of climate change-altered weather and climate-related hazards. The exposure and sensitivity assessment is based on indicators of manufactured, natural, social and economic capital assets exposed to and adversely affected by climate-related hazards. The MC refers to material goods or fixed assets which support the production process (e.g. industrial machines and buildings); Natural Capital comprises natural resources and processes (renewable and non-renewable) producing goods and services for well-being; Social Capital (SC) addressed factors at the individual (people's health, knowledge, skills) and collective (institutional) level (e.g. families, communities, organizations and schools); and Economic Capital (EC) includes owned and traded goods and services. The results of the climate risk analysis are used to rank the subnational administrative and statistical units according to the climate risk challenges, and possibly for financial resource allocation for climate adaptation.This article is part of the theme issue 'Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy'., (© 2018 The Authors.)

The study of faunal communities of the past, and how they have changed to become what they are now, is fundamental to the understanding of the changes in ecosystems that we are witnessing and that are coming in the future. In this paper, we present the small mammal assemblage from Grotta del Sambuco (Massa Marittima, Grosseto), belonging to two archaeologic stratigraphic Units, 5 and 6, both dated to Marine Isotope Stage 2. The assemblage from Unit 6 can be defined as "non-analogue", due to the occurrence of the Narrow-headed Vole Lasiopodomys anglicus and the Southern Birch Mouse Sicista subtilis. Non-analogue communities (i.e., with no equivalent in present time) are frequent during Late Pleistocene in the Italian Peninsula. Starting with Grotta del Sambuco, we describe some of the different factors leading to the origins and disappearance of past non-analogue small mammal assemblages in Italy. Climatic changes and the consequent shifts in geographic distributions of the species play a major role in shaping these communities, eventually leading to extirpation and extinction of cold- or continental-adapted species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed and accurate geomorphological historical landslide inventory maps are an invaluable source of information for many research topics and applications. Their systematic preparation worldwide has been advised by many researchers as it may foster our knowledge on landslides, their spatial and temporal distribution, their potential interaction with the built environment, their contribution to landscape dynamics, their response to climate change in the past. Due to the extreme variability of the morphological and radiometric elements that can reveal historical landslides, geomorphological historical landslide inventory maps are produced by expert interpretation, which makes it a time consuming and expensive process, which often discourages wide area mapping activities. In this paper we present a new geomorphological historical landslide inventory map for a 1,460 km² area in the Daunia Apennines, the northern-western sector of the Apulia (Puglia) region, in Southern Italy. The inventory contains 17,437 landslides classified according to relative age, type of movement and estimated depth. Landslides were mapped according to rigorous and reproducible criteria applied by two teams of expert photo interpreters to two sets of stereoscopic aerial photographs taken in 1954/55 and 2003. The dataset consists of a digital archive publicly available at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.942427 (Cardinali et al., 2022). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, an ensemble approach is proposed to estimate possible modifications caused by climate changes in the extreme precipitation regime, with the rain gauge Napoli Servizio Idrografico (Naples, Italy) chosen as test case. The proposed research, focused on the analysis of extremes on the basis of climate model simulations and rainfall observations, is structured in several consecutive steps. In the first step, all the dynamically downscaled EURO‐CORDEX simulations at about 12 km horizontal resolution are collected for the current period 1971–2000 and the future period 2071–2100, for the RCP4.5 and the RCP8.5 concentration scenarios. In the second step, the significance of climate change effects on extreme precipitation is statistically tested by comparing current and future simulated data and bias‐correction is performed by means of a novel approach based on a combination of simple delta change and quantile delta mapping, in compliance with the storm index method. In the third step, two different ensemble models are proposed, accounting for the variabilities given by the use of different climate models and for their hindcast performances. Finally, the ensemble models are used to build novel intensity–duration–frequency curves, and their effects on the early warning system thresholds for the area of interest are evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relative influences of climatic and anthropogenic factors in explaining environmental and societal changes in the southern Alps, Italy. We investigate a deep sediment core (LL081) from Lake Ledro (652 m a.s.l.). Environmental changes are reconstructed through multiproxy analysis, that is, pollen-based vegetation and climate reconstruction, magnetic susceptibility (MS), lake level, and flood frequency, and the paper focuses on the climate and land-use changes which occurred during the late Holocene. For this time interval, Lake Ledro records high mean water table, increasing amount of pollen-based precipitation, and more erosive conditions. Therefore, while a more humid late Holocene in the southern Alps has the potential to reinforce the forest presence, pollen evidence suggests that anthropogenic activities changed the impact of this regional scenario. Land-use activity (forest clearance for pastoralism, farming, and arboriculture) opened up the large vegetated slopes in the catchment of Lake Ledro, which in turn magnified the erosion related to the change in the precipitation pattern. The record of an almost continuous human occupation for the last 4100 cal. BP is divided into several land-use phases. On the one hand, forest redevelopments on abandoned or less cultivated areas appear to be climatically induced as they occurred in relation with well-known events such as the 2.8-kyr cold event and the ‘Little Ice Age’. On the other hand, climatically independent changes in land use or habitat modes are observed, such as the late-Bronze-Age lake-dwellings abandonment, the human population migration at c. 1600 cal. BP, and the period of the Black Death and famines at 600 cal. BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glacial Termination V (T-V) comprised a relatively rapid shift from glacial to interglacial conditions (MIS 12 glacial to the MIS 11c); it was one of the greatest climatic changes of the Pleistocene, and forms part of the major climatic reorganization known as the Mid-Brunhes Event (MBE). The Fucino Basin, located in the Central Apennine chain of central Italy, contains a continuous and well-preserved lacustrine sedimentary record of T-V and MIS 11, dated using tephrochronology. In this paper, we report a high-resolution palynological analysis, supported by geochemical proxies, from the lowermost section of the F4-F5 composite record, to improve understanding of T-V in this region. This record reveals a substantial transition between MIS 12 and MIS 11c at 424.5 ± 4.0 ka, from a very cold and dry environment indicated by the herbaceous and xerophytic association of Poaceae, Artemisia , Amaranthaceae, Ephedra , and Hippophäe , and sedimentation dominated by inorganic siliciclastic sediments, to a warm and humid period characterised by a significant increase in Abies and a deciduous tree association mainly formed by Betula, Carpinus , Corylus, Quercus , Ulmus, and dominated by more organic calcareous sediments. This transition was correlated with a significant lake-level rise, with an enhanced nutrient input into the lake between 425.0 ± 4.5 ka and 424.0 ± 3.9 ka, as inferred from the variance between algae, aquatic plants, and terrestrial herbaceous taxa. Following the MIS 11c temperature maximum at 424.2 ± 3.9 ka, a reduction in summer insolation occurred, provoking a significant increase in humidity that produced the widespread development of Abies. The results from this study suggest that, at Fucino, fluctuations in humidity are predominantly responsible for the vegetation changes observed during T-V. • Fucino pollen record shows vegetation changes from late MIS 12 to early MIS 11c. • A strong change in vegetation occurred at the beginning of the MIS 11c in Mediterranean region. • Vegetation dynamics were more affected by precipitation than temperature in Fucino Basin. • Fucino Basin and Lake Ohrid show similar vegetation/climate changes during the studied period. • Quantitative centennial-scale climate variability was reconstructed for Fucino Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a study of oxygen and redox conditions, trophic status, and phytoplankton community in the meromictic Lake Idro (Italy) from 2010 to 2014. The sequence of causes and effects of meromixis are also evaluated by comparing recent research with studies conducted from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. In the last half century, Lake Idro was steadily meromictic due to solutes which accumulated in its deep waters, along with both dissolved nutrients and chemically reduced substances produced by the anaerobic microbial metabolism. These substances were retained in bottom waters and made unavailable to upper layers until stratification broke. Mixing episodes occurred in 2005-2006 altering stratification, and oxygen and nutrient distribution within the lake. The potential full overturn effects were also evaluated as potential oxygen consumption due to the oxidation of reduced substances to forecast possible oxygen exhaustion and collapse of biological communities. Finally, meromixis is discussed as a potential threat for deep perialpine lakes using Lake Idro as a reference to comparatively evaluate the present status and possible future trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing erosion of beaches due to anthropic pressure, together with the effects of sea level rise are expected to have devastating effects on sandy coastlines. This paper identifies the Italian beaches under threat and their regional distribution, examining the implications for beach-dependent activities and coastal management, based on the integration of various projections and datasets. As a result, by the year 2050 erosion is expected to affect 70% of Italian beaches. One-fifth of the current beaches' surface is likely to be almost completely submerged by 2050 and 45% by the end of the century, with the regions of Sardinia, Campania, Lazio, and Apulia likely to lose more than half of their equipped beaches. Although beaches naturally tend to migrate landward when subjected to erosion, and such shift can be favoured by managed retreat measures, these solutions are severely limited by the increasing urbanisation of back beaches. Adaptation in Italy is almost exclusively based on coastal protections, which exacerbate overall erosion and undermine beaches' natural resilience. A transformative and nature-based rethinking of the coastal management regime is needed to avoid the artificialization of a huge portion of the sandy coastline and increasing threats to coastal settlements and economies. [Display omitted] • 20% and 45% of Italian beaches risk almost complete submersion by 2050 and 2100. • In almost all Italian Regions a third or more of equipped beaches are at risk. • Managed retreat is severely limited by coastal urbanization and artificialization. • Current coastal management regimes exacerbate erosion and artificialization. • A transformative and nature-based rethinking of coastal management is urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its high short-term global warming potential (GWP) compared to carbon dioxide, methane (CH4) is a considerable agent of climate change. This research is aimed at analyzing data on methane gathered at the GAW (Global Atmosphere Watch) station of Lamezia Terme (Calabria, Southern Italy) spanning seven years of continuous measurements (2016–2022) and integrating the results with key meteorological data. Compared to previous studies on detected methane mole fractions at the same station, daily-to-yearly patterns have become more prominent thanks to the analysis of a much larger dataset. Overall, the yearly increase of methane at the Lamezia Terme station is in general agreement with global measurements by NOAA, though local peaks are present, and an increase linked to COVID-19 is identified. Seasonal changes and trends have proved to be fully cyclic, with the daily cycles being largely driven by local wind circulation patterns and synoptic features. Outbreak events have been statistically evaluated depending on their weekday of occurrence to test possible correlations with anthropogenic activities. A cross analysis between methane peaks and specific wind directions has also proved that local sources may be deemed responsible for the highest mole fractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses significant challenges to agricultural systems in the Mediterranean region, with Italy being significantly affected. This literature scoping review aims to examine existing research on the impact of climate change on yield and income on the three agri-food value chains in Italy: viticulture, fruit and vegetables, and dairy cattle. By analysing the available literature, this study seeks to outline the pros and cons, knowledge gaps, and potential areas for future research. A systematic search of scientific databases was conducted to identify relevant articles published between 2000 and 2022. The search terms included climate change, agriculture, Italy, yield, income, and related keywords. Articles were screened based on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in a final selection of studies. Quantitative information was collected and organized into descriptive tables. The review encompassed 44 studies that investigated the impact of climate change on yield and income in various agricultural sectors across different regions of Italy. The findings indicate that climate change is already impacting crop productivity and income levels, with increased temperature, changes in precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events being identified as the primary drivers. Additionally, disparities were observed between different agricultural regions, crops, and farming systems, highlighting the need for location-specific and crop-specific assessments. The scoping review provides a prospective overview of the existing literature on climate change impacts on yield and income within the Italian agriculture system. It underscores the urgency for targeted adaptation strategies to minimize the negative consequences of climate change. Further research should focus on understanding the complex interactions between climate change, agricultural practices, socio-economic factors, and policy interventions to develop context-specific solutions for sustainable agriculture in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Southern Mediterranean regions, the issue of summer fires related to agriculture practices is a periodic recurrence. It implies a significant increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other combustion-related gaseous and particles compounds emitted into the atmosphere with potential impacts on air quality and global climate. In this work, we performed an analysis of summer fire events that occurred on August 2021. Measurements were carried out at the permanent World Meteorological Organization (WMO)/Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station of Lamezia Terme (Code: LMT) in Calabria, Southern Italy. The observatory is equipped with greenhouse gases and black carbon analyzers, an atmospheric particulate impactor system, and a meteo-station for atmospheric parameters to characterize atmospheric mechanisms and transport for land and sea breezes occurrences. High mole fractions of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) coming from quadrants of inland areas were correlated with fire counts detected via the MODIS satellite (GFED-Global Fire Emissions Database) at 1 km of spatial resolution. In comparison with the typical summer values, higher CO and CO2 were observed in August 2021. Furthermore, the growth in CO concentration values in the tropospheric column was also highlighted by the analyses of the L2 products of the Copernicus SP5 satellite. Wind fields were reconstructed via a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) output, the latter suggesting a possible contribution from open fire events observed at the inland region near the observatory. So far, there have been no documented estimates of the effect of prescribed burning on carbon emissions in this region. This study suggested that data collected at the LMT station can be useful in recognizing and consequently quantifying emission sources related to open fires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting on 2 November 2023, some territories in the Region of Tuscany in Italy were hit by exceptionally intense meteorological and calamitous events. The Region of Tuscany's government was immediately at the forefront of relief, assisting the population, and aiding restoration. On 3 November, a national state of emergency was declared due to flooding. Journalistic communication is an essential aspect of disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. In terms of protecting people and reducing damage, journalists and the media have an important role to play. This article reports an Italian case study analysing the behaviour of local media in cases of natural disaster. Nine focus groups were conducted with local journalists covering the flood emergency. The results highlight the role of social and institutional mediation, rather than mere dissemination, played by the local press in emergency situations, a central element in the construction of a community bond, precisely in moments of insecurity and disorientation. The narration of a disaster from the inside seems to have allowed the emergence and representation of hitherto unknown social realities in Tuscany. The goal of the news coverage was widened, making it possible to respond better to the diverse interests of the reading public and to satisfy in a short time and exhaustively the information needs of individual communities in difficulty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the need for ecosystem biodiversity assessment increases within the climate crisis framework, more and more studies using spectral variation hypothesis (SVH) are proposed to assess biodiversity at various scales. The SVH implies optical diversity (also called spectral diversity) is driven by light absorption dynamics associated with plant traits (PTs) variability (which is an indicator of functional diversity) which is, in turn, determined by biodiversity. In this study, we examined the relationship between PTs variability, optical diversity and α‐ and β‐diversity at different taxonomic ranks at the Monte Bondone grasslands, Trentino province, Italy. The results of the study showed that the PTs variability, at the α scale, was not correlated with biodiversity. On the other hand, the results observed at the community scale (β‐diversity) showed that the variation of some of the investigated biochemical and biophysical PTs was associated with the β‐diversity. We used the Mantel test to analyse the relationship between the PTs variability and species β‐diversity. The results showed a correlation coefficient of up to 0.50 between PTs variability and species β‐diversity. For higher taxonomic ranks such as family and functional groups, a slightly higher Spearman's correlation coefficient of up to 0.64 and 0.61 was observed, respectively. The SVH approach was also tested to estimate β‐diversity and we found that spectral diversity calculated by Spectral Angle Mapper showed to be a better proxy of biodiversity in the same ecosystem where the spectral diversity approach failed to estimate α‐diversity. These findings suggest that optical and PTs diversity approaches can be used to predict species diversity in the grasslands ecosystem where the species turnover is high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a selection of 230 papers published during the last 15 years in international journals, the present work aims at evaluating the state of the art of limnological research in the deep southern subalpine lakes (DSL: Garda, Iseo, Como, Lugano and Maggiore). Historically, most of the limnological research was fostered by the need to find solutions to the problems connected with eutrophication and pollution. Many data are available on the thermal structure, algal nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton of the DSL, while other topics still remain more or less constrained to single lakes. Apart from this geographical bias, a number of aspects emerged from this synoptic view. Limnological research is still linked to the concept of scientific monitoring, while experimental studies and modelling are confined to specific niches; the integration of different disciplines is held back by the division of studies on different compartments; integration of studies and synoptic analyses at a macro regional scale have been carried out only for specific research areas. The DSL are increasingly threatened by new pressures (climatic change, excessive proliferation of toxic cyanobacteria, introduction of new species and new micropollutants) and by the interactions among these new and old stressors. In this rapidly changing situation, the paper emphasises the need to define criteria to be used to distinguish research able to produce relevant results and predictive models, which are essential elements for an efficient management of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-cultural studies are particularly relevant in the context of climate change, given its pervasive character and the growing demand for climate change mitigation at both global and local levels. This paper reports on findings from comparative cross-cultural mixed-methods research eliciting perceptions of the future among citizens in Norwich (UK) and Rome (Italy). The paper explores how individuals at the two locations interpret socio-economic and climate scenarios, and how they relate environmental change to human behavior. Attitude segmentation was found to be similar in both localities. Although most participants in both locations realized the benefits of a future centered on sustainable resource use and societal welfare, individuals' attitudes and considerations about the future were not largely influenced by the scenarios. Discussions revealed that the credibility of the projections depended on individuals' prior beliefs and their trust in the science portrayed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the climate policy discussion by focusing on the challenges and opportunities of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 in Italy. To support Italian energy planning, we developed energy roadmaps towards national climate neutrality, consistent with the Paris Agreement objectives and the IPCC goal of limiting the increase in global surface temperature to 1.5 °C. Starting from the Italian framework, these scenarios identify the correlations among the main pillars for the change of the energy paradigm towards net emissions by 2050. The energy scenarios were developed using TIMES-RSE, a partial equilibrium and technology-rich optimization model of the entire Italian energy system. Subsequently, an in-depth analysis was developed with the sMTISIM, a long-term simulator of power system and electricity markets. The results show that, to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the Italian energy system will have to experience profound transformations on multiple and strongly related dimensions. A predominantly renewable-based energy mix (at least 80–90% by 2050) is essential to decarbonize most of the final energy consumption. However, the strong increase of non-programmable renewable sources requires particular attention to new flexibility resources needed for the power system, such as Power-to-X. The green fuels produced from renewables via Power-to-X will be a vital energy source for those sectors where electrification faces technical and economic barriers. The paper's findings also confirm that the European "energy efficiency first" principle represents the very first step on the road to climate neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The last ten years have witnessed an increase in publications focusing on bioeconomy as a proposal to confront the global challenges of climate change, depletion of non-renewable resources and ecosystem degradation. This paper investigates the scientific literature on issues related agricultural bioeconomy by applying a bibliometric network analysis. Bibliometric analysis is applied to the publications of the Scopus database during the period 2010–2020 in order to provide an overview of the main aspects that characterize agricultural bioeconomy. The results showed that out of a total of 1100 scientific papers, only 2.45% were published in 2010, while the corresponding share in 2020 was 20.81%. In the five years of 2016–2020, cumulatively, 70.63% of the publications were made, showing the dynamic evolution of bioeconomy. In addition, out of 85 countries in total, Germany and Italy are the two countries with most publications, while the fragmentation of research is evident with the creation of two main nodes, the European and the American. Moreover, keyword analysis showed that biomass and sustainability are two main recurring concepts, confirming that, currently, bioeconomy operates at three different levels: energy demand, land demand, and governance. It is apparent that to boost the development of agricultural bioeconomy, the following aspects should be assessed: the effective use of resources, an understanding of the key drivers of agricultural bioeconomy, and a clear perception of their associations. There is still no consensus as to which are the key factors that will accelerate its sustainable development. Our pursuit is to use the tools of bibliometric analysis to reach more critical conclusions regarding the agricultural bioeconomy, rather than approach it in a static way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent events, including the floods in central Europe in May 2021, have highlighted how climate change is giving rise to scenarios that were neither foreseen nor predictable. One problem this poses is the need to rethink the logic of various environmental constraints that are often based on return times of 20-50 years or 100-200. A single event does not change the statistical expectations for the recurrence of the event itself, but the recurrence of several extraordinary events in a few years is a clear indication of a changing trend. The prevention of the effects of such events is based on the definition of the areas at greater or lesser risk specifically based on the return times of the exceptional events, so it is foreseeable that a series of territorial plans, mostly carried out a few decades ago, will have to be updated or re-executed from scratch. These reworkings will be able to take advantage of the opensource software and open spatial data that have become available in the meantime, facilitating the entire process, and making it more open and shareable. In this paper we tested on a real case (the May 1999 pyroclastic flows in Campania, southern Italy) the actual possibility of implementing a model for forecasting such events using only open-source software and open data. It has been demonstrated that the entire process can be carried out using only open-source resources and it has been verified that the predictions of the hazard and risk model obtained with only input data prior to the event, give an output prediction that is significantly coincident with the events that actually occurred as documented by the authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We propose a new method to quantify Climate Change Effects at hydrological scales. • The method allows to assimilate climatic projections in CDFs at rain gauge scale. • The initial (i.e., before any change scenario begins) skewness plays a crucial role. • A strong increase of outliers frequency is expected for series EV1 alike skewed. Quantifying the potential effects of Climate Change (CC) on hydrological scales is a topic with a more and more increasing interest for the scientific community, given the CC impact on agriculture, industry, economy, human health, ecosystems, among the others. In this context, the paper focuses on the sub-daily Annual Maxima (AM) of rainfall height time series, and specifically on the crucial role played by initial skewness, i.e. the skewness of the observed rainfall series used to evaluate potential parametric trends. Here a quick and user-friendly methodology is proposed, that is aimed at quantifying plausible future changes in terms of probability distributions assumed at rain gauge scale, from projections of any climatic model. In detail, the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) and the Two-Component Extreme Value (TCEV) distributions are adopted as probability functions suitable for modelling observed rainfall AM series, which could increase their frequency and magnitude into future horizons under CC. EURO-CORDEX projections for Europe are considered, under the hypothesis that the values of the change factor, i.e. the ratio between the values of a specific quantile at two specific time horizons, are invariant when moving from an areally-averaged scale (typical for any climate model) to a point rain gauge scale, which induces that future changes are provided (in terms of frequency and magnitude of extreme events) without the need of any spatial downscaling from the assumed projections. The proposed methodology can contribute to hazard quantification associated to potential climate changes, and thus it can play a crucial role in the assessment of hydraulic structures resilience; the obtained results, specific for the study area of Italy, but easily extendable on a global scale, showed that larger increases in frequency of future heavy events are expected for time series with "EV1 alike" values of initial skewness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular actions cannot be considered sustainable if their financial benefits are not demonstrated. While the environmental benefits of the circular economy have been widely studied, sustainable development from a financial point of view has been much less studied. In this paper we assess the financial benefits of circular innovations applied in the fashion industry that have been previously assessed as sustainable using the Life Cycle Assessment. The focus is on two innovative processes such as salt recovery and tannin baths reuse that reuse water, chemicals and raw materials in an Italian small company operating in the tanning industry. A cost benefit analysis was carried to evaluate the net contribution of these actions to the operating margin. Then we model a forward-looking cash flow projection in order to determine the fundamental value of circular investments. Through these practices, the company achieved an increase in operating profitability above 30% and the 10-year value of the salt recovery is 159,061.40 euros, while the reused tanning water equals just over one million euros. The results show unexpected and strong financial benefits that can leverage similar initiatives that would advance resource equity and finally promote a real and convenient industrial dedication to environmental guardianship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate modelling and palaeotemperature reconstructions derived from several proxies (TEX 86 , δ18O) suggest that the Late Cretaceous was one of the warmest intervals in Earth history. The greenhouse climate reached its acme near the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary (CTB) interval with sea surface temperatures over 35 °C in low and mid- palaeolatitudes, coinciding with the highest sea level stands of the Phanerozoic. Following this warming phase, a general cooling trend punctuated by short-term hot snaps characterized the rest of the Cretaceous. Palaeotemperature and palaeoenvironmental changes are well documented in deep-water carbonate deposits based on variations in geochemical proxies and distribution patterns of macro- and microfauna. However, such climatic and environmental fluctuations severely impacted carbonate platforms, sedimentary environments that are particularly sensitive to external perturbations. Palaeontological data show major changes within the main carbonate platform producers (rudists and benthic foraminifera) during the early Late Cretaceous. Both groups experienced major taxonomic turnovers at the CTB, followed by a further re-radiation in the middle/late Turonian. The lack of detailed palaeoclimatic reconstructions in shallow water carbonate succession hampers the possibility to investigate a possible causal relationship between temperature changes and faunal evolution. In this paper, we report integrated geochemical, sedimentological, and palaeontological data from the Adriatic Carbonate Platform (Friuli, north-east Italy). Benthic foraminifera biostratigraphy and isotope stratigraphy (δ13C and 87Sr/86Sr) were used to precisely constrain the stratigraphy of the late Cenomanian-middle Turonian interval. δ18O analysis on both well-preserved rudist shells and bulk rock samples enabled the construction of high-resolution palaeotemperature curves. The resulting temperature trends are comparable with those from the deep-water record across the late Cenomanian-Turonian interval. The warmest phase was in the Early Turonian with sea surface palaeotemperatures as high as 41–45 °C recorded in rudist shells. Data show temperature fluctuation from the late Cenomanian to the Early Turonian with a magnitude >7 °C. Benthic foraminifera and rudist evolution responded to these palaeotemperature fluctuations, and their decline in the late Cenomanian and full recovery in the Turonian suggest a strong link with temperature changes. • Reconstructed temperatures from carbonate platforms during the Cenomanian -Turonian interval are missing • High resolution paleotemperatures reconstruction and biota evolution (rudists and benthic foraminifera) from Friuli Carbonate Platform is presented • Paleotemperatures estimated using δ18O analyses on bulk rock and well preserved bivalve samples (rudists and Chondrodonta) • δ18O analyses in bivalve shells suggest warmest Temperatures °>40°C in the Early Turonian • Rudists and benthic foraminifera distribution/abundance strongly modulated by temperature changes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is increasingly influencing the water cycle, hindering the effective management of water resources in various sectors. Lazio, central Italy, exhibits a wide range of climatic conditions, stretching from the Tyrrhenian coast to the Apennines. This study assessed a crucial aspect of climate change, focusing specifically on reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and its associated hydrological variables. The seasonal Mann–Kendall (MK) test was used to assess trends in gridded data. The K-means algorithm was then applied to divide Lazio into four homogeneous regions (clusters), each characterized by distinct trends in hydrological variables. The analysis revealed statistically significant increasing trends (p ≤ 0.01) in temperature, solar radiation, and ETo, with more marked effects observed in the coastal and hilly clusters. In contrast, statistically significant decreasing trends (p ≤ 0.01) were observed for relative humidity, while no statistically significant trends (p > 0.01) were observed for precipitation. This study's methodology, combining trend analysis and clustering, provides a comprehensive view of ETo dynamics in Lazio, aiding in pattern recognition and identifying regions with similar trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As our planet faces the complex challenges of global climate change, understanding and effectively communicating critical environmental indicators have become critical. This study explores the importance of reporting groundwater temperature data as a key component in understanding the broader implications of climate change with the use of new graphical tools. More specifically, the use of the groundwater temperature (GWT) stripes and bi-plots of GWT anomalies vs. time was proposed. For an in-depth examination of this subject, monitoring wells situated in the Piedmont Po plain (NW Italy) were selected, with available daily groundwater temperature data dating back to 2010. All data refer to the groundwater of the shallow unconfined aquifer within alluvial deposits. From the analyses of both GWT stripes and the bi-plot of GWT anomalies vs. time, it was possible to identify a general increase in the positive anomaly, corresponding to an increase in GWT in time in almost all of the monitoring points of the Piedmont plain. Furthermore, the utilisation of GWT stripes demonstrated the capability to effectively portray the trend of the GWT data relative to a specific point in a readily understandable manner, facilitating easy interpretation, especially when communicating to a non-scientific audience. The findings underline the urgent need to improve GWT data search and communication strategies to disseminate valuable information to policy makers, researchers, and society. By illustrating the intricate interplay between groundwater temperature and climate change, this research aims to facilitate informed decision-making and promote a proactive approach towards climate resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Italian territory is located at the heart of one of the global hot spots of climate change, where the implementation of climate‐smart land management practices is imperative to guarantee the present and future maintenance of ecosystem functions as well as the sustainability of human socioeconomic activities. The project HIGHLANDER (HIGH performance computing to support smart LAND sERvices) led by Cineca aims at building a comprehensive and multi‐sector framework for land‐management decision‐making in Italy. The project relies on high quality information on different components of the landscape, with a focus on climate‐driven processes, and state‐of‐the‐art computing infrastructures. The HIGHLANDER Data Portal maximizes the impact of HIGHLANDER results by providing access to data products and services. In this article, we describe the architectural features of the platform, as well as the available HIGHLANDER datasets and downstream applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of integrated forest management offers a framework for understanding how forest ecosystem services interact with efforts to conserve natural resources. Forests face various disturbances stemming from human activities, management approaches, and shifts in climate patterns. This study aims to explore how forested watersheds respond to diverse silvicultural practices amidst changing climate conditions. The research is centered in the Bonis catchment, situated in the mountainous region of Sila Greca (latitude 39°25′15″ N, longitude 16°12′38″ W) within Southern Italy's Calabria region. Nearly 93% of the catchment area is cloaked in a forest dominated by approximately 50-year-old Pinus laricio Poiret stands. To model the catchment's response to various climate and management scenarios, the FEST-FOREST eco-hydrological model, which is distributed and based on physical principles, has been employed. This model accounts for the dynamic interactions between vegetation and the watershed's hydrological processes. The monitoring of the basin has been ongoing since 1986, with runoff measurements collected at the catchment outlet using dedicated gauging structures. These data have been utilized to calibrate and validate the model, ensuring its accuracy in simulating future scenarios. These simulation results offer stakeholders some qualitative and scientifically based recommendations for the sustainable management of the catchment. In fact, thinning intensity affects hydrological processes, with a 50% stand density reduction identified as a threshold for significant impact on processes like rainfall partitioning and evapotranspiration. Under heavy thinning scenarios, runoff can change by over 60%, and the impact decreases with larger thinning intervals. Furthermore, different climate scenarios influence stem yield levels, with higher production under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 compared to the base climate scenario. In particular, the RCP 8.5 scenario produces the highest yield due to better forest growth under different climate scenarios. This implies the idea that in regions with a Mediterranean climate and coniferous forests, amidst climate change, meticulous forest management involving precisely calibrated thinning schedules and intensities, tailored to unique biotic and abiotic factors, could potentially enhance carbon sequestration while positively influencing runoff rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feeding nine billion people by 2050 will be a challenge due to climate change. There is a significant portion of abandoned and unused marginal lands across the nation and in the Puglia region, in Southern Italy. Innovative techniques and practices in the frame of climate-smart agriculture can help rehabilitate marginal lands into productive and profitable areas. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature on marginal areas in Puglia, responding to the lack of information in this context and evaluate their revitalization potential. We systematically reviewed the literature on unused/marginal areas and identified related studies dealing with different types of marginal areas and their potential for sustainable rural development. Marginal areas in Puglia represent a range of historical rural landscapes that support biodiversity, the economy, and ecological services. However, the analysis of the current situation in Puglia's marginal areas indicates a lack of infrastructure and scarce resources, which led to land abandonment and the migration of local residents, resulting in the deterioration of the ecological system. Therefore, establishing a sustainable policy is crucial for preserving the local heritage and economy of the region. However, policymakers should carefully study the challenges and opportunities arising from local contexts before embarking on ambitious place-based innovation strategies. The analysis indicates that both biophysical and socio-economic factors are strategic elements for improving the revitalization potential of marginal areas for sustainable development. This review provides useful information regarding the revitalization potential of marginal areas for food, feed, and non-food production, which is crucial in the implementation of a sustainable development strategy for rural communities in Puglia but can also be applied to similar areas in other countries. However, the success of the sustainable development strategy in Puglia's marginal areas should consider the vital function of farmers' self-organization and social capital as key factors in the adoption of agricultural innovations for the revitalization of these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern Europe is becoming a hotspot for climate change. Appropriate mechanisation is necessary for reducing soil compacting in such contexts. The olive tree distribution -- a typical Mediterranean crop -- showed a well--defined latitude gradient with progressive decline moving towards the north. Climate change, however, has supposed to cause a significant shift towards the north in the geographical range of olive trees. Our study analyses the spatial distribution of the olive tree area in Italy, a region within the species' ecological range apart from the Northern region, which is now becoming progressively specialised in this crop because of local warming. Results indicate that olive cultivated area increased in Northern Italy, especially in flat districts and upland areas, while decreasing (more or less rapidly) in central and southern Italy because of land abandonment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The WTP ranges between €12 and €38 per ton and between €14 and €66 per flight. • It is higher for projects aimed at forest protection, afforestation, reforestation. • It is significantly lower if the description of the project financed is missing. • Gender, occupational status and education degree influence the WTP. • Also travel habits and environmental consciousness influence the WTP. The aviation industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in producing carbon emissions. In order to reduce its carbon footprint and to respond to the increasing number of people concerned about the impact caused by air transport on climate change, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has recently passed the "carbon neutral growth from 2020" resolution requiring that the global net CO 2 emissions from international aviation do not exceed the 2019–2020 levels. Airlines, however, can act beyond their obligations under the ICAO resolution investing in projects aimed at reducing or offsetting all the emissions produced not only by their international flights but also by their domestic flights. The aim of this paper is to test whether Italian air travellers would be willing to donate a contribution to finance these projects and whether the willingness to pay depends on the projects' type and on the projects' effectiveness. To this aim we performed a stated-choice experiment involving a sample of 1228 Italians who travelled by plane at least once in the last 3 years. We find that their willingness to pay ranges from €12 to €38 per ton and from €14 to €66 per flight. The description of the project type to be financed via the passengers' donations is one of the most important factors influencing their willingness to pay. Other key factors are the quantity of CO 2 reduced or offset via the project and the respondents' gender, education degree, occupational status, environmental consciousness and travel habits. Our results are useful for airlines to design the donation proposals and improve the corporate image and for policy makers to support air travellers' environmental conscious behaviour and airlines' environmental sustainable strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is strong evidence that a meat and dairy-based diet is a very important contributor to climate change. However, the correlation between the production and consumption of livestock and anthropogenic climate change has received minimal media coverage. The literature for English-speaking countries shows a sort of media blind spot for meat in that the news media barely address, or do not address, the responsibility of individuals' dietary choices with regard to this issue. In this paper, we provide data for press coverage in Southern Europe from a sample of the top 10 Spanish and Italian newspapers for a seven-year period (2006-2013). Data from our samples correlate with findings from previous studies. However, our comparative study suggests that there are also meaningful differences between both countries studied while their alleged Mediterranean dietary background makes no difference in terms of ethical or dietary sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the impact of climate change on coastal sediment transport in a deltaic system in the northern Adriatic Sea, with reference to the period 2070-2099 in the IPCC A1B emission scenario. Wind fields obtained by means of the high-resolution regional climate model Consortium for Small-scale Modelling-Climate Limited-area Modelling were employed for computing wave climate at basin scale by means of the spectral wave model Simulating Waves Nearshore. This was used as a constraint for a nearshore hydromorphodynamic model (MIKE LITPACK), which was applied to a test site on the Po River Delta, located in northern Italy. Relevant sediment transport processes have been studied at storm and decadal time scales in order to capture climate change effects on single events and as an overall trend. The transport rates in the A1B climate change scenario were then compared with the corresponding results of a control analysis (period 1965-1994) representing the actual climate. Although predicted wave climate in the investigated scenario displays an overall decrease in sea severity offshore in the northern Adriatic Sea, the effects of these modifications are modulated during the onshore propagation, with different impacts on sediment transport depending on the considered process and time scale. The strategy presented in this work can find fruitful applications in the long-term modelling of coastal and transitional environments, in which morphology is strongly influenced by sediment transport in the nearshore zone, suggesting a methodological approach for coastal planning and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in the use of biomass for energy has increased significantly in the last few years. The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlights the influence mankind has had on the climate: an unprecedented increase in GHG levels in the last 800,000 years and a rise of 40% in CO2 concentrations since pre-industrial times. The challenge now is to find energy alternatives, and in this context, one important option is bioenergy, one of the most important energy sources of the future. In light of this, the goal of this paper was to assess the sustainable potential of woodfuel resources in Italy using WISDOM methodology. WISDOM, developed by the FAO, has been applied in many countries around the world. From this study, at national level, household consumption was at 19.3 Mt in 2003 (average value), while the potential supply of woody biomass (productivity) was 24.9 Mt (average value), with a surplus of almost 6 million tons between household consumption and productivity. This study represents an advance in knowledge of the biomass potential for energy use in Italy, and, as such, is subject to possible future improvement. Forest bioenergy development creates good opportunities to mobilize the production potential of European forests, and to contribute to a more climate- -friendly, bio-based economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change impacts on water resources, particularly groundwater, is a highly debated topic worldwide, triggering international attention and interest from both researchers and policy makers due to its relevant link with European water policy directives (e.g. 2000/60/EC and 2007/118/EC) and related environmental objectives. The understanding of long-term impacts of climate variability and change is therefore a key challenge in order to address effective protection measures and to implement sustainable management of water resources. This paper presents the modeling approach adopted within the Life+ project TRUST (Tool for Regional-scale assessment of groUndwater Storage improvement in adaptation to climaTe change) in order to provide climate change hazard scenarios for the shallow groundwater of high Veneto and Friuli Plain, Northern Italy. Given the aim to evaluate potential impacts on water quantity and quality (e.g. groundwater level variation, decrease of water availability for irrigation, variations of nitrate infiltration processes), the modeling approach integrated an ensemble of climate, hydrologic and hydrogeologic models running from the global to the regional scale. Global and regional climate models and downscaling techniques were used to make climate simulations for the reference period 1961-1990 and the projection period 2010-2100. The simulation of the recent climate was performed using observed radiative forcings, whereas the projections have been done prescribing the radiative forcings according to the IPCC A1B emission scenario. The climate simulations and the downscaling, then, provided the precipitation, temperatures and evapo-transpiration fields used for the impact analysis. Based on downscaled climate projections, 3 reference scenarios for the period 2071-2100 (i.e. the driest, the wettest and the mild year) were selected and used to run a regional geomorphoclimatic and hydrogeological model. The final output of the model ensemble produced information about the potential variations of the water balance components (e.g. river discharge, groundwater level and volume) due to climate change. Such projections were used to develop potential hazard scenarios for the case study area, to be further applied within climate change risk assessment studies for groundwater resources and associated ecosystems. This paper describes the models' chain and the methodological approach adopted in the TRUST project and analyzes the hazard scenarios produced in order to investigate climate change risks for the case study area., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

• Tap water use in urban agriculture albeit climate change/urban water risk scenarios. • No studies addressed impacts of urban agriculture on public water supply systems. • Research need on urban agriculture policies and practices towards water security. • Fruit trees and wild edible plants are water-saving options. Urban agriculture (UA) initiatives have been increasing in recent years as a nature-based solution for achieving many of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, climate change is expected to have effects on rainfall patterns, which are likely to impact urban food production. The main aim of this paper is to evaluate how issues related to water sources for UA have been addressed in the scientific literature from two different socioeconomic and environmental realities, Brazil and Italy. The method involved a systematic literature review, considering the PRISMA guidelines. The Web of Science database and papers' reference lists were used for retrieving original articles, published in 2000–2020 interval, indexed on scientific databases, and containing data on the typology and quality of water sources used in UA studies. After applying the eligibility criteria, 191 papers were selected – Brazil (108) and Italy (83). The last five years have seen an intensification of studies into issues involving water. Tap water has been identified as an important source of irrigation water for UA, if not the main one. No studies were found that addressed the impact of UA on public water supply systems. The findings point towards more sustainable practices involving the reuse of water and adaptive practices towards water security. We identified that innovative production systems like container farming, aquaponics and indoor agriculture, as well as cultivation of fruit trees, wild edible plants and varieties with low water requirements can represent water-saving options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, due to climate changes, soil deterioration, and Land Use/Land Cover Changes (LULCCs), land degradation risk has become one of the most important ecological issues at the global level. Land degradation involves two interlocking systems: the natural ecosystem and the socio-economic system. The complexity of land degradation processes should be addressed using a multidisciplinary approach. Therefore, the aim of this work is to assess diachronically land degradation dynamics under changing land covers. This paper analyzes LULCCs and the parallel increase in the level of land sensitivity to degradation along the coastal belt of Sardinia (Italy), a typical Mediterranean region where human pressure affects the landscape characteristics through fires, intensive agricultural practices, land abandonment, urban sprawl, and tourism concentration. Results reveal that two factors mainly affect the level of land sensitivity to degradation in the study area: (i) land abandonment and (ii) unsustainable use of rural and peri-urban areas. Taken together, these factors represent the primary cause of the LULCCs observed in coastal Sardinia. By linking the structural features of the Mediterranean landscape with its functional land degradation dynamics over time, these results contribute to orienting policies for sustainable land management in Mediterranean coastal areas.

Identifying the genetic basis of local adaptation and fitness trade-offs across environments is a central goal of evolutionary biology. Cold acclimation is an adaptive plastic response for surviving seasonal freezing, and costs of acclimation may be a general mechanism for fitness trade-offs across environments in temperate zone species. Starting with locally adapted ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana from Italy and Sweden, we examined the fitness consequences of a naturally occurring functional polymorphism in CBF2. This gene encodes a transcription factor that is a major regulator of cold-acclimated freezing tolerance and resides within a locus responsible for a genetic trade-off for long-term mean fitness. We estimated the consequences of alternate genotypes of CBF2 on 5-y mean fitness and fitness components at the native field sites by comparing near-isogenic lines with alternate genotypes of CBF2 to their genetic background ecotypes. The effects of CBF2 were validated at the nucleotide level using gene-edited lines in the native genetic backgrounds grown in simulated parental environments. The foreign CBF2 genotype in the local genetic background reduced long-term mean fitness in Sweden by more than 10%, primarily via effects on survival. In Italy, fitness was reduced by more than 20%, primarily via effects on fecundity. At both sites, the effects were temporally variable and much stronger in some years. The gene-edited lines confirmed that CBF2 encodes the causal variant underlying this genetic trade-off. Additionally, we demonstrated a substantial fitness cost of cold acclimation, which has broad implications for potential maladaptive responses to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coasts, with their intricate combination of natural and anthropogenic fragilities, can always be considered a crucial component in the geography of risk and territorial governance. Furthermore, coastal areas worldwide are currently facing profound and immediate impacts of climate change, presenting unparalleled challenges for both ecosystems and coastal communities. In these contexts, high socio-environmental vulnerability has often been linked to planning and management practices that, at times, have exacerbated coastal exposure, making it more prone to extreme natural phenomena, such as coastal floods and storm surges, as well as degradation. The case of the Gaeta Gulf, a largely urbanized part of the central Tyrrhenian coast in Italy that encompasses two administrative areas between the northern Campania and the southern Lazio Regions, provides an opportunity to investigate these criticalities both along the coastline and within the interconnected inland areas. This research aims to understand how administrations and communities perceive, experience, and understand the coastal risks and challenges posed by climate change, as well as their level of information and preparedness to address such risks. These aspects will be analyzed through a multidisciplinary approach, shedding light on the political, social, environmental, and economic practices in these areas, and the potential implications for coastal planning policies. In addition, this contribution presents the results of a qualitative survey involving the administration of questionnaires related to the perception of climate change impacts on the coasts and the level of information on the mitigation and adaptation practices within the communities living in these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A severe dieback of flowering ash (Fraxinus ornus L.) has been observed in north-central Italy in the last decades. Symptoms include typical sunken, light-brown cankers on the stem and branches; vascular discoloration; tip and shoot dieback; and foliage necroses. The disease was more evident at the beginning of the growing season, and more severe on young regeneration. Six Botryosphaeriaceae species were consistently isolated from symptomatic plant tissues: Botryosphaeria dothidea, Diplodia fraxini, Diplodia subglobosa, Dothiorella iberica, Dothiorella omnivora and Neofusicoccum parvum. B. dothidea and D. fraxini expressed higher aggressiveness and showed a widespread incidence, being the species most frequently associated with cankers; the other four species were less virulent and more erratic, occurring mainly on succulent branch tips and foliage. Isolates were characterized using morphological and molecular approaches (colony/conidial phenotyping and rDNA-ITS genotyping). Phylogenetic analysis provided congruent phylogenies depicting the relationships of the six taxa with the most closely related conspecifics. Pathogenicity tests on 2-year-old seedlings confirmed the higher virulence of B. dothidea and D. fraxini. Extensive, multi-year field surveys at different sites supported the hypothesis that climatic vagaries, mainly heat, water and drought stresses, impaired tree health and vigor, facilitating infection and pervasive colonization by these Botryosphaeriaceae species. Environmental stressors are thus the key factor bringing the six fungal pathogens together in a multitrophic interaction with F. ornus in a novel, lethal fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study analyses the climate change response of Alpine-Mediterranean heavy precipitation events (HPEs), often associated with hazardous flooding. We investigate HPE properties describing their propagation, scale and intensity, by applying a storm tracking algorithm in an ensemble of convection permitting regional climate models (cpRCMs) under the CMIP5-RCP85 forcing scenario. The climate change response of HPE properties we derive by comparing their mean values for periods nearfuture [2040, 2050] and farfuture [2090, 2100] against those of a present-day period historical [1996, 2005]. By the end of the 21st century the model ensemble projects the region's surface temperatures to increase by 4.0 ∘ C. In this warmer climate HPEs are found to propagate farther and faster. They last longer by 5%, their area increases by 15% and their precipitation volume by 35%. Their maximum precipitation rate increases by 13% and an estimate of severity is found increased by 20%. By differentiating specific HPE categories, regions and seasons we find that landfalling and orographically forced HPEs occurring in fall are most intense, heavy and severe. Most importantly we find that these events are also projected to respond most strongly to climate warming, meaning that they will be even more intense, heavy and severe. Consequently in Mediterranean regions the most dramatic changes must be expected, in particular in Southern Italy. But also in regions north of the Alps, where HPEs are generally weaker than to the south, HPEs are found to occur twice as often in wintertime accompanied with an increase in precipitation volume of about 50%. Our analysis also confirms that even though the Mediterranean climate is generally drier by the year 2100, precipitation amounts associated with HPEs are found to increase by 52%. Further HPEs are projected to be 12% more frequent overall, although their occurrence frequency decreases in summer. Eventually we show that the characteristic HPE properties scale with surface warming, meaning that the warmer the local climate is, the more frequent, intense, heavy and severe are HPEs. Notably statistical tests show that the ten-member cpRCM ensemble provides robust climate change responses of all HPE properties investigated. The projected changes of HPE properties infer an increase of flooding risk for communities of the Alpine-Mediterranean area and thus the results presented here may encourage local authorities in adapting their flood protection measurements to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change may significantly impact the availability and quality of water resources in dam reservoirs by potentially altering the hydrological regime of lake tributaries and the corresponding flow–duration curves. Hydrological models driven by climate projections (downscaled to the watershed scale and bias corrected to eliminate systematic errors) are effective tools for assessing this potential impact. To assess the uncertainty in future water resource availability, resulting from the inherent uncertainty in climate model projections, an ensemble of climate models and different climate scenarios can be considered. The reliability and effectiveness of this approach were illustrated by analyzing the potential impact of climate change on the water availability at Brugneto Lake in northern Italy. This analysis was based on climate projections derived from an ensemble of 13 combinations of General Circulation Models and Regional Climate Models under two distinct scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The semi-distributed HEC-HMS model was adopted to simulate the hydrological response of the basin upstream of the lake. The hydrological model parameters were calibrated automatically via the PEST software package using the inflows to the lake, estimated through a reverse level pool routing method, as observed values. Future water availability was predicted for short- (2010–2039), medium- (2040–2069), and long-term (2070–2099) periods. The results indicate that the uncertainty in reservoir inflow is primarily due to the uncertainty in future rainfall. A moderate reduction in water availability is expected for Brugneto Lake by the end of the current century, accompanied by modifications in the flow regime. These changes should be considered when planning future adaptation measures and adjusting reservoir management rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mosquito-borne diseases have been spreading across Europe over the past two decades, with climate change contributing to this spread. Temperature and precipitation are key factors in a mosquito's life cycle, and are greatly affected by climate change. Using a machine learning framework, Earth Observation data, and future climate projections of temperature and precipitation, this work studies three different cases (Veneto region in Italy, Upper Rhine Valley in Germany and Pancevo, Serbia) and focuses on (i) evaluating the impact of climate factors on mosquito abundance and (ii) long-term forecasting of mosquito abundance based on EURO-CORDEX future climate projections under different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) scenarios. The study shows that increases in precipitation and temperature are directly linked to increased mosquito abundance, with temperature being the main driving factor. Additionally, as the climatic conditions become more extreme, meaning higher variance, the mosquito abundance increases. Moreover, we show that in the upcoming decades mosquito abundance is expected to increase. In the worst-case scenario (RCP8.5) Serbia will face a 10% increase, Italy around a 40% increase, and Germany will reach almost a 200% increase by 2100, relative to the decade 2010–2020. However, in terms of absolute numbers both in Italy and Germany, the expected increase is similar. An interesting finding is that either strong (RCP2.6) or moderate mitigation actions (RCP4.5) against greenhouse gas concentration lead to similar levels of future mosquito abundance, as opposed to no mitigation action at all (RCP8.5), which is projected to lead to high mosquito abundance for all cases studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the advent of new technologies for massive and automatized digitization, together with the availability of new methods for DNA sequencing, strongly increased the interest and relevance of herbarium collections for the study of plant biodiversity and evolution. These new approaches prompted new projects aimed at the creation of a large dataset of molecular and phenological data. This review discusses new challenges and opportunities for herbaria in the context of the numerous national projects that are currently ongoing, prompting the study of herbarium specimens for the understanding of biodiversity loss and habitat shifts as a consequence of climate changes and habitat destruction due to human activities. With regard to this, the National Biodiversity Future Center (active in Italy since 2022) started a large-scale digitization project of the Herbarium Centrale Italicum in Florence (Italy), which is the most important Italian botanical collection, consisting of more than 4 million samples at present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial insurance for extreme events can play an important role in hedging against the implications of climate change. This paper combines a comprehensive estimation strategy and a unique panel dataset to study the role of financial insurance in farmers' welfare under uncertainty. Data are drawn from a large Italian farm panel dataset. We find that (i) demand for insurance products is likely to increase in response to climatic conditions, and (ii) that the use of insurance reduces the extent of risk exposure. We also find that farms growing more crops are less likely to adopt the insurance scheme. This confirms what is found in the theoretical literature. Crop diversification can be a substitute for financial insurance in hedging against the impact of risk exposure on welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Calcareous tufa, as well as other types of continental carbonates, are largely sensitive to climate variations. As a consequence, the relationship between climate variations and tufa deposition is relatively well known and calcareous tufa deposits are often used as a reliable climatic proxy in many geological settings. Conversely, the response of tufa to tectonics and uplifting processes is relatively poorly known, due to their genetic independence from geothermally heated groundwater springs and associated tectonic-controlled upwelling conduits in tectonically active settings. The aim of this paper is to describe a peculiar stratigraphic succession where calcareous tufa deposits are closely associated and interbedded with coarse-grained clastic deposits. The study area is located in southern Tuscany (Massa Marittima), where extensional tectonic processes, responsible for the emplacement of magmatic bodies at shallow crustal levels, have been active from Pliocene to Quaternary age, and caused a diffuse uplift as well as local volcanic eruptions and hydrothermal fluid circulation. The succession described in the paper recorded phases of calcareous tufa-dominated deposition (i.e. overall, medium/low hydrodynamic energetic settings) repeatedly interbedded with coarse-grained clastic fluvial sediments which testify an abrupt change in both the energy of the depositional environment and the sediment supply. Nevertheless, during the phases dominated by clastic sedimentation, tufa deposition was not inhibited as it would be expected for climate-influenced settings, suggesting that the observed stratigraphic settings were a consequence of a local uplift of the catchment area. These findings indicate that calcareous tufa deposits could be a sensitive proxy to tectonics when they are associated with coarse-grained clastic deposits, in a geological setting where the origin of the clastic sediments cannot be explained by autocyclic or climate-induced factors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The global food supply system is facing serious new challenges from economic and related crises and climate change, which directly affect the nutritional well-being of the poor by reducing their access to nutritious food. To cope, vulnerable populations prioritize consumption of calorie-rich but nutrient-poor food. Consequently, dietary quality and eventually quantity decline, increasing micronutrient malnutrition (or hidden hunger) and exacerbating preexisting vulnerabilities that lead to poorer health, lower incomes, and reduced physical and intellectual capabilities. This article introduces the series of papers in this supplement, which explore the relationships between crises and their cumulative impacts among vulnerable populations, particularly through hidden hunger.

A 1:28,000 scale geomorphological map of the central sector of the Matese Mountains (Southern Italy) is presented in this paper. Geomorphological investigation by means of remote sensing, cartographic analysis and field surveys allowed the identification of the main geomorphic processes and to map the related landforms which are both of monogenetic and polygenetic origin. Most of them are erosional landforms generated by the action of periglacial, glacial and karst processes which often occur under the control of the geological structure. Glacial relics and polygenetic landforms of glaciokarst and fluviokarst origin provide good evidence of the strong influence of variable climatic conditions on landform genesis during the Quaternary. They also highlight the influence of extensive tectonics during the Quaternary which caused progressive uplift, fragmentation and disarticulation of the developing mountainous landscape and its consequent polycyclic evolution. The map illustrates the geomorphologic peculiarities of the Mediterranean mountain landscape that typically characterizes the Apennine chain, and contributes to the understanding of its tectonic evolution and the influence of climate and climatic changes on landscape evolution. It further provides a basic map for land planning policy including the exploitation of the geological heritage and the development of sustainable mountain tourism and geo-tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]