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Besides being used, for their dense root system, to consolidate embankments subject to erosion, the aquatic macrophytes play an important role at removing contaminants from the rhizosphere by filtration, adsorption, cation exchange and through chemical changes induced by plant organisms. They have been identified as a group potentially useful for bioremediation and biomonitoring. The Sarno River is the most polluted river in Italy (Campania region) because of many important tanneries and leather factories located along its course, and large agricultural and industrial discharges untreated waste made. Additionally, the area is also disturbed by frequent flooding and mudslides; in the last 20 years, the embankments have ruptured two or three times a year, causing spillover of polluted waters into the adjacent countryside with all the risk to the public health. Therefore, the aim of this work was to quantify the trace metals accumulation in Phragmites australis (Cav.) (roots, stolons, stems and leaves) sampled along the Sarno River. The data obtained were compared to the metal concentrations assayed in the rhizosphere sediments and the interstitial water to assess the bioaccumulation in different organs and bio-extraction. The data showed a decreasing metals content in the following order: root> stolon> leaf> stem highlighting the metal block at the root level. Significant and positive correlations were found between rhizosphere and roots metals, suggesting a common origin. Besides, significant correlation found between Ni assayed in interstitial water and roots suggested this as the other pollution source.

The goal of this study was to assay the trace metal contents in Fragaria ananassa. Samples were collected from 14 sites located in Campania and Lazio regions (Italy). The sites selection was made considering their different human impact in order to evaluate the possible role of Fragaria ananassa as bioaccumulator. The areas located in Campania region, according to a document from the Civil Protection Department in 2007, were reported like a high risk of exposure and mortality due to an important human impact. Instead, ARPA Lazio reports classified the two sites selected in the Lazio region as polluted and not for air pollution. In order to evaluate the possible contamination source the content of these elements in the soil and in irrigation water has been analysed. The data showed that Cd contaminated the strawberries sampled in several sites located in the Caserta province and in one of the two sites located in Latina province in accordance with FAO/WHO. Besides, the enrichment factor evidenced an anthropic origin in several sites. The goal of this study was to assay the trace metal contents in Fragaria ananassa. Samples were collected from 14 sites located in Campania and Lazio regions (Italy). The sites selection was made considering their different human impact in order to evaluate the possible role of Fragaria ananassa as bioaccumulator. The areas located in Campania region, according to a document from the Civil Protection Department in 2007, were reported like a high risk of exposure and mortality due to an important human impact. Instead, ARPA Lazio reports classified the two sites selected in the Lazio region as polluted and not for air pollution. In order to evaluate the possible contamination source the content of these elements in the soil and in irrigation water has been analysed. The data showed that Cd contaminated the strawberries sampled in several sites located in the Caserta province and in one of the two sites located in Latina province in accordance with FAO/WHO. Besides, the enrichment factor evidenced an anthropic origin in several sites.

According to a survey of the Italian Environmental Monitoring Agency (ARPA), there are different critical sites in Campania region (South Italy) (e.i. legal or illegal landfills, countryside lands, abandoned farms, parking lots and regular streets). Literature data show that about half of the lead, cadmium and mercury contents, ingested through food, is due to the plant products (fruit, vegetables and grains) (Kachenko and Singh 2006; Liu et al 2012; Chang et al 2014; Wong et al 2002). In the health protection programs, the knowledge of heavy metals translocation from soils to plants used as food are very important with research on metal uptake by plants of food interest cultivated in contaminated soils. The goal of this work was to evaluate the translocation and accumulation of trace metals from the rhizosphere to the different parts of the plant (roots, stems, leaves, fruit) of Topinambur (Helianthus tuberosus) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) sampled in the coast area of Castel Volturno (Campania region, South Italy). This area is one of the critical sites according to a survey of the Environmental Monitoring Agency ARPA. In addition to these measures, malondialdehyde (MDA) activity was assayed to evaluate the stress state of the plant. The results showed that the trace metals concentration determinated in different organs of each species studied were more present in the roots than the other plant’s parts, suggesting a probable block at root level. The only exception were Cu and Hg in tomato and topinambur plants respectively, that were mainly present in the leaves. The metals block at the root induced no alteration of MDA. However, the correlation between this activity and Cd, Pb, V and Hg seemed to attest to a possible synergy. Keywords: "Helianthus tuberosus", "Solanum lycopersicum", trace metal, traslocation Reference -Kachenko AG, Singh B, 2006 Heavy Metals Contamination in Vegetables Grown in Urban and Metal Smelter Contaminated Sites in Australia. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 169: 101–123; -Liu L, Hu LL, Tang JJ, Li YF, Zhang Q, Chen X. 2012. Food safety assessment of planting patterns of four vegetable-type crops grown in soil contaminated by electronic waste activities. Journal of Environmental Management. 93(1):22–30. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2011.08.021 -Chang C. Y., Yu H. Y., Chen J. J., L i F. B., Zhang H. H., Liu C. P., 2014. Accumulation of heavy metals in leaf vegetables from agricultural soils and associated potential health risks in the Pearl River Delta, South China Environ. Monit. Assess. 2014; 186(3): 1547–1560. -Wong SC, Li XD, Zhang G, Qi SH, MinYS, 2002 Heavy metals in agricultural soils of the Pearl River Delta, South China Environmental Pollution, 119 (1) 33–4

Question: Do low or high intensity fires affect micro-organism activity in the upper soil layer of Mediterranean maquis? Location: 600 m from the sea in the Nature Reserve of Castel Volturno (Campania, southern Italy, 40°57' N; 13°55' E). Methods: Soil respiration was measured in situ on intact soil; enzyme activity (cellulase, xylanase, invertase, trehalase and protease) and ATP content were measured on soil samples collected under three species of maquis vegetation: Phillyrea angustifolia L., Myrtus communis L. and Cistus incanus L. Results: Soil microbial respiration showed no significant differences in CO 2 flux in treated and untreated plots, but the ATP content in the soil under C. incanus and M. communis was lower in the treated plots for most of the study period. In the soil under Ph. angustifolia, ATP content was low only for one week after fire. The reduction was more marked in the samples from 'high fire intensity' than from 'low fire intensity' plots. Soil respiration and ATP content exhibited seasonal variations linked to soil water content. Among the enzyme activity measured in the soil under the three plant covers, only invertase declined in burned plots throughout the study period, particularly in the 'high fire intensity' plots. Activity of the enzymes cellulase, xylanase, trehalase and protease had a different sensitivity depending on the respective shrub cover. Conclusions: Impact of fire on soil microbial activity is largely dependent on vegetation mosaic and species identity. © IAVS; Opulus Press.

The Sarno River is one of the most polluted rivers in Italy (Campania region) marked by the presence of tanneries and skin processing factories located along its course and the large-scale dumping of untreated agricultural and industrial waste, in addition to domestic effluents. The aim of this work is to provide a preliminary analysis of the rizosphere of Phragmites australis Cav., interstitial and above waters. The metal contents (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn and Fe, Mn) were evaluated together with their possible relationships with the physical-chemical properties of the rizosphere samples from along the river and its tributaries, which are now almost entirely fed by urban and industrial waste. With the aim to assess the possible relationships with microbial communities and their possible responses to perturbations, some enzyme activities in the rhizosphere sediments were assayed (acid and alkaline phosphatase, protease, β-glucosidase and peroxidase). The data obtained were compared to Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines (ISQGs), and a “Pollution Load Index” (PLI) was also calculated for each site. Assay analysis, in particular the activity of peroxidase, which was positively correlated with metals, showed a high level of stress. The PLI evaluated showed a progressive level of contamination from the source of the Sarno River to the delta.

Forest soils contain a large amount of organic matter (OM) and therefore represent a considerable carbon reserve. The amount of OM sequestered in the soil is dependent on annual input of litter and its quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the quantity and quality of OM, the microbial capacity to degrade it and its recalcitrance to further degradation, by considering some extracellular enzyme activities in a beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest in south Italy (Mediterranean area). Our attention was focused on the decomposition continuum of the litter horizon and upper soil layer. Because fungi are the major decomposers of plant material, fungal biomass was also measured and its relationship with enzyme activities was tested. The results showed that: (i) the litter horizon and the upper soil layer differed in chemical characteristics and biological activities; (ii) within the litter horizon, the three layers detected for their different degree of degradation (L, recently fallen, not decomposed and not compressed material; F, partially decomposed and fragmented but macroscopically recognizable material; H, compressed and strongly fragmented) differed more in chemical characteristics than in biological activities; (iii) the enzyme activities and fungal biomass changed during the study period but a clear relationship with succession of seasons was evident only for cellulase, laccase, peroxidase and fungal biomass; and (iv) the upper soil layer included 42% OM and less than 50% of that was susceptible to further decomposition. This percentage was 30% in the OM of L. © 2013 British Society of Soil Science.

"E1 = BIODIVERSITA’ DEL SUSINO CAMPANO: DETERMINAZIONE DEL CONTENUTO IN NUTRIENTI. . S. PAPA, G. BARTOLI, T. LECCE, A. FIORETTO. . Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta. stefania.papa@unina2.it. . La biodiversità agricola è determinata dalla presenza di un notevole numero di piante coltivate ma anche dalla diversità genetica all’interno di ciascuna specie. Il lavoro degli agricoltori nel passato ha modellato la diversità agricola, che giunta fino a noi, ha rappresentato la materia prima per il miglioramento genetico delle piante agrarie dei nostri giorni. Tuttavia, nei paesi industrializzati le pratiche agricole in uso stanno progressivamente riducendo il numero di specie coltivate e la variabilità all’interno della stessa specie. Da questa consapevolezza scaturisce la direttiva della UE 98\/95 che vede nelle “varietà da conservazione” lo strumento per arginare l’erosione genetica delle stesse varietà. Nell’ambito del progetto “Network per la Salvaguardia e la Gestione delle Risorse Genetiche Agro-Alimentari” (AGRIGENET), finanziato dalla Regione Campania e che prevede la realizzazione di una rete di ricerca per la salvaguardia e la gestione delle risorse genetiche vegetali campane, l’obiettivo di questo lavoro è stato quello di determinare le concentrazioni dei principali elementi nutritivi in 18 accessioni di susino tutte provenienti dal campo di collezione ex “IMPROSTA” della Regione Campania. Ciò perché: a) rappresentando le piante il primo anello della catena trofica, è essenziale che esse contengano adeguate concentrazioni di questi elementi affinché gli organismi che se ne nutrono possano ricavarne un giusto apporto nutritivo (Khan et al., 2008); b) varietà locali, meno note e spesso dimenticate ma, al contrario, spesso ben adattate alle condizioni locali e capaci di resistere o tollerare le malattie tipiche di una coltura, possono essere più ricche, da un punto di vista nutrizionale, di quelle comunemente presenti in commercio. I risultati hanno evidenziato che: 1) le concentrazioni di Na , K e Mg sono risultate significativamente più basse negli ecotipi Santa Maria, Santa Paola, Scarrafona e Ugliese, oltre che in Fiocco Bianco per il Na e in Pezza Rossa e San Rafele per il K; 2) per il Ca le concentrazioni più elevate si osservano Genova Giallo Verde e Fele; 3) per il P, invece, le concentrazioni più elevate si osservano in Del Carmine; 4) mentre per il Fe e lo Zn le concentrazioni più basse si osservano in Pezza rossa, Riardo, Pappacona e San Rafele e Santa Paola, Sila e Botta a Muro Bianca, rispettivamente; 5) le concentrazioni di Se, invece, sono risultate, in tutti gli ecotipi, al di sotto del limite di risoluzione del saggio. La comparazione dei dati con quelli riportati dalla Banca Dati di composizione degli alimenti per Studi Epidemiologici in Italia (Salvini et al., 2008) ha evidenziato in generale contenuti di K, P, Zn e Ca superiori per la maggior parte degli ecotipi. . . Ringraziamenti: Il lavoro è parte del progetto Agrigenet finanziato dalla Regione Campania, decreto n° 147 del 14.05.2010, "PSR 2007\/13, misura 214, azione f2.. . Khan, S., Cao, Q., Zheng, Y.M., Huang, Y.Z., Zhu, Y.G., 2008. Health risk of heavy metals in contaminated soils and food crops irrigated with waste water in Beijing, China. Environmental Pollution 152 (3): 686–692.. Salvini S, Gnagnarella P, Parpinel M, Boyle P, Decarli A, Ferraroni M, Giacosa A, La Vecchia C, Negri E, Franceschi S., 2008. The Food Composition Database for an Italian Food Frequency Questionnaire. J. Food Comp. Anal. 9(1): 57-71.. "