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Sara Montemerani,1 Cosimo Fabrizi,1 Cecilia Sacchi,2 Antoine Belperio,3 Lorenzo Moriani,3 Samuele Pacchi,3 Cinzia Garofalo,4 Giovanni Sbrana,5 Duccio Venezia,6 Maurizio Zanobetti,1 Simone Nocentini3 1UOC Medicina d’Emergenza Urgenza e Pronto Soccorso Ospedale San Donato, Dipartimento Emergenza Urgenza, Azienda USL Toscana Sud Est, Arezzo, Italia; 2Scuola di specializzazione in Medicina d’Emergenza Urgenza, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italia; 3COES Arezzo, Dipartimento Emergenza Territoriale, Azienda USL Toscana Sud Est, Arezzo, Italia; 4UOC Direzione Infermieristica Emergenza e Urgenza Area provinciale Arezzo, Siena e Grosseto, Azienda USL Toscana Sud Est, Arezzo, Italia; 5UOC Elisoccorso ed Emergenza Territoriale 118 area provinciale grossetana, Dipartimento Emergenza Territoriale, Azienda USL Toscana Sud Est Grosseto, Arezzo, Italia; 6UOC Radiologia Ospedale San Donato, Azienda USL Toscana Sud Est, Arezzo, ItaliaCorrespondence: Sara Montemerani, UOC Medicina d’Emergenza Urgenza e Pronto Soccorso Ospedale San Donato, Dipartimento Emergenza Urgenza, Azienda USL Toscana Sud Est, Via Curtatone, Arezzo, 52100, Italia, Email sara.montemerani@uslsudest.toscana.itPurpose: Mild Traumatic brain injury is classified based on Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS 13– 15), it also involves transient alteration of brain function, which may lead to severe short- and long-term sequelae. When treating a patient with a mild head injury outside the hospital, it is of crucial importance to decide whether to transport him to a center without neurosurgery or to a center equipped with neurosurgery (primary centralization). Recent decades have seen exploration of portable, non-invasive devices for intracranial injury and stroke detection, with microwave frequency electromagnetic field technology showing promising clinical outcomes. This clinical investigation aims to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the TES HT100 medical device, utilizing electromagnetic fields for endocranial lesion screening.Patients and Methods: Patients with mild traumatic brain injury were randomly enrolled according to inclusion criteria. Twenty-three patients recruited from the Intensive Short-Term Observation (ISTO) unit at San Donato Hospital in Arezzo. The sensitivity and specificity of the TES HT were evaluated statistically against cranial computed tomography (CT), the gold standard.Results: A preliminary analysis shows a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 100%. Based on these results, there is maximum concordance between the two examinations, and the AUC is 1. No adverse events related to the use of TES HT100 or the examination.Conclusion: The device’s ability to differentiate patients with intracranial lesions from those without can streamline the diagnostic and therapeutic process, potentially leading to improved patient outcomes. If Temnography will maintain high standards of sensitivity and specificity with the expansion of the enrolled population, it could be considered as a stable screening tool in the Emergency Room (ER). We could think to apply this technology to reduce the length of stay that patients with mTBI have to spend in ER for observation. Temnography could also be useful in special categories of patients such as pregnant women or the pediatric population. Moreover, another front of future development of this technology could be extending the study to include Territorial Emergency. In this context, Temnography could aid centralized decision-making in patient care.Keywords: temnography, mild traumatic brain injury, mTBI, traumatic brain injury, TBI, emergency medicine, pre-hospital

In recent history, both a growing awareness of how scientific and societal uncertainty impacts management decisions and of the intrinsic value of nature have suggested new approaches to forest management, with a growing debate in forest science over the need for a paradigmatic shift from the classic conventional world view, based on determinism, predictability, and output-oriented management, towards a world view that has roots in complex adaptive systems theory and is consistent with a nature-based ethic. A conceptual framework under this context is provided by systemic silviculture. In this discussion, we analyze how this approach can be linked to three fundamental moments of the history of forestry and forest science: the Dauerwald theory, Gurnaud's control method, and the origins of environmental ethics. Relationships with the recent history of forest management science and current research perspectives are also highlighted. Key words: silviculture, complex adaptive systems, Dauerwald system, Gurnaud's control method, environmental ethics. Dans l'histoire recente, la facon dont l'incertitude scientifique et societale influence les decisions de gestion ainsi que la valeur intrinseque de la nature sont de plus en plus l'objet d'une prise de conscience qui ouvre la voie a de nouvelles approches en gestion forestiere. Cette situation engendre un debat qui s'intensifie en science forestiere au sujet de la necessite d'un changement de paradigme : d'une conception classique conventionnelle du monde fondee sur le determinisme, la previsibilite et la gestion axee sur la production vers une vision du monde qui a ses racines dans la theorie des systemes adaptatifs complexes et est compatible avec une ethique fondee sur la nature. Dans ce contexte, la sylviculture systemique offre un cadre de travail conceptuel. Dans ce document de reflexion, nous analysons comment cette approche peut etre reliee a trois moments fondamentaux de l'histoire de la foresterie et des sciences forestieres : le concept de la foret perenne de Dauerwald, la methode de controle de Gurnaud et les origines de l'ethique environnementale. Les relations avec l'histoire recente en science de la gestion forestiere et les perspectives courantes de recherche sont egalement mises en valeur. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : sylviculture, systemes adaptatifs complexes, systeme de Dauerwald, la methode de controle de Gurnaud, ethique environnementale., Introduction Forests have a long history of management worldwide, which has shaped their structure and composition to answer a wide and changing range of social and economic needs, following the [...]

On October 29, 2019, the Vaia storm hits the North-Eastern regions of Italy by wind gusts exceeding 200 km h-1. The forests in these regions have been seriously damaged. This contribution illustrates the methodology adopted in the emergency phase to estimate forest damages caused by Vaia storm, both in terms of damaged forest areas and growing stock volume of fallen trees. 494 Municipalities registered forest damages caused by Vaia, destroyed or intensely damaged forest stands amounted to about 42.500 ha, spread in Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy and, only marginally, Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta. The growing stock volume of fallen trees was about 8.5 millions m3.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the response of the soil microarthropod community to wildfire in forest ecosystems. The edaphic microarthropod communities of pine stands burned in 2001, in 2009, both in 2001 and in 2009, in 2012 were compared to an area never burned. Sampling was conducted in the spring and autumn of 2011 and 2012 in the areas burned in 2001, in 2009 and those never burned, while in the area burned in 2012, soil samples were collected in March (10 days after fire), June and September. The abundance and biodiversity of the microarthropod community were assessed. A multitemporal analysis was also carried out to assess the effect of fire on soil microarthropod abundance 5 months, 2-3 years and 10-11 years after fire. The results showed that the abundance of edaphic microarthropod communities decreased dramatically in areas burned twice, but also in areas burned once in 2009 and five months after the fire in the area burned in 2012. Different taxonomic groups did not seem to respond to fire in the same way, some taxa being more sensitive than others. Pseudoscorpionida decreased in both the short- and the long-term, while Diplopoda, Thysanoptera and Symphyla showed a reduction in the intermediate- and long-term. In the short-term, Diptera and Coleoptera larvae appeared to be the most influenced taxonomic groups. Our study shows that biomonitoring is a valuable tool to investigate the reaction of forest ecosystems to fire, and that edaphic microarthropods can provide interesting answers about the direct and indirect effects of fire on soil.

The most well-known and vast Calabrian pine forests are in the Sila mountain range, southern Italy. In this paper, present-day distribution of Calabrian pine in the Sila district was analyzed and compared with forest maps dating back to 1935 in order to assess the changes in land use. Main ecological and anthropogenic factors affecting Calabrian pine forest distribution were investigated by logistic regression models to identify the most important predictors of Ca­labrian pine persistence, expansion, and transition over the period 1935-2006. In 2006, the area covered by Calabrian pine forests and mixed Calabrian pine-beech forests was 36 100 ha and 20 221 ha, respectively. Overall, pine forest area increased by 38% between 1935 and 2006. Logistic regression revealed that Calabrian pine distribution in the Sila district was affected by both ecolo­gical (bioclimate, soil, and elevation) and anthropogenic factors (management, fire). Based on our results, four different potential dynamics of Calabrian pine stands are discussed in the perspective of the sustainable management and conservation of this important mountain forest habitat.

In the Apennine mountains most pure silver fir stands originated from planting and were managed according to the traditional model, with clear cutting and a 100 year rotation. In the last decades in most of these stands there has been a change towards nature conservation and active management has stopped. The aim of this work was (1) to analyse stand dynamics and spontaneous regeneration processes that are taking place with increasing age in even aged fir plantations, and (2) to discuss if these processes can be useful for defining management approaches answering biodiversity conservation aims. The study was carried out in the Vallombrosa Forest (Central Italy). The relationship between fir stand age and structural parameters was analyzed using inventory data. Gap dynamics were monitored between 1983 and 2007 on the basis of remote sensing data. Based on a field survey of a sample of gaps, species composition and density of seedlings and saplings were analysed in relation to gap size and within-gap position. From 1983 to 2007 the number of gaps and their total area increased, following increasing stand age. Significant relationships (p < 0.01) were found between fir stand age and number of trees per hectare (r = -0.30), quadratic mean diameter (r = 0.65) and volume per hectare (r = 0.50). In the fir stands with lower stand density, a layer of trees with DBH < 15 cm had filled in the structure: fifteen different broadleaf species were recorded in this layer, usually mixed with fir. Gap size had an influence on presence of young firs (seedlings and fir < 0.5 m), which were significantly more numerous in gaps < 200 m2, but it had relatively limited influence on species diversity. Within-gap position did not influence regeneration density. Results indicate that a possible management option for gradually transforming even aged fir plantations in the Apennines into mixed, naturally regenerating systems, could be based on the creation of small gaps (< 200 m2) in the canopy cover, simulating the natural dynamics that are taking place in ageing fir plantations.

Climate change has already increased fire risk in Mediterranean forests. Adaptation options related to forest fires and climate change include measures related to fuel management, fire fighting and infrastructure, as well as public awareness. The importance of each of these measures was evaluated in six Mediterranean countries in a study initiated within the COST Action FP0703 “Expected Climate Change and Options for European Silviculture”. A questionnaire survey was used to document the views of foresters and forest scientists. Country differences were observed and adaptation measures related to fire fighting efficiency and public awareness were valued as more important than fuel management. Results were discussed in the light of a critical review of adaptive fire management measures with special reference to European Mediterranean countries.

Forest estates with a long history of forest management plans are quite rare in Italy. In such cases, the analysis of historical documents combined with the use of GIS technology, can provide useful information on the evolution of forest cover and silvicultural and management techniques. Based on two unpublished documents by Karl Siemon and Anton Seeland dating back to 1837 and 1850, an archive of historical maps for the Lama Forest (Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona and Campigna National Park) was created using GIS techniques. This archive outlines the evolution of the Lama Forest over the last 170 years. Particular attention was given to silver fir plantations, which have strongly characterized silviculture and local economics in the Foreste Casentinesi area. The results of our analysis show that changes in different historical periods have been caused both by silvicultural interventions prescribed by the management plans and by external causes such as changes in forest property or war periods, which have markedly influenced forest area and stand characteristics. Furthermore, our analysis confirms that the work of Karl Siemon and Anton Seeland, carried out between 1835 and 1837, is the oldest forest management plan for an Italian forest. It is interesting to note that the aim of the plan, i.e., a regulated (or “normal”) even-aged forest, and the way the plan was laid out, typical of classic forest management originated in Germany at the end of the XVIIIth century, served as model for the forest management plans drawn out by the Florence Forestry School almost until the end of the XXth century.

In Italy the prescribed silvicultural system for beech high forests has usually been the uniform shelterwood system. This system has not always been carried out and completed in the sequence codified by the literature. Consequently, beech forests show highly variable structures which do not meet the canons of classical silviculture. On the other hand, selection felling has usually been considered inadequate for beech forests because of the supposed “natural” tendency of this species towards even aged structures and of the belief that only even aged beech stands produce high quality timber. This paper analyzes a beech stand of 10 ha, “Baldo’s forest” from the name of its owner. This stand has been managed since the first half of the nineteenth century by the same family with a type of single tree selection felling carried out according to criteria handed down from father to son. This type of treatment aimed at the production of timber assortments linked to local traditions (wooden snow shovels carved out from one piece of beech wood); today the beech timber is sold to the furniture industry and provides a satisfactory income for the owner. All the trees have been inventoried in four permanent plots, each located in a part of the stand which has been selectively felled in a different year. Structural analysis has been carried out. Results show that the stand has a structure which is typical of single tree uneven aged stands. Crown cover is almost complete and regeneration is a continuous process.

Following recent critiques on systemic silviculture, the author examines the principles, scientific consequences and practical implications of this theory. Systemic silviculture is based on the assumption that the forest is a complex biological system. This means abandoning the reductive, mechanistic and deterministic paradigm that has characterized forest science until the last century. If the forest is a complex biological system then its properties cannot be reduced to those of its components. According to this assumption, the author analyzes the concepts of forest structure, predictability and unpredictability of forest ecosystem processes, intrinsic value and rights of the forest. Systemic silviculture is characterized by an adaptive approach which has the flexibility and the capacity to respond to environmental retroactions which are fundamental for the governance of complex and adaptive systems. The author concludes that the bases of systemic silviculture are unassailable and surely much sounder than those of “naturalistic” silviculture, or at least of that type of silviculture which, trying to define “natural structural models” for forest ecosystems, is still anchored to the old, classic, paradigm of natural resource management and conservation.

Beech forests characterise the landscape of many mountain areas in Italy, from the Alps to the southern regions. This paper analyses the relationship between stand structure and the management history of beech in Italy. The aim is to outline possible strategies for the sustainable management of these forest formations. The present structure of beech forests in Italy is the result of many interacting factors. According to the National Forest Inventory, more than half the total area covered by beech has a long history of coppicing. High forests cover 34% of the total beech area and 13% have complex structures which have not been classified in regular types. Coppices are very widespread mainly because of the past, but also present importance of firewood and charcoal for mountain populations. A particular type of beech coppice, the selection coppice (or uneven aged coppice), was traditional in Tuscany and in some alpine areas. Starting from the fifties, following the widespread use of other low cost energy sources and the depopulation of mountain areas, many beech coppices have been progressively abandoned. Forest policies have been increasingly directed to favouring beech coppice conversion to high forests, which are considered more productive and ecologically more functional. Beech high forests have a very interesting management history which is a very good example of the separation between classical forest management, i.e., forest management systems defined by “scientific forestry”, described in text books and usually prescribed in forest regulation plans, and real life forest management, i.e., how forests have been, and mostly still are, actually managed. The analysis of the management history of beech high forests in Italy shows that management systems which favour simplified stand structure and composition according to rigid, predetermined models have been rarely applied. However, the traditional silviculture of beech stands in Southern Italy, based on the opening of very small gaps organized in time and space according to the different situations and to the reactions of the stand, can provide an example for a sustainable approach.

Renaturalisation is more and more often considered the aim of management when dealing with simplified forests. The term “renaturalisation” has become the keyword of many forest management projects. A reference model or system is often considered essential for forest renaturalisation. This approach is coherent with a school of thought which finds relevant examples in the science and practice of Ecological restoration. The search for a reference system has several practical limitations and, especially, a severe theoretical fault. The definition of a reference system underlies the idea that ecosystem reactions to management can be exactly forecast and thus ecosystems can be guided towards a predefined composition, structure and functionality. This idea stems from a deterministic imprinting which characterises traditional forestry thinking and which is clearly in contrast with the dynamic nature of forest ecosystems. If renaturalisation is seen as a silvicultural and management approach which tends to favour natural evolutionary processes through the system’s ability to autonomously increase its complexity and biodiversity, then the actual system under management is the only possible reference system. An accurate analysis of the evolutionary trends in relation to the actual environmental conditions and landscape matrix should therefore be the basis for the renaturalisation process. Management must proceed as an experiment: the reaction to each intervention must be monitored using appropriate indicators. These are not to be seen as reference limits but as parameters for quantifying changes in the system’s self-regulating processes. In conclusion, renaturalisation has more to do with the way we interact with nature than with a closed project with a clearly defined beginning and end.