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Pubblicazioni Scientifiche
Filtri di ricerca 4 risultati
Pubblicazioni per anno
Assessing the maintenance of forest resources and their contribution to carbon cycles
Becagli
,
Claudia
,
Bertini
,
Giada
,
Cammarano
,
Mario
,
Cantiani
,
Paolo
,
Čater
,
Matjaž
,
Chiavetta
,
U.
,
Coletta
,
Vittoria
,
Conforti
,
Massimo
,
D'Andrea
,
Ettore
,
Di Salvatore
,
D.
,
Fabbio
,
Gianfranco
,
Ferlan
,
Mitja
,
Ferreira
,
Andreja
,
Ferretti
,
Fabrizio
,
Giovannozzi Sermanni
,
A.
,
Kobler
,
Andrej
,
Kovač
,
Marko
,
Marinšek
,
Aleksander
,
Micali
,
Marco
,
Pellicone
,
Gaetano
,
Planinšek
,
Špela
,
Rezaei
,
N.
,
Sicuriello
,
Flavia
,
Skudnik
,
Mitja
,
Tonti
,
Daniela
Relationships between overstory and understory structure and diversity in semi-natural mixed floodplain forests at Bosco Fontana (Italy)
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Minari
,
Emma
,
Fardusi
,
Most Jannatul
,
Merlini
,
Paolo
,
Cutini
,
Andrea
,
Corona
,
P.
,
Mason
,
Franco
Mostra abstract
The "Bosco Fontana" natural reserve includes the last remaining mixed floodplain forest in northern Italy and one of the most endangered ecosystems in Europe. Its effective management is hindered by the complexity of interactions of mixed-tree species and the influence of environmental factors on understory plant diversity. In this study we analyzed the patterns of natural evolution in semi-natural floodplain forest stands at Bosco Fontana with the aim of better understanding its current natural processes and dynamics. Stand structure, taxonomic and functional diversity, species composition, and leaf area index (LAI) of overstory and understory layers were surveyed in permanent plots over two inventory years (1995, 2005). The influence of environmental factors on understory plant diversity was assessed using Ellenberg’s indices for light, soil moisture, soil nutrient and soil reaction. Results indicated that overstory species composition varies according to the soil moisture, with hornbeam prevailing in xeric sites and deciduous oak species in mesic sites. Xeric sites showed high functional dispersion in both drought and shade tolerant traits, while it was significantly lower in both overstory and understory in the moist site. Functional dispersion of drought tolerance in the overstory and understory layers was positively correlated, while species richness was negatively correlated between the two layers. Diversity in the understory was mainly correlated with soil conditions. Understory LAI was positively correlated with overstory LAI in xeric and mesic plots, while no correlations were found in the moist plot. Overall, our results suggest that site conditions (soil conditions and water availability) are the major drivers of understory and overstory dynamics in the study forest. Hence, local site conditions and the understory should be carefully considered in the management of mixed floodplain forests. © SISEF.
Estimation of canopy attributes in beech forests using true colour digital images from a small fixed-wing UAV
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Disperati
,
L.
,
Guzzi
,
Donatella
,
Bianchini
,
Daniele
,
Nardino
,
Vanni
,
Lastri
,
Cinzia
,
Rindinella
,
Andrea
,
Corona
,
P.
Mostra abstract
Accurate estimates of forest canopy are essential for the characterization of forest ecosystems. Remotely-sensed techniques provide a unique way to obtain estimates over spatially extensive areas, but their application is limited by the spectral and temporal resolution available from these systems, which is often not suited to meet regional or local objectives. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) as remote sensing platforms has recently gained increasing attention, but their applications in forestry are still at an experimental stage. In this study we described a methodology to obtain rapid and reliable estimates of forest canopy from a small UAV equipped with a commercial RGB camera. The red, green and blue digital numbers were converted to the green leaf algorithm (GLA) and to the CIE L<sup>*</sup>a<sup>*</sup>b<sup>*</sup> colour space to obtain estimates of canopy cover, foliage clumping and leaf area index (L) from aerial images. Canopy attributes were compared with in situ estimates obtained from two digital canopy photographic techniques (cover and fisheye photography). The method was tested in beech forests. UAV images accurately quantified canopy cover even in very dense stand conditions, despite a tendency to not detecting small within-crown gaps in aerial images, leading to a measurement of a quantity much closer to crown cover estimated from in situ cover photography. Estimates of L from UAV images significantly agreed with that obtained from fisheye images, but the accuracy of UAV estimates is influenced by the appropriate assumption of leaf angle distribution. We concluded that true colour UAV images can be effectively used to obtain rapid, cheap and meaningful estimates of forest canopy attributes at medium-large scales. UAV can combine the advantage of high resolution imagery with quick turnaround series, being therefore suitable for routine forest stand monitoring and real-time applications. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.
Long-term response to thinning in a beech (Fagussylvatica L.) coppice stand under conversion to high forest in central Italy
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Salvati
,
Luca
,
Giannini
,
Tessa
,
Chiavetta
,
U.
,
Corona
,
P.
,
Cutini
,
Andrea
Mostra abstract
European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests have a long history of coppicing, but the majority of formerly managed coppices are currently under conversion to high forest. The long time required to achieve conversion requires a long-term perspective to fully understand the implication of the applied conversion practices. In this study, we showed results from a long-term (1992–2014) casestudy comparing two management options (natural evolution and periodic thinning) in a beech coppice in conversion to high forest. Leaf area index, litter production, radiation transmittance and growth efficiency taken as relevant stand descriptors, were estimated using both direct and indirect optical methods. Overall, results indicated that beech coppice showed positive and prompt responses to active conversion practices based on periodic medium-heavy thinning. A growth efficiency index showed that tree growth increased as the cutting intensity increased. Results from the case study supported the effectiveness of active conversion management from an economic (timber harvesting) and ecological (higher growth efficiency) point of view. © 2016, Finnish Society of Forest Science. All rights reserved.