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Pubblicazioni Scientifiche
Filtri di ricerca 4 risultati
Pubblicazioni per anno
Drivers of vascular species diversity on floodplain poplar stands: An integrated approach for ecological and functional assessment
Corli
,
Anna
,
Vannucchi
,
Francesca
,
Traversari
,
Silvia
,
Orsenigo
,
Simone
,
Giovannelli
,
Alessio
,
Chiarabaglio
,
Pier Mario
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Calfapietra
,
Carlo
,
Scartazza
,
Andrea
,
Mascherpa
,
Marco Carlo
,
Traversi
,
Maria Laura
,
Cristaldi
,
Luca
,
Trentanovi
,
Giovanni
soil properties
stand structure
management
populus spp.
soil enzymatic activities
vascular plants diversity
Mostra abstract
Biodiversity restoration is pivotal to enhance natural ecological processes in riparian ecosystems, affected by intensive human impact. Improving the riparian area functionality through new plantations is an effective Nature-based Solution. Poplar plantations have great potential for preventing soil erosion and providing habitats, but their impact on biodiversity has been little studied. Aims of this study were to: (1) investigate the effect of different poplar woodland management on vascular species diversity; (2) define the main drivers of vascular plant species richness, community composition, invasiveness and functional strategies. In three sites (Po river, Italy), an integrated survey protocol was applied to assess vascular species diversity, stand structure and soil properties. For each site, three stands with different management (cultivated, semi-natural and natural) were surveyed. Differences among all stand structural parameters and the management types were found. Tree diameter did not change between natural and seminatural stands but mean quadratic diameter of seminatural stands (28.1 cm) was similar to cultivated ones (26.8 cm). While cultivated stands showed the highest species richness (mean 28 species), semi-natural stands showed the highest number of native species (82 %) and an efficient soil N cycle (microbial N limitation, MNL < 0). The total Ca and MNL in soil resulted the main drivers of species diversity in the studied poplar stands. Semi-natural stands highlighted the best trade-off amongst vascular plant species diversity, invasiveness and soil process. The used integrated approach was effective and extendable to ecological and functional assessment of poplar riparian forests under different management gradients. © 2025 The Authors
Sustainable forest planning: Assessing biodiversity effects of Triad zoning based on empirical data and virtual landscapes
Duflot
,
Rémi
,
Heinrichs
,
Steffi
,
Balducci
,
Lorenzo
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Hofmeister
,
Jeňýk
,
Paillet
,
Yoan
,
Trentanovi
,
Giovanni
,
Archaux
,
Frédéric
,
Boch
,
Steffen
,
Bouget
,
Christophe
,
Dvořák
,
Daniel
,
Fischer
,
Markus
,
Gosselin
,
Frédéric
,
Gosselin
,
Marion
,
Goßner
,
Martin M.
,
Holá
,
Eva
,
Hošek
,
Jan
,
Jung
,
Kirsten G.
,
Palice
,
Zdeněk
,
Renner
,
Swen C.
,
Weisser
,
Wolfgang W.
,
Nagel
,
Thomas A.
,
Burrascano
,
Sabina
,
Schall
,
Peter
Mostra abstract
The Triad framework seeks to balance the economic and ecological functions in forested landscapes by combining intensively, extensively, and unmanaged areas, assuming a higher support to biodiversity in extensively rather than in intensively managed forests. We quantified the effects of Triad zoning on biodiversity in (sub)montane eutrophic European beech forests. Using a European-wide multitaxon database and a “virtual” landscape approach (i.e., by resampling empirical data), we evaluated how the proportion of Triad management categories affected the landscape-level species diversity of birds, saproxylic beetles, vascular plants, epiphytic bryophytes, lichens, and wood-inhabiting fungi, as well as multitaxonomic diversity. The results varied greatly among taxonomic groups. Multitaxonomic diversity peaked in landscapes composed of 60% unmanaged and 40% intensively managed forests. While intensive management can benefit some taxa through the creation of open habitats, unmanaged forests are the backbone of biodiversity conservation, underlining the need to safeguard the remaining old-growth forests under natural dynamics, and to extend the current area of unmanaged forests in Europe. Extensive forest management, however, did not contribute to biodiversity conservation as expected. As withdrawing such a high proportion of European forest landscapes from management is unfeasible given the increasing demand for timber, efforts are needed to increase the presence of structural features supporting biodiversity into extensively managed forests. © © 2025 the Author(s).
Managed forests are a stronghold of non-native beetles in Europe
Basile
,
Marco
,
Lachat
,
Thibault
,
Balducci
,
Lorenzo
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Chojnacki
,
Lucas
,
Archaux
,
Frédéric
,
N Avtzis
,
Dimitrios N.
,
Bouget
,
Christophe
,
de Smedt
,
Pallieter
,
Doerfler
,
Inken
,
Dumas
,
Yann
,
Elek
,
Zoltán
,
Gosselin
,
Marion
,
Goßner
,
Martin M.
,
Heilmann-Clausen
,
Jacob
,
Hofmeister
,
Jeňýk
,
Hošek
,
Jan
,
Janssen
,
Philippe
,
Justesen
,
Mathias Just
,
Hansen
,
Aslak Kappel
,
Schmidt
,
Inger Kappel
,
Kepfer-Rojas
,
Sebastian
,
Mårell
,
Anders
,
Matula
,
Radim
,
Müller
,
Jörg C. C.
,
Nordén
,
Björn
,
Ódor
,
Péter
,
Paillet
,
Yoan
,
Ravera
,
Sonia
,
Sitzia
,
Tommaso
,
Tinya
,
Flóra
,
Burrascano
,
Sabina
,
Brockerhoff
,
Eckehard G.
Mostra abstract
The species richness of vascular plants in forests can have contrasting effects on the occurrence of non-native insects. The establishment of non-native insect populations may be facilitated by low plant species richness, which reflects the availability of few but easily accessible resources, or hampered by high plant species richness due to spatial dilution of resources or biotic resistance (i.e., resistance against biological invasions). The relationship between the species richness of plants and non-native insects is likely influenced by disturbance regimes, which, in European forests, mostly consists of timber harvesting. We investigated this relationship considering two major forest attributes: (i) species richness of non-native vascular plants and (ii) forest management. From 1101 forest plots in Europe, we gathered occurrences of 1212 vascular plant species, including 160 non-native species, and of 2404 beetle species, including 29 non-native species. We tested the relationship between the species richness of non-native beetles and plants using non-linear quantile regressions. We disentangled the effect of non-native plant species richness from that of management on the species richness of non-native beetles, while accounting for forest structural variables, using structural equation models. We found clear evidence of a hump-shaped relationship between non-native beetle and plant species richness. The general shape of the relationship persisted when considering only woody or non-woody plants, as well as only non-native plants. The relationship was also similar between managed and unmanaged forests. However, the proportion of non-native beetles in managed forests was higher than in unmanaged forests at the same plant species richness. Management had a direct negative effect on non-native beetle species richness, whereas non-native plant species richness had a direct positive effect. When considering all direct and indirect effects, management facilitated the occurrence of non-native beetles indirectly via non-native plants rather than directly. Synthesis and applications. Species richness of native and non-native vascular plants modulates the species richness of non-native beetles through relationships with opposite signs. The interplay with management regimes and forest structures determines whether non-native beetles are promoted. Forest management aimed at reducing the intensity of disturbance while encouraging native plant species richness could promote the dominance of dilution effects and biotic resistance and could moderate the establishment of non-native insects. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Applied Ecology © 2025 British Ecological Society.
Monitoring hybrid poplar plantations using continuous canopy photography: influence of clone and water status
Mostra abstract
Hybrid poplar plantations are essential for bioenergy, pulp and paper industries, and contribute to carbon sequestration and environmental restoration. Effective plantation management, including monitoring of canopy structure, is crucial to maximize productivity, but traditional inventory methods often lack the spatial and temporal resolution needed for precision forestry application. In this study, we evaluated use of continuous canopy photography for continuous monitoring of poplar plantations. Daily canopy attributes like foliage cover and leaf area index were derived from time-lapse trail cameras. Three poplar clones (Soligo, I-214, and Neva), having differing growth rates and drought tolerances, were tested under different water (irrigated vs non-irrigated) regimes. We demonstrated that continuous canopy attributes allow to quantify significant variations in canopy cover, associated with both clone type and water status. Non-irrigated trials exhibited early senescence and canopy decline, while irrigated clones showed more robust canopy development. We concluded that continuous cameras offer a low-cost, effective solution for improving hybrid poplar plantation management by timely tracking the ability to respond to varying environmental conditions and optimizing resource use. © 2025 Istituto Sperimentale per la Selvicoltura. All rights reserved.