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Pubblicazioni Scientifiche

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Pubblicazioni per anno
Widespread breakdown in masting in European beech due to rising summer temperatures
Mostra abstract
Climate change effects on tree reproduction are poorly understood, even though the resilience of populations relies on sufficient regeneration to balance increasing rates of mortality. Forest-forming tree species often mast, i.e. reproduce through synchronised year-to-year variation in seed production, which improves pollination and reduces seed predation. Recent observations in European beech show, however, that current climate change can dampen interannual variation and synchrony of seed production and that this masting breakdown drastically reduces the viability of seed crops. Importantly, it is unclear under which conditions masting breakdown occurs and how widespread breakdown is in this pan-European species. Here, we analysed 50 long-term datasets of population-level seed production, sampled across the distribution of European beech, and identified increasing summer temperatures as the general driver of masting breakdown. Specifically, increases in site-specific mean maximum temperatures during June and July were observed across most of the species range, while the interannual variability of population-level seed production (CVp) decreased. The declines in CVp were greatest, where temperatures increased most rapidly. Additionally, the occurrence of crop failures and low seed years has decreased during the last four decades, signalling altered starvation effects of masting on seed predators. Notably, CVp did not vary among sites according to site mean summer temperature. Instead, masting breakdown occurs in response to warming local temperatures (i.e. increasing relative temperatures), such that the risk is not restricted to populations growing in warm average conditions. As lowered CVp can reduce viable seed production despite the overall increase in seed count, our results warn that a covert mechanism is underway that may hinder the regeneration potential of European beech under climate change, with great potential to alter forest functioning and community dynamics. © 2024 The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Where are we now with European forest multi-taxon biodiversity and where can we head to?
Burrascano , Sabina , Chianucci , Francesco , Trentanovi , Giovanni , Kepfer-Rojas , Sebastian , Sitzia , Tommaso , Tinya , Flóra , Doerfler , Inken , Paillet , Yoan , Nagel , Thomas A. , Mitić , Božena , Morillas , Lourdes , Munzi , Silvana , Van Der Sluis , Theo , Alterio , Edoardo , Balducci , Lorenzo , de Andrade , Rafael Barreto , Bouget , Christophe , Giordani , P. , Lachat , Thibault , Matošević , Dinka , Napoleone , Francesca , Nascimbene , Juri , Paniccia , Chiara , Roth , Nicolas , Aszalós , Réka , Brazaitis , Gediminas , Cutini , Andrea , D'Andrea , Ettore , de Smedt , Pallieter , Heilmann-Clausen , Jacob , Janssen , Philippe , Kozák , Daniel , Mårell , Anders , Mikoláš , Martin , Nordén , Björn , Matula , Radim , Schall , Peter , Svoboda , Miroslav , Ujházyová , Mariana , Vandekerkhove , Kris , Wohlwend , Michael Rudolf , Xystrakis , Fotios , Aleffi , Michele , Ammer , Christian , Archaux , Frédéric , Asbeck , Thomas , N Avtzis , Dimitrios N. , Ayasse , Manfred , Bagella , Simonetta , Balestrieri , Rosario , Barbati , Anna , Basile , Marco , Bergamini , Ariel , Bertini , Giada , Biscaccianti , Alessandro Bruno , Boch , Steffen , Bölöni , János , Bombi , Pierluigi , Boscardin , Yves , Brunialti , Giorgio , Bruun , Hans Henrik , Buscot , François , Byriel , David Bille , Campagnaro , Thomas , Campanaro , Alessandro , Chauvat , Matthieu , Ciach , Michał , Čiliak , Marek , Cistrone , Luca , Pereira , Joaò Manuel Cordeiro , Daniel , Rolf , de Cinti , Bruno , de Filippo , Gabriele , Dekoninck , Wouter , Di Salvatore , Umberto , Dumas , Yann , Elek , Zoltán , Ferretti , Fabrizio , Fotakis , Dimitrios G. , Frank , Tamás , Frey , Julian , Giancola , Carmen , Gömöryová , Erika , Gosselin , Marion , Gosselin , Frédéric , Goßner , Martin M. , Götmark , Frank , Haeler , Elena , Hansen , Aslak Kappel , Hertzog , Lionel R. , Hofmeister , Jeňýk , Hošek , Jan , Johannsen , Vivian Kvist , Justensen , Mathias Just , Korboulewsky , Nathalie , Kovács , Bence , Lakatos , Ferenc , Landivar , Carlos Miguel , Lens , Luc , Lingua , Emanuele
Mostra abstract
The European biodiversity and forest strategies rely on forest sustainable management (SFM) to conserve forest biodiversity. However, current sustainability assessments hardly account for direct biodiversity indicators. We focused on forest multi-taxon biodiversity to: i) gather and map the existing information; ii) identify knowledge and research gaps; iii) discuss its research potential. We established a research network to fit data on species, standing trees, lying deadwood and sampling unit description from 34 local datasets across 3591 sampling units. A total of 8724 species were represented, with the share of common and rare species varying across taxonomic classes: some included many species with several rare ones (e.g., Insecta); others (e.g., Bryopsida) were represented by few common species. Tree-related structural attributes were sampled in a subset of sampling units (2889; 2356; 2309 and 1388 respectively for diameter, height, deadwood and microhabitats). Overall, multi-taxon studies are biased towards mature forests and may underrepresent the species related to other developmental phases. European forest compositional categories were all represented, but beech forests were over-represented as compared to thermophilous and boreal forests. Most sampling units (94%) were referred to a habitat type of conservation concern. Existing information may support European conservation and SFM strategies in: (i) methodological harmonization and coordinated monitoring; (ii) definition and testing of SFM indicators and thresholds; (iii) data-driven assessment of the effects of environmental and management drivers on multi-taxon forest biological and functional diversity, (iv) multi-scale forest monitoring integrating in-situ and remotely sensed information. © 2023 The Authors
Words apart: Standardizing forestry terms and definitions across European biodiversity studies
Mostra abstract
Forest biodiversity studies conducted across Europe use a multitude of forestry terms, often inconsistently. This hinders the comparability across studies and makes the assessment of the impacts of forest management on biodiversity highly context-dependent. Recent attempts to standardize forestry and stand description terminology mostly used a top-down approach that did not account for the perspectives and approaches of forest biodiversity experts. This work aims to establish common standards for silvicultural and vegetation definitions, creating a shared conceptual framework for a consistent study on the effects of forest management on biodiversity. We have identified both strengths and weaknesses of the silvicultural and vegetation information provided in forest biodiversity studies. While quantitative data on forest biomass and dominant tree species are frequently included, information on silvicultural activities and vegetation composition is often lacking, shallow, or based on broad and heterogeneous classifications. We discuss the existing classifications and their use in European forest biodiversity studies through a novel bottom-up and top-driven review process, and ultimately propose a common framework. This will enhance the comparability of forest biodiversity studies in Europe, and puts the basis for effective implementation and monitoring of sustainable forest management policies. The standards here proposed are potentially adaptable and applicable to other geographical areas and could be extended to other forest interventions. © 2023 The Authors
Handbook of field sampling for multi-taxon biodiversity studies in European forests
Mostra abstract
Forests host most terrestrial biodiversity and their sustainable management is crucial to halt biodiversity loss. Although scientific evidence indicates that sustainable forest management (SFM) should be assessed by monitoring multi-taxon biodiversity, most current SFM criteria and indicators account only for trees or consider indirect biodiversity proxies. Several projects performed multi-taxon sampling to investigate the effects of forest management on biodiversity, but the large variability of their sampling approaches hampers the identification of general trends, and limits broad-scale inference for designing SFM. Here we address the need of common sampling protocols for forest structure and multi-taxon biodiversity to be used at broad spatial scales. We established a network of researchers involved in 41 projects on forest multi-taxon biodiversity across 13 European countries. The network data structure comprised the assessment of at least three taxa, and the measurement of forest stand structure in the same plots or stands. We mapped the sampling approaches to multi-taxon biodiversity, standing trees and deadwood, and used this overview to provide operational answers to two simple, yet crucial, questions: what to sample? How to sample? The most commonly sampled taxonomic groups are vascular plants (83% of datasets), beetles (80%), lichens (66%), birds (66%), fungi (61%), bryophytes (49%). They cover different forest structures and habitats, with a limited focus on soil, litter and forest canopy. Notwithstanding the common goal of assessing forest management effects on biodiversity, sampling approaches differed widely within and among taxonomic groups. Differences derive from sampling units (plots size, use of stand vs. plot scale), and from the focus on different substrates or functional groups of organisms. Sampling methods for standing trees and lying deadwood were relatively homogeneous and focused on volume calculations, but with a great variability in sampling units and diameter thresholds. We developed a handbook of sampling methods (SI 3) aimed at the greatest possible comparability across taxonomic groups and studies as a basis for European-wide biodiversity monitoring programs, robust understanding of biodiversity response to forest structure and management, and the identification of direct indicators of SFM. © 2021 The Authors