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Pubblicazioni Scientifiche
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Pubblicazioni per anno
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.
Towards an effective in-situ biodiversity assessment in European forests
Burrascano
,
Sabina
,
Chojnacki
,
Lucas
,
Balducci
,
Lorenzo
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Haeler
,
Elena
,
Kepfer-Rojas
,
Sebastian
,
Paillet
,
Yoan
,
de Andrade
,
Rafael Barreto
,
Boch
,
Steffen
,
de Smedt
,
Pallieter
,
Fischer
,
Markus
,
Mijangos
,
Itziar Garcia
,
Heilmann-Clausen
,
Jacob
,
Hofmeister
,
Jeňýk
,
Hošek
,
Jan
,
Kozák
,
Daniel
,
Kutszegi
,
Gergely
,
Lachat
,
Thibault
,
Mikoláš
,
Martin
,
Samu
,
Ferenc
,
Ravera
,
Sonia
,
Schall
,
Peter
,
Sitzia
,
Tommaso
,
Svoboda
,
Miroslav
,
Trentanovi
,
Giovanni
,
Ujházyová
,
Mariana
,
Vandekerkhove
,
Kris
,
Tinya
,
Flóra
,
Ódor
,
Péter
forest biodiversity
vascular plants
birds
epiphytic bryophytes
epiphytic lichens
monitoring network
multivariate standard error
rarefaction curves
saproxylic beetles
wood-inhabiting fungi
Mostra abstract
Assessing multi-taxon biodiversity is crucial to understand forests’ response to environmental changes and to inform management strategies. In Europe, forest biodiversity monitoring is still scattered and heterogeneous, although a long-term monitoring network has long been advocated. Given the monitoring aims reported in various EU policies, this network should be accurately designed also through the estimation of its sampling effort, here intended as the number of sampling plots and sites. We used a novel database of forest multi-taxon biodiversity for a pilot study to: estimate the minimum sampling effort needed to: assess variation in species richness and composition; compare these estimates with the efforts invested in the pilot database; discuss estimates’ differences across taxonomic groups and forest categories. We focused on six taxonomic groups (vascular plants, birds, epiphytic lichens and bryophytes, wood-inhabiting fungi and saproxylic beetles) across six forest categories. Based on 6,165 plots at 2,084 different locations across Europe, we benchmarked the effort to achieve: a complete species richness estimate through interpolation/extrapolation curves, and a precise evaluation of species composition variation through multivariate standard error. Our estimates differed widely, especially among taxonomic groups. For species richness, estimates range from 3 to 147 plots per site across 3 to 29 sites per forest category, with birds and epiphytic bryophytes requiring the least effort. For species composition, estimates range from 5 to over 25 plots per site across 5 to 20 sites per forest category, with saproxylic beetles, vascular plants, and fungi displaying the highest estimates. The taxonomic groups requiring an effort comparable to existing data were the least diverse, all the others need greater efforts, either for species richness (e.g., saproxylic beetles), or species composition (e.g., vascular plants), or both (e.g., wood-inhabiting fungi). An effective monitoring network of European forests’ biodiversity should thoroughly account for these benchmarks and for their taxon-dependency. © 2025
Multi-taxon and forest structure sampling for identification of indicators and monitoring of old-growth forest
Blasi
,
Carlo
,
Marchetti
,
Marco
,
Chiavetta
,
U.
,
Aleffi
,
Michele
,
Audisio
,
P. Aldo
,
Azzella
,
Mattia Martin
,
Brunialti
,
Giorgio
,
Capotorti
,
Giulia
,
Del Vico
,
Eva
,
Lattanzi
,
Edda
,
Persiani
,
Anna Maria
,
Ravera
,
Sonia
,
Tilia
,
Agnese
,
Burrascano
,
Sabina
structural attributes
multi-taxon species lists
species co-occurrence
structure-based indicators
taxon-based indicators
Mostra abstract
The most commonly used old-growth forest indicators are structural attributes; nevertheless, they do not necessarily represent the biodiversity value of old-growth forests. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationships between species richness data of different taxa and structural indicators of old-growth and to identify taxonomic/functional groups, species and structural attributes that may be used as indicators of old growth. To achieve this goal we sampled forest structure, vascular plants, lichens, bryophytes, fungi, saproxylic beetles and birds in mature and old-growth stands in southern Italy. We calculated Spearman's correlation coefficients between species richness data and structural attributes. Analyses of indicator species, co-occurrences and two-way clusters were performed on the multi-taxonomic list. The group of vascular plants most significantly correlated with other groups in terms of species richness; furthermore, it displays the highest proportion of between-group co-occurrences. The resulting multi-taxonomic list of potential indicators may serve as an effective means of detecting and monitoring forest ecosystems; however, for this goal, structure-based indicators, such as forest structural attributes and vascular plant species composition, are of primary importance. © 2010 Società Botanica Italiana.