0000000000591662
AUTHOR
Bazan Giuseppe
Land mosaic naturalness evaluation: a proposal for European landscapes
The present work proposes a criterion to classify landscape into naturalness systems using four levels of conservation: High naturalness, Semi-natural, Agricultural, Artificial. As a case study Sicily (Italy) was chosen. The methodology has been applied to reclassify Corine Land Cover data and obtain a Naturalness map. The area of study has been divided into reference units; these land units are the result of the overlay of the bioclimatic map and of the geomorphologic map. A new index to evaluate landscape naturalness and conservation is proposed, which has been calculated for each land unit. The highest value is located on the Nebrodi Mountains, a Regional Park where extensive beech woods…
Potential impact of genetically modified Lepidoptera-resistant Brassica napus in biodiversity hotspots: Sicily as a theoretical model
The general increase of the cultivation and trade of Bt transgenic plants resistant to Lepidoptera pests raises concerns regarding the conservation of animal and plant biodiversity. Demand for biofuels has increased the cultivation and importation of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.), including transgenic lines. In environmental risk assessments (ERAs) for its potential future cultivation as well as for food and feed uses, the impact on wild Brassicaeae relatives and on non-target Lepidoptera should be assessed. Here we consider the potential exposure of butterflies as results of possible cultivation or naturalization of spilled seed in Sicily (Italy). Diurnal Lepidoptera, which are pollinat…