0000000001323695
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Ds La Mela Veca
I rimboschimenti di cedro dell’Atlante [Cedrus atlantica (Endl.) Manetti ex Carrière] in Sicilia
Il cedro dell’Atlante [Cedrus atlantica (ENDL.) MANETTI EX CARRIÈRE], introdotto in Europa come pianta ornamentale, ha trovato largo impiego nei rimboschimenti in Francia, Spagna e Portogallo, mentre in Italia la sua diffusione è stata più recente e a oggi interessa oltre 2600 ettari, dimostrando ottime potenzialità, senza comportamenti invasivi. In Sicilia, benché poco diffusa, la specie sembra avere potenzialità di adattamento e di produzione interessanti. Il presente lavoro prende in considerazione 7 popolamenti di cedro dell'Atlante dislocati in ambiti diversi rappresentativi delle condizioni ambientali locali, compatibili con le esigenze ecologiche della specie, tra questi un rimboschi…
Chestnut woods on madonie mountains (Sicily, Italy): Reasons for abandonment and possibilities of recovery
The status of the chestnut woods on the Madonie Mountains (Sicily, PA) was investigated. During the last years, the surface of chestnut woods on the Madonie Mountains has been decreasing as well as their utilisation has changed because of chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) attacks. Therefore, three plots located in the Madonie mountains were studied to investigate the effects of chestnut blight attack. The first results here exposed stress the strong relations between the entity of chestnut blight attack and the density and age of the coppice.
Comparing different methods to determine soil physical quality in a mediterranean forest and pasture land
Soil physical quality (SPQ) can be assessed by different experimental methodologies and criteria and the optimal/critical values or ranges for SPQ indicators are still approximate. Sampling soils with minimal anthropic pressures should allow improvements in SPQ assessment. Different experimental methodologies and criteria were applied to sample a Mediterranean oak forest (Quercus ilex L.) and pasture land, in Sicily, with a varying degree of anthropic disturbance. Soil water retention was determined in the laboratory and the field, using the BEST (Beerkan Estimation of Soil Transfer parameters) procedure of soil hydraulic characterization. Capacity-based indicators, the S index, and locatio…
Effects of traditional forest management on carbon storage in a Mediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) coppice
Abstract: In the last decade, there has been increased interest in measuring and modeling storage in the five forest carbon pools: the aboveground and belowground biomass (living biomass), the deadwood and litter (dead biomass), and the soil (soil organic matter). In this paper, we examined carbon storage in a holm oak coppice stand in the Madonie Mountains in Sicily (Italy), which is a typical case of managed coppice stands. Today, traditional coppice practices are only applied to a small number of forested areas in Sicily, such as the selected site, because of the decline in demand for wood and charcoal. The dendrometric parameters of the stands were recorded, and silvicultural indices we…
SOFIA: a decision support System for the Optimization of the biomass supply chain and Forest Integrated management in protected areas
A decision support System for the Optimization of the biomass supply chain and Forest Integrated Management in protected areas (SOFIA) is presented. All functionalities have been developed in Python language embedded in the open-source QGIS 3.6 software. Two models were implemented with an approach and methodology based on free and open source software (QGIS, GRASS, SAGA, GDAL). The main aim of SOFIA is to support the Madonie Regional Natural Park authority and forest managers in decision-making processes to assess the costs and benefits in the energy production from residual agro-forestry biomass, as well as for determining the optimum plant size (and power) for energy and heat production …
Criteria to identify old-growth forests in the Mediterranean: A case study from Sicily based on a literature review and some management proposals
Old growth forests are increasingly considered and studied all around the world. However, the knowledge of such important forest systems is still limited in some bioclimatic regions, such as in the Mediterranean Basin. Starting from the knowledge acquired elsewhere, our research was carried out with the aim to select the most effective criteria to identify potential old-growth forests in Mediterranean ecosystems (Sicily, Italy). Four key proxy indicators were considered: deadwood amount, tree size, structural traits, and tree species richness. A preliminary classification of the local forest stands level in three classes of old-growthness (high, medium and low) has also been proposed. The m…
Gestione sostenibile delle foreste Mediterranee e uso energetico delle biomasse forestali residuali
he book describes the reasons that led the Regional Department of Rural and Territorial Development to take part in the PROFORBIOMED Project. They can be summarized by the need to dispose of a tool for the sustainable management of all the state-owned forests of the Region. As a matter of fact, the Project aims at developing a model of sustainable forest management, through the recovery and reuse of wood scraps from ordinary silvicultural operations, to be used for the production of power and heat inside of a process adopting natural renewable energy sources. The main actions taken and the methodologies adopted are described, as well as the principles and instruments required for the settin…
Resilienza delle foreste Mediterranee ai cambiamenti climatici - Guida al progetto [Resilience of Mediterranean forests to climate change – Project guide]
The overall objective of the project LIFE11+ ENV/IT/000215 RESILFORMED – Resilience of Mediterranean forests to climate change is to preserve the forest systems from the risks due to climate change, through naturalization processes, increased biodiversity and improved responsiveness, in the recovery process, coming from destabilizing events. The specific objective is to implement a regional forest policy able to increase resilience capacity of Sicilian forests, improving their ecosystem capacity and fostering the biodiversity preservation. The project has proposed to pursue five concrete results: 1) drafting guidelines for effective Mediterranean forest management with respect to climate ch…