Search results for "CAPE"
showing 10 items of 1938 documents
Orophilous aspects of relictual vegetation of the class Rhamno-Prunetea localizated on the Madonie Mountains (NW Sicily).
2009
The deciduos shrubby mantle coenoses referred to the class Rhamno catharticae-Prunetea spinosae are secondary communities - sometimes permanent - localized in the climactical dominion of the forests of Querco-Fagetea and Quercetea ilicis or the riparian woodlands of Salici-Populetea nigrae. These communities are widespread from the Eurosiberian to the Mediterranean region, and are linked to rich nutrient humic soils, rocky slopes and screes (1). In Italy, the class Rhamno-Prunetea is represented by the alliances Cytision sessilifolii, Berberidion vulgaris, Pruno-Rubion ulmifolii and Salici-Viburnion opali, the latter showing hygrophilous character (2). As concerns the mountain and submounta…
Making a rural landscape: ecological and human dynamics in the holm oak forest of Mt. Barraù (Corleone, Palermo, C-W Sicily)
2017
The Harvesting Memories Project (funded by Bona Furtuna LLC) aims to investigate the long-term landscape transformations in the central part of the Alto Belice Corleonese (Central-Western Sicily). The case study area is formed by a sequence of gentle hills (Contrade Castro and Giardinello), rich in water springs that offer an optimal condition for agricultural exploitation, irregularly interrupted by the Mt. Barraù (1420 m a.s.l.) with steep and abrupt slopes in the south-west side. The study of this territory is approached by an holistic perspective to detect and evaluate the relationships and the interactions among human activities and the environment. The holm oak forest that covers part…
Ipotesi progettuale per un giardino pubblico “australiano” ai Danisinni, nella città di Palermo
2013
It is presented a project aimed at achieving a public garden theme “Australia” to Danisinni, in Palermo. The idea is based mainly on the consideration that the image of Palermo, resulting from the urban climate and flora in its main public spaces and within private gardens; on the view that in Palermo has a garden to English G. B. F. Basile, the first and last example of a public garden designed as such from its inception; last but not least, the propulsive action of the Botanical garden, behind the idea of conceiving an urban design, structured by a system of theme parks, in order to affirm the cosmopolitan character of Palermo. The project of urban Danisinni depression shows an area, cove…
BioCultural Landscapes per la rigenerazione innovativa dei territori di montagna
2017
Simplification of agricultural systems, farmland abandonment, uncontrolled urbanization, together with global scale drivers, determine fast and unpredictable phenomena of hydrogeological instability, biodiversity decline and identity loss. Men should hence promote socio-economic resilience and place identity, using biocultural landscapes as a resource. These landscapes are the outcome of the historical relationship between man and nature, resulting from complex interactions between biodiversity (at all levels, including species richness, ecosystem and biotope diversity) and cultural diversity, including material and immaterial aspects (architectural heritage, traditions, customs, local trad…
Geostatistical analisys on the relationship between vegetation pattern and human impact
2009
The purpose of this work is to evaluate the vegetation pattern of a mediterranean landscape, analyzed through the shape of the patches that constitute it, and its relationship with alterations introduced by land use and human impact. As a case of study the territory of the Monti Madonie Regional Park has been chosen, since it is a very heterogeneous area from the ecological point of view and a biodiversity hotspot. Shape Index has been used to evaluate pattern geometry and has been calculated for every single polygon. Resulting data has been grouped by vegetation type. Value is 1 when the patch is maximally compact and increases as patch shape becomes more irregular. Geostatistical analysis…
Past cover modulates the intense and spatially structured natural regeneration of woody vegetation in a pastureland
2020
Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-12T02:34:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-03-01 Università degli Studi di Palermo Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca Vegetation natural regeneration after agricultural abandonment is changing the landscape patterns in many areas worldwide. However, the expansion rate, spatio-temporal dynamics, and the role of past vegetation cover in shaping such patterns are still barely quantified in fine and meso scales. Here, we aim to quantify the expansion rate and assess the spatio-temporal patterns and the effects of past cover on natural woody vegetation cover increase. We sampled woodland and shrubland cover from …
A century of fishery data documenting the collapse of smooth-hounds (Mustelusspp.) in the Mediterranean Sea
2017
Conservation and management of shark populations is increasingly becoming important in many marine regions, since there is a growing body of evidence showing that several species are threatened and continuing to decline because of unregulated fishing. Quantifying the extent of sharks' decline, the risk of species extinction, and the consequences for marine ecosystems have been challenging and controversial, mostly due to data limitations. In this study, more than one century of multiple-sources of bibliographic records on presence and frequency of occurrence of three species of commercial sharks, the smooth-hounds Mustelus spp., in the Mediterranean Sea were compiled and analysed. Generaliz…
Native predators control the population of an invasive crab in no-take marine protected areas
2018
1. The resistance of an ecosystem to species invasion is considered to be related to the abundance and diversity of native species i.e. biotic resistance hypothesis). Theory predicts that the high native diversity in pristine systems can hinder the establishment and/or the spread of non‐native species through direct and indirect mechanisms (e.g. through competitive and/or predatory interactions). 2. Here we tested whether predation provides higher resistance to invasion by the Percnidae crab Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) in protected native communities, compared with exploited ones. Specifically, this study aimed to compare: (i) the abundance and diversity of potential predator a…
Scuba diver behaviour and its effects on the biota of a Mediterranean marine protected area
2009
The effects of diving activity in different Mediterranean subtidal habitats are scarcely known. This study evaluates diver behaviour (for example time spent in each habitat), use (contacts made with the substrate) and immediate effects of diver contact on benthic species in a marine protected area (MPA) in Sicily. Over a two-year period, intentions of 105 divers were observed within seven subtidal habitats: algae on horizontal substrate, algae on vertical substrate, Posidonia oceanica, encrusted walls, caves, sand and pebbles. Divers selected a habitat in proportion to its availability along the scuba trail. On average, each diver made 2.52 contacts every seven minutes, and no differences w…
Towards a landscape scale management of pesticides: ERA using changes in modelled occupancy and abundance to assess long-term population impacts of p…
2015
Pesticides are regulated in Europe and this process includes an environmental risk assessment (ERA) for nontarget arthropods (NTA). Traditionally a non-spatial or field trial assessment is used. In this study we exemplify the introduction of a spatial context to the ERA as well as suggest a way in which the results of complex models, necessary for proper inclusion of spatial aspects in the ERA, can be presented and evaluated easily using abundance and occupancy ratios (AOR). We used an agent-based simulation system and an existing model for a wide-spread carabid beetle (Bembidion lampros), to evaluate the impact of a fictitious highly-toxic pesticide on population density and the distributi…