Search results for "Shrub"
showing 10 items of 101 documents
Trying to link vegetation units with biomass data: the case study of Italian shrublands
2014
Although their carbon stock is relevant in assessing the baseline for the negotiation of future agreements with respect to carbon balance, there still are few available studies concerning the biomass and the net ecosystem exchange capacity of Mediterranean shrublands. In this chapter a preliminary overview on the biomass values concerning Italian shrubland communities and/or their dominant/ characteristic woody species is provided. Many useful data on above- and belowground biomass issued from investigations carried out in other Mediterranean countries and concerning plant communities, which share the same ecological, floristic and structural traits of Italian shrublands. A preliminary find…
Mid- and late-Holocene vegetation and fire history at Biviere di Gela, a coastal lake in southern Sicily, Italy
2009
The vegetation and fire history of few coastal sites has been investigated in the Mediterranean region so far. We present the first paleoecological reconstruction from coastal Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. We analysed pollen and charcoal in the sediments of Biviere di Gela, a lake (lagoon) on the south coast of Sicily. Our data suggest that the area became afforested after a marine transgression at ca. 7200 cal b.p. (5250 b.c.). Build-up of forest and shrublands took ca. 200–300 years, mainly with the deciduous trees Quercus, Ostrya and Fraxinus. Juniperus expanded ca. 6900 cal b.p. (4950 b.c.), but declined again 6600 cal b.p. (4650 b.c.). Afterwards, evergreen trees…
Grasslands and Shrublands of the Mediterranean Region
2020
The Mediterranean Region extends to the 1.6% of the world’s land surface and more than the half of the Mediterranean-type ecosystems of the world. The remarkable species richness in the Mediterranean Region mainly originates from an exceptional habitat diversity and the presence of several natural barriers facilitating the segregation and differentiation of local taxa and biocoenoses. In this article, we deal with the habitats characterized by grasslands and shrublands that clearly show the adaptations to what could be called “the Mediterranean syndrome”, i.e., the intrazonal Mediterranean grasslands and shrublands (MG&S). The main driving forces of the adaptive radiation and high biodi…
MARIOLA: a model for calculating the response of mediterranean bush ecosystem to climatic variations
1995
Abstract The paper summarizes the bush ecosystem model developed for assessing the effects of climatic change on the behaviour of mediterranean bushes assuming that temperature, humidity and rain-fall are the basic dimensions of the niche occupied by shrub species. In this context, changes in the monthly weather pattern serve only to outline the growth conditions due to the nonlinearity of response of shrubs to climatic factors. The plant-soil-atmosphere system is described by means of ordinary non-linear differential equations for the state variables: green biomass, woody biomass, the residues of green and woody biomasses, faecal detritus of mammals on the soil, and the total organic matte…
Post-fire soil functionality and microbial community structure in a Mediterranean shrubland subjected to experimental drought.
2016
Fire may cause significant alterations in soil properties. Post-fire soil dynamics can vary depending, among other factors, on rainfall patterns. However, little is known regarding variations in response to post-fire drought. This is relevant in arid and semiarid areas with poor soils, like much of the western Mediterranean. Furthermore, climate change projections in such areas anticipate reduced precipitation and longer annual drought periods, together with an increase in fire severity and frequency. This research evaluates the effects of experimental drought after fire on soil dynamics of a Cistus-Erica shrubland (Central Spain). A replicated (n = 4) field experiment was conducted in whic…
Plant genetic resources and traditional knowledge on medicinal use of wild shrub and herbaceous plant species in the Etna Regional Park (Eastern Sici…
2014
Ethnopharmacological relevance: This paper illustrates the results of a study carried out in the Etna Regional Park (Eastern Sicily, Italy) concerning the traditional knowledge on medicinal use of wild plant species. It specifies contains the results of a quantitative analysis carried out for the first time. A total of 71 wild species are used for medicinal purposes. Two species, Astracantha sicula (Biv.) Greuter and Trifolium phleoides Willd., are little known as medicinal in the Mediterranean area. Aim of the study: The main aim of the study was to understand to what extent current knowledge on the medicinal use of plants is still an element of the culture within the elderly population of…
A test on Ellenberg indicator values in the Mediterranean evergreen woods (Quercetea ilicis)
2015
The consistency and reliability of Ellenberg’s indicator values (Eiv) as ecological descriptors of the Mediterranean evergreen vegetation ascribed to the phytosociological class Quercetea ilicis have been checked on a set of 859 phytosociological releves × 699 species. Diagnostic species were identified through a Twinspan analysis and their Eiv analyzed and related to the following independent variables: (1) annual mean temperatures, (2) annual rainfall. The results provided interesting insights to disentangle the current syntaxonomical framework at the alliance level demonstrating the usefulness of ecological indicator values to test the efficiency and predictivity of the phytosociological…
Effect of Cutting Size and Basal Heat on Rooting of Micromeria fruticulosa Stem Cuttings
2017
Micromeria fruticulosa (Bertol.) Grande is a small pulviniform shrub, belonging to the Labiates, and characterized by twisted stems and pink-purple flowers. Endemic to Campania and Sicily (Italy), M. fruticulosa grows from sea level to 600 m altitude. This specie might be considered an excellent native plant for landscape purposes in Mediterranean areas because of its long flowering period, extending from November to June, and its tolerance to heat and drought. The exploitation of wild plants for ornamental purposes implies knowledge on the factors influencing the propagation methods. Root development of stem cuttings of M. fruticulosa was investigated in relation to basal heat and cutting …
Rehabilitation of Mediterranean anthropogenic soils using symbiotic wild legume shrubs: Plant establishment and impact on the soil bacterial communit…
2010
Abstract Susceptibility to desertification in southern Europe is increasing and rehabilitation of desertification-threatened Mediterranean soils is a challenge due to the inhospitality of the environment. In particular, recovery of anthropogenic soils (mainly human-derived artefacts from housing construction and other inert materials or topsoil of terminal phase municipal landfills) cannot rely on spontaneous processes and low-cost/low-impact strategies are needed to prevent desertification. Mediterranean wild legume shrubs have great potential for soil recovery and conservation against desertification, thanks to drought resistance, and their symbiosis with N2-fixing rhizobia and arbuscular…
The SMOS mediterranean ecosystem L-band characterisation experiment (MELBEX) over natural shrubs
2010
10 páginas, 5 figuras, 7 tablas.