Search results for "mediterranean"
showing 10 items of 3196 documents
Verde pensile estensivo ad alto valore ecologico in ambiente mediterraneo. Aspetti progettuali e funzionali
2013
Green areas are open spaces holding an unexpected kind of local biodiversity within the city, linked to species and habitats frequently found in human settlements. Green roofs can be an important means for environmental mitigation and, if designed according to the principles of restoration ecology, can improve the thermodynamic performance / hydraulic system and at the same time encouraging the development of urban biodiversity. With this work, we propose a methodology approach for green roofs in Mediterranean areas, that integrate aesthetic values with the functional traits of native species, in order to make green roofs “local tanks of biodiversity”.
Popolamenti marginali di faggio e cambiamenti climatici: criticità dell’applicazione di pratiche colturali classici in ambiente mediterraneo (Sicilia)
2013
Il faggio (Fagus sylvatica) è tra le specie forestali più importanti d’Europa per distribuzione, selvicoltura, rilevanza paesaggistica. Il faggio in Sicilia raggiunge il limite meridionale del proprio areale, nonché le quote altitudinali più elevate in Europa (timberline intorno a 2000 s.l.m.), localizzandosi sui Monti Nebrodi, Madonie ed Etna. La maggior parte di questi soprassuoli è stata tradizionalmente governata a ceduo semplice matricinato, seppur raramente all’interno di un quadro di interventi pianificati di lungo periodo, e molti popolamenti recentemente hanno subito primi interventi di avviamento alla conversione a fustaia. L’assetto attuale di questi soprassuoli è tuttavia destin…
Carbon stock increases up to old growth forest along a secondary succession in Mediterranean island ecosystems.
2019
The occurrence of old-growth forests is quite limited in Mediterranean islands, which have been subject to particularly pronounced human impacts. Little is known about the carbon stocks of such peculiar ecosystems compared with different stages of secondary succession. We investigated the carbon variation in aboveground woody biomass, in litter and soil, and the nitrogen variation in litter and soil, in a 100 years long secondary succession in Mediterranean ecosystems. A vineyard, three stages of plant succession (high maquis, maquis-forest, and forest-maquis), and an old growth forest were compared. Soil samples at two soil depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm), and two litter types, relatively undec…
Soil and organic carbon redistribution in a recently burned Mediterranean hillslope affected by water erosion processes
2022
Forest fires cause many changes in the physical, chemical and biological soil properties such as aggregation and soil organic carbon contents (SOC) as well as on soil hydrology and erosion processes. Most studies on post-fire soil erosion in Mediterranean environments have been plot-based and research at hillslope or broader scale is scarce. Understanding SOC nature, distribution and modifications, as produced by forest fires and erosion, has become crucial to model and define the role of soil erosion as source or sink of C, and to sustainably manage ecosystem services related to the soil resource. This research provides data about the loss and redistribution of soil and SOC in a Mediterran…
Pedogenesis and carbon sequestration in transformed agricultural soils of Sicily
2021
The increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration is a consequence of human activities leading to severe environmental deteriorations. Techniques are thus needed to sequester and reduce atmospheric carbon. One of the proposed techniques is the transformation or construction of new soils into which more organic carbon can be sequestered and CO2 be consumed by increased weathering. By using a chronosequence of new and transformed soils on crushed limestone (0–48 years) in a Mediterranean area (Sicily), we tried to quantify the amount of organic carbon that could be additionally sequestered and to derive the corresponding rates. A further aim was to trace chemical weathering and related CO2 consump…
Organic carbon, water repellency and soil stability to slaking under different crops and managements: a case study at aggregate and intra-aggregate s…
2014
This research studies the distribution of organic C and intensity of water repellency in soil aggregates with different size and in the interior of aggregates from Mediterranean soils under different crops (apricot, citrus and wheat) and management (con- 5 ventional tilling and no tilling/mulching). For this, undisturbed aggregates were sampled and carefully divided in size fractions (0.25–0.5, 0.5–1, 1–2, 2–5, 5–10 and 10–15 mm) or peeled to obtain separated aggregate layers (exterior, transitional and interior). Organic C content in the fine earth fraction of soils under different crops did not show important variations, although it increased significantly from conventionally tilled to 10…
The wettability of ash from burned vegetation and its relationship to Mediterranean plant species type, burn severity and total organic carbon content
2011
Abstract Immediately following a wildfire, a layer of ash and charred material typically covers the ground. This layer will gradually be reduced, being redistributed by rainfall, wind or animals, by partial dissolution and by incorporation into the soil. Ash can increase or decrease the post-fire runoff and erosion response, depending upon the soil and ash properties and the ash thickness. One aspect of ash that has remained unknown and which may affect the variability in the hydrological response of the burned soil is its wettability. This study examines the wettability of ash using the Water Drop Penetration Time (WDPT) test, its relationship with total organic carbon (TOC) content and co…
Origin and distribution of suspended organic matter as inferred from carbon isotope composition in a Mediterranean semi-enclosed marine system
1999
The origin and distribution of suspended organic matter, the trophic features and the stable carbon isotopic composition of particulate organic carbon (POC) were studied monthly in a Western Mediterranean semi-enclosed basin. Sampling stations were selected as a function of wind-exposure and the degree of vegetation cover and then compared with an adjacent unvegetated site. The predominant vegetation was seagrass (Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa) and Caulerpa prolifera. Water samples were analyzed for total suspended matter (inorganic and organic fractions), photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll-a and phaeopigments), dissolved organic carbon, particulate organic carbon and their isot…
Criteria to Develop the Historical Centre of Malta, Open Air Museum
2009
The paper shows the results achieved during a research developed during the Community Program called INTERREG IIIA ITALIA-MALTA (2004-2006) - METIC – Mediterranean Trading and Innovation Centre. The research has been organized around the theme of a new kind of tourism were the tourists wont to become part of the daily life of the places they visit, and want their journey to be an occasion of knowledge of new place, new culture but, in particular, of the common life of the local people. Malta and its Historical centre have a tourist vocation, this aspect is very important to put in action new development strategies to recover a Mediterranean landscape destined to a slow decay. Malta is one o…
The Centaurea parlatoris complex (Asteraceae): taxonomic checklist and typifications
2021
A taxonomic account of the Centaurea parlatoris complex (Asteraceae), endemic to Sicily, is presented. This complex includes six taxa, three described in the 19th century (C. parlatoris, C. parlatoris var. tomentosa and C. parlatoris var. virescens) and three recently described (C. sicana, C. giardinae and C. heywoodiana). Starting from the designation of the types for the oldest plant names that have not been typified yet, taxonomic considerations are formulated and C. parlatoris var. virescens is elevated to the rank of species. An identification key and a distribution map complete this account.