Using IUCN methodologies, the status of the following six rare species of Campania (Southern Ital... more Using IUCN methodologies, the status of the following six rare species of Campania (Southern Italy) considered at risk has been re- examined: Chamaerops humilis L., Globularia neapolitana O. Schwarz, Medicago arborea L., Parnassia palustris L., Pinguicula crystallina Sibth. & Smith. subsp. hirtiflora (Ten.) Strid, Simethis planifolia (L.) Gren. & Godr. Field sur- veys confirmed the degree of risk for Medicago arborea, Pinguicula crystallina subsp. hirtiflora, and Simethis planifolia, and showed higher risk than previously reported for Chamaerops humilis, Globularia neapolitana, and Parnassia palustris; they also provided data useful for the conservation of these rare entities.
Litter decomposition is a critical process to function and integrity maintenance of all terrestri... more Litter decomposition is a critical process to function and integrity maintenance of all terrestrial ecosystems. The important ecological role is explicate mainly through the mineralization of organic matter, which returns the nutrients in inorganic form, but also through the formation of stable organic compounds in the soil. The decomposition is conditioned and regulated by a complex interaction of climate, litter quality and diversity of soil biota. The aim of this study was to compare, over about two years and within two Italian Apennines beech forests (Pradaccio, Tosco-Emiliano Apennines and Laceno, Campania Apennines), the leaf litter decomposition rates, the qualitative changes during decomposition, the activity of microbial communities and the litter microarthropod communities. Experimental protocol allowed to compare the two sites characterized by different climate regime and soil parental material (leaf litter incubated in their production sites using litterbags) and to test...
In this chapter we discuss how to assess the risk of extinction for plants using two different me... more In this chapter we discuss how to assess the risk of extinction for plants using two different methods and six different species as case of study from the Mediterranean, namely from Campania, an administrative region of Southern Italy. Italy falls within one of the most important hotspots for biodiversity of the world: the Mediterranean region. In Italy, plant biodiversity is particularly rich, with some 7500 species with a high rate of endemics (13.5%). A great number of these species is currently exposed to various threats in spite of the existence of international, national and regional laws to protect them. Institution of protected areas or measures for species conservation is often ineffective without an assessment of the actual risk of extinction of a taxon. The most acknowledged method to evaluate this risk is the IUCN protocol for the creation of Red Lists, which is widely used worldwide for both animals and plants. Other approaches have been developed as well, like the crea...
This study focuses on two Mediterranean beech forests located in northern and southern Italy and ... more This study focuses on two Mediterranean beech forests located in northern and southern Italy and therefore subjected to different environmental conditions. The research goal was to understand C storage in the forest floor and mineral soil and the major determinants. Relative to the northern forest (NF), the southern forest (SF) was found to produce higher amounts of litterfall (4.3 vs. 2.5 Mg·ha −1) and to store less C in the forest floor (~8 vs. ~12 Mg·ha −1) but more C in the mineral soil (~148 vs. ~72 Mg·ha −1). Newly-shed litter of NF had lower P (0.4 vs. 0.6 mg·g −1) but higher N concentration (13 vs. 10 mg·g −1) than SF. Despite its lower Mn concentration (0.06 vs. 0.18 mg·g −1), SF litter produces a Mn-richer humus (0.32 vs. 0.16 mg·g −1) that is less stable. The data suggest that decomposition in the NF forest floor is limited by the shorter growing season (178 days vs. 238 days) and the higher N concentrations in newly shed litter and forest floor. Differences in C stock in the mineral soil reflect differences in ecosystem productivity and long-term organic-matter accumulation. The vertical gradient of soluble and microbial fractions in the soil profile of SF was consistent with a faster turnover of organic matter in the forest floor and greater C accumulation in mineral soil relative to NF. With reference to regional-scale estimates from Italian National Forest Inventory data, the C stock in the mineral soil and the basal area of Italian beech forests were found to be significantly related, whereas C stock in the forest floor and C stock in the mineral soil were not.
Using IUCN methodologies, the status of the following six rare species of Campania (Southern Ital... more Using IUCN methodologies, the status of the following six rare species of Campania (Southern Italy) considered at risk has been re- examined: Chamaerops humilis L., Globularia neapolitana O. Schwarz, Medicago arborea L., Parnassia palustris L., Pinguicula crystallina Sibth. & Smith. subsp. hirtiflora (Ten.) Strid, Simethis planifolia (L.) Gren. & Godr. Field sur- veys confirmed the degree of risk for Medicago arborea, Pinguicula crystallina subsp. hirtiflora, and Simethis planifolia, and showed higher risk than previously reported for Chamaerops humilis, Globularia neapolitana, and Parnassia palustris; they also provided data useful for the conservation of these rare entities.
Litter decomposition is a critical process to function and integrity maintenance of all terrestri... more Litter decomposition is a critical process to function and integrity maintenance of all terrestrial ecosystems. The important ecological role is explicate mainly through the mineralization of organic matter, which returns the nutrients in inorganic form, but also through the formation of stable organic compounds in the soil. The decomposition is conditioned and regulated by a complex interaction of climate, litter quality and diversity of soil biota. The aim of this study was to compare, over about two years and within two Italian Apennines beech forests (Pradaccio, Tosco-Emiliano Apennines and Laceno, Campania Apennines), the leaf litter decomposition rates, the qualitative changes during decomposition, the activity of microbial communities and the litter microarthropod communities. Experimental protocol allowed to compare the two sites characterized by different climate regime and soil parental material (leaf litter incubated in their production sites using litterbags) and to test...
In this chapter we discuss how to assess the risk of extinction for plants using two different me... more In this chapter we discuss how to assess the risk of extinction for plants using two different methods and six different species as case of study from the Mediterranean, namely from Campania, an administrative region of Southern Italy. Italy falls within one of the most important hotspots for biodiversity of the world: the Mediterranean region. In Italy, plant biodiversity is particularly rich, with some 7500 species with a high rate of endemics (13.5%). A great number of these species is currently exposed to various threats in spite of the existence of international, national and regional laws to protect them. Institution of protected areas or measures for species conservation is often ineffective without an assessment of the actual risk of extinction of a taxon. The most acknowledged method to evaluate this risk is the IUCN protocol for the creation of Red Lists, which is widely used worldwide for both animals and plants. Other approaches have been developed as well, like the crea...
This study focuses on two Mediterranean beech forests located in northern and southern Italy and ... more This study focuses on two Mediterranean beech forests located in northern and southern Italy and therefore subjected to different environmental conditions. The research goal was to understand C storage in the forest floor and mineral soil and the major determinants. Relative to the northern forest (NF), the southern forest (SF) was found to produce higher amounts of litterfall (4.3 vs. 2.5 Mg·ha −1) and to store less C in the forest floor (~8 vs. ~12 Mg·ha −1) but more C in the mineral soil (~148 vs. ~72 Mg·ha −1). Newly-shed litter of NF had lower P (0.4 vs. 0.6 mg·g −1) but higher N concentration (13 vs. 10 mg·g −1) than SF. Despite its lower Mn concentration (0.06 vs. 0.18 mg·g −1), SF litter produces a Mn-richer humus (0.32 vs. 0.16 mg·g −1) that is less stable. The data suggest that decomposition in the NF forest floor is limited by the shorter growing season (178 days vs. 238 days) and the higher N concentrations in newly shed litter and forest floor. Differences in C stock in the mineral soil reflect differences in ecosystem productivity and long-term organic-matter accumulation. The vertical gradient of soluble and microbial fractions in the soil profile of SF was consistent with a faster turnover of organic matter in the forest floor and greater C accumulation in mineral soil relative to NF. With reference to regional-scale estimates from Italian National Forest Inventory data, the C stock in the mineral soil and the basal area of Italian beech forests were found to be significantly related, whereas C stock in the forest floor and C stock in the mineral soil were not.
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Papers by Michele Innangi