The island of Bali has several aga (indigenous) villages that have survived despite the pressures... more The island of Bali has several aga (indigenous) villages that have survived despite the pressures of an intense tourist industry and agricultural changes. A rich ethnobotanical culture persists, but the meaning of differences in traditional ethnobotanical knowledge (TEK) remains under-explored. We analyzed information obtained from interviews of inhabitants from diverse villages on food and nutraceutical plants to identify plant patterns, i.e., relevant plant groups with species sharing a similar occurrence. Through cluster analysis, we identified 12 main groups of species and found that species were grouped based on traditional knowledge and the use each community made of plants on the whole, and not on growth forms nor on specific uses. The frequency distribution of species clusters showed a bimodal trend, with several groups present only in few villages, and a few groups present in almost all villages. The latter are defined as “core groups,” and represent the shared TEK of each aga community. Other “satellite species groups” embodied in the local TEK were related to small isolated communities. Cultural erosion caused by modernization, with the consequent fragmentation of information, was judged to be one of the main causes of increasing TEK heterogeneity.Abstract (Italian)L’isola di Bali possiede diversi villaggi indigeni (aga) che sopravvivono nonostante la crescente pressione legata al turismo e ai cambiamenti agricoli. A Bali ancora esiste una ricca cultura etnobotanica, ma sarebbe utile comprendere il significato delle differenze fra i villaggi relativamente alla conoscenza etnobotanica tradizionale (CET). Sono state quindi analizzate le informazioni sulle piante alimentari e nutraceutiche, al fine di identificare rilevanti gruppi di specie con riferimento a un uso tradizionale nei villaggi. Sono stati definiti dodici principali gruppi di specie sulla base della similarità ottenuta dalla cluster analysis, che sembra essere influenzata dalla conoscenza specifica di ogni villaggio, basata sulle sue tradizioni piuttosto che dalla forma biologica né dall’uso per cui le piante sono coltivate. La frequenza di distribuzione dei gruppi di specie nei villaggi è risultata bimodale, con alcuni gruppi presenti solo in pochi villaggi e pochi presenti in quasi tutti. Questi ultimi sono stati definiti “gruppi nucleari” e rappresentano la CET condivisa da ogni comunità aga. Gli altri gruppi, definiti “gruppi satellite” sono riferiti alla CET di piccole comunità locali. L’erosione colturale, con la conseguente frammentazione, è definibile come una delle cause principali di tale eterogeneità.
Remote sensing (RS) has been widely adopted as a tool to investigate several biotic and abiotic f... more Remote sensing (RS) has been widely adopted as a tool to investigate several biotic and abiotic factors, directly and indirectly, related to biodiversity conservation. European grasslands are one of the most biodiverse habitats in Europe. Most of these habitats are subject to priority conservation measure, and several human-induced processes threaten them. The broad expansions of few dominant species are usually reported as drivers of biodiversity loss. In this context, using Sentinel-2 (S2) images, we investigate the distribution of one of the most spreading species in the Central Apennine: Brachypodium genuense. We performed a binary Random Forest (RF) classification of B. genuense using RS images and field-sampled presence/absence data. Then, we integrate the occurrences obtained from RS classification into species distribution models to identify the topographic drivers of B. genuense distribution in the study area. Lastly, the impact of B. genuense distribution in the Natura 200...
The American duckweed Lemna minuta is invasive in freshwater habitats across much of Europe, ofte... more The American duckweed Lemna minuta is invasive in freshwater habitats across much of Europe, often causing serious ecological impacts. To date, few studies have addressed how to halt its expansion. However, encouraging empirical evidence of L. minuta control by the aquatic herbivorous larvae of the insect Cataclysta lemnata is emerging. To better understand the biocontrol capacity of C. lemnata, information on overlap in the phenology and the growth conditions in nature of both species is fundamental. In this study, L. minuta and C. lemnata populations were analyzed in the field to define (i) their phenological features, (ii) the main environmental characteristics where the two species occur, and (iii) any overlap or difference in phenology and ecological requirements. The seasonal occurrence of the two species and environmental data were collected from 31 wetlands in central Italy. The two species showed a large phenological overlap and ecological similarities. Populations of L. mi...
Utricularia australis is an aquatic rootless carnivorous plant that takes up nutrients through sh... more Utricularia australis is an aquatic rootless carnivorous plant that takes up nutrients through shoots or from trapped prey digested in its bladders. As the information on the ecology of this species is scarce, the main environmental factors which favour or limit its growth were analysed. Habitat characterization was carried out on 23 aquatic sites in Central Italy where U. australis occurred. Diverse water chemical and physical factors and aquatic plant dominants were sampled and compared to Utricularia coverage. Species response curves with respect to each analysed ecological factor were elaborated. Despite the large environmental variation among sites, U. australis did show some ecological preferences. Optimal growth of Utricularia was associated with sunny sites (~ 1500 µmol photon m−2 s−1) and shallow waters (< 20 cm) that were warm (~ 26 °C), alkaline (pH 8.3 median value), with moderate-high conductivity (700 µS cm−1) and with low aquatic inorganic phosphorus (< 10 µg L−1) but higher nitrogen (800–1600 µg L−1). Dissolved and particulate organic nutrients (mainly phosphorus) were highly important in determining U. australis ecology and its distribution. The knowing of the ecological preferences of U. australis, a plant that is becoming increasingly rare in Central Italy, could be very useful to identify and protect its habitats or to identify new potential sites and to avoid further population losses.
Wild and semi-wild plants are factual resources for a local community when they satisfy its needs... more Wild and semi-wild plants are factual resources for a local community when they satisfy its needs. According to the bio-cultural approach, these plants and associated knowledge help define the cultural identity of each community, and ethnobotanical plants constitute a particular facet of the cultural relationships between people and nature. By referring to the concept of Cultural Keystone Species (CKS), a group of species considered in the same way within a community represents a homogeneous bio-cultural trait. We tested the hypothesis that the CKS model and the related index, the Identified Cultural Importance (ICI) of species, could be useful tools to culturally define and describe groups of species as bio-cultural traits. As a dataset to test this hypothesis we considered the wild and semi-wild plants used for food and nutraceutical purposes in 13 Aga villages in Bali. Data were collected through an ethnobotanical study in 2014. A multivariate analysis method based on the Fuzzy Set Theory was used to perform quantitative analyses to find clusters of plants. The Graph Theory was instead applied in order to detect trajectories and similarity gradients in the system of groups of species. The results confirmed that groups of species can be considered as bio-cultural traits, spreading within a cultural area in different ways and conveying information about their relationship with the native culture. The ICI index and CKS concept helped us to interpret the bio-cultural traits in terms of their cultural salience, considering them as general descriptors of the bio-cultural system of a community according to bio-cultural diversity and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. In the case of the Bali Aga villages, the partition of species showed 11 groups, and several species resulted of relevant cultural importance. Among them, Arenga pinnata (Wurmb) Merr. can be considered a CKS.
Abstract Duckweeds are considered suitable plants for bioremediation of wastewaters because they ... more Abstract Duckweeds are considered suitable plants for bioremediation of wastewaters because they can tolerate and take up diverse pollutants and large quantities of nutrients. They have year-round vegetative growth that can reach very high rates using wastewater nutrients that can accumulate intracellularly or be utilized to produce new biomass. The constructed wetland that services the town of Forano (Central Italy) is composed of three interconnected, but distinct, treatment pools (P1, P2, P3). In this study the phytoremediation performance of the whole treatment system was assessed taking into consideration pH, temperature, oxygen, nitrates, phosphates, sulphates, and pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli) at the inlet and outlet of each pool once per season over a year. The remediation efficiency of P2 was lower than in P1 and P3, and this was shown to be due to an extended, dense free-floating Lemna mat. The mat was thick enough (18–30 mm) to block light penetration, and heat and gas exchange to the underlying water resulting in dark, cool and near-anaerobic conditions. These conditions limited aerobic biodecomposition processes and natural control of the E. coli population. The underlying fronds of the Lemna mat in P2 were highly necrotic and became a source of nutrients, shown by an increase in nitrates and phosphates from the inlet to the outlet. Lemna use in phytoremediation is often considered highly important, but it is shown here that active management interventions are required and should involve periodic harvesting of Lemna fronds to avoid mat over-development and formation of necromass.
Abstract In Europe, the duckweed Lemna minuta is an invasive alien that can cause severe abiotic-... more Abstract In Europe, the duckweed Lemna minuta is an invasive alien that can cause severe abiotic-biotic alterations of lentic aquatic ecosystems. Its invasion history across Europe was spatio-temporally reconstructed from its various introductions to its present distribution by analyzing georeferenced historical records obtained from different sources (bibliography, national-international digital databases). Fuzzy clustering, a form of classification in which an element belongs to different clusters according to a degree of belonging, was used to identify the most important temporal invasion events (pulsations). Geographical representation of these pulsations in invasion maps simplified the detection of the main dynamics of L. minuta movements across Europe. Based on the analyses of the historical data, five main invasion pulsations were identified (1965, 1982, 1991, 2000, 2010). Invasions in Europe began along the Atlantic coasts around the 1950s–1960s. Around the 1980s, L. minuta spread extensively across the United Kingdom and Central Europe. After this, it started to invade Southern and also Eastern Europe, mainly stabilizing around the 2000s. In the last decade, L. minuta consolidated its occurrence in Western and Central Europe, while it continues to colonize new Mediterranean and Eastern European regions. This analysis type is effective in determining spatial-temporal dynamics of invasive alien plants using georeferenced historical data and it also offers insight into the behavior of a biological invader by identifying the main invasion routes and areas most susceptible to future invasion. This latter information can be useful for development of management strategies for preventing invasions and conserving aquatic ecosystems potentially under threat.
The island of Bali has several aga (indigenous) villages that have survived despite the pressures... more The island of Bali has several aga (indigenous) villages that have survived despite the pressures of an intense tourist industry and agricultural changes. A rich ethnobotanical culture persists, but the meaning of differences in traditional ethnobotanical knowledge (TEK) remains under-explored. We analyzed information obtained from interviews of inhabitants from diverse villages on food and nutraceutical plants to identify plant patterns, i.e., relevant plant groups with species sharing a similar occurrence. Through cluster analysis, we identified 12 main groups of species and found that species were grouped based on traditional knowledge and the use each community made of plants on the whole, and not on growth forms nor on specific uses. The frequency distribution of species clusters showed a bimodal trend, with several groups present only in few villages, and a few groups present in almost all villages. The latter are defined as “core groups,” and represent the shared TEK of each aga community. Other “satellite species groups” embodied in the local TEK were related to small isolated communities. Cultural erosion caused by modernization, with the consequent fragmentation of information, was judged to be one of the main causes of increasing TEK heterogeneity.Abstract (Italian)L’isola di Bali possiede diversi villaggi indigeni (aga) che sopravvivono nonostante la crescente pressione legata al turismo e ai cambiamenti agricoli. A Bali ancora esiste una ricca cultura etnobotanica, ma sarebbe utile comprendere il significato delle differenze fra i villaggi relativamente alla conoscenza etnobotanica tradizionale (CET). Sono state quindi analizzate le informazioni sulle piante alimentari e nutraceutiche, al fine di identificare rilevanti gruppi di specie con riferimento a un uso tradizionale nei villaggi. Sono stati definiti dodici principali gruppi di specie sulla base della similarità ottenuta dalla cluster analysis, che sembra essere influenzata dalla conoscenza specifica di ogni villaggio, basata sulle sue tradizioni piuttosto che dalla forma biologica né dall’uso per cui le piante sono coltivate. La frequenza di distribuzione dei gruppi di specie nei villaggi è risultata bimodale, con alcuni gruppi presenti solo in pochi villaggi e pochi presenti in quasi tutti. Questi ultimi sono stati definiti “gruppi nucleari” e rappresentano la CET condivisa da ogni comunità aga. Gli altri gruppi, definiti “gruppi satellite” sono riferiti alla CET di piccole comunità locali. L’erosione colturale, con la conseguente frammentazione, è definibile come una delle cause principali di tale eterogeneità.
Remote sensing (RS) has been widely adopted as a tool to investigate several biotic and abiotic f... more Remote sensing (RS) has been widely adopted as a tool to investigate several biotic and abiotic factors, directly and indirectly, related to biodiversity conservation. European grasslands are one of the most biodiverse habitats in Europe. Most of these habitats are subject to priority conservation measure, and several human-induced processes threaten them. The broad expansions of few dominant species are usually reported as drivers of biodiversity loss. In this context, using Sentinel-2 (S2) images, we investigate the distribution of one of the most spreading species in the Central Apennine: Brachypodium genuense. We performed a binary Random Forest (RF) classification of B. genuense using RS images and field-sampled presence/absence data. Then, we integrate the occurrences obtained from RS classification into species distribution models to identify the topographic drivers of B. genuense distribution in the study area. Lastly, the impact of B. genuense distribution in the Natura 200...
The American duckweed Lemna minuta is invasive in freshwater habitats across much of Europe, ofte... more The American duckweed Lemna minuta is invasive in freshwater habitats across much of Europe, often causing serious ecological impacts. To date, few studies have addressed how to halt its expansion. However, encouraging empirical evidence of L. minuta control by the aquatic herbivorous larvae of the insect Cataclysta lemnata is emerging. To better understand the biocontrol capacity of C. lemnata, information on overlap in the phenology and the growth conditions in nature of both species is fundamental. In this study, L. minuta and C. lemnata populations were analyzed in the field to define (i) their phenological features, (ii) the main environmental characteristics where the two species occur, and (iii) any overlap or difference in phenology and ecological requirements. The seasonal occurrence of the two species and environmental data were collected from 31 wetlands in central Italy. The two species showed a large phenological overlap and ecological similarities. Populations of L. mi...
Utricularia australis is an aquatic rootless carnivorous plant that takes up nutrients through sh... more Utricularia australis is an aquatic rootless carnivorous plant that takes up nutrients through shoots or from trapped prey digested in its bladders. As the information on the ecology of this species is scarce, the main environmental factors which favour or limit its growth were analysed. Habitat characterization was carried out on 23 aquatic sites in Central Italy where U. australis occurred. Diverse water chemical and physical factors and aquatic plant dominants were sampled and compared to Utricularia coverage. Species response curves with respect to each analysed ecological factor were elaborated. Despite the large environmental variation among sites, U. australis did show some ecological preferences. Optimal growth of Utricularia was associated with sunny sites (~ 1500 µmol photon m−2 s−1) and shallow waters (< 20 cm) that were warm (~ 26 °C), alkaline (pH 8.3 median value), with moderate-high conductivity (700 µS cm−1) and with low aquatic inorganic phosphorus (< 10 µg L−1) but higher nitrogen (800–1600 µg L−1). Dissolved and particulate organic nutrients (mainly phosphorus) were highly important in determining U. australis ecology and its distribution. The knowing of the ecological preferences of U. australis, a plant that is becoming increasingly rare in Central Italy, could be very useful to identify and protect its habitats or to identify new potential sites and to avoid further population losses.
Wild and semi-wild plants are factual resources for a local community when they satisfy its needs... more Wild and semi-wild plants are factual resources for a local community when they satisfy its needs. According to the bio-cultural approach, these plants and associated knowledge help define the cultural identity of each community, and ethnobotanical plants constitute a particular facet of the cultural relationships between people and nature. By referring to the concept of Cultural Keystone Species (CKS), a group of species considered in the same way within a community represents a homogeneous bio-cultural trait. We tested the hypothesis that the CKS model and the related index, the Identified Cultural Importance (ICI) of species, could be useful tools to culturally define and describe groups of species as bio-cultural traits. As a dataset to test this hypothesis we considered the wild and semi-wild plants used for food and nutraceutical purposes in 13 Aga villages in Bali. Data were collected through an ethnobotanical study in 2014. A multivariate analysis method based on the Fuzzy Set Theory was used to perform quantitative analyses to find clusters of plants. The Graph Theory was instead applied in order to detect trajectories and similarity gradients in the system of groups of species. The results confirmed that groups of species can be considered as bio-cultural traits, spreading within a cultural area in different ways and conveying information about their relationship with the native culture. The ICI index and CKS concept helped us to interpret the bio-cultural traits in terms of their cultural salience, considering them as general descriptors of the bio-cultural system of a community according to bio-cultural diversity and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. In the case of the Bali Aga villages, the partition of species showed 11 groups, and several species resulted of relevant cultural importance. Among them, Arenga pinnata (Wurmb) Merr. can be considered a CKS.
Abstract Duckweeds are considered suitable plants for bioremediation of wastewaters because they ... more Abstract Duckweeds are considered suitable plants for bioremediation of wastewaters because they can tolerate and take up diverse pollutants and large quantities of nutrients. They have year-round vegetative growth that can reach very high rates using wastewater nutrients that can accumulate intracellularly or be utilized to produce new biomass. The constructed wetland that services the town of Forano (Central Italy) is composed of three interconnected, but distinct, treatment pools (P1, P2, P3). In this study the phytoremediation performance of the whole treatment system was assessed taking into consideration pH, temperature, oxygen, nitrates, phosphates, sulphates, and pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli) at the inlet and outlet of each pool once per season over a year. The remediation efficiency of P2 was lower than in P1 and P3, and this was shown to be due to an extended, dense free-floating Lemna mat. The mat was thick enough (18–30 mm) to block light penetration, and heat and gas exchange to the underlying water resulting in dark, cool and near-anaerobic conditions. These conditions limited aerobic biodecomposition processes and natural control of the E. coli population. The underlying fronds of the Lemna mat in P2 were highly necrotic and became a source of nutrients, shown by an increase in nitrates and phosphates from the inlet to the outlet. Lemna use in phytoremediation is often considered highly important, but it is shown here that active management interventions are required and should involve periodic harvesting of Lemna fronds to avoid mat over-development and formation of necromass.
Abstract In Europe, the duckweed Lemna minuta is an invasive alien that can cause severe abiotic-... more Abstract In Europe, the duckweed Lemna minuta is an invasive alien that can cause severe abiotic-biotic alterations of lentic aquatic ecosystems. Its invasion history across Europe was spatio-temporally reconstructed from its various introductions to its present distribution by analyzing georeferenced historical records obtained from different sources (bibliography, national-international digital databases). Fuzzy clustering, a form of classification in which an element belongs to different clusters according to a degree of belonging, was used to identify the most important temporal invasion events (pulsations). Geographical representation of these pulsations in invasion maps simplified the detection of the main dynamics of L. minuta movements across Europe. Based on the analyses of the historical data, five main invasion pulsations were identified (1965, 1982, 1991, 2000, 2010). Invasions in Europe began along the Atlantic coasts around the 1950s–1960s. Around the 1980s, L. minuta spread extensively across the United Kingdom and Central Europe. After this, it started to invade Southern and also Eastern Europe, mainly stabilizing around the 2000s. In the last decade, L. minuta consolidated its occurrence in Western and Central Europe, while it continues to colonize new Mediterranean and Eastern European regions. This analysis type is effective in determining spatial-temporal dynamics of invasive alien plants using georeferenced historical data and it also offers insight into the behavior of a biological invader by identifying the main invasion routes and areas most susceptible to future invasion. This latter information can be useful for development of management strategies for preventing invasions and conserving aquatic ecosystems potentially under threat.
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