As occurred on many other small Mediterranean islands, agricultural activity at Lampedusa (Strait of Sicily) underwent a very strong decline in terms of surface area during the second half of the last century. In particular, cereal crops have ceased and horticulture is disappearing, while vineyards still occupy a reduced area but are quickly vanishing and currently survive thanks to a small number of old farmers. Here are presented the results of a research carried out by interviewing seven farmers in order to study not only the techniques and the germplasm used in local viticulture, but also the final use of grapes and an evaluation on the connection between traditional farming and agro-ecosystems plant species-richness. Vines were grown for wine, to produce fresh and sun-dried grapes, or to preserve them in alcohol. Several names of the local varieties suggest that they might have been introduced in Lampedusa from the neighbouring territories: being fishermen and farmers at the same time, local people had trade relationships with other Mediterranean areas such as Tunisia, Malta and Southern Italy. Furthermore, local farming plays a key role in plant conservation. In fact, the disappearance of agricultural systems is leading to the extinction of 43 plant species, some of them considered rare not only on the local level, but also on the regional and national one. Because of the small size of farmland and its fragmentation, local agriculture cannot be supported by the European Community. Therefore, in order to safeguard local viticulture, special systems of assistance and new managing policies - focused on rural development plans and showing which concrete actions are necessary and feasible to protect the agroecosystems - are needed
© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionAfter oceans, soils represent the largest carbon (C) reservoir on Earth. To a depth of 1 m, soils contain 1550 Gt of organic C and 950 Gt of inorganic C, more than the sum of C stored in terrestrial vegetation (560 Gt) and the atmosphere (760 Gt -Lal 2004a, 2004b. The size of the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool reflects C inputs of plant-derived organic matter residues and C losses resulting from mineralization (as carbon dioxide), leaching of dissolved organic C, and erosion. Vegetation, precipitation, and temperature determine a steady state level of C content for each soil (Guo & Gifford 2002, Paul et al. 2002, Dawson & Smith 2007, but this equilibrium between input and output can be modified by land-use change. In the last decades, one of the most important types of land-use change, particularly in the midlatitudes of the northern hemisphere, has been the abandonment of agricultural lands (FAO 2012). In general, the abandonment of cultivated or grazed lands results in colonization by woody plants (secondary succession). The species composition of successional plant communities varies along with macro-and mesoclimate and other abiotic and biotic factors (West et al. 1981). In the Mediterranean area, the recent abandonment of marginal agricultural areas (pasture and/or arable land) has caused an increase in the area occupied by pre-forest and forest communities (Bonet 2004).In the context of the Kyoto Protocol, research is needed to understand the process of C sequestration in soil. Areas subject to secondary succession are of particular interest because they might have great potential as C sinks (Alberti et al. 2011). Soil C dynamics after agricultural abandonment have been quantified in many studies (Knops & Tilman 2000, Davis et al. 2003, Vuichard et al. 2008, Kuemmerle et al. 2011, and the spread of woody plants into grasslands/pastures/croplands is generally thought to increase the C stored in these ecosystems (Pré-vosto et al. 2006, La Mantia et al. 2007, Montané et al. 2007, Alberti et al. 2011. Some authors, however, have reported that secondary succession causes a reduction in soil C (Goodale & Davidson 2002, Guo & Gifford 2002, Jackson et al. 2002, Paul et al. 2002, Alberti et al. 2008). It follows that further studies are required on factors that determine whether SOC increases or decreases after agricultural abandonment. One of these factors may be climate (Jackson et al. 2002). In a study in Italy, for example, changes in SOC after agricultural abandonment were significantly related to annual rainfall (Alberti et al. 2011). C and N dynamics in soils of abandoned fields are also likely to be affected by plant community composition. The main way the vegetation influences C and N input into soils is through litter deposition (Koukoura et al. 2003, Cortez et al. 2007, Foote & Grogan 2010. Many factors including temperature, moisture, pH, and other abiotic environmental conditions determine the quantity and quality of litter C and N inputs (Mayer 2008...
Old growth forests are increasingly considered and studied all around the world. However, the knowledge of such important forest systems is still limited in some bioclimatic regions, such as in the Mediterranean Basin. Starting from the knowledge acquired elsewhere, our research was carried out with the aim to select the most effective criteria to identify potential old‐growth forests in Mediterranean ecosystems (Sicily, Italy). Four key proxy indicators were considered: deadwood amount, tree size, structural traits, and tree species richness. A preliminary classification of the local forest stands level in three classes of old‐growthness (high, medium and low) has also been proposed. The main threats to woods conservation, as well as their biological value were considered. Twenty‐one forest stands have been detected and characterized; among them, seven forest stands were close to old growth conditions. Although the selected forest stands are located in protected areas, browsing due to farming and feral ungulates represent a widespread threat. The information provided for each forest stand may represent a starting point for further and in‐depth investigations in similar Mediterranean forest ecosystems.
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