Carbon storage by Mediterranean vegetation developing inside a protected area

Abstract

Carbon (C) storage and its dynamics in vegetation and soil are important for predicting how terrestrial ecosystem carbon pools may change as climate and land use change in the next future. In this context, the organic fraction of the C stored in the above-ground biomass (CA), below-ground biomass (CB), deadwood mass (CD), litter (CL) and soil (CS) was estimated for different plant land-cover categories: forests (i.e. low and high Mediterranean maquis, Quercus ilex evergreen forest, Quercus suber evergreen forest, Pinus pinea plantations, broadleaf mixed forest, Eucalyptus globulus plantations), sand dune vegetation, grasslands and croplands developing inside the Castelporziano Presidential Estate (Italy). The total C storage inside the Presidential Estate resulted in 2434 Mg C ha−1 (sum of all the carbon pools) with Quercus ilex evergreen forest having the highest contribution (by 22%) and sand dune vegetation the lowest (0.01%). The five C pools differently contributed to the total carbon storage in the Estate: CS gave the highest contribution (48%), followed by CA (31%) and CB (10%). CD and CL contributed to a lesser extent (both 6%) to total carbon storage

Metal Accumulation Capability by <i>Platanus acerifolia</i> (Aiton) Willd., <i>Ailantus altissima</i> (Mill.) Swingle, <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> L. and <i>Quercus ilex</i> L., Largely Distributed in the City of Rome

“…Moreover, deposition rates depend on air movement in the crown, transfer through the boundary layer adjacent to surfaces and the absorption capability of leaves. Thus, information on atmospheric pollution can be deduced from the concentration of specific substances in plant tissues offering low-cost information about the environmental quality [8] [23]. Nevertheless, the basic criteria for the selection of plants for biomonitoring are that species should be present in a large number all over the monitoring area and widely spread, thus providing a high density of sampling points.…”