Resilience of Mediterranean Forests to Climate Change

Sferlazza, Sebastiano; Guglielmo, Maetzke Federico; MiozzoMarcello,; Salvatore, La Mela Veca Donato

doi:10.5772/intechopen.68943

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…The importance of biodiversity conservation has led to the establishment of a network of protected areas (a regional park and some Nature Reserves, in addition to Natura 2000 sites) with different levels of protection in the Etnean territory. Protected areas now play a crucial role in proactive adaptive management for tackling climate change [ 3 , 4 , 5 ], posing new challenges for managers and decision makers of the 21st century [ 6 ]. The effects of impact caused by climate change affect forest resilience by altering the frequency and intensity of drought, wildfires, heat waves, insect and pathogen outbreaks, flash floods, wind and snowstorms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Close-to-Nature Silviculture to Maintain a Relict Population of White Oak on Etna Volcano (Sicily, Italy): Preliminary Results of a Peculiar Case Study

Sferlazza

Londi²,

Veca

et al. 2023

Plants

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Habitat loss is a potential long-term effect of projected climate change for Mediterranean forest ecosystems. Here, we investigated the effectiveness of a close-to-nature silvicultural practice to conserve an old-growth white oak forest patch in Sicily (Italy) and promote regeneration dynamics. The study area, although small, is distinctive for its isolation, position and environmental characteristics. We conducted a Before–After Control–Impact (BACI) study to analyse the responses of different taxonomic groups (vascular plants and birds) to silvicultural treatments (selection thinning, no thinning), and to determine whether close-to-nature silviculture practices may cause significant shifts in the investigated communities. Specifically, we assessed the responses of (1) vascular plants by means of species diversity and taxonomic distinctness indices and (2) birds in terms of diversity, abundance and forest specialisation. Preliminary results suggest that cautious close-to-nature silviculture practice could—by mimicking natural gap dynamics—contribute to maintaining old-growth forest patches and promote oak seedling emergence without short-term detrimental impacts on biodiversity. Although the monitoring has to be repeated over the long-term, the multi-taxon approach and indices incorporating information on taxonomic relationships into diversity measures were demonstrated to be valuable tools for interpreting biotic community structure and dynamics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Close-to-Nature Silviculture to Maintain a Relict Population of White Oak on Etna Volcano (Sicily, Italy): Preliminary Results of a Peculiar Case Study

Sferlazza

Londi²,

Veca

et al. 2023

Plants

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“…As a result, the species composition of post-renewal forest gaps can differ significantly from the intact canopy (Taylor and Lorimer, 2003). For these reasons, detailed studies are essential to reveal species-related characteristics of gap-phase regeneration considering the ecological response of the saplings (Di Filippo et al, 2010;Zhu et al, 2014;Kollár, 2017;Sebastiano et al, 2017;Elek et al, 2018;Löf et al, 2018;Tinya et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional fingerprinting estimates renewal opportunities for tree species in a mixed Turkey oak forest

Salamon-Albert¹,

Csiszár²,

Bartha³

2021

Turk J Agric For

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Maintaining and managing trees with different ecological plasticity under climate conditions aggravated by short-term variability are major challenges for foresters. Our aims were to investigate species-specific ecophysiological responses of canopy trees in a mixed Turkey oak forest during their early-phase regeneration. We measured plant carbon and water exchange with portable IRGA equipment under natural field conditions (canopy gap) and in a climate-controlled (standardized) environment. We analyzed variability and differences in plant gas exchange in relation to important abiotic site parameters and the species as factors. Assimilation, stomatal conductance, and intrinsic water use were applied as calibrating parameters for plant functional fingerprinting to detect carbon-to-water response performance of the saplings. The most favorable water economy during summer and seasonal maximum in carbon uptake during fall evolved as common response characteristics of the species in canopy gaps. Sessile oak (Quercus petraea) was found to be a water-regulated species due to the highest relative ratio of intrinsic water-use efficiency. In contrast, Turkey oak (Q. cerris) and manna ash (Fraxinus ornus) were identified as carbon-driven species presenting a gradual increase in assimilation during their seasonal dynamics. Consequently, we can predict a delayed regeneration of sessile oak and progressive growth of manna ash and Turkey oak in the renewing canopy compared to the initial forest stand. European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) and wild service tree (Sorbus torminalis) certainly remain accessory elements due to their unfavorable carbon input ratio and poor water use economy. Explored knowledge on carbon-to-water response behavior of these forest-forming trees can provide a novel contribution to afforestation practices in adaptive forest management.

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“…In the context of climate change, Mediterranean forests are consid-ered vulnerable to the loss of biodiversity and carbon storage services (Fischlin et al 2007, Badalamenti et al 2017. Moreover, the projections of the effects of climate change in Mediterranean basin may lead to reduced productivity and lower resilience of forests (Sferlazza et al 2017). Therefore, estimating carbon stocks and their distribution in the different components of ecological and production systems is essential to understanding how carbon is allocated among labile and stable components.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of traditional forest management on carbon storage in a Mediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) coppice

Sferlazza¹,

Maetzke²,

Iovino³

et al. 2018

iForest

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In the last decade, there has been increased interest in measuring and modeling storage in the five forest carbon pools: the aboveground and belowground biomass (living biomass), the deadwood and litter (dead biomass), and the soil (soil organic matter). In this paper, we examined carbon storage in a holm oak coppice stand in the Madonie Mountains in Sicily (Italy), which is a typical case of managed coppice stands. Today, traditional coppice practices are only applied to a small number of forested areas in Sicily, such as the selected site, because of the decline in demand for wood and charcoal. The dendrometric parameters of the stands were recorded, and silvicultural indices were calculated immediately after cutting as well as during and at the end of the rotation period; they showed the trends typical of coppices. The carbon stocks in the five carbon pools were quantified to investigate the effects of coppicing on carbon storage in this Mediterranean area. Results showed that the lowest living biomass values were observed in the first years following coppicing, except for litter carbon. Belowground biomass and the soil carbon stock did not vary significantly with coppicing. During the rotation period, the aboveground biomass was completely restored, and the balance of the carbon stocks indicates that coppicing is a sustainable forest management choice from the point of view of the carbon balance, given that the logged trees are generally used for bioenergy production.Citation: Sferlazza S, Maetzke FG, Iovino M, Baiamonte G, Palmeri V, La Mela Veca DS (2018). Effects of traditional forest management on carbon storage in a Mediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) coppice.

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Resilience of Mediterranean Forests to Climate Change

Cited by 3 publications

References 21 publications

Close-to-Nature Silviculture to Maintain a Relict Population of White Oak on Etna Volcano (Sicily, Italy): Preliminary Results of a Peculiar Case Study

Close-to-Nature Silviculture to Maintain a Relict Population of White Oak on Etna Volcano (Sicily, Italy): Preliminary Results of a Peculiar Case Study

Functional fingerprinting estimates renewal opportunities for tree species in a mixed Turkey oak forest

Effects of traditional forest management on carbon storage in a Mediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) coppice

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