Testing an expanded set of sustainable forest management indicators in Mediterranean coppice area

Cutini, Andrea; Ferretti, Marco; Bertini, Giada; Brunialti, Giorgio; Bagella, Simonetta; Chianucci, Francesco; Fabbio, Gianfranco; Fratini, Roberto; Riccioli, Francesco; Caddeo, C.; Calderisi, Marco; Ciucchi, B.; Corradini, Stefano; Cristofolini, F.; Cristofori, Alessandro; Salvatore, Umberto Di; Ferrara, Carlotta; Frati, Luisa; Landi, Sara; Marchino, Luca; Patteri, Giuliano; Piovosi, M.; Roggero, P. P.; Seddaiu, Giovanna; Gottardini, E.

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108040

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Usually, these environmental conditions are more easily guaranteed in protected than in non-protected areas because of the sustainably managed land, both in ecological and economic terms (Wiersma et al 2015). In this regard, the recent European Commission LIFE Programme funded project ‘FutureForCoppiceS’ included lichen diversity among the SFM indicators in the context of Mediterranean coppice forests (Cutini et al 2021). By adopting a modelling approach, the authors suggested that lichen species could represent suitable indicators in long-term studies concerning complex and interconnected aspects of SFM (Brunialti et al 2020; Frati et al 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natura 2000 network enhances the protection of rare epiphytic lichens: evidence from forest sites of Central Italy

Frati,

Brunialti

2023

The Lichenologist

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Although epiphytic lichens are widely adopted as environmental indicators, they are not yet included among the target species listed in Annex II of the Habitats Directive, to which the system of protected areas of the Natura 2000 network refers. In this work, we aim to test the effectiveness of this system, mainly designed for the conservation of other groups of species, in protecting lichen species richness. For this purpose, we considered a case study (Central Italy) with half of the territory included in protected areas. Statistical differences in species richness and lichen communities were tested between sites located in 16 Protected Areas (PA) and 11 Non-Protected Areas (NPA) using non-parametric tests, multi-response permutation procedures (MRPP), non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and Indicator Species Analysis (ISA). Despite the broad overlap between epiphytic lichen communities of NPAs and PAs and a similar number of total and common species, PAs contain a significantly higher number of nationally rare and extremely rare species, including cyanolichens. These results are also confirmed by the indicator analysis. Although the Natura 2000 network does not explicitly address the conservation of lichens, the protected areas in our study can play a role in protecting the diversity of epiphytic lichens, especially nationally rare and endangered species. However, the future inclusion of red-listed epiphytic lichens among the target species of Annex II of the Habitats Directive would be welcome to better protect these organisms on a European level.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natura 2000 network enhances the protection of rare epiphytic lichens: evidence from forest sites of Central Italy

Frati,

Brunialti

2023

The Lichenologist

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“…Third, forest management can be used as a conservation tool to maintain and restore properties associated with former agricultural woodland practices such as creating gaps to mimic forest meadows with inner forest edges and transition zones, and to maintain traditional management such as coppice and coppice with standards (Götmark 2013;Cutini et al 2021).…”

Section: Biological Invasionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Closer-to-Nature Forest Management

Larsen¹,

Angelstam²,

Bauhus³

et al. 2022

From Science to Policy

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The report benefited from the helpful comments from three external reviewers, Fernando Valladares from the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Janez Potočnik, ThinkForest President and co-chair of the International Resource Panel, and an anonymous reviewer. We wish to express our thanks for their insights and comments that helped to improve the report, and acknowledge that they are in no way responsible for any remaining errors.Closer-to-Nature Forest Management 3. Use adaptive management as a way to tackle uncertainties: We need to regularly monitor forest responses to management interventions, evaluate these responses and adjust management strategies accordingly.A similar adaptive approach is urgently required to evaluate the impact of policy measures and support mechanisms proposed to encourage adoption of Closer-to-Nature Forest Management. Not a quick-fix, long-term measures are needed:The introduction of Closer-to-Nature Forest Management is not a 'quick-fix' and policy makers must provide long-term and consistent support measures to encourage forest managers and other stakeholders to adopt this strategy. Support for forest owners for training and application of the strategy is key. Review existing subsidy and taxation regimes for private owners:Convincing private owners to follow this approach will require the creation of schemes that reward them for providing ecosystem services. Closer-to-Nature Forest Management has the potential to support biodiversity, adapt forests to climate change and provide ecosystem services to a higher level than conventional forest management. There is an urgent need to review existing subsidy and taxation regimes affecting private forestry, and to consider how these might be changed to further the uptake of Closer-to-Nature Forest Management. Develop and use new technologies and tools:There is a need to harmonize monitoring systems and to develop and use new technologies and tools (GIS, GPS and remote sensing) to ease management of these more diverse and structure-rich forests.Finally, there are still some uncertainties about the effect of certain elements of Closer-to-Nature Forest Management on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem health, and how they will affect other ecosystem services including wood production under different management conditions throughout Europe. This calls for more collective learning, experimentation and research.

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“…Coppicing represents the oldest form of systematic and sustainable use of these forests [15,16]. It is a very flexible system that requires low energy consumption and skilled labor and has adapted to the needs of rural societies that provide logs for fuel, charcoal, agriculture, and small businesses [17,18]. The owners or users of these forests build on local ecological knowledge to help maintain and increase the resilience of this social-ecological forest management system [19][20][21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, in Italy, coppice forests cover 3.663 million hectares [35], and of these, both evergreen and deciduous forests of Quercus spp. encompass an area of approximately 1.6 million ha [17]. In Slovakia, coppices now cover 110,000 ha, compared to 1950 when they covered 196,000 ha, so there is evidence of a decreasing trend of this management practice [48].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris L.) Resilience to Climate Change: Insights from Coppice Forests in Southern and Central Europe

Šimková,

Vacek,

Šimůnek

et al. 2023

Forests

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Turkey oak (Quercus cerris L.) is a thermophilic oak species that is gaining importance in the context of ongoing climate change because of its better resistance to climatic extremes and drier conditions. Therefore, this article focuses on Turkey oak’s role and growth properties in the coppice forests of Southern Europe (Italy, Bulgaria) compared to similar site conditions in Central Europe (Slovakia, Czechia). The aims are to evaluate the basic dendrometry indicators, stand biodiversity, growth dynamics, and the effect of climatic factors on tree-ring increment on specific site chronologies. We found that the tree density in coppices of 50–60 years varied between 475 and 775 trees ha−1, and the stand volume ranged from 141 to 407 m3 ha−1. The complex stand diversity of all plots ranged from a monotonous to uniform structure. The size of tree-ring growth was closely related to indicators of stand density. The lowest influence of climatic factors on tree-ring growth was found in sites in Italy and the highest in Slovakia. The primary limiting factor for growth was the lack of precipitation during the growing season, especially in June and July. In contrast, temperature had a marginal effect on radial growth compared to precipitation. The radial growth in research plots in Southern Europe goes through longer 6 to 8-year growth cycles, and in Central European sites, it goes through shorter cycles of 2.4 to 4.8 years, which confirms better growth conditions in this region. The studied coppice stands exhibit a stable reaction to climate change. Yet, regarding cyclical growth, the Central European stands benefit from an advantageous climate and grow better than in Southern Europe. As part of the changing environmental conditions, Turkey oak is becoming an important tree species that can achieve high production potential even in drier habitats due to its regeneration characteristic as coppice and may play a critical role in its northerly introduction in Europe.

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Testing an expanded set of sustainable forest management indicators in Mediterranean coppice area

Cited by 12 publications

References 59 publications

Natura 2000 network enhances the protection of rare epiphytic lichens: evidence from forest sites of Central Italy

Natura 2000 network enhances the protection of rare epiphytic lichens: evidence from forest sites of Central Italy

Closer-to-Nature Forest Management

Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris L.) Resilience to Climate Change: Insights from Coppice Forests in Southern and Central Europe

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