CREA Journals (Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria)
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Forest-food nexus: a topical opportunity for human well-being and silviculture
Get PDFAs population will reach over 9 billion by 2050, interest in the forest-food nexus is rising. Forests play an important role in food production and nutrition. Forests can provide nutritionally-balanced diets, woodfuel for cooking and a broad set of ecosystem services. A large body of evidence recommends multi-functional and integrated landscape approaches to reimagine forestry and agriculture systems. Here, after a commented discussion of the literature produced in the last decade about the role for forests with respect to the food security global emergency, we summarize the state of the art in Italy as a representative country-case-study. The aim is to increase awareness about the potential of silviculture in Italy for combining ecological resilience with economic resilience, and reducing the pressure over tropical and sub-tropical forests by means of a sustainable intensification of forest management at national level. Although a quantification of the Italian non-wood forest products is difficult, the potential of this sector for the Italian bioeconomy is relatively high. Italy is among the four top European exporters of cork stoppers, is one of the three top countries for chestnut seed processing, and is among the leading exporters of wild mushroom, while it is the only European country among the top five global importers of tannins. In order to develop this sector for the food industry, more research is needed on non-wood forest products, the scale of production, emerging markets, marketing and production innovation. On the other hand, chain-supply fragmentation, landowner inertia, and lack of governance and cooperation may hamper an effective exploitation of non-wood products. A renewed joint impulse for exploitation of wood and non-wood products may come from a sustainable intensification of forest management. The strategies to guarantee an effective supply of non-wood products require appropriate business skills and the presence of a structured business services. A transparent market is also essential. Therefore, the introduction of standards (like those by forest certification schemes) is very important. They can add value to products and emphasize the importance and complexity of the forest sector. However, the implementation of sustainable forest management for an effective supply of non-wood products is affected by the availability of appropriate planning tools, and the public officers need a new mindset to stimulate and support business capacity of forest owners
Coppice forests, or the changeable aspect of things, a review
Get PDFCoppiced forests were the main source of firewood, brushwood, and charcoal for rural and urban settlements’ basic needs such as cooking food and domestic heating for thousands of years and up to the mid-20th century in many European countries and, specifically, in Mediterranean countries. The global diffusion of fossil fuels reduced this leadership and the coppice system turned, to some extent, to a reminder of the past. Nowadays, the ongoing global changes and the related green-economy issues call for resilient systems and effective bio-energy producers. These issues have caused a second turning point and the coppice has returned fifty years later to play a role. A review of the silvicultural system has been carried out with a special focus on the changes which have occurred in between, taking Italy as a consistent case-study. The analysis is mainly framed upon the long-term research trials established by the CREA-Forestry Research Centre in the late sixties, to find out adaptive management strategies and overcome the system’s crisis. The findings and further knowledge achieved so far on the dynamics and functioning of coppice forests in the outgrown phase, both as natural evolutive patterns and silviculture-driven processes, are highlighted in this paper. They provide useful tools to handle the management shift regarding forthcoming issues, i.e. the current role attributable to the coppice system within the changing environment and the renewable energy demand. The basic features of each management area and their complementarities within the current framework are outlined.
Reuse of old nests by the European paper wasp Polistes dominula (Hymenoptera Vespidae).
Get PDFSimilarly to the majority of social insects the nest represents for paper wasps an important component of the colony life and it is intimately linked to its social organization. When, in spring, future foundresses emerge from hibernacula they can choose between building a new nest and reusing an old one. Refurbishing the old nest in order to prepare it for a new breeding season cycle has already been observed in few species of paper wasps. In the present study we found that although the majority of Polistes dominula foundresses prefer to start new colonies early in the spring, an eight percent of nests were reused in our population. We speculate that reusing old nests might allow foundresses to save energy and gain time, but in turn it might also impose additional costs such as the risk of incurring in a higher pathogen pressure. Our data shows that the habits of reusing old nest is widespread in P. dominula but further experiments are required to test both these hypotheses and to clarify pros and cons of reusing old nests in this Polistes paper wasp species
Analyses of genetic diversity among exotic- and indigenous- maize inbreds differing for responses to stored grain weevil (Sitophilus oryzae L) infestation
Get PDFSitophilus oryzae has emerged as one of the important storage grain pests of maize especially in Asia. It causes damage to the stored grains and affects significantly its quality and viability. A set of 48 diverse maize inbreds dif- fering for degree of resistance against S. oryzae were analyzed for genetic diversity using 63 SSRs spread across the genome. The study generated a total of 177 alleles, with two to six alleles per locus. Seven unique and 13 rare alleles were detected among the inbreds. Polymorphism information content ranged from 0.04 to 0.67, and Jaccard’s dissimilarity coefficient varied from 0.32 to 0.77 with a mean of 0.62. The cluster analyses grouped the genotypes into three major clusters, and the principle coordinate analysis revealed diverse nature of the inbreds across four quadrangles. Genetically distant resistant inbreds identified in the study can be used for generating heterotic cross combinations with resistance to S. oryzae. These diverse resistant inbreds can also be used for generating pools and segregating populations to derive new inbreds with improved resistance. Mapping popula- tions developed from genetically diverse and phenotypically contrasting inbreds would help in identifying QTLs imparting resistance to infestation of S. oryzae. Genomic regions thus identified would help in improving the de- gree of resistance in susceptible maize through marker-assisted selection
Screening Genetic Variation in Maize for Deep Root Mass in Greenhouse and Its Association with Grain Yield Under Water- Stressed Field Conditions
Get PDFPlant roots have been recognized to play an important adaptive role in drought prone environments. There have been many efforts to improve root traits in order to develop drought tolerant cereal crops including maize but significant progress has not yet to be made. Twelve maize hybrids and their corresponding 12 female inbred par- ents were evaluated for genetic variation in deep root mass and other root traits in PVC tubes. The hybrids were selected based on their grain yield performance under water-stressed conditions in the field. Plants were grown in three different growing media, and a mixture of sand, vermiculite, perlite and soil was found to be the best growing medium to study root growth. Significant phenotypic variation was observed among inbred lines and among hy- brids for deep root mass (DRDW) and other related root traits under well-watered and water-stressed conditions. Based on individual hybrid comparisons and correlation analysis, deep root mass estimated in well-watered and water-stressed conditions in the greenhouse was found to be associated with grain yield under water-stressed conditions in the field. Hybrids with higher grain yield under water-stress showed considerable higher DRDW than the hybrids with lower grain yield. A conservation of the trait DRDW was observed between inbreds and hybrids as both groups exhibited similar patterns of variation. The current screening system for root traits is simple and in- expensive, making it useful for evaluating large number of inbred lines or hybrids for root traits under well-watered or water-stressed conditions for drought tolerance
Research and innovation in sustainable forestry: lessons learnt to inform the policy making community
Get PDFFrom an already rich experience of cooperation between scientists and policy makers in the framework of international research institutions such as the International union of forest research organizations (IUFRO), the Center for international forest research (CIFOR) and the European Forest Institute (EFI), as well as through the promotion and development of EU research projects and programs, some lessons can be drawn considering the possible role of scientists at the science-policy interface. Today, on the example of the global change - and especially the climatic changes that policy makers are demanding about-, most of the researches to be carried out have to answer social questions the solutions of which require the support of science. This is especially the case in the forestry field, which is characterized by the particularly long term of cycles and the great number of stakeholders interested in. Whilst decision making processes are complex systems, science is not the only source of knowledge useful for taking decisions, so that in a democratic context, research results have to be confronted to other lessons learnt (for instance from technical expertise, or from traditional knowledge) in order to get accountability in terms of instrumentation. In scientific terms, it should certainly lead to multi-disciplinary approaches of the multifunctionality of forest and related techniques to be implemented. But this does not mean that research activities have to be assessed only against their instrumentality. However, research and public decision-making are very contrasting spheres, where the principles and professional types of behavior are basically different. This situation calls for a need for a clear separation of the respective roles. In addition, all scientific developments should not be driven from practical needs of decision-makers, since theoretical questions may indirectly build up the future reality.
Natural capital and bioeconomy: challenges and opportunities for forestry
Get PDFOver the last decades, the stock of natural capital has been globally reduced by human-induced effects such as climate change, and land use and cover modifications. In particular, the continuous flow of goods and services from ecosystems to people is currently under threat if the current human activities still remain unsustainable. The recent bioeconomy strategy is an important opportunity to halt the loss of biodiversity and the reduction of services provision, from global to local scale. In this framework, forest sector plays a fundamental role in further enhancing the sustainable development and the green growth in degraded environments, such as marginal and rural areas. This paper provides an overview of the bioeconomy-based natural resources management (with a focus on forest ecosystems), by analyzing the related challenges and opportunities, from international to national perspective, as in Italy. At first, the role of forest sector in addressing the purposes of green growth is analyzed. Secondly, the most suitable tools to monitor and assess natural capital changes are described. Finally, the most important research contributions within the bioeconomy context are reported. To create the suitable conditions for bioeconomy and green growth, the following insights have to be denoted: (i) a deeper understanding of natural capital and related changes; (ii) the improvement of public participation in decision-making processes, especially at landscape scale; (iii) the effective integration of ecological, socio-cultural, and economic dimensions while managing natural resources
Genetic resources and forestry in the Mediterranean region in relation to global change
Get PDFThe purpose of this review is to examine a few aspects of global change effects on forest genetic resources and their interaction. Genetic resources can provide many opportunities for the development of adaptive forest management in the Mediterranean region. At the same time, forestry and its various disciplines can offer manifold chances to develop methods and techniques for the in situ and ex situ protection, as well as for the correct management of species and populations at risk because of climate change.Among these aspects, the studies on the Marker Assisted Selection are particularly taken into consideration, as well as the phenotypic plasticity and the different types of assisted migration. A special emphasis is given to genetic resources growing at marginal peripheral populations, which need to be safeguarded as possible containers of adaptive diversity. They are subjected, in fact, to an extreme climatic stress more than others
A survey of the aphid fauna in the Italian regions of Latium and Campania
Get PDFA survey of the biodiversity of the aphid fauna for the two administrative Italian regions of Latium and Campania indicated the presence of 269 and 324 species or subspecies, respectively, and a total of 390 taxa for both regions. Host plant, collection locations, and bibliographic references, if any, are provided for each aphid taxon listed. Additional notes on the taxonomic status, local distribution, and ecology are provided for a few taxa. Five aphid species are new records for Italy. Short biogeographical accounts are also provided and compared to the corresponding data of the Italian aphid fauna as a whole
Wing venation teratology in Apis mellifera L.
Get PDFHoney bee (Apis mellifera L.) wing venation is quite distinctive and the resulting pattern is currently used in subspecies discrimination. In recent years the forewings of worker bees sampled in A. m. mellifera, A. m. ligustica, A. m. carnica, and hybrid colonies were examined and various abnormalities - due to the presence of both supernumerary and defective veins - were observed. The supernumerary veins were considered as present only if an evident vein length could be detected, while slight thickenings were ignored. Most colonies did not show any teratology in wing venation, while a few ones provided several workers with abnormal wings; in these cases, some individuals showed two or more abnormalities. Spurs of various length protruding from the standard veins were the most frequent abnormalities observed; among them an adventitious distal abscissa of the 2rs-m crossvein, a spur protruding from the 2nd abscissa of Rs vein into the 1st submarginal cell, and the extension of the Rs vein beyond the distal end of the marginal cell were rather common. In some cases two opposed spurs tended to join or a single vein branched, thus defining an open or even closed supernumerary cell. In defective veins the missing stretch varied considerably in length so that in a few cases two contiguous cells merged more or less completely. Wing venation teratology should be taken into account when using the wing venation pattern for a morphometric distinction of honey bee subspecies, and data from abnormal wings should not be acquired, especially if automated procedures are used