CREA Journals (Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria)
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Forest biotechnology advances to support global bioeconomy
Get PDFThe world is shifting to an innovation economy and forest biotechnology can play a major role in the bio-economy by providing farmers, producers, and consumers with tools that can better advance this transition. First-generation or conventional biofuels are primarily produced from food crops and are therefore limited in their ability to meet challenges for petroleum-product substitution and climate change mitigation, and to overcome the food-versus-fuel dilemma. In the longer term, forest lignocellulosic biomass will provide a unique renewable resource for large-scale production of bioenergy, biofuels and bio-products. These second-generation or advanced biofuels and bio-products have also the potential to avoid many of the issues facing the first-generation biofuels, particularly the competition concerning land and water used for food production. To expand the range of natural biological resources the rapidly evolving tools of biotechnology can ameliorate the conversion process, lower the conversion costs and also enhance target yield of forest biomass feedstock and the product of interest. Therefore, linking forest biotechnology with industrial biotechnology presents a promising approach to convert woody lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels and bio-products. Major advances and applications of forest biotechnology that are being achieved to competitively position forest biomass feedstocks with corn and other food crops are outlined. Finally, recommendations for future work are discussed
Exploratory analysis of atmospheric pollution in a coastal forest ecosystem in central Italy
Get PDFExploratory analysis of atmospheric pollution in a coastal forest ecosystem in central Italy - The study of spatial and temporal distribution of heavy metals in the atmosphere through the continuous assessment of deposition is of great interest for the analysis of anthropogenic pressure on the environment and the potential toxicity to humans and other living organisms. Information based on reliable estimates of heavy metals is therefore crucial for the evaluation of environmental quality. Trends in heavy metal concentration in atmospheric depositions on a coastal forest ecosystem (Castelporziano, Rome) are analyzed in the present study based on a three-year monitoring field survey over three sites representative of different woodland characteristics in the area. Our results highlight both the influence of transportation processes in the short and medium distance based on the human pressure reflecting urban expansion and infrastructure development on the fringe of Castelporziano pristine forest. Further studies investigating the latent correlation with meteorological variables at various temporal scales are needed to provide a comprehensive picture of environmental conditions in a forest ecosystem subjected to increasing human pressure. Analysis of runoff water quality and the determination of other heavy metals, such as arsenic, may identify additional sources of pollution impacting soil and forest ecosystem
Eight new records for the Eriophyid (Trombidiformes Eriophyoidea Eriophyidae) mite fauna of Iran
Get PDFTrees from Juglandaceae, Ulmaceae, Salicaceae, Leguminosae and Betulaceae were sampled during two growing seasons, 2010 and 2011, in the southwest region of East Azerbaijan province, Iran, in order to survey their eriophyid mite fauna. Among identified taxa, eight species appeared to be new for the Iranian eriophyid fauna: Coptophylla lamimani (Keifer, 1939b), Stenacis palomaris Keifer, 1970, Shevtchenkella juglandis (Keifer, 1951), Anthocoptes striatus Ponomareva, 1978, Aculus mogeri (Farkas, 1960), Aculops unguiculatus (Nalepa, 1897), Aculops allotrichus (Nalepa, 1894) and Tegolophus califraxini (Keifer, 1938). Supplementary descriptions were given for Sh. ulmi (Farkas, 1960), A. striatus, A. mogeri, A. unguiculatus and A. allotrichus. In this study, Alhagi maurorum Medik (Leguminosae) and Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. subsp. angustifolia (Oleaceae) were reported as new host plants for A. allotrichus and T. califraxini, respectively. Remarks on the eriophyid distribution in East Azerbaijan were also given
Laboratory tests on the biocontrol of chestnut insect pests on Etna (Sicily, Italy) by means of entomopathogenic nematodes
Get PDFThe virulence of seventeen strains of entomopathogenic nematodes, belonging to four species of Steinernema and two of Heterorhabditis, against the chestnut insect parasites Curculio elephas, C. glandium, Pammene castanicola, Cydia splendana and C. fagiglandana, was tested in laboratory. The bioassays were conducted on the insect larvae collected in three different years (2010-2012) in chestnut groves of Etna. Most of the strains tested resulted good biocontrol agents for all the treated insect pests. The strains S. feltiae ESA and S. feltiae EPP were the most effective strains autochthonous of Etna when all the species of insect pests are considered as a whole
Planting pattern effects on soil water and yield of summer maize
Get PDFProductivity and water use efficiency are important problems in sustainable agriculture, especially in high-demand water resource crops such as maize (Zea mays L). The aims of this research were to study plant and row spac- ing in maize, evaluating soil water content (SWC), yield and water use efficiency (WUE). A 3-year field experiment (2011–2013) was carried out in the north of China. The summer maize experiment consisted of five types of row spacing under the same planting density. The results showed that the SWC in 90–120 cm was higher than 0–30 cm, and soil water storage was a significant regression with advancing growth stage. A negative correlation was observed among yield, WUE and row spacing. The average yield of RS50 and RS40 was by 9.6% higher than that of RS70 and RS80, and the WUE of the RS40 and RS50 were significantly higher than RS60, RS70, and RS80. The study also indicated that increased productivity and WUE of rainfed summer maize can be reached via row spacing reduction and plant spacing widening under same planting density, and RS50 cm is regarded as the best planting system selection for the plains of Northern China
Stand structure and climate influence on the growth trends of a marginal forest population of Pinus nigra spp. nigra
Get PDFThe Black pine of Villetta Barrea (Pinus nigra ssp. nigra var italica) is a variety of the nigra subspecies. It is naturally distributed only in the Abruzzo Region, near the village of Villetta Barrea, with a rear-edge marginal population. A dendrochronological sampling of the population was implemented with the aim of studying its stand structure and the most probable interactions between growth trends and climate. Mensurational data were used to characterize the stand and, furthermore, the general correlation function (CF) and the moving correlation function (MCF), with a 30 years window, were used to assess the interrelation between the growth of the tree rings and the climate.The results indicated that the past forest management, mainly carried out with thinnings from below and selective cuttings, influenced the current structure of the forest (mean diameter) but no differences in growth trends were detected within the population.The survey on Villetta Barrea Black pine showed a positive and statistically significant correlation between the ring-width and the average temperatures of the months of December (before the ring formation - t-1), February and March; but it also showed a negative correlation with the temperatures of July, September and October of the current year (t).Moreover, the analysis with moving correlation functions suggested that, in the last decades, the population has negatively reacted to very few climate factors and, in particular, to the changes in temperatures (both minimum and maximum temperatures). This is especially true for the shifts occurred in September, the year of the ring formation
First interception of Acrossidius tasmaniae (Hope, 1847) (Coleoptera Scarabaeidae Aphodiinae) in Europe
Get PDFIn April 2013, four adults of Acrossidius tasmaniae (Hope, 1847) (Coleoptera Scarabaeidae Aphodiinae) were found during the inspection of the Phytosanitary Service of Tuscany Region in the port of Leghorn, in a container from New Zealand. This is the first interception of this minor pest for cultivated plants in Europe.
Spatial variation of the aggressive response towards conspecifics in the ant Crematogaster scutellaris (Hymenoptera Formicidae)
Get PDFIn this study we investigated the relationship between spatial distance and intraspecific aggression in the Mediterranean tree-nesting ant Crematogaster scutellaris. Aggression tests were carried out in the field confronting group of workers (20 from each nest) collected from pairs of nests located at increasing distances one from the other (5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 meters). For each distance, 6 replicate tests, using different pairs of nests, were carried out. The probability of aggression and the time of the first aggressive event were recorded and modelled as a function of the distance between two nests using generalised linear models. Results showed that both the probability of aggression and the time of first attack were correlated to spatial distance in a complex way, having their maximum at intermediate distances between nests. The observed relationship cannot be simply interpreted according to the “dear enemy” or the “nasty neighbour” effects and contains elements in favour of both
Reliability of yellow bodies as indexes of egg laying activity in the primitively eusocial wasp Polistes dominula
Get PDFUnderstanding the evolution of asymmetric access to reproduction requires reliable tools to measure individual reproductive share. In social insects, reproductive skew is usually evaluated by measuring the degree of ovarian development. However, this approach has been recently shown to reliably estimate only the physiological investment in reproduction, while it is rather inconsistent regarding the individual egg laying rate. Here, I assess the reliability of other physiological traits, the presence and size of yellow bodies, i.e. the remains of nurse cells deposited at the base of the ovarioles whenever an egg is laid. Their usefulness in indicating previous egg laying activity has been recognized since decades, but a formal assessment of their reliability has never been performed. By combining behavioural observations and physiological measurements in the social wasp Polistes dominula I determined whether yellow bodies presence and size reliably track previous reproductive activity. Despite the presence of yellow bodies is associated with egg laying, the classification of individuals to egg layer/non egg layer categories is not completely reliable, inducing in a relevant rate of false positive and false negatives. Moreover, size of yellow bodies is poorly correlated with egg laying and does not allow to properly infer the relative reproductive activity. Overall, yellow bodies do not precisely track small differences in egg laying and their use is thus recommended only when moderate to big differences are expected. Prudence is especially suggested in primitively eusocial species, where the short reproductive period and the distributed totipotency may result in small differences in individual reproduction
Keynote speech for the opening of the renewed Forestry Research Centre headquarters
Get PDFComing back here at the Forestry Research Centre in Arezzo, where I have been working for a long time earlier as a researcher and afterwards as director of the working group on “Forest biology and protection”, it is close to my heart clarifying two strictly related points. The first point concerns the story of this Centre. The second one The Italian Academy of Forest Sciences.Maybe not everyone knows the most important stages of the establishment and development of these institutions. I believe therefore useful to highlight briefly the main aspects