1,721,086 research outputs found
The Monetary‐Equivalent Effect of Voluntary Work on Mental Wellbeing in Europe
Full text linkThe hypothesis that active community involvement and, more specifically,
voluntary work is beneficial for mental wellbeing has an established tradition.
Community involvement is one of the main suggestions in policy guidelines
for active ageing1 formulated in most high-income countries (see, among others,
those of Australia, New Zealand, the US and UK in Hutchison et al., 2006). The
rationale behind this policy is well explained by Watson and Hall (2001), who
argues that “continued participation in the workforce, volunteering, community
activities or family responsibilities contributes to the maintenance of mental
capacity and a sense of well-being in older adults. This is a type of psychological
capital or the extent to which the person can deal with threats to mental health –
whether, for example, they can resist depression and anxiety when under stress.
Individuals who have built up their psychological capital are resilient and able
to cope with change and other stresse
Modelling habitat suitability of Pinguicula crystallina sibth. & sm. subsp. hirtiflora (Ten.) Strid (Lentibulariaceae) in Campania (Southern Italy) through an expert based approach.
No full textIn the last few decades, modelling species’ distribution and habitat suitability has greatly improved as a result of new powerful statistics and GIS tools which can use a wide number of ecological variables. Species distribution models represent an important technique for the conservation of biodiversity and for town-and-country planning (Guisan & Zimmermann, 2000). Rare and threatened plant species, particularly the ones with known scattered distribution, can be of highest interest in modelling to assess conservation priorities and evaluate habitat suitability.
Pinguicula crystallina Sibth. & Sm. subsp. hirtiflora (Ten.) Strid (Lentibulariaceae) is a carnivorous plant which has sticky leaves used as flypaper-type traps and grows on dripping carbonate or serpentine rocks primarily in mountain ecosystems such as wet cliffs inside ravines which can be mainly ascribed to Natura 2000 priority habitat 7220, which is petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion W. Koch). Current distribution of this taxon is in South-Eastern Europe (mainly Albania and Greece), with only few populations living in Southern Italy (Campania and Calabria) (Innangi et al. 2011). Many studies about karyology (Casper & Stimper, 2009) and molecular data (Degtjareva et al., 2006), suggest that P. crystallina subsp. hirtiflora along with P. crystallina could be the sister group of all the other species in the genus Pinguicula, which comprises 74 species distributed in the Northern hemisphere, South America and South-Eastern Asia.
In Campania, where the vast majority of Italian populations are found, according to IUCN the plant has been assessed as Vulnerable (VU). Within this region, the plant is known to grow only in ravines and river gorges of two mountain systems, namely Monti Lattari and Monti Picentini (Innangi et al., 2011). For this region, an expert-based habitat suitability model has been developed in order to look for unknown locations and/or plan possible repopulation strategies. Expert-based models, although introducing a subjective component in their development, can take into account a wide range of ecological needs for a taxon and their results are extremely synthetic (Boitani et al., 2002).
According to the ecological features of known presence points of in Campania (Innangi et al., 2011), a set of five variables has been chosen, namely altitude, slope, rock type, CORINE land cover, and distance from rivers. For each variable, four scores have been assigned, that is zero for no suitability to three for best suitability. The results highlight the strict connection of this plant to water streams and courses, thus, in order to correlate chemical and biological features of the water to the habitat suitability for P. crystallina subsp. hirtiflora, water has been sampled in both presence and not-presence locations for chemical analysis, namely chromatography and toxicity tests, using bioassay organisms such as Daphnia magna Straus, Sorghum saccharatum Pers., and Lepidium sativum L. (APAT, 2002).
Acknowledgements. The authors are grateful to Prof. M. Guida and M. Trifuoggi for the toxicity tests and chemical analyses
From the Apennines to the Alps: recent range expansion of the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata L., 1758 (Mammalia: Rodentia: Hystricidae) in Italy
Full text linkIn the last few decades, the crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata L., 1758) showed a marked range expansion in Italy. Published and unpublished material was collected to reconstruct this phenomenon. Data were gathered by means of: (i) specific papers on crested porcupine distribution and more generic books and articles, (ii) expert collaboration in various Italian regions and (iii) information from the national Vertebrates mailing list. Until the 1970s, H. cristata was only present in Central and Southern Italy, mostly in the western part. Since 1978, the porcupine has been protected by Italian national law. The species first crossed the Apennines from the Tyrrhenian coast to the Marche, where the expansion to the north may have begun, and then reached the northernmost regions. An analysis of the potential distribution of the species was performed in a species distribution modeling framework (Maxent). The model suggested a high suitability of most of the Central and Southern Italian Peninsula for H. cristata, including the two major islands. Northern Italy proved suitable for the species' establishment only in some central and western areas of the Po Valley. The core areas of the Apennines and of the Alps, as well as some areas characterized by low annual rainfall, were predicted as unsuitable. Historical and social factors related to the progressive urbanization and the consequent abandonment of the traditional land use in mountain landscapes probably helped the re-expansion of forests and uncultivated fields. Three introduced populations have been detected in Sardinia, Liguria and the province of Varese. In order to make the data collected easily consultable and to give people the opportunity to contribute to a continuous updating of the distributional map of the species, a web page dedicated to H. cristata was set up, in the framework of an open-source wildlife mapping project. © 2013 Unione Zoologica Italiana
Hydromorphology meets mammal ecology: morphological quality index, recent channel adjustments and otter resilience
No full textThe need for a multidisciplinary approach for characterizing water bodies in terms of morphological, chemical and ecological quality has
hastened the growth of hydromorphology as a cross-disciplinary topic at the interface of hydrology, geomorphology and ecology. Many
authors have analysed how hydroecology may affect freshwater biodiversity, although little is known about how this biodiversity might
be affected by river morphological quality. We examined how well the presence of the semi-aquatic Eurasian otter can be predicted by
the rivers’ morphological quality and its adjustments over the last decades. We tested the morphological quality index (MQI) methodology
in 38 reaches of five rivers in southern Italy, 23 of which were positive to otter presence. In each reach, we examined 28 indicators contributing
to the MQI and its 11 sub-indices. The results showed a significant relationship between the probability of the presence of otters, MQI,
and some sub-indices. The best performing sub-indices were related to channel adjustments and the continuity of river processes. A more
detailed analysis of channel adjustments showed a detrimental effect of channel incision (>3m) and a positive effect of narrowing, particularly
where it occurred simultaneously with the development of forest in the new floodplain. The continuity of river processes has driven the
migration of river banks and the development of ponds and secondary channels, likely increasing the availability of dens and resting sites and
the hunting capabilities of otters. Our results stressed the importance of fluvial dynamics and sustainable adaptive river management for the
habitat quality of semi-aquatic species
Potential distribution of Xylella fastidiosa in Italy: a maximum entropy model
No full textSpecies distribution models may provide realistic scenarios to explain the influence of bioclimatic variables in the context of emerging plant pathogens. Xylella fastidiosa is a xylem-limited Gram-negative bacterium causing severe diseases in many plant species. We developed a maximum entropy model for X. fastidiosa in Italy. Our objectives were to carry out a preliminary analysis of the species' potential geographical distribution and determine which eco-geographical variables may favour its presence in other Italian regions besides Apulia. The analysis of single variable contribution showed that precipitation of the driest (40.3%) and wettest (30.4%) months were the main factors influencing model performance. Altitude, precipitation of warmest quarter, mean temperature of coldest quarter, and land cover provided a total contribution of 19.5%. Based on the model predictions, X. fastidiosa has a high probability (> 0.8) of colonizing areas characterized by: i) low altitude (0-150 m a.s.l.); ii) precipitations in the driest month < 10 mm, in the wettest month ranging between 80-110 mm and during the warmest quarter < 60 mm; iii) mean temperature of coldest quarter ≥ 8°C; iv) agricultural areas comprising intensive agriculture, complex cultivation patterns, olive groves, annual crops associated with permanent crops, orchards and vineyards; forest (essentially oak woodland); and Mediterranean shrubland. Species distribution models showed a high probability of X. fastidiosa occurrence in the regions of Apulia, Calabria, Basilicata, Sicily, Sardinia and coastal areas of Campania, Lazio and south Tuscany. Maxent models achieved excellent levels of predictive performance according to area under curve (AUC), true skill statistic (TSS) and minimum difference between training and testing AUC data (AUCdiff). Our study indicated that X. fastidiosa has the potential to overcome the current boundaries of distribution and affect areas of Italy outside Apulia
Species interactions in pure and mixed-species stands of silver fir and European beech in Mediterranean mountains
Full text linkInteractions between tree species determine the dynamics of forest communities. Spatial and temporal changes in resource availability, variation in species composition and spatial distribution of trees may alter competitive interactions between species and, therefore, affect tree growth and forest productivity. In this study, we analyzed the intra and inter-specific interactions between European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) in southern Italy (Molise and Calabria regions), and how these interactions affect basal area increments in mixed-species and pure stands. Results showed that intra-specific interactions have a negative effect on the basal area increment, both in pure and mixed-species stands of Molise and Calabria. Basal area increment was higher influenced by intra-specific interactions in pure stands than in mixed-species stands. Silver fir in Molise showed higher basal area increment in mixed-species stand, probably in relation with stand structure and space occupation that resulted in less competition between individual trees. European beech showed high values of intra-specific interactions in pure stands, likely related to the low self-tolerance of this species and to the spatial arrangement of trees, due to canopy closure. The absence of inter-specific interactions in mixed-species stands could be explained by the sub-dominant position of European beech, which may have limited the benefit derived from niche separation and complementarity for silver fir
Modeling distribution of Mediterranean beech forests and soil carbon stock under climate change scenarios
No full textClimate change is forecasted to alter forest species distributions and the organic carbon cycle, particularly in the Mediterranean region. In this context, one of the most important carbon reservoirs, both in terms of living biomass and soil organic matter, is represented by beech forests, which are highly vulnerable to global warming. Accordingly, we investigated how the effects of climate change predicted for 2070 could affect both beech distribution and soil carbon stocks in Italy. In order to achieve this goal, we predicted beech distribution using state of the art ecological niche modeling, projecting its potential range under climate change scenarios. Moreover, a field survey was carried out to quantify the proportion of organic carbon in the first 5 cm of soil, which are the most sensitive to climate effects. The latter results were used to explore the relationship between organic carbon and ecogeographical variables, projecting this relationship onto the predicted beech distribution. Our outcomes showed a substantial reduction in beech distribution, especially at its southern range limits, along with a remarkable shift towards higher elevations and latitudes. The organic carbon in beech forests was significantly related to temperature seasonality and elevation, showing a decrease between 64.5 and 98.8% under different IPCC scenarios
Prioritizing road-kill mitigation areas: A spatially explicit national-scale model for an elusive carnivore
No full textAim Roads impact wildlife in different ways, among which road mortality has been the most studied. Budgets in conservation biology are usually small, and macroecological approaches have been employed in recent years as the first steps towards guiding management. Carnivores are particularly vulnerable to mortality on roads due to their elevated ecological needs (low population density, often low fecundity and relatively large home ranges). Our aim was to develop a ranking methodology to prioritize specific areas for road-kill mitigation. Location Continental Italy. Methods We studied 271 occurrences of live polecats (Mustela putorius) and 212 polecat road-kill sites. We used the former to generate a species distribution model and the latter to identify the variables that determined the road-kill risk. Habitat suitability was derived from a spatial distribution model that combined the polecat occurrence data with a set of environmental variables. Prey availability was derived from the combination of suitability maps of 26 prey species. We used generalized linear modelling to identify the set of variables that best explained the occurrence of road-kills. The variables included in the best performing model were combined to produce the road risk map and to identify the areas with the highest densities of road sections with highest risk. Results Road-kills were positively associated with the road sections with higher broad-leaved forest coverage. The number of casualties was found to be higher than expected on the national and provincial roads and lower than expected on the local roads. Main conclusions This approach allowed us to identify the 10 x 10 km cells where mitigation actions to prevent road-kills should be prioritized. As mitigation actions (wildlife passage construction, fencing) are expensive, measures should be prioritized on the specific high-risk road sections inside these selected cells, avoiding generalized mitigation plans
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