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I grandi alberi dei boschi della Val Taleggio
No full textIn order to update the contents of the last census of monumental trees of Bergamo, have been reported the data of ten big trees identified in the woods of Val Taleggio including six beeches (Fagus sylvatica), three chestnuts (Castanea sativa) and one juniper (Juniperus communis)
Effect of a fire on the vegetation of a mountainside of the Orobic pre-Alps (Bergamo, Italy)
No full textFire is one of the main factors that shape the landscape as well as a fundamental component of some ecosystems. In Italy, several studies have been conducted in order to understand the effects of fires on vegetation but most refer to the Mediterranean environment. Few data exist concerning the plant communities presenting after fires in the Alpine and pre-Alpine area. This study aims to identify the main effects of a fire on the vegetation of a mountainside of the Orobic Alps located in the municipality of San Pellegrino Terme (Brembana Valley, Bergamo, Italy) in which there was a mixed wood of Quercus pubescens, Ostrya carpinifolia and Fraxinus ornus, typical of the sub-montane and hilly areas of the pre-Alps of Lombardy (1, 2). The fire, caused accidentally by human intervention, spread from 2nd to 4th April 2012, and involved approximately 6 ha of forest (Fig. 1). Climate data for the area studied revealed a particularly dry period during the first three months of 2012, which could have helped to facilitate the start and the spread of the fire.
Data on the flora and vegetation were collected by performing two phytosociological relevés, one in an area of the mountainside not affected by fire (wood), the other within the burnt area (Fig. 2) adjacent to the first. Relevés were conducted from April to July 2013 (one year after the fire) according to the criteria of the sigmatist school of Zurich-Montpellier (3). Life-form and chorological spectra were elaborated for each community. The ecological indices of Landolt (4) were used to analyze the response of vegetation to the disturbance; the Index of Maturity (IM) was calculated (5) and an analysis was performed according to Grime’s CSR model (6). Results showed that the post-fire plant community is de-structured and depleted in nemoral and shrub species of Carpino-Fagetea which are replaced by others, mostly belonging to Elyno-Seslerietea caeruleae and Festuca-Brometea, which were not present before the fire. Some of this species are rare or endemic including Carex baldensis which showed moderate coverage. Ecological analysis showed that the post-fire vegetation has many more heliophilous species that grown on dry soils poor in nutrients compared to the wood. The post-fire vegetation also has a lower IM value and a greater number of ruderal and stress-tolerant species which indicate the start of a regressive series
Effetti di un incendio sulla vegetazione di un versante montuoso delle Prealpi bergamasche = Effects of a fire on the vegetation of a Orobic Pre-Alpine mountainside
No full textÈ stata condotta un’analisi floristico-vegetazionale su un’area incendiata delle Prealpi Bergamasche al fine di comprendere gli effetti che ha avuto il fuoco sulla vegetazione. Dai risultati è emerso che la comunità post-incendio presenta numerose specie (alcune
delle quali endemiche) facenti capo alle classi Festuco valesiacae-Brometea erecti e Festuco-Seslerietea che non erano presenti prima del disturbo eche rappresentano l’adattamento della vegetazione alle nuove condizioni ecologiche dell’area.A floristic-vegetational Analysis of a burned area of the Bergamasque
Prealps was carried out in order to understand the effects of fire on vegetation. The results showed that the post-fire community contains many species (some of which are endemic) Belonging to the Festuco valesiacae-Brometea erecti and Festuco-Seslerietea classes that were not present before the incident and that represent the vegetation's adaptation to the new ecological conditions of the area
Floristic heritage of the Mt. Cavallo path (Orobie Bergamasche Regional Park)
No full textThe identification of elements of special environmental interest occurring in protected areas is indispensable for a full valorisation of their resources. This is even more important in protected areas that have only recently been established, such as the Orobie Bergamasche Regional Park (Lombardy, Italy) (L.R. 15/9/1989 n. 56). This research reports the results of the analysis of the flora of the Mount Cavallo path (Fig. 1), a little-known and little-used area of the Orobie Bergamasche Park. The floristic census conducted, which led to the identification of 241 species, showed that the study area has a high number of endemic plants, some of which are endemic of Italy, including Linaria tonzigii Lona, Allium insubricum Boiss. & Reut. ex Reut., Campanula raineri Perp., Saxifraga vandellii Sternb., Galium baldense Spreng., and Saxifraga hostii Tausch subsp. rhaetica (A.Kern. ex Engl.) Braun-Blanq. Linaria tonzigii occurs only in the province of Bergamo where it has been reported in few locations. Moreover, it is also a species of Community interest included in Annex II of the Habitat Directive (92/43/EEC), but the study area is not part of a Site of Community Importance. In addition, some of the plant species identified in the study area are also rare (8%) and very rare (2%) in Central and Eastern Lombardy. The ecological spectrum of the floristic list shows that most of the species surveyed are heliophilous microthermal species living on basic, dry and nutrient-poor substrates. In fact, most of them are typical of rocky environment communities, limestone screes, and basophilous grasslands, although there are various species of Festucion variae localized in the short stretch in which the path is on acid substrate.
Given the wealth and significance of the floristic heritage of the study area, as well as its unique geological and environmental characteristics, a proposal is presented for its valorisation, involving the construction of a nature trail: the "Mount Cavallo Botanical Path" (1). This research, presenting the distribution maps of the various endemic species along the path and the results of the chorological and ecological analyses of the local flora, provides the scientific background knowledge for the development of a project for the promotion and enhancement of one of the most interesting and beautiful areas of the Orobie Bergamasche Regional Park
BOTANICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE ASSESSMENT OF SOIL BIOENGINEERING WORKS
No full textThe research described in this PhD dissertation was conducted during the period 2014-2016 at the Centre of Applied Studies for the Sustainable Management and Protection of Mountain Areas (Ge.S.Di.Mont. - University of Milan) in Edolo (BS) with the objective of devising botanical methods/tools that could be useful for improving the evaluation of soil bioengineering works in mountain areas. This research has led to the formulation of two floristic-vegetational indices: the Ecological Index of Maturity (EIM) and the Index of Ecological Success (IES). These indices were applied to three study areas located in mountainous areas of Lombardy (Northern Italy) affected by landslides which were followed by soil stabilization works using soil bioengineering techniques. On the basis of the results obtained, the indices have proven practical and functional for the evaluation of soil bioengineering works for slope stabilization as they consider their effectiveness in stabilizing soil as well as their efficiency in minimizing human impact on the ecosystem and landscape.
This thesis also reports research to assess the effectiveness of the chromatographic fingerprinting of the extracts of fine roots for the identification of plant species. The results obtained showed that the analysis of chromatographic fingerprints is an effective method for the identification of some of the species studied whereas it is less useful for the identification of other species. This suggested ideas for further research on this topic and application both in soil bioengineering (e.g.: the evaluation of the success of the fine roots of plants used for soil stabilization) and in other sectors dealing with the study of the rhizosphere and plant (root)-soil interaction
The vegetation of a mountain area of the Scalve Valley (Southern Alps) twenty years after environmental restoration work
Full text linkThe restoration of highly natural areas, such as mountain territories, is a very important issue for those involved in land management and nature conservation. This study reports data provided by the analysis of the vegetation of an area of the Scalve Valley (Lombardy, Italy) which underwent environmental restoration and soil stabilization work using soil bioengineering techniques following a landslide that occurred in 1992. Data on the vegetation, acquired by performing several phytosociological relevés (inside and outside the area) according to the Braun-Blanquet method (1964), were used to analyze the floristic and ecological characteristics of the plant communities currently present in the area. The Ecological Index of Maturity (EIM) (Giupponi et al. 2015) was applied in order to assess the level of disturbance to which the various plant communities are currently subject. The EIM is the result of the elaboration of flora and vegetation indices proposed by Taffetani & Rismondo (2009) and Rismondo et al. (2011) for the evaluation of the functionality of agro-ecosystems, and provides values ranging from 0 (high disturbance of vegetation) to 9 (undisturbed vegetation).
Results showed that, in the study area, there are some plant communities typical of forest margins, some typical of less evolved soils, and others with a high proportion of exotic species that were introduced in 1995 (at the end of slope stabilization work), when a mixture of commercial seed was sown. The results obtained calculating the EIM showed the presence of high disturbance for the plant communities with high percentages of exotic species and for those on unstable soils
Caratterizzazione e tutela di un'antica varietà di montagna: il Mais Nero Spinoso di Valle Camonica
No full textLa varietà della specie Zea mays denominata Mais Nero Spinoso di Valle Camonica è tradizionalmente coltivata nei territori comunali di Esine, Piancogno e limitrofi (Val Camonica, BS). Testimonianze dirette da parte di alcuni agricoltori, riportano la coltivazione di questa varietà di mais tra la fine del XIX e gli inizi del XX secolo in località Annunciata del Comune di Piancogno. Essa può quindi essere considerata una varietà locale come indicato dalle linee guida nazionali per la conservazione della biodiversità vegetale (Decreto del Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali del 6 luglio 2012).
La granella prodotta, di colore bruno/nero, è caratterizzata da una evidente spinatura ed è stata (e lo è tuttora) utilizzata principalmente per la produzione di farina da polenta ad uso prevalentemente familiare. La varietà si presta particolarmente alla coltivazione in ambiente montano, anche a quote superiori ai 1000 metri, grazie alla sua rusticità e alla lunghezza media del ciclo vegetativo. Durante la seconda metà del XX secolo la coltivazione di questa varietà, che era in precedenza diffusa tra gli agricoltori della madia Val Camonica, è stata quasi del tutto abbandonata, complici l’avvento degli ibridi commerciali e la riduzione del consumo di polenta, alimento che è stato per secoli alla base dell’alimentazione della popolazione contadina. In seguito ai recenti studi condotti dall' "Università della Montagna" (Ge.S.Di.Mont.), la coltivazione del Mais Nero Spinoso di Valle Camonica ha trovato nuovo impulso, suscitando l’interesse di alcuni agricoltori locali. Ciononostante il rischio che tale varietà finisca per essere completamente abbandonata o possa ibridarsi rimane tuttora.
La varietà presenta un’elevata rilevanza dal punto di vista fitogenetico in virtù delle sue peculiari caratteristiche morfologiche e fenotipiche, e in particolare per la sua granella dalla caratteristica forma rostrata e dalla pigmentazione bruna che, a differenza di altre varietà di mais, non è dovuta all’accumulo di antocianine ma alla presenza di flobafeni nel pericarpo. Tali pigmenti sono sintetizzati in mais attraverso la via dei flavonoidi mediante la polimerizzazione dei flavan-4-ols, guidata dalla presenza del gene regolatore P1 (pericarp color1). Varietà di mais recanti il gene P1 e capaci di accumulare elevate quantità di flobafeni nel pericarpo della granella, possono rappresentare una risorsa dal momento che i flobafeni possiedono proprietà antiossidanti capaci di prevenire malattie croniche (Casas et al., 2014). Inoltre sembrerebbe che le varietà portanti il gene P1 possano essere meno suscettibili all’accumulo di micotossine (Pilu et al., 2011). Al fine di tutelare tale varietà e quindi l'agrobiodiversità, l' "Università della Montagna" (congiuntamente ai comini di Esine e Piancogno) ad aprile 2015 ha avviato le pratiche per il suo inserimento nella sezione "varietà da conservazione" del Registro Nazionale di Specie Agrarie e Orticole (D.M. 17 dicembre 2010)
Ecological index of maturity to evaluate the vegetation disturbance of areas affected by restoration work : a practical example of its application in an area of the Southern Alps
No full textThis paper presents the ecological index of maturity (EIM), a new index for evaluating the vegetation disturbance of an area affected by environmental restoration measures based on the study of plant communities. The EIM is the result of the unification and development of some floristic-vegetational indices devised by Taffetani and Rismondo (2009) and Rismondo et al. (2011) to assess the ecological functionality of agro-ecosystems. The EIM provides a value between 0 (high vegetation disturbance) and 9 (undisturbed vegetation), obtained by considering three distinct variables of the species of a plant community: phytosociological class, chorotype, and coverage. Starting from the measure of the degree of maturity of the vegetation (dynamic stage of succession), EIM values tend to decrease the greater the coverage of exotic species and the lower the coverage of endemic species present in the plant community. A practical example, in which the EIM is applied to a mountainous area in the Southern Alps (Northern Italy) that, following a landslide, was subject to soil bioengineering work aimed at slope stabilization and environmental restoration, is provided in order to understand the importance and features of the EIM
Wireless Local Area Networks: an effective Call Admission Control algorithm to support Quality of Service
No full textOnopordum acanthium subsp. acanthium in una ex-discarica della Pianura Padana (Piacenza) = Onopordum acanthium subsp. acanthium in a closed landfill of Po Valley (Piacenza)
Full text linkThis work aims to report a station, located in a closed landfill of Piacenza (Po Valley, Italy), where the vegetation is characterized by the dom- inance of Onopordum acanthium L. subsp. acanthium. The results returned by floristic, ecological and phytosociological analysis, showed peculiar aspects that express how the plant community is adapted to the environmental conditions of the area
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