Regional Assessment of Sub-Hourly Annual Rainfall Maxima

The assessment of rainfall extremes at sub-hourly scales is generally hindered by a lack of rainfall data at small timescale resolutions. This study proposes a methodology for assessing mean annual maximum rainfall at the sub-hourly scale by blending historical time series of annual maxima recorded by mechanical stations (operating at hourly scales) up to the end of the past century with newer time series of annual maxima at higher time resolutions recorded by automatic stations installed over the past twenty years. A linear correlation was found at the regional scale between the shape parameter controlling the dependency of rainfall maxima with a duration longer than one hour and the shape parameter of the dependency of rainfall maxima with the durations shorter than one hour. Thanks to this correlation, data recorded at the mechanical stations could be exploited to assess sub-hourly mean annual maxima. The proposed hybrid procedure was verified and was found to provide estimates with an accuracy close to those obtained with the high-resolution data, i.e., our best estimates. Moreover, the proposed procedure outperforms what could be achieved by spatially interpolating the best estimates at those locations where only hourly data are availabl

Assessing Crop Water Requirement and Yield by Combining ERA5-Land Reanalysis Data with CM-SAF Satellite-Based Radiation Data and Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery

The widespread development of Earth Observation (EO) systems and advances in numerical atmospheric modeling have made it possible to use the newest data sources as input for crop–water balance models, thereby improving the crop water requirements (CWR) and yield estimates from the field to the regional scale. Satellite imagery and numerical weather prediction outputs offer high resolution (in time and space) gridded data that can compensate for the paucity of crop parameter field measurements and ground weather observations, as required for assessments of CWR and yield. In this study, the AquaCrop model was used to assess CWR and yield of tomato on a farm in Southern Italy by assimilating Sentinel-2 (S2) canopy cover imagery and using CM-SAF satellite-based radiation data and ERA5-Land reanalysis as forcing weather data. The prediction accuracy was evaluated with field data collected during the irrigation season (April–July) of 2021. Satellite estimates of canopy cover differed from ground observations, with a RMSE of about 11%. CWR and yield predictions were compared with actual data regarding irrigation volumes and harvested yield. The results showed that S2 estimates of crop parameters represent added value, since their assimilation into crop growth models improved CWR and yield estimates. Reliable CWR and yield estimates can be achieved by combining the ERA5-Land and CM-SAF weather databases with S2 imagery for assimilation into the AquaCrop model

An agricultural system in a hostile environment: the Late Roman site of Umm al-Dabadib - Kharga Oasis (Egypt)

Funded by an ERC consolidator Grant, focuses on archaeological and environmental methodology used to investigate a chain of Late Roman fortified settlements of the Kharga Oasis, located in Egypt’s Western Desert, that in the Fourth Century AD represented a portion of the southern boundary of the Roman empire. The best-preserved site is Umm al-Dabadib containing the virtually intact remains of an imposing settlement with a vast and elaborated agricultural system. The site fully represents the struggle between man and environment on a knife edge. Ancient Roman centuriatio (field division), subterranean aqueducts (qanat), covered conduits, open-air canals, outlines of fields are studied using a combination of classic and innovative investigation techniques (3D survey, archaeological excavations of the built-up area and the agricultural system, archaeobotanical analyses, ceramic studies, analyses of satellite images)

Spatial moments of catchment rainfall: rainfall spatial organisation, basin morphology, and flood response

Abstract. This paper describes a set of spatial rainfall statistics (termed "spatial moments of catchment rainfall") quantifying the dependence existing between spatial rainfall organisation, basin morphology and runoff response. These statistics describe the spatial rainfall organisation in terms of concentration and dispersion statistics as a function of the distance measured along the flow routing coordinate. The introduction of these statistics permits derivation of a simple relationship for the quantification of catchment-scale storm velocity. The concept of the catchment-scale storm velocity takes into account the role of relative catchment orientation and morphology with respect to storm motion and kinematics. The paper illustrates the derivation of the statistics from an analytical framework recently proposed in literature and explains the conceptual meaning of the statistics by applying them to five extreme flash floods occurred in various European regions in the period 2002–2007. High resolution radar rainfall fields and a distributed hydrologic model are employed to examine how effective are these statistics in describing the degree of spatial rainfall organisation which is important for runoff modelling. This is obtained by quantifying the effects of neglecting the spatial rainfall variability on flood modelling, with a focus on runoff timing. The size of the study catchments ranges between 36 to 982 km2. The analysis reported here shows that the spatial moments of catchment rainfall can be effectively employed to isolate and describe the features of rainfall spatial organization which have significant impact on runoff simulation. These statistics provide useful information on what space-time scales rainfall has to be monitored, given certain catchment and flood characteristics, and what are the effects of space-time aggregation on flood response modeling

Cushion plant morphology controls biogenic capability\ua0and facilitation effects of Silene acaulis along\ua0an elevation gradient

The stress-gradient hypothesis (SGH) predicts that the balance of plant\u2013plant interactions shifts along abiotic environmental gradients, with facilitation becoming more frequent under stressful conditions. However, recent studies have challenged this perspective, reporting that positive interactions are, in some cases, more common at the intermediate level of environmental severity gradients. Here, we test whether and how neighbour effects by Silene acaulis cushions vary along a 700 m wide altitudinal transect, in relation to cushion morphological traits and environmental severity. Field measurements along the gradient, within and outside cushions, included (i) species richness and cover of coexisting vascular plants; (ii) cushion morphology; (iii) above- and below-ground microclimate; and (iv) soil quality. We used the relative interaction index to decouple neighbour trait effects and environmental severity effects on plant diversity at different elevations. The ability of the cushion plant to facilitate heterospecifics shifts considerably along the elevation gradient, being greatest at the intermediate level. On the other hand, Silene morphological traits steadily change along the gradient, from lax, soft and flat-shaped cushion habits at low elevation to tightly knit and dome-shaped habits at high elevation. Cushion morphological changes are associated with mitigating effects on microclimate, indicating that cushions effectively act as a heat-trap at medium and high elevations, while at low elevations the soft and flat cushions avoid excessive heat accumulation by tight coupling with the surrounding atmosphere. At the upper end of the gradient, cushion cespitose\u2013pulvinate compactness and high stem density appear to be critical traits in modulating the net effect of plant\u2013plant interaction, since the space available for hosting other vascular species is considerably reduced. In conclusion, this work provides a mechanistic link between plant morphological traits, associated biogenic microclimate changes and variation in net plant\u2013plant interactions along the explored severity gradient. Our findings support an alternative conceptual model to SGH, with plant facilitation collapsing at the upper extreme of the abiotic stress gradient

Windstorm disturbance triggers multiple species invasion in an urban Mediterranean forest

Plant invasion in forest ecosystems is a serious ecological and economic issue, deserving attention by researchers, managers and policy-makers worldwide. Many invasive plants have been reported as early successional species able to colonize disturbed areas following abrupt changes in microhabitat and resource availability. We investigated disturbance effects of a severe windstorm generated by a wet microburst (hail and rain at 160 mm h-1) remarkably affecting the canopy cover of an old-growth Quercus ilex urban forest in Southern Italy. This stand-replacing disturbance produced a mosaic of 103 gaps, 5.6 to 1632 m2 in size, over an area of 1.53 ha, uprooting 76% of the trees and decreasing thereby 85% of the standing above-ground dry biomass into the gaps. By intensive monitoring we compared above- and below-ground microclimate, soil moisture and mineral N availability in paired disturbed and control areas of the study forest. Within newly formed gaps we observed a seasonally consistent 70% higher content of nitrate nitrogen, 29% and 47% decreases of ammonia nitrogen in summer and autumn, respectively, and a higher moisture in topsoil, in addition to different above- and below-ground microclimatic conditions, with canopy cover mitigating extreme temperatures. One year after the windstorm, the microhabitat shift promoted the establishment in gaps of 15 native and 10 alien taxa previously absent in both disturbed and control plots. In such conditions, the rarefaction of the dominant Q. ilex canopy cover and the occurrence of empty niches prone to invasion could dramatically affect the local community structure and diversity. Our data indicate that stand-replacing windstorm can transiently transform the studied urban evergreen forest to an early allogenic successional community dominated, in the medium and large gaps, by annual and perennial non-native species. This is particularly relevant under a perspective of possible increasing frequency of windstorm events in the Mediterranean region in the near future

Comparing the use of ERA5 reanalysis dataset and ground-based agrometeorological data under different climates and topography in Italy

Study region: The study region is represented by seven irrigation districts distributed under different climate and topography conditions in Italy. Study focus: This study explores the reliability and consistency of the global ERA5 single levels and ERA5-Land reanalysis datasets in predicting the main agrometeorological estimates commonly used for crop water requirements calculation. In particular, the reanalysis data was compared, variable-by-variable (e.g., solar radiation, R-s; air temperature, T-air; relative humidity, RH; wind speed, u(10); reference evapotranspiration, ET0), with in situ agrometeorological obser-vations obtained from 66 automatic weather stations (2008-2020). In addition, the presence of a climate-dependency on their accuracy was assessed at the different irrigation districts. New hydrological insights for the region: A general good agreement was obtained between observed and reanalysis agrometeorological variables at both daily and seasonal scales. The best perfor-mance was obtained for T-air, followed by RH, R-s, and u(10) for both reanalysis datasets, especially under temperate climate conditions. These performances were translated into slightly higher accuracy of ET0 estimates by ERA5-Land product, confirming the potential of using reanalysis datasets as an alternative data source for retrieving the ET0 and overcoming the unavailability of observed agrometeorological data

Off-label long acting injectable antipsychotics in real-world clinical practice: a cross-sectional analysis of prescriptive patterns from the STAR Network DEPOT study

Introduction Information on the off-label use of Long-Acting Injectable (LAI) antipsychotics in the real world is lacking. In this study, we aimed to identify the sociodemographic and clinical features of patients treated with on- vs off-label LAIs and predictors of off-label First- or Second-Generation Antipsychotic (FGA vs. SGA) LAI choice in everyday clinical practice. Method In a naturalistic national cohort of 449 patients who initiated LAI treatment in the STAR Network Depot Study, two groups were identified based on off- or on-label prescriptions. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to test several clinically relevant variables and identify those associated with the choice of FGA vs SGA prescription in the off-label group. Results SGA LAIs were more commonly prescribed in everyday practice, without significant differences in their on- and off-label use. Approximately 1 in 4 patients received an off-label prescription. In the off-label group, the most frequent diagnoses were bipolar disorder (67.5%) or any personality disorder (23.7%). FGA vs SGA LAI choice was significantly associated with BPRS thought disorder (OR = 1.22, CI95% 1.04 to 1.43, p = 0.015) and hostility/suspiciousness (OR = 0.83, CI95% 0.71 to 0.97, p = 0.017) dimensions. The likelihood of receiving an SGA LAI grew steadily with the increase of the BPRS thought disturbance score. Conversely, a preference towards prescribing an FGA was observed with higher scores at the BPRS hostility/suspiciousness subscale. Conclusion Our study is the first to identify predictors of FGA vs SGA choice in patients treated with off-label LAI antipsychotics. Demographic characteristics, i.e. age, sex, and substance/alcohol use co-morbidities did not appear to influence the choice towards FGAs or SGAs. Despite a lack of evidence, clinicians tend to favour FGA over SGA LAIs in bipolar or personality disorder patients with relevant hostility. Further research is needed to evaluate treatment adherence and clinical effectiveness of these prescriptive patterns

The Role of Attitudes Toward Medication and Treatment Adherence in the Clinical Response to LAIs: Findings From the STAR Network Depot Study

Background: Long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics are efficacious in managing psychotic symptoms in people affected by severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The present study aimed to investigate whether attitude toward treatment and treatment adherence represent predictors of symptoms changes over time. Methods: The STAR Network \u201cDepot Study\u201d was a naturalistic, multicenter, observational, prospective study that enrolled people initiating a LAI without restrictions on diagnosis, clinical severity or setting. Participants from 32 Italian centers were assessed at three time points: baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up. Psychopathological symptoms, attitude toward medication and treatment adherence were measured using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-10) and the Kemp's 7-point scale, respectively. Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate whether attitude toward medication and treatment adherence independently predicted symptoms changes over time. Analyses were conducted on the overall sample and then stratified according to the baseline severity (BPRS < 41 or BPRS 65 41). Results: We included 461 participants of which 276 were males. The majority of participants had received a primary diagnosis of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (71.80%) and initiated a treatment with a second-generation LAI (69.63%). BPRS, DAI-10, and Kemp's scale scores improved over time. Six linear regressions\u2014conducted considering the outcome and predictors at baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up independently\u2014showed that both DAI-10 and Kemp's scale negatively associated with BPRS scores at the three considered time points. Linear mixed-effects models conducted on the overall sample did not show any significant association between attitude toward medication or treatment adherence and changes in psychiatric symptoms over time. However, after stratification according to baseline severity, we found that both DAI-10 and Kemp's scale negatively predicted changes in BPRS scores at 12-month follow-up regardless of baseline severity. The association at 6-month follow-up was confirmed only in the group with moderate or severe symptoms at baseline. Conclusion: Our findings corroborate the importance of improving the quality of relationship between clinicians and patients. Shared decision making and thorough discussions about benefits and side effects may improve the outcome in patients with severe mental disorders

Applicazione di un modello idrologico distribuito con due diverse tecniche di discretizzazione spaziale

Questo studio presenta un modello idrologico distribuito basato sulla topografia, caratterizzato da una struttura computazionale generalizzata, compatibile con qualsiasi tipologia di discretizzazione spaziale dei bacini idrografici. Nello studio sono messi a confronto i risultati del modello applicato ad un piccolo bacino sperimentale dell’estensione di un chilometro quadrato, ottenuti rispettivamente con due diverse tipologie di discretizzazione spaziale. Il modello è stato dapprima calibrato e validato adottando una forma di discretizzazione spaziale per curve di livello. Il modello è stato quindi applicato, con la medesima parametrizzazione, utilizzando una discretizzazione per griglia regolare avente risoluzione di 25 m, ricavata dalla stessa base topografica. I deflussi simulati con le due forme di discretizzazione spaziale sono molto simili sia a scala giornaliera che a scala oraria. Le maggiori differenze si riscontrano nella variabilità spaziale dei valori simulati di contenuto d’acqua nel suolo, soprattutto nelle zone di convergenza topografica. Nel caso della griglia regolare si ottengono valori di contenuto d’acqua simulati nel suolo più elevati rispetto a quelli ottenuti con curve di livello. Le mappe simulate di contenuto d’acqua nel suolo presentano inoltre valori di varianza più elevati nel caso della griglia regolare, questo a causa della maggiore frammentazione dei percorsi di flusso paralleli al pendio rispetto a quelli definiti mediante curve di livello