Landscape planning and biodiversity conservation of river habitats require vegetation analysis and mapping: the case of Cilento National Park (Italy)

Riparian and freshwater ecosystems are strongly endangered throughout Europe as they suffer the ongoing human pressure, habitat destruction, pollution and eutrophication. Monitoring species and habitats is essential to address conservation efforts and to evaluate the results of restoration actions. In this context we present the main results of a two-year (2010-2011) research project funded by the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, focused on riparian habitat and vegetation mapping. Vegetation Mapping was performed within a 300 m width buffer along the main water bodies of the National Park; it was based on 2005 digital aero- images and GIS assisted; field surveys were stratified on water bodies, environmental unit and vegetation physiognomy and recorded using GPS with 2-5 m precision. We collected 273 relevès and detected 748 taxa of vascular plants (approx.1/3 of the overall regional flora) with several new findings for Cilento and Campania Region. A not negligible amount of these are alien species showing an invasive behavior in riparian habitats. 27 Natura 2000 habitats were identified accounting to 45% of the mapped area. The project results could contribute to assess the reference conditions of Southern Italian Peninsula water bodies to answer to the European Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60 CE). Furthermore they represent a first step of monitoring actions of species and riparian plant communities of the National Park that are essentials to address conservation efforts and to evaluate the results of management and restoration policies, as explicitly requested by art. 11 of Habitats Directive

Landscape planning and biodiversity conservation of river habitats require vegetation analysis and mapping: the case of Cilento National Park (Italy)

Riparian and freshwater ecosystems are strongly endangered throughout Europe as they suffer the ongoing human pressure, habitat destruction, pollution and eutrophication. Monitoring species and habitats is essential to address conservation efforts and to evaluate the results of restoration actions. In this context we present the main results of a two-year (2010-2011) research project funded by the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, focused on riparian habitat and vegetation mapping. Vegetation Mapping was performed within a 300 m width buffer along the main water bodies of the National Park; it was based on 2005 digital aero- images and GIS assisted; field surveys were stratified on water bodies, environmental unit and vegetation physiognomy and recorded using GPS with 2-5 m precision. We collected 273 relevès and detected 748 taxa of vascular plants (approx.1/3 of the overall regional flora) with several new findings for Cilento and Campania Region. A not negligible amount of these are alien species showing an invasive behavior in riparian habitats. 27 Natura 2000 habitats were identified accounting to 45% of the mapped area. The project results could contribute to assess the reference conditions of Southern Italian Peninsula water bodies to answer to the European Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60 CE). Furthermore they represent a first step of monitoring actions of species and riparian plant communities of the National Park that are essentials to address conservation efforts and to evaluate the results of management and restoration policies, as explicitly requested by art. 11 of Habitats Directive

Le NbS-Nature-based Solutions per l’architettura e la città. L’approccio prestazionale alle tecnologie vegetate. Atti della conferenza 2023

La pubblicazione raccoglie gli atti della conferenza “Le NbS-Nature-based Solutions per l’architettura e la città. L’approccio prestazionale alle tecnologie vegetate”, organizzata il 13 ottobre 2023 presso l’Università Iuav di Venezia. Da anni la CE-Commissione europea investe risorse economiche crescenti nella ricerca e nelle politiche per le NbS essendo stati dimostrati innumerevoli vantaggi ambientali derivanti dal loro utilizzo, fra cui il contributo all’adattamento ai cambiamenti climatici. La stessa CE, però, rileva un importante ostacolo alla loro diffusione: “Le NbS hanno il potenziale per stimolare le economie locali e creare opportunità di business. Tuttavia, molte autorità pubbliche segnalano una gamma di difficoltà nell’utilizzo degli appalti pubblici per attuare progetti NbS. Sono necessarie maggiore coerenza politica e trasversalità nella definizione delle priorità a livello dell’Unione europea, così come una maggiore progettualità” (Castellari et al., 2021). Il focus dell’evento ha riguardato gli aspetti funzionali e prestazionali della vegetazione e dei sistemi tecnologici vegetati, con prevalente riferimento alle coperture a verde e alle facciate vegetate, nonché ai sistemi vegetati e drenanti impiegabili al suolo. Gli obiettivi della conferenza sono stati: diffondere la conoscenza scientifica e la cultura tecnica delle NbS e riunire in dibattito le competenze interdisciplinari che si interfacciano nelle attività di ricerca sulle NbS

Alterations to nuclear architecture and genome behavior in senescent cells.

The organization of the genome within interphase nuclei, and how it interacts with nuclear structures is important for the regulation of nuclear functions. Many of the studies researching the importance of genome organization and nuclear structure are performed in young, proliferating, and often transformed cells. These studies do not reveal anything about the nucleus or genome in nonproliferating cells, which may be relevant for the regulation of both proliferation and replicative senescence. Here, we provide an overview of what is known about the genome and nuclear structure in senescent cells. We review the evidence that nuclear structures, such as the nuclear lamina, nucleoli, the nuclear matrix, nuclear bodies (such as promyelocytic leukemia bodies), and nuclear morphology all become altered within growth-arrested or senescent cells. Specific alterations to the genome in senescent cells, as compared to young proliferating cells, are described, including aneuploidy, chromatin modifications, chromosome positioning, relocation of heterochromatin, and changes to telomeres

Shedding light on typical species: Implications for habitat monitoring

Habitat monitoring in Europe is regulated by Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, which suggests the use of typical species to assess habitat conservation status. Yet, the Directive uses the term “typical” species but does not provide a definition, either for its use in reporting or for its use in impact assessments. To address the issue, an online workshop was organized by the Italian Society for Vegetation Science (SISV) to shed light on the diversity of perspectives regarding the different concepts of typical species, and to discuss the possible im-plications for habitat monitoring. To this aim, we inquired 73 people with a very different degree of expertise in the field of vegetation science by means of a tailored survey composed of six questions. We analysed the data using Pearson's Chi-squared test to verify that the answers diverged from a random distribution and checked the effect of the degree of experience of the surveyees on the results. We found that most of the surveyees agreed on the use of the phytosociological method for habitat monitoring and of the diagnostic and characteristic species to evaluate the structural and functional conservation status of habitats. With this contribution, we shed light on the meaning of “typical” species in the context of habitat monitoring

Functional Analysis and Molecular Dynamics Simulation of LOX-1 K167N Polymorphism Reveal Alteration of Receptor Activity

The human lectin-like oxidized low density lipoprotein receptor 1 LOX-1, encoded by the ORL1 gene, is the major scavenger receptor for oxidized low density lipoprotein in endothelial cells. Here we report on the functional effects of a coding SNP, c.501G>C, which produces a single amino acid change (K>N at codon 167). Our study was aimed at elucidating whether the c.501G>C polymorphism changes the binding affinity of LOX-1 receptor altering its function. The presence of p.K167N mutation reduces ox-LDL binding and uptake. Ox-LDL activated extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK 1/2) is inhibited. Furthermore, ox-LDL induced biosynthesis of LOX-1 receptors is dependent on the p.K167N variation. In human macrophages, derived from c.501G>C heterozygous individuals, the ox-LDL induced LOX-1 46 kDa band is markedly lower than in induced macrophages derived from c.501G>C controls. Investigation of p.K167N mutation through molecular dynamics simulation and electrostatic analysis suggests that the ox-LDL binding may be attributed to the coupling between the electrostatic potential distribution and the asymmetric flexibility of the basic spine residues. The N/N-LOX-1 mutant has either interrupted electrostatic potential and asymmetric fluctuations of the basic spine arginines

First overview on the 4th Annex I Habitats Report in Italy: methods, criticality, results and future prospects

Like all the other EU/28 countries, in 2019 Italy developed the 4th Italian Report ex-Art. 17 on the conservation status of the Habitats of Annex I to the 92/43/EEC Directive. Institutional referent of the process, on behalf of the Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection (MATTM), was the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) with the scientific support of the Italian Botanical Society (SBI). A huge working group composed of thematic and territorial experts was formed with the task to collect, analyse, validate the data resulting from Annex I Habitat monitoring in Italy for the period 2013-2018, whose collection is in charge to the regional administrations. Data on 124 types of terrestrial and inland water Habitats present in Italy have been processed in order to assess their overall conservation status in the Biogeographic Regions of occurrence. The carried out activity led to the compilation of 278 assessment sheets. The work included a critical analysis of the data and a broad scientific confrontation aimed at finding methodologically robust solutions to fill the gaps. The work was structured so as to guarantee the traceability of the information and to allow the collection of "gray" literature and scientific articles, phytosociological surveys and unpublished material of the specialists, composing a substantial pool of data useful for starting a long-term process to support the next reporting cycles. Cartographic outcomes, associated databases and additional data used for the assessments will be available online on the ISPRA Portal as soon as the validation process by the European Commission will be completed. A freely accessible online archive of phytosociological surveys representative of the various Annex I Habitats in Italy is being set up within the national "VegItaly" database, managed by the Italian Society of Vegetation Science, by way of a dedicated archive named "HAB_IT". Such a long-term vision, oriented to the storage and enhancement of knowledge, represents an important innovative aspect and a significant progress towards the construction of an effective monitoring system for the conservation of Annex I Habitats in Italy

Altered Chromosomal Positioning, Compaction, and Gene Expression with a Lamin A/C Gene Mutation

Lamins A and C, encoded by the LMNA gene, are filamentous proteins that form the core scaffold of the nuclear lamina. Dominant LMNA gene mutations cause multiple human diseases including cardiac and skeletal myopathies. The nuclear lamina is thought to regulate gene expression by its direct interaction with chromatin. LMNA gene mutations may mediate disease by disrupting normal gene expression.To investigate the hypothesis that mutant lamin A/C changes the lamina's ability to interact with chromatin, we studied gene misexpression resulting from the cardiomyopathic LMNA E161K mutation and correlated this with changes in chromosome positioning. We identified clusters of misexpressed genes and examined the nuclear positioning of two such genomic clusters, each harboring genes relevant to striated muscle disease including LMO7 and MBNL2. Both gene clusters were found to be more centrally positioned in LMNA-mutant nuclei. Additionally, these loci were less compacted. In LMNA mutant heart and fibroblasts, we found that chromosome 13 had a disproportionately high fraction of misexpressed genes. Using three-dimensional fluorescence in situ hybridization we found that the entire territory of chromosome 13 was displaced towards the center of the nucleus in LMNA mutant fibroblasts. Additional cardiomyopathic LMNA gene mutations were also shown to have abnormal positioning of chromosome 13, although in the opposite direction.These data support a model in which LMNA mutations perturb the intranuclear positioning and compaction of chromosomal domains and provide a mechanism by which gene expression may be altered

Lamin A Rod Domain Mutants Target Heterochromatin Protein 1α and β for Proteasomal Degradation by Activation of F-Box Protein, FBXW10

Lamins are major structural proteins of the nucleus and contribute to the organization of various nuclear functions. Mutations in the human lamin A gene cause a number of highly degenerative diseases, collectively termed as laminopathies. Cells expressing lamin mutations exhibit abnormal nuclear morphology and altered heterochromatin organization; however, the mechanisms responsible for these defects are not well understood.The lamin A rod domain mutants G232E, Q294P and R386K are either diffusely distributed or form large aggregates in the nucleoplasm, resulting in aberrant nuclear morphology in various cell types. We examined the effects of these lamin mutants on the distribution of heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) isoforms. HeLa cells expressing these mutants showed a heterogeneous pattern of HP1alpha and beta depletion but without altering HP1gamma levels. Changes in HP1alpha and beta were not observed in cells expressing wild-type lamin A or mutant R482L, which assembled normally at the nuclear rim. Treatment with proteasomal inhibitors led to restoration of levels of HP1 isoforms and also resulted in stable association of lamin mutants with the nuclear periphery, rim localization of the inner nuclear membrane lamin-binding protein emerin and partial improvement of nuclear morphology. A comparison of the stability of HP1 isoforms indicated that HP1alpha and beta displayed increased turnover and higher basal levels of ubiquitination than HP1gamma. Transcript analysis of components of the ubiquitination pathway showed that a specific F-box protein, FBXW10 was induced several-fold in cells expressing lamin mutants. Importantly, ectopic expression of FBXW10 in HeLa cells led to depletion of HP1alpha and beta without alteration of HP1gamma levels.Mislocalized lamins can induce ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation of certain HP1 isoforms by activation of FBXW10, a member of the F-box family of proteins that is involved in E3 ubiquitin ligase activity