Contrasting multi-taxa diversity patterns between abandoned and non-intensively managed forests in the southern Dolomites

The abandonment of silvicultural activities can lead to changes in species richness and composition of biological communities, when compared to those found in managed forests. The aim of this study was to compare the multi-taxonomical diversity of two mature silver fir-beech-spruce forests in the southern Dolomites (Italy), corresponding to the European Union habitat type 9130. The two sites share similar ecological and structural characteristics, but differ in their recent management histories. In the last 50 years, one site underwent non-intensive management, while the other was left unmanaged and was included in a forest reserve. The species richness and composition of eight taxa were surveyed in the two sites between 2009 and 2011. The difference in mean species richness between the two forest management types was tested through permutation tests, while differences in species composition were tested by principal coordinates analysis and the permutational multivariate analysis of variance. Mean species richness of soil macrofungi, deadwood lichens, bark beetles, and longhorn beetles were significantly higher in the abandoned than in the non-intensively managed forests. Deadwood fungi and epiphytic lichens did not differ in mean species richness between the two study sites, while mean species richness of ground beetles and birds were higher in the non-intensively managed than in the abandoned forest. Significant differences in species composition between the two sites were found for all the taxa, except for longhorn beetles. These results indicate that improving forest landscape heterogeneity through the creation of a mosaic of abandoned and extensively managed forests should better fulfill the requirements of ecologically different taxa

Boschi vetusti e riserve forestali nel Veneto: patrimoni di biodiversita\u300

Vengono sintetizzate le criticita\u300 emergenti legate alle dinamiche di cambiamento della biodiversita\u300 nelle foreste del Veneto anche esaminando i dati delle politiche forestali degli ultimi decenni e delle trasformazioni di boschi e foreste di montagna, collina e pianura conseguenti all\u2019abbandono colturale e ad iniziative locali di contrasto alle alterazioni del paesaggio forestale, di miglioramento ambientale ed estetico e di difesa della biodiversita\u300 forestale e naturalistica dei territori del Veneto. Seppur in un confronto europeo l'Italia e\u300 forse uno degli stati piu\u300 virtuosi nella gestione del patrimonio boschivo, sia in termini di risparmio di biomassa (35% di prelievo sull'incremento contro la media europea di oltre 60%) che per modalita\u300 di prelievo (e\u300 uno dei pochi stati dove il taglio a raso e\u300 vietato e, a differenza di molti paesi europei, non ammette l'imboschimento con specie esotiche), in questo approfondimento vengono esaminati gli scenari possibili di riferimento per una programmazione piu\u300 mirata, incisiva ed innovativa delle politiche di tutela della biodiversita\u300 forestale del Veneto, guardando ad alcune esperienze europee volte alla tutela e valorizzazione dei boschi antichi o vetusti. Boschi e foreste si stanno espandendo nel Veneto anche in pianura: ma questo trend e\u300 frutto dell\u2019abbandono colturale e/o conseguenza di una programmazione territoriale adeguata? Si propongono linee guida per iniziative locali di contrasto alla banalizzazione estetica ed ambientale del paesaggio e per contro di miglioramento della difesa della biodiversita\u300 forestale e naturalistica dei territori del Veneto partendo dalla tutela del patrimonio genetico dei \u201cboschi vetusti\u201d

Inattentive Consumers in Markets for Services

In an experiment on markets for services, we find that consumers are likely to stick to default tariffs and achieve suboptimal outcomes. We find that inattention to the task of choosing a better tariff is likely to be a substantial problem in addition to any task and tariff complexity effect. The institutional setup on which we primarily model our experiment is the UK electricity and gas markets, and our conclusion is that the new measures by the UK regulator Ofgem to improve consumer outcomes are likely to be of limited impact

Canine pseudopregnancy: an evaluation of prevalence and current treatment protocols in the UK

Background: There is a dearth of literature on pseudopregnancy in the bitch, with only a few treatment-based studies published since the 1990s. Pseudopregnancy may be under-recognised in bitches and may account for a proportion of behavioural cases seen in veterinary practices including aggression. Little is known about commonly used treatments for overtly pseudopregnant bitches and it is possible that current regimes may not be prescribed for a sufficient duration to control any clinical signs including, physical and behavioural changes. To investigate current trends in diagnosis and treatment of canine pseudopregnancy, a postal survey was sent to 2000 randomly selected veterinary surgeons in UK veterinary practices. The questionnaire queried how often vets recognise cases of pseudopregnancy in spayed and entire bitches, which physical or behavioural signs are commonly recognised for diagnosis, and which management or treatment protocols are used. Results: The response rate was 19.8% (397/2000). Ninety-six percent of veterinary surgeons reported seeing pseudopregnant bitches showing behavioural changes without any physical changes within the last 12 months. Of those behavioural changes, collecting and mothering objects was the most frequently reported behavioural sign (96%). Ninety-seven percent of vets had seen aggression in pseudopregnant bitches. Nevertheless, only 52% of vets routinely asked owners about behavioural changes during consultations. Forty-nine percent of respondents reported seeing pseudopregnancy in spayed bitches. The most commonly reported physical sign was enlarged mammary glands and/or milk production (89%). Treatment options varied (surgical, medical or none) and depended on duration and severity of physical and behavioural signs, owners’ preference, cost, concurrent disease, drug availability and previous history. Conclusions: This is the largest epidemiological study of canine pseudopregnancy in the UK. The prevalence and severity of clinical signs in dogs with pseudopregnancy are variable and possibly under-estimated. Dogs with overt pseudopregnancy experience diverse physical and behavioural changes and information on standard treatment protocols are lacking. Although, progress on our understanding of diagnosis and treatment of pseudopregnancy in spayed and entire bitches has been made, further studies are warranted

Indicators for the planning and management of urban green spaces: A focus on public areas in Padua, Italy

open4Green spaces and trees are fundamental for the sustainability of cities. The use of management and planning indicators for green spaces, including urban forests, have been proposed, but are rarely applied and their potential to provide ecological, social, and economic benefits is usually overlooked by policy makers and managers. Here, we apply a set of indicators describing green spaces and their variability in different urban units within the Basso Isonzo, an area of the city of Padua (northern Italy). Eleven indicators were selected based on their capacity to consider availability, accessibility and the preservation or increase of urban green spaces and tree cover. The value of indicators was standardized and enabled to have five classes indicating increasing performance. The study indicates green spaces’ heterogeneous conditions. Interestingly, the indicators commonly change moving from the city center to the outskirts. Monitoring through these indicators will enable understanding whether specific management and planning targets are met and, in the absence of these targets, identifying main trends over time. The proposed approach and indicators applied are simple to collect, analyze, and convey information. The indicators are related to relevant social, economic and ecological conditions pertaining to green spaces. The proposed indicators can therefore be used as a simple tool to guide decision-making with the aim of enhancing green spaces.openThomas Campagnaro * , Tommaso Sitzia , Vito Emanuele Cambria, Paolo SemenzatoCampagnaro, Thomas; Sitzia, Tommaso; Cambria, VITO EMANUELE; Semenzato, Paol

On reminder effects, drop-outs and dominance: evidence from an online experiment on charitable giving

We present the results of an experiment that (a) shows the usefulness of screening out drop-outs and (b) tests whether different methods of payment and reminder intervals affect charitable giving. Following a lab session, participants could make online donations to charity for a total duration of three months. Our procedure justifying the exclusion of drop-outs consists in requiring participants to collect payments in person flexibly and as known in advance and as highlighted to them later. Our interpretation is that participants who failed to collect their positive payments under these circumstances are likely not to satisfy dominance. If we restrict the sample to subjects who did not drop out, but not otherwise, reminders significantly increase the overall amount of charitable giving. We also find that weekly reminders are no more effective than monthly reminders in increasing charitable giving, and that, in our three months duration experiment, standing orders do not increase giving relative to one-off donations

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

The invasion of abandoned fields by a major alien tree filters understory plant traits in novel forest ecosystems

The abandonment of agricultural use is a common driver of spontaneous reforestation by alien trees. The N-fixing black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is a major alien invader of old fields in Europe. Here we show that canopy dominance by this tree may filter the frequency distribution of plant functional traits in the understory of secondary woodlands. Higher soil C/N ratio and available P are associated with black locust stands, while higher soil phenols associate with native tree stands. These environmental effects result in differences in understory flowering periods, reproduction types and life forms. Our findings emphasize the effect of a major alien tree on functional plant trait composition in the early stages of spontaneous reforestation of abandoned lands, implying the development of a novel forest ecosystem on a large geographical scale.Peer reviewe

Forest management plans as data source for the assessment of the conservation status of European Union habitat types

Natura 2000 is a European network of protected sites that should enable natural habitats to be maintained or restored at a favorable conservation status. Progress toward this objective must be periodically reported by states members of the European Union. We investigated how forest management plans might provide data to support the reporting. The study was done in the forests of the Dolomites and Venetian Prealps, Italy. Here, about 200 forest management plans, divided into several forest compartments, have been drawn up and revised every 10-15 years. Stand structure variables were retrieved from past (OR, 1970-1980) and more recent revisions (NR, 2000-2010) of 331 forest compartments ranging between 0.35 and 53.1 ha. In the beech and spruce forest habitat types (coded 9130 and 9410 in Annex I of the Directive 92/43/EEC, respectively), we found an increase from OR to NR in the density of large trees (from 32 to 46/ha and from 31 to 50/ha, respectively for the two habitats), basal area (from 27.3 to 31.5 m(2)/ha and from 31 to 34.5 m(2)/ha), mean diameter (from 34.1 to 36.2 cm and from 33.9 to 36 cm) and Gini index (from 0.35 to 0.37 and from 0.33 to 0.36). Pursuant to the Directive 92/43/EEC, the conservation status of these two habitat types should be taken as "favorable" with regards to the criterion related to the habitats' specific structure and functions that are necessary for its long-term maintenance. We conclude that forest management plans provide a great portion of the information needed for assessing and monitoring the conservation status of forest habitat types in the Natura 2000 framework

Silvicultural strategies for introduced tree species in Northern Italy

The bio-deterioration of the historical heritage by fast growing and vigorous introduced tree species, and the reduction of native diversity, mostly in riparian, forest, wetland, and coastal habitats are considered amongst particularly relevant impacts for Italy. According to a recent survey of EU Life+ projects, the introduced tree species most often targeted for eradication by conservation projects across Europe are black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle), red oak (Quercus rubra L.), and black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.). In this chapter, we report on the few field experiences and success stories of silvicultural control of these introduced tree species in urban and natural habitats in northern Italy