Performance of warm-season turfgrasses in an area of central Italy

Traditionally, in Italy, the C3 cool-season grasses have been the dominant species used for turfs, even though they do not appear to be the most suitable for the Mediterranean climate. However, recent limited water availability and the need to reduce energy inputs have placed drought tolerant warm-season turfgrasses under the spotlight. These species combine aesthetics with performance advantages in terms of water consumption, and with regard to the reduction of fertilizer and pesticides use. The present research was aimed to test the performance of warm-season turfgrass species (three cultivars of Cynodon dactylon, two cultivars of Paspalum vaginatum and two of Zoysia japonica) in a climatic transition zone in Tuscany, to evaluate their potential for use in this environment. The assessment of several parameters, which were estimated periodically, permitted performance evaluation of each species/cultivar, thereby enhancing the existing knowledge of these species and their potentiality in this environment. Results showed that the species with the best adaptation to the environment was Cynodon dactylon, which had higher performances compared to the other species. Paspalum vaginatum reported good quality in terms of color and density, but was damaged by low temperatures during winter. Zoysia japonica displayed a poor performance during the first year, but quality increased during the second year, yielding satisfactory results

Post-release habitats’ selection of Capreolus capreolus italicus (Festa, 1925) in a protected area in southern Italy

The purpose of this study was to analyze the post-release behavior of individuals of Capreolus capreolus italicus (Festa 1925) and to evaluate the influence of environmental and vegetation characteristics on habitat selection by monitored animals. With these aims, 14 individuals of roe deer (a sample of 75 animals released in total), differentiated by age and sex, were caught in areas of southern Tuscany (central Italy) and released in suitable areas of the Aspromonte National Park (Calabria, southern Italy). Each animal was monitored by GPS-GSM tracking radio collar (Vectronics ®) with frequency of location ranging from 30 minutes (in the first month) to 6 hours (later), and covering a period ranging from 90 to 563 days. Each fix, reported in a GIS environment, was analyzed to get information on habitat selection performed by tracked animals. Data collection implemented forest area, herbaceous resources characterization and the evaluation of possible visual refuge offered to the animals by the environment, to assess the effect of these attributes on the selection of grounds. Results showed that the choice of a particular habitat is highly correlated with forests’ characteristics, the areas covered by conifers and with height of crown insertion between 1 and 2 m, generally with absence of regeneration, being clearly preferred. Most attended herbaceous areas are those with a high presence of grasses and with a high pastoral value. Visual refuge affects also remarkably the selection of habitats by animals. The study showed that the observed parameters can provide a good basis for the validation of the model used for the feasibility study and to identify the optimal characteristics of the areas for future releases

evaluation of wild animals browsing preferences in forage resources

Excessive presence of wild ungulates can produce negative effects on herbaceous crops or woody species, and to face this problem, habitat improvements are often performed to recreate suitable environments for a given animal species and to attract animals far from cultivated crops. A common example of these interventions is represented by grassland restoration and to evaluate the real animal preferences on restored forage resources a proper trial was established in a hilly area of Tuscany (central Italy), inside the historical Park of Pratolino, near Florence. The trial compared six different forage species or mixtures sown in plots: vegetal material was represented by two pure stands (Onobrychis viciifolia and Medicago sativa) and four mixtures differing in number and kind of used species. Plots were utilised only by wild animals occurring in the area. Data collection consisted of botanical samples in each plot in different periods to obtain the percent presence of each species. At the same time, a visual estimation of animal intake on all occurring species was performed to obtain the browsing ratio of single species and overall defoliation rate for each species/mixture. Moreover, six camera traps were placed on the boundary of the experimental site to record videos of wild animals browsing in the area for identification of animals actually occurring on different plots and for comparison of these results with botanical data. Vegetation surveys permitted a proper evaluation of animals intake and of their feeding preferences. In general, sown species performed a major role in animal browsing, even if in some periods also a few native species (such as Plantago lanceolata or Cichorium intybus) were utilised in a strong way, depending on vegetation context and existing biomass. Camera traps results permitted the identification of browsing animal species (mainly represented by roe deer) and plots frequentation resulted to be highly related to animal intake found by botanical relevés

Can Grassland Chemical Quality Be Quantified Using Transform Near-Infrared Spectroscopy?

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and closed spectroscopy methods have been applied to analyse the quality of forage and animal feed. However, grasslands are linked to variability factors (e.g., site, year, occurring species, etc.) which restrict the prediction capacity of the NIRS. The aim of this study is to test the Fourier transform NIRS application in order to determine the chemical characteristics of fresh, undried and unground samples of grassland located in north-central Apennine. The results indicated the success of FT-NIRS models for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) on fresh grassland samples (R2 > 0.90, in validation). The model can be used to quantitatively determine CP and ADF (residual prediction deviation-RPD > 3 and range error ratio- RER > 10), followed by DM and NDF that maintain a RER > 10, and are sufficient for screening for the lignin fraction (RPD = 2.4 and RER = 8.8). On the contrary, models for both lipid and ash seem not to be usable at a practical level. The success of FT-NIRS quantification for the main chemical parameters is promising from the practical point of view considering both the absence of samples preparation and the importance of these parameters for diet formulation

Post-release habitats’ selection of Capreolus capreolus italicus (Festa, 1925) in a protected area in southern Italy

The purpose of this study was to analyze the post-release behavior of individuals of Capreolus capreolus italicus (Festa 1925) and to evaluate the influence of environmental and vegetation characteristics on habitat selection by monitored animals. With these aims, 14 individuals of roe deer (a sample of 75 animals released in total), differentiated by age and sex, were caught in areas of southern Tuscany (central Italy) and released in suitable areas of the Aspromonte National Park (Calabria, southern Italy). Each animal was monitored by GPS-GSM tracking radio collar (Vectronics ®) with frequency of location ranging from 30 minutes (in the first month) to 6 hours (later), and covering a period ranging from 90 to 563 days. Each fix, reported in a GIS environment, was analyzed to get information on habitat selection performed by tracked animals. Data collection implemented forest area, herbaceous resources characterization and the evaluation of possible visual refuge offered to the animals by the environment, to assess the effect of these attributes on the selection of grounds. Results showed that the choice of a particular habitat is highly correlated with forests’ characteristics, the areas covered by conifers and with height of crown insertion between 1 and 2 m, generally with absence of regeneration, being clearly preferred. Most attended herbaceous areas are those with a high presence of grasses and with a high pastoral value. Visual refuge affects also remarkably the selection of habitats by animals. The study showed that the observed parameters can provide a good basis for the validation of the model used for the feasibility study and to identify the optimal characteristics of the areas for future releases.</p

Evaluation of wild animals browsing preferences in forage resources

Excessive presence of wild ungulates can produce negative effects on herbaceous crops or woody species, and to face this problem, habitat improvements are often performed to recreate suitable environments for a given animal species and to attract animals far from cultivated crops. A common example of these interventions is represented by grassland restoration and to evaluate the real animal preferences on restored forage resources a proper trial was established in a hilly area of Tuscany (central Italy), inside the historical Park of Pratolino, near Florence. The trial compared six different forage species or mixtures sown in plots: vegetal material was represented by two pure stands (Onobrychis viciifolia and Medicago sativa) and four mixtures differing in number and kind of used species. Plots were utilised only by wild animals occurring in the area. Data collection consisted of botanical samples in each plot in different periods to obtain the percent presence of each species. At the same time, a visual estimation of animal intake on all occurring species was performed to obtain the browsing ratio of single species and overall defoliation rate for each species/mixture. Moreover, six camera traps were placed on the boundary of the experimental site to record videos of wild animals browsing in the area for identification of animals actually occurring on different plots and for comparison of these results with botanical data. Vegetation surveys permitted a proper evaluation of animals intake and of their feeding preferences. In general, sown species performed a major role in animal browsing, even if in some periods also a few native species (such as Plantago lanceolata or Cichorium intybus) were utilised in a strong way, depending on vegetation context and existing biomass. Camera traps results permitted the identification of browsing animal species (mainly represented by roe deer) and plots frequentation resulted to be highly related to animal intake found by botanical relevés

Climate change impacts on natural pasturelands of Italian Apennines

As well as the entire Mediterranean area, the Italian Apennines have been affected by increasing temperatures, rainfall extreme events and decreases in annual precipitation due to climate change. Moreover, permanent grasslands, species-diverse ecosystems characterizing the marginal areas of the Apennines landscape, are acknowledged as very sensitive and vulnerable to climate variation. Building on these premises, statistical classification models coupled with data integration by GIS techniques, were used to territorially assess future climate change impacts on pastoral communities on the Italian Apennines chain. Specifically, a machine learning approach (Random Forest - RF), firstly calibrated  for the present period and then applied to future conditions, as projected by HadCM3 General Circulation Model (GCM), was used to simulate potential expansion/reduction and/or altitudinal shifts of the Apennine pasturelands in two time slices, centred on 2050 and 2080, under A2 and B2 SRES scenarios. RF classification model proved to be robust and very efficient to predict lands suited to pastures with regards to present period (classification error: 12%). Furthermore, according to RF simulations, relevant reductions (46 and 34%) of areas potentially suitable for pastoral resource are expected under A2 at the middle and end of the century, respectively, as depicted by the GCM and SRES scenarios. Moreover, progressive upwards shifts are predicted by the model under both SRES scenarios. These reductions will likely interest the central area of the chain threatening the typical and unique herbaceous biodiversity characterizing the Apennine pasturelands

Development of generic crop models for simulation of multi-species plant communities in mown grasslands

Plant diversity supports the high aptitude of grassland covers to provide fodder production for animal feedingand contribute to the storage of carbon, while also granting pollination and aesthetics of landscapes. This abilitydepends on the management intensity of the grassland system, physical constraints and climatic characteristics.Most of current grassland models simulating the impact of weather conditions, soil fertility and the intensity ofuse of grassland systems (by grazing and/or mowing) on fodder production and carbon-nitrogenfluxes inheriteco-physiological and biophysical details from crop models without considering explicitly temporal changes intaxonomic and functional composition. The dynamic grassland model CoSMo (COmmunity Simulation MOdel)includes a set of rules to simulate explicitly seasonal changes in species composition of managed grasslandsunder various soil, climate and management drivers, and it is consistent with the degree of complexity of themost generic crop simulators. The incorporation of CoSMo functionalities into the standalone crop simulatorsCropSyst and WOFOST is proposed as a way to: (i) reduce the uncertainty in estimations of harvested above-ground biomass (AGB) and (ii) simulate dynamically the relative abundance of species (for respectively thewhole community and individual species). Considering three mixtures of grassland species (with increasingcomplexity from Mix 1 to Mix 3) in a mown hay meadow in central Italy (Massa Marittima, 43° 03′N, 10° 53′E,380 m a.s.l.), we show that CoSMo overall improved the model ability to reproduce observed AGB in Mix 1 and 2(e.g. with CropSyst in Mix 2 relative root mean square error [RRMSE] lowered from 35.01 to 25.27%) while themodel performance for Mix 3 appeared as not unambiguously linked to considering plant diversity. An assess-ment of the relative abundance estimates for the whole community indicates 30% <RRMSE< 40% with bothCoSMo-coupled CropSyst and WOFOST in Mix 1 and Mix 2, while it increases up to∼60% in Mix 3. Theconsequences of explicitly accounting for plant diversity for simulated grassland outputs depend on the con-ditions evaluated, which require further studies. However, our results suggest that grassland modelling omittingplant diversity dynamics are likely over- or underestimating harvested biomass of the plant community, thusbiasing projections of future fodder production and estimates of animal feed supplies. This work proves for thefirst time that CoSMo can support the simulation of grassland systems beyond its theoretical framework

LIFE PASTORALP: a project for alpine pasture vulnerability assessment

International audienc

Opportunities for Adaptation to Climate Change of Extensively Grazed Pastures in the Central Apennines (Italy)

International audienceFuture climate change is expected to significantly alter the growth of vegetation in grassland systems, in terms of length of the growing season, forage production, and climate-altering gas emissions. The main objective of this work was, therefore, to simulate the future impacts of foreseen climate change in the context of two pastoral systems in the central Italian Apennines and test different adaptation strategies to cope with these changes. The PaSim simulation model was, therefore, used for this purpose. After calibration by comparison with observed data of aboveground biomass (AGB) and leaf area index (LAI), simulations were able to produce various future outputs, such as length of growing season, AGB, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, for two time windows (i.e., 2011–2040 and 2041–2070) using 14 global climate models (GCMs) for the generation of future climate data, according to RCP (Representative Concentration Pathways) 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios under business-as-usual management (BaU). As a result of increasing temperatures, the fertilizing effect of CO2, and a similar trend in water content between present and future, simulations showed a lengthening of the season (i.e., mean increase: +8.5 and 14 days under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively, for the period 2011–2040, +19 and 31.5 days under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively, for the period 2041–2070) and a rise in forage production (i.e., mean biomass peak increase of the two test sites under BaU: +53.7% and 62.75% for RCP4.5. and RCP8.5, respectively, in the 2011–2040 period, +115.3% and 176.9% in RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 in 2041–2070, respectively,). Subsequently, three different alternative management strategies were tested: a 20% rise in animal stocking rate (+20 GI), a 15% increase in grazing length (+15 GL), and a combination of these two management factors (+20 GI × 15 GL). Simulation results on alternative management strategies suggest that the favorable conditions for forage production could support the increase in animal stocking rate and grazing length of alternative management strategies (i.e., +20 GI, +15 GL, +20 GI × 15 GL). Under future projections, net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and nitrogen oxide (N2O) emissions decreased, whereas methane (CH4) rose. The simulated GHG future changes varied in magnitude according to the different adaptation strategies tested. The development and assessment of adaptation strategies for extensive pastures of the Central Apennines provide a basis for appropriate agricultural policy and optimal land management in response to the ongoing climate change