ANALYSIS OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF EPIPHYTIC LICHENS ON QUERCUS PUBESCENS ALONG AN ALTITUDINAL GRADIENT IN A MEDITERRANEAN AREA (TUSCANY, CENTRAL ITALY)

1997 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Loppi ◽  
Stergios Arg. Pirintsos ◽  
Vincenzo De Dominicis
Keyword(s):  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Multivariate Techniques ◽  
Epiphytic Lichens ◽  
Climatic Parameters ◽  
Quercus Pubescens ◽  
Epiphytic Lichen ◽  
The Core ◽  
Satellite Species

The distribution of epiphytic lichens on Quercus pubescens in Tuscany, central Italy, was studied by means of multivariate techniques along an altitudinal gradient from 0 to 900 m. Great differences in community structure were found and the altitude of 500 m was identified as an ecotone. Epiphytic lichen vegetation on trees below the ecotone varied significantly in relation to bark pH. Climatic parameters (temperature and rainfall) were probably related to altitude. Dust was probably responsible for the rise in bark pH. The distribution of lichen species in the sampling belts fitted the core-satellite hypothesis. The use of core and satellite species as biomonitors of air pollution and bioindicators of environmental conditions is discussed.

scholarly journals Epiphytic lichens of woodland habitats in the lower Ticino river valley and in the “Bosco Siro Negri” Integral Nature State Reserve (NW Italy)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Gheza ◽  
Juri Nascimbene ◽  
Matteo Barcella ◽  
Francesco Bracco ◽  
Silvia Assini
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Black Locust ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
River Valley ◽  
The Other ◽  
Epiphytic Lichens ◽  
Epiphytic Lichen ◽  
The Core ◽  
Poplar Plantations ◽  
Nw Italy

Epiphytic lichens were surveyed in the “Bosco Siro Negri” Integral Nature State Reserve (province of Pavia, Lombardy, NW Italy), which hosts a well-preserved fragment of oak-elm floodplain forest (Natura 2000 Habitat 91F0). The core woodland fragment hosted only four species on the tree boles, i.e. Lepraria finkii plus the forest specialists Coenogonium pineti, Diarthonis spadicea, and Opegrapha vermicellifera. An additional eight nitro- and photophytic species were recorded on the highest twigs of the canopy. The whole Reserve, including the neighbouring degraded woodlands and poplar plantations, hosted 27 epiphytic lichen taxa. The lower Ticino River valley between Vigevano and Pavia, in which the Reserve is located, was surveyed for epiphytic lichens in an additional 45 sites, including 15 wellpreserved oak-elm/hornbeam woodlands (Habitat 91F0), 15 degraded broadleaved woodlands with high occurrence of black locust and 15 poplar plantations. Overall, 32 species were recorded. Well-preserved woodlands had a lower species richness, but they hosted forest specialists not occurring in the other two habitats. Graphis pulverulenta and Lecania cyrtellina are new to Lombardy. Anisomeridium polypori, Diarthonis spadicea, Lecanora expallens and Pseudoschismatomma rufescens are reported from Lombardy for the second time.

Influence of sun irradiance and water availability on lichen photosynthetic pigments during a Mediterranean summer

Biologia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Paoli ◽  
Tommaso Pisani ◽  
Silvana Munzi ◽  
Carlo Gaggi ◽  
Stefano Loppi
Keyword(s):  
Photosynthetic Pigments ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Epiphytic Lichens ◽  
Evernia Prunastri ◽  
Tree Canopies ◽  
Xanthoria Parietina ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Flavoparmelia Caperata

AbstractThis study was carried out to investigate changes in lichen photosynthetic pigments induced by different combinations of light irradiance and water availability during a Mediterranean summer. To this purpose, thalli of three epiphytic lichens with a markedly different ecology concerning photo-hygrophytism, namely Evernia prunastri (hygro-mesophytic), Flavoparmelia caperata (mesophytic) and Xanthoria parietina (xero-mesophytic), were transplanted for 30 days to N- and S-facing cardinal exposures in central Italy. To investigate the effect of thallus hydration, at each cardinal exposure 50% of thalli were hydrated daily with deionised water. The results showed that changes in the concentrations of photosynthetic pigments are species-specific and consist in a general depression of photosynthetic pigments only in the hygro-mesophytic species E. prunastri. The pattern of photosynthetic pigments was also investigated in spontaneous samples along contrasting aspects. In this case, X. parietina from S-facing slopes, adapted to direct solar influx, showed higher pigment content than N-facing thalli; F. caperata and E. prunastri avoid direct extreme solar radiation and assimilation pigments were influenced more by the shadowing of tree canopies than by the cardinal exposure. The influence of drought on lichen photosynthetic pigments in the Mediterranean area is discussed.

scholarly journals An Italian Research Culture Collection of Wood Decay Fungi

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Elena Girometta ◽  
Annarosa Bernicchia ◽  
Rebecca Michela Baiguera ◽  
Francesco Bracco ◽  
Simone Buratti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Italy ◽  
Wood Decay ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Culture Collection ◽  
White Rot ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Research Culture ◽  
Decay Fungi ◽  
Mn Peroxidase ◽  
The Mediterranean

One of the main aims of the University of Pavia mycology laboratory was to collect wood decay fungal (WDF) strains in order to deepen taxonomic studies, species distribution, officinal properties or to investigate potential applications such as biocomposite material production based on fungi. The Italian Alps, Apennines and wood plains were investigated to collect Basidiomycota basidiomata from living or dead trees. The purpose of this study was to investigate the wood decay strains of the Mediterranean area, selecting sampling sites in North and Central Italy, including forests near the Ligurian and Adriatic seas, or near the Lombardy lakes. The isolation of mycelia in pure culture was performed according to the current methodology and the identity of the strains was confirmed by molecular analyses. The strains are maintained in the Research Culture Collection MicUNIPV of Pavia University (Italy). Among the 500 WDF strains in the collection, the most interesting isolates from the Mediterranean area are: Dichomitus squalens (basidioma collected from Pinus pinea), Hericium erinaceus (medicinal mushroom), Inocutis tamaricis (white-rot agent on Tamarix trees), Perenniporia meridionalis (wood degrader through Mn peroxidase) and P. ochroleuca. In addition, strains of species related to the Mediterranean climate (e.g., Fomitiporia mediterranea and Cellulariella warnieri) were obtained from sites with a continental-temperate climate.

Notes on the generic position of Brassica deserti (Brassicaceae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 89-93
Author(s):  
Jotham Ziffer-Berger ◽  
Alexandra Keren-Keiserman ◽  
Adi Doron-Faigenboim ◽  
Klaus Mummenhoff ◽  
Oz Barazani
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Molecular Tools ◽  
East Mediterranean ◽  
Phylogenetic Groups ◽  
5.8S Rdna ◽  
The Core ◽  
Generic Position ◽  
History Of

Molecular tools provide new insights into phylogenetic relationships of plant species, and by relating phylogenetic groups to their geographical distribution, we can cast light upon the evolution history of plant clades. In the current study, we evaluated the phylogenetic position of the Sinai endemic Brassica deserti (Brassicaceae), later renamed as Erucastrum deserti, based on morphological data and 5.8S rDNA and ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) regions. Our results indicate that B. deserti belongs to an East-Mediterranean – Saharo Arabian clade and was not assigned to the core Brassica and Erucastrum clades, respectively, which evolved in the West Mediterranean area. We tentatively conclude that Brassica deserti evolved independently of core Brassica and Erucastrum.

A retrospective study using epiphytic lichens as biomonitors of air quality: 1980 and 1996 (Tuscany, central Italy)

1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Loppi ◽  
Ettore Putortì ◽  
Chiara Signorini ◽  
Sara Fommei ◽  
Stergios A. Pirintsos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retrospective Study ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Epiphytic Lichens

scholarly journals Impact of Fraxinus excelsior dieback on biota of ash-associated lichen epiphytes at the landscape and community level

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Łubek ◽  
Martin Kukwa ◽  
Patryk Czortek ◽  
Bogdan Jaroszewicz
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Fraxinus Excelsior ◽  
Epiphytic Lichens ◽  
Ash Dieback ◽  
Epiphytic Lichen ◽  
Alternative Hosts ◽  
Rich Diversity ◽  
Lichen Biota

Abstract The landscape-scale extinction of a tree species may have a negative impact on diversity of associated epiphytic species. We used ordination and hierarchical clustering methods to assess landscape and the community level effects of reduction in the abundance of European ash Fraxinus excelsior, caused by ash dieback, on the associated epiphytic lichen biota in Białowieża Forest (Poland)—the best preserved forest complex in Central Europe. At the landscape level ash decline impact on the biota of ash-associated epiphytic lichens was weak, due to the high diversity of tree species, which may serve as potential alternative hosts. At this level, oak and hornbeam are the most important alternative hosts, assuring the maintenance of ash-associated epiphytic lichens. Lime, alder, and hazel appeared to be less important but still may serve as substitute phorophytes to approximately 2/3 of the ash-associated lichen biota. About 90% of epiphytic biota are likely to survive on the landscape scale. However, at the community level of alder-ash floodplain forest, where ash was dominant, about 50% of ash-associated epiphytic lichen species are threatened by ash dieback. Our results highlight the importance of a spatial scale in conservation biology. Protection of large forest areas with rich diversity of phorophyte trees increases chances of survival of the associated epiphytic organisms.

scholarly journals Petrochirus sp. (Anomura, Paguroidea, Diogenidae) from the early Pleistocene of the Podere dell’Infrascato, Volterra (Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy)

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Giovanni Pasini ◽  
Alessandro Garassino
Keyword(s):  
Central Italy ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Genus Distribution

We report <em>Petrochirus</em> sp. (Diogenidae Ortmann, 1892) from the early Pleistocene of the Podere dell’Infrascato, Volterra (Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy). The record of <em>Petrochirus</em> sp. in this peculiar environment (upper bathyal zone) is significant due to the scarce knowledge about the genus distribution in the paleo-Mediterranean area.

scholarly journals From fault creep to slow and fast earthquakes in carbonates

Geology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 744-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franҫois X. Passelègue ◽  
Jérôme Aubry ◽  
Aurélien Nicolas ◽  
Michele Fondriest ◽  
Damien Deldicque ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Confining Pressure ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Rupture Propagation ◽  
Fault Creep ◽  
Seismogenic Layer ◽  
Elastic Loading ◽  
High Frequency Seismic Waves ◽  
Hypocentral Location

Abstract A major part of the seismicity striking the Mediterranean area and other regions worldwide is hosted in carbonate rocks. Recent examples are the destructive earthquakes of L’Aquila (Mw 6.1) in 2009 and Norcia (Mw 6.5) in 2016 in central Italy. Surprisingly, within this region, fast (≈3 km/s) and destructive seismic ruptures coexist with slow (≤10 m/s) and nondestructive rupture phenomena. Despite its relevance for seismic hazard studies, the transition from fault creep to slow and fast seismic rupture propagation is still poorly constrained by seismological and laboratory observations. Here, we reproduced in the laboratory the complete spectrum of natural faulting on samples of dolostones representative of the seismogenic layer in the region. The transitions from fault creep to slow ruptures and from slow to fast ruptures were obtained by increasing both confining pressure (P) and temperature (T) up to conditions encountered at 3–5 km depth (i.e., P = 100 MPa and T = 100 °C), which corresponds to the hypocentral location of slow earthquake swarms and the onset of seismicity in central Italy. The transition from slow to fast rupture is explained by an increase in the ambient temperature, which enhances the elastic loading stiffness of the fault, i.e., the slip velocities during nucleation, allowing flash weakening and, in turn, the propagation of fast ruptures radiating intense high-frequency seismic waves.

scholarly journals Assessment of environmental quality by the diversity of epiphytic lichens in a semi-arid mediterranean area (Val Basento, South Italy)

Biologia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Paoli ◽  
Anna Guttová ◽  
Stefano Loppi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Arid Area ◽  
Epiphytic Lichens ◽  
Industrial Zone ◽  
Environmental Alteration ◽  
South Italy ◽  
Lichen Diversity ◽  
Rural Context ◽  
Semi Arid

AbstractThe results of a bioindication study based on the diversity of epiphytic lichens in a semi-arid area of South Italy are presented. The area features the presence of an industrial zone located in a rural context. The survey was performed in 20 sampling sites. The lichen diversity values (LDV) were determined by the frequencies of all lichen species within a sampling grid placed on tree trunks. Lichens demonstrated a condition of environmental alteration extending to the industrial zone, and tending towards a recovery in the rural surroundings. The survey also showed evidence of eutrophication all over the study area.

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