Papers by Francesco Pelleri
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Dec 1, 2010
Riassunto -Gli acero-frassineti sono formazioni forestali che negli ultimi decenni hanno assunto ... more Riassunto -Gli acero-frassineti sono formazioni forestali che negli ultimi decenni hanno assunto una notevole rilevanza territoriale nel nord Italia. Secondo i dati dell'Inventario Nazionale delle Foreste e dei Serbatoi di Carbonio (INFC), queste formazioni rientrano nei raggruppamenti degli "acero-tiglieti di monte e boschi a frassino e altre specie" e degli "acereti appenninici" che occupano rispettivamente una superficie di 153904 ettari (88% nelle regioni settentrionali) e di 23600 ettari. Dati forniti dalla Regione Veneto stimano la superficie degli acero-frassineti, prevalentemente di origine secondaria, in 9258 ettari. Gran parte di questi si sono diffusi in terreni agricoli abbandonati grazie alla loro capacità colonizzatrice e alle condizioni edafiche favorevoli della regione prealpina. Nell'ambito di una più ampia ricerca, finalizzata a dare indicazioni gestionali per la valorizzazione di questa importante formazione forestale, sono stati realizzati, nel territorio della Comunità Montana Agno Chiampo (VI), diradamenti sperimentali che intervenendo in maniera omogenea su tutte le classi sociali hanno consentito di raccogliere i campioni di alberi modello in modo da limitare il problema della distorsione del campionamento. Ciò ha consentito di realizzare una tavola di cubatura locale attualmente assente per gli acero-frassineti. Nel lavoro sono descritte le modalità con cui sono stati raccolti ed elaborati i dati di diametro, altezza e volume, calcolato con metodo per sezioni di Heyer, di un campione di 385 alberi modello del volume prelevati in acero-frassineti di neoformazione situati nelle Prealpi vicentine. L'applicazione della stepwise analisys ha consentito di elaborare una tavola stereometrica a doppia entrata da cui è stata ricavata una tavola ad una entrata.
According to FAO, a 12.9% crop land decrease was registered in Europe from 1965 to 2001 and it wa... more According to FAO, a 12.9% crop land decrease was registered in Europe from 1965 to 2001 and it was particularly evident in Italy (-29.7%). Besides, FAO stated a further reduction of forest (-1.7%) and cropland (-3.1%) from 2000 to 2013. Over the same period, forest land increased of 0.7% at European level confirming the positive trend occurred over previous decades. The abandonment of marginal land became established since mid 1900 and allowed the increase of forest lands due to secondary successions and reafforestation. Such an important phenomenon shows positive and negative effects, both on forest management and landscape planning. The spreading of secondary successions and, particularly, of shrubland, increases the biomass stock as well as the risk of wildfires. Rural areas abandonment and lack of maintenance of hydraulic infrastructures increase mountainside instability, but a higher forest land coverage reduces and controls erosion. The changes from cropland and rangeland to forest and shrubland reduce landscape diversity but shrublands are particularly rich in biodiversity. Other aspects are: the increased carbon sequestration capability of secondary successions and the interesting opportunity of valuable timber production, (e.g. annual increment of ash-sycamore stands can reach 10 m 3 ha -1 yr -1 .). An analysis of the European and Italian situation is reported, highlighting strength and weakness of these new woodlands and the role that an adequate management can play.
Reforestation of areas for controlled flooding. Plantations realised in a land reclaim consortium in the Chianti hills
Sherwood - Foreste ed Alberi Oggi, 2004
Effects of different intercropping on walnut growth and stem quality in a plantation close to Pesaro (Marche Region)
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Dec 1, 2013
ABSTRACT Effects of different intercropping on walnut growth and stem quality in a plantation clo... more ABSTRACT Effects of different intercropping on walnut growth and stem quality in a plantation close to Pesaro (Marche Region). The experimental plantation, about 3 hectares, was set up in 1999 in a fl oodplain near Pesaro (Marche Region) on a fertile crop land. Eight theses were compared: 1 thesis: pure walnut, 2: walnut intercropped with autumn olive (50% and 75%), and 5 theses: walnut intercropped with different nurse trees (elm, fi eld maple, white willow, italian alder and plane). Each plot/ thesis was 0.35 ha wide. Since 2000, the plantation has been monitored: dbh, tree height and stem quality of walnut trees have been measured. The estimate of biomass production has been undertaken for the 3 more competitive species (at the age of 6 for willow and elm and at the age of 7 for plane). Twelve years after planting, biomass production of all the intercropped nurse trees was estimated a second time. This dataset allowed a comparison among walnut trees grown according to different mixtures and in monoculture. In 2012 walnut grown in mixture with 75% of autumn olive tree (N-fi xing shrub) showed the best dbh performance reaching on average dbh of 25.8 cm, the same parameter being conversely 14.1cm in monoculture and 12.2 cm in combination with the most competitive spp. (i.e. elm). No positive relationship between walnut growth and stem quality was found. The best stem quality was attained in mixture with plane, while elm confi rmed to be an unsuitable nurse tree for walnut. The same nurse trees showed to be interesting for biomass production, too. Especially plane resulted to be an interesting species able to nurse profi tably walnut and to have an interesting biomass production around 12.2 t ha-1 in the fi rst rotation and 29.6 t ha-1 in the following one.
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Dec 1, 2010
Riassunto -Si descrivono i risultati di un impianto misto a prevalenza di farnia consociato a fil... more Riassunto -Si descrivono i risultati di un impianto misto a prevalenza di farnia consociato a file con ciliegio e frassino ossifillo e per pedali con specie azotofissatrici (robinia e ontano napoletano) in diverse proporzioni (25% e 50%), realizzato nell'inverno 1988-89 per la riqualificazione di un discarica mineraria. Nel 2001 e 2004, su una parte dell'impianto, sono stati realizzati diradamenti liberi orientati a favorire 70 piante ad ettaro scelte come principali prelevando rispettivamente il 21% e il 27% dell'area basimetrica. Con il secondo intervento si sono liberate completamente le chiome delle piante principali eliminando tutte le piante adiacenti. La realizzazione di tre rilievi (2000, 2003 e 2008) e il monitoraggio annuale dell'accrescimento diametrico delle piante principali ha permesso di valutare nel tempo: (i) le performance delle specie a legname pregiato; (ii) l'effetto delle diverse modalità di consociazione (specie impiegata e percentuale di consociazione) sull'accrescimento delle piante principali di farnia delle parcelle diradate; (iii) l'effetto del diradamento e della consociazione sulle principali di farnia, limitatamente alle sole parcelle senza accessorie e consociate con 50% di ontano. Tra le latifoglie pregiate, la farnia e il frassino hanno fornito i migliori risultati mentre il ciliegio si è dimostrato poco adatto alla stazione. La mortalità delle specie di pregio è risultata maggiore nelle parcelle consociate con robinia. La consociazione con ambedue le specie azotofissatrici impiegate ha stimolato complessivamente l'accrescimento sia longitudinale sia diametrico della farnia. L'ontano napoletano è risultato meno competitivo e di più facile gestione, in particolare per il suo progressivo autodiradamento, mentre la robinia è risultata più aggressiva tanto da rendere necessario un intervento di capitozzatura per controllarla già dopo 7 anni dalla piantagione. Nella porzione della piantagione dove sono stati realizzati i diradamenti le piante scelte come principali mostrano diametri nettamente superiori a quelle della parcella non diradata, mantenendo sostenuti accrescimenti annuali in diametro del fusto, intorno a 1 cm, e di diametro della chioma, intorno a 50 cm. Nelle parcelle consociate con ontano l'effetto della consociazione sembra però essere più efficiente del diradamento.
Ash Fraxinus excelsior L. - fam. Oleaceae
Sherwood - Foreste ed Alberi Oggi, 2009
Cure colturali in acero-frassineti secondari in Italia settentrionale
Forests, Jun 25, 2021
Tree planting on abandoned agricultural land could both restore the soil quality and increase the... more Tree planting on abandoned agricultural land could both restore the soil quality and increase the productivity of economically valuable woody species. Here, we assess the impact of mixed-species tree plantations on soil quality at a site in Central Italy where tree intercropping systems were established 20 years ago on a former agricultural land. These intercropping systems include two species of economic interest, Populus alba and Juglans regia, and one of three different nurse trees, i.e., Alnus cordata, Elaeagnus umbellata, both of which are N-fixing species, and Corylus avellana. We measured tree growth and compared how soil organic matter, soil extracellular enzymes, and nematodes of different feeding groups varied among the intercropping systems and relative to a conventional agricultural field. Our results indicate that tree plantation led to an increase in soil carbon and nitrogen, and enhanced enzyme activities, compared with the agricultural land. The proportion of nematode feeding groups was heterogeneous, but predators were absent from the agricultural soil. Multivariate analysis of soil properties, enzymatic activity, nematodes, and tree growth point to the importance of the presence N-fixing species, as the presence of A. cordata was linked to higher soil quality, and E. umbellata to growth of the associated valuable woody species. Our findings indicate that intercropping tree species provide a tool for both restoring fertility and improving soil quality.
Forest@, Sep 18, 2009
Alla famiglia delle Rosaceae appartengono numerose specie; fra quelle a portamento arboreo ce ne ... more Alla famiglia delle Rosaceae appartengono numerose specie; fra quelle a portamento arboreo ce ne sono alcune ad elevato potenziale ecologico e produttivo come quelle dei generi Sorbus, Prunus, Pyrus e Malus . L'interesse per le Rosacee arboree nei boschi della Toscana deriva dalle loro elevate potenzialità produttive, ecologiche ed ambientali e dalla loro significativa presenza che risulta meno sporadica di quanto comunemente ritenuto. Queste specie appartengono infatti al gruppo delle latifoglie nobili, dalle quali è possibile ricavare legname pregiato ; hanno inoltre una rilevante importanza ecologica per la produzione di frutti appetiti dall'avifauna e una spiccata valenza paesaggistica per le belle fioriture primaverili e le colorazioni autunnali delle foglie. La loro presenza (Sorbus spp., Prunus avium, Pyrus pyraster e Malus sylvestris) è stata stimata dall'Inventario Forestale della Toscana ) in circa 41 milioni di individui, il 50% dei quali rappresentato dai sorbi (che nell'Inventario sono raggruppati insieme). Considerando la loro distribuzione nei diversi strati inventariali, si può osservare che sono presenti prevalentemente nei cedui produttivi e in
Does association with N-fixing nurse trees improve carbon sequestration in walnut plantations? Case-study on a reclaimed opencast mine in Italy
Forest Ecology and Management, Oct 1, 2023
New LTE in Tuscany to Understand the Potential Contribution of Agroforestry to a More Resilient Agriculture
Forest fire distribution and trends in the Molise region, 1970-89
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Jul 1, 2016
In the past centuries, a notable reduction of lowland forests in Italy was detected as a result o... more In the past centuries, a notable reduction of lowland forests in Italy was detected as a result of the expansion of intensive agriculture and deforestation activities. According to the National Forest Inventory (INFC 2005), the English oak (Quercus robur L.) is mainly a scattered species distributed across 146,000 hectares of mixed forests. This species has been used in many national programs to recreate woods in the lowlands as well as tree in farming plantations. In the 1980s, within the restoration program of the Santa Barbara mining area in the Municipality of Cavriglia (Valdarno, Tuscany), about 172 hectares of tree farming plantations were created with English oak. Due to the shortage of specific volume equations for Italian plantations, a sampling campaign was carried out. The volume of 299 sample trees was measured using the Heyer formula and a volume equation was studied as a polynomial function of DBH and total height of trees. The final equation demonstrated to be quite robust with a RMSE of 0.0176 m3 corresponding to a relative RMSE of 10%.
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Dec 1, 2015
This report aims to provide a description of the cultivation techniques adopted at the oldest oak... more This report aims to provide a description of the cultivation techniques adopted at the oldest oak pure plantation (age 34) established within the environmental restoration plan of soil dumps at the Santa Barbara ENEL Company opencast mine in Cavriglia (AR). The goals of the initial plan, following which the plantation was carried out, were to (i) verify the possibility of restoring the soil dump by using tree farming plantations and produce a range of valuable timber assortments; (ii) test the growth potential of the oak species in a pure plantation. The plantation, carried out with a stem density of 1,111 trees per hectare, was managed by targeted practices (pruning up to the stem height of 4-5 m and then undertaking four thinnings). A geometric-selective thinning was applied first and, later, periodical thinning from above was implemented, releasing, as a result, about 70 crop trees per hectare. In the meanwhile, it was possible to monitor the growth parameters concerning dbh, tree height and crown diameter. The stem quality and the presence of epicormic branches were evaluated in 2013 and the relationship between the presence of epicormic branches and tree characteristics were also analyzed. The wood production was compared with other European plantations, especially from France. Today, 34 years after the plantation got started, the site is an interesting case-study of tree farming as it plays a consistent role within the environmental restoration of the area. The applied management system allowed to reach a noticeable wood production level and also valuable timber assortments for industrial use. Crop trees (70 per hectare) reached a mean dbh of 38.1 cm, the height of 22.3 m at the age of 34.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 1987
De l'automne 1975 à l'automne 1976, le Centre d'expérimentation agricole et forestière a mis en c... more De l'automne 1975 à l'automne 1976, le Centre d'expérimentation agricole et forestière a mis en compa raison presque toutes les provenances de la récolte F.A.O. 1971-1974 (33 de Pin us halepensis, 17 de P. brutia et 1 ,, de P. eldarica) citées dans le tableau \ 1, dans 5 plantations comparatives " ' situées dans cinq stations italiennes � bien différenciées aux points de vue \climatique et édaphique : deux dans la * Centre d'expérimentation agricole et forestière S.A.F. (Groupe E.N.C.C.). 300 Via di Casalotti 00166 Rome. Tél. 39/6/6960241 Italie fo rêt méditerranéenne, t. IX. no 1, 1987
Forest@, Sep 20, 2006
Characterization of an abandoned pastoral area in the Northern Apennines, Italy. This paper repor... more Characterization of an abandoned pastoral area in the Northern Apennines, Italy. This paper reports the first results of an investigation carried out within the research project "Study and improvement of woods and shrubbery derived from abandoned agricultural areas" (RiSelvItalia Project). Changes occurred in the past 50 years in the pastoral area of S. Paolo in Alpe (Appennino Romagnolo, Northern Apennines, Italy) were described on the grounds of photo-interpretation of three sets of aerial photos (1955, 1976, 1997). A high reduction of the surface of sowable lands and pastures (from 80% to 33%) was pointed out, together with an increase of shrubbery (from 5% to 18%) and woods (from 0 to 42%). The characterization of woods, shrubbery and pastures was performed through structural transects and phyto-sociological investigations. Thus it was possible to reconstruct the dynamic series of vegetation, from grasslands belonging to the association Centaureo bracteatae-Brometum erecti (Festuco-Brometea) to woods referable to the association Aceri obtusati-quercetum cerridis (Querco-Fagetea). Investigations on meadows revealed also a good quality of pastures, not only in open grasslands (mean pastoral value -VP -of 30), but even in partially shrubby areas (VP 21). Some guidelines for a multi-purpose exploitation of the site are suggested, taking into account not only economic aspects, but also the conservation of environment and landscape.
Abetine mesomediterranee in Toscana: il caso dell’abete bianco a Varramista
La scienza utile per le foreste: ricerca e trasferimento. XII Congresso Nazionale SISEF, 2019
First results from a test of green pruning on Fraxinus oxycarpa Bieb
Ash Fraxinus excelsior L. - fam. Oleaceae
Des peupliers et des noyers en mélange, avec des plants accompagnateurs
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Papers by Francesco Pelleri