F. Bruno

Landscape changes of Rome through tree-lined roads

Rome has greatly expanded in the course of the last century, after it became the capital of the Italian state in 1870. In this period, many areas were built according to different urbanistic criteria. The city may now be divided into urban units (Wards, Districts, Suburbs and Zones), which have an almost concentric disposition. The changes of the whole urban landscape and of the single urban units (UUs) have been analysed by studying the different tree-species planted along the roads. A database has been created using the four censuses of the tree-lined roads made by the city administration in 1898, 1955, 1971 and 1998. This analysis has shown a strong link between the specific cultural and political period and the tree-species used. Moreover, for each year, the UUs have been classified according to the percentage composition of the species. The results have been mapped using the Arcview 3.1 GIS program in order to integrate them with a more general project on GIS-based cartography of the natural and anthropic vegetation of Rome.

Abscisic acid-induced microheterogeneity in phospholipid vesicle: a fluorescence study.

Changes in the thermal behavior of DMPC (dimyristoyl-r-phosphatidylcholine) and an equimolar mixture of DMPC and DMPE (dimyristoyl-L-phosphatidylethanolamine) induced by the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) have been investigated using fluorescent probes. The fluorescence decay of the hydrophobic probe 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) in these vesicles has been measured using frequency-domain fluorometry, and has been analyzed using both models of discrete exponential components and continuous lifetime distributions. In the DMPC vesicles, using the distributional approach, higher center and width values were observed in the presence of abscisic acid (ABA), indicating a decrease in the dielectric constant of the lipid phase that we attribute to a decrease in the water concentration within the bilayer. Moreover, the presence of ABA in the liposomes increased the phospholipid phase transition temperature. The addition of ABA to the DMPC/DMPE mixture strongly increased the microheterogeneity of the system as reported by the FWHM (full-width at half-maximum) of the distributional approach.

A multiple approach for the evaluation of the spatial distribution and dynamics of a forest habitat: the case of Apennine beech forests with Taxus baccata and Ilex aquifolium

An approach integrating phytosociological and stand structure surveys with the predictive modelling of species distribution was applied to analyse the spatial distribution and dynamics of the Apennine beech forests with Taxus and Ilex, a high conservation priority forest habitat in Europe. The homogeneity of the habitat was tested trough a Mann–Whitney test between beech woods with Taxus and those with Ilex with respect to climatic, topographic, structural and environmental parameters: the former have proven to be more microthermic, mesophilous and characterised by a closer canopy. Five statistical models were compared to analyse the relationship between bioclimatic parameters and Taxus and Ilex spatial distribution: Regression Tree Analysis, the most efficient model, has shown that the distribution of Taxus is influenced by precipitation variables, while Ilex is mainly influenced by temperature variables. This model highlighted that Ilex has a potential area that surrounds, at lower altitudes, that of Taxus. A stepwise multiple regression analysis has been applied to identify the factors influencing the regeneration of the two species: beside climatic parameters, Taxus regeneration is negatively influenced by soil nitrate concentration (an indicator of livestock disturbance) while Ilex is negatively influenced by beech forest cover. Traditional management practices seem to have an effect on the regeneration of the two species: frequent cuts favour the regeneration of Ilex, reducing the forest cover and allowing more light penetration, while Taxus, less resistant to grazing livestock, is confined to more inaccessible places. The multiple approach has proven to be useful for the elaboration of two differentiated conservation strategies for the two beech forest types.

In vitro asymbiotic germination of Orchis mascula L

Abstract This is the first report on the in vitro asymbiotic germination of Orchis mascula L. seeds, collected in the Simbruini Natural Park (Italy). Different pre-inoculum treatments and various culture media were tested to induce germination and to improve embryo development. The Orchimax medium supplemented with benzyladenine and active charcoal proved to be the best in promoting seed germination. The time course of protocorm development is described.

The urban woods of Rome (Italy)

ABSTRACT A phytosociological study of the urban woods of Rome is described. Six syntaxonomical types were identified: 1) Orno-Quercetum ilicis, an edaphic-xerophytic variant of the natural potential vegetation of the city (deciduous Quercus sp. pl. woods); 2) Aquifolio-Fagetum carpinetosum betuli, in the northern slopes of alluvial valleys; 3) Q. suber and Q. pubescens wood, ranked in Quercetalia pubescenti-petraeae order 4) Quercetum ilicis galloprovinciale suberetosum; 5) coppice of Q. cerris and Q. frainetto, which belongs to the Teucrio siculi-Quercion cerridis alliance; 6) mixed mesophile wood of Q. cerris and Ostrya carpinifolia which can be considered a transition between the Doronico-Fagion and the Teucrio siculi-Quercion cerridis alliances. All of these six woody vegetation types are characterised by the large penetration of Mediterranean species belonging to the Quercetea and Quercetalia ilicis and the middle-European ones of the Querco-Fagetea. This mosaic of species exemplifies the bioclimatic...

MULTIFUNCTIONAL ANO MULTIMEDIA GIS SYSTEM FOR THE INVENTORY ANO THE MANAGEMENT OF THE WETLANOS OF PUGLIA REGION (SOUTHERN ITALY)

The Puglia region is characterised by an homogeneous calcareous basement, affected by karst processes. so as to have a noticeable water reservoir. lts wetlands are the result of the complex interaction or geo-hydrological. climatic and biogeographical factors. The conservation of these remnant wetlands is menaced by human activity: land reclamation, pumping of water table, loading of pollutants, tourism and poaching. In order to conserve these habitats a two phases project was carried out. In the first phase the wetlands were identified and mapped in a GIS system. In this way 36 wetlands were mapped. These areas were grouped into the following categories: ponds and marshes (15). artificial basins and saltpans (6). meanders (5), lakes (3), swamps (3),estuaries (2). lagoon (I). gulf (I). A description has been hot linked to each area: physical and biological characteristics, previous land uses, environmental perturbations; level of protection; restoration activities to be undertaken. In the second phase three sample areas were chosen to develop a method for their characterisation. The areas are: l-Torre Guaceto, a brackish marsh bounded by sand-banks, 2-Frattarolo swamp, a salt swamp characterised by grasslands mainly composed by halophytes. 3-Lago Salso, an artificial al basin created for agricultural and hunting purposes, characterised by a mosaic of vegetation, mainly composed of hydrophytes and hygrophilous species, and of sheets of water, which represent an idoneous nesting and roosting area for many bird species, A spatio-temporal GIS database was developed using 19 digital orthophotos in order to analyse the changes that have occurred in the last fifthy years. Then the efficiency of a quantitative evaluation index was verified, This index was calculated using a GIS extension named Wetlands Rapid Assessment Procedure (WRAP). This procedure is based on the ranking of the ecological factors chosen for the evaluation: wildlife. vegetation, buffer area, hydrology and water quality. Multimedia information such as graphics. tables. ground photographs and digital video was used to highlight the more interesting characteristics of those wetlands and the GIS systems was modified to develop a more suitable user-interface for an easy access to both the spatial dataset and the multimedia information.