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Featured researches published by Federica D. Conti.


Biodiversity and Conservation | 2011

Are grasslands important habitats for soil microarthropod conservation

Cristina Menta; Alan Leoni; Ciro Gardi; Federica D. Conti

Biodiversity has been a focal aim of environmental protection since the Rio conference, but only with the beginning of the new millennium did soil biodiversity become an important aspect of international policy. Edaphic fauna play a key role in many soil functions, such as organic matter decomposition, humus formation and nutrient element cycling; moreover, affect the porosity, aeration, infiltration and distribution of organic matter in soil horizons, modifying soil structure and improving its fertility. The ecosystem services provided by soil animals are becoming progressively lost due to agricultural practice intensification, which causes a reduction in both abundance and taxonomic diversity of soil communities. In the present study, a permanent grassland habitat was studied in order to evaluate its potential as a soil biodiversity reservoir in agroecosystems. Grassland samples were compared with samples from a semi-natural woodland area and an arable land site. Microarthropod abundances, Acari/Collembola ratio (A/C), Shannon diversity index (H′) and evenness index (E) were calculated. QBS-ar index was used in order to evaluate soil biological quality. Microarthropod communities of the three land use typologies differed in both the observed groups and their abundance. Steady soil taxa characterized both woodland and grassland soils, whereas their abundances were significantly higher in woodland soil. Taxon diversity and soil biological quality in the grasslands did not differ from the woodland samples. The microarthropod community in the arable land showed a reduction both in taxa numbers and soil biological quality compared with the other sites. Soil biological quality and edaphic community composition highlighted the importance of grassland habitats in the protection of soil biodiversity.


Environmental Monitoring and Assessment | 2013

Soil microarthropod communities from Mediterranean forest ecosystems in Central Italy under different disturbances

Silvia Blasi; Cristina Menta; Lorena Balducci; Federica D. Conti; Enrico Petrini; Gianluca Piovesan

The aim of this study is to assess soil quality in Mediterranean forests of Central Italy, from evergreen to deciduous, with different types of management (coppice vs. high forest vs. secondary old growth) and compaction impacts (machinery vs. recreational). Soil quality was evaluated studying soil microarthropod communities and applying a biological index (QBS-ar) based on the concept that the higher is the soil quality, the higher will be the number of microarthropod groups well adapted to the soil habitat. Our results confirm that hardwood soils are characterised by the highest biodiversity level among terrestrial communities and by a well-structured and mature microarthropod community, which is typical of stable ecosystems (QBS value, >200). While silvicultural practices and forest composition do not seem to influence QBS-ar values or microarthropod community structure, the index is very efficient in detecting soil impacts (soil compaction due to logging activities). Several taxa (Protura, Diplura, Coleoptera adults, Pauropoda, Diplopoda, Symphyla, Chilopoda, Diptera larvae and Opiliones) react negatively to soil compaction and degradation (QBS value, <150). In particular, Protura, Diplura, Symphyla and Pauropoda, are taxonomic groups linked to undisturbed soil. This index could also be a useful tool in monitoring soil biodiversity in protected areas and in urban forestry to prevent the negative effects of trampling. QBS-ar is a candidate index for biomonitoring of soil microarthropod biodiversity across the landscape to provide guidance for the sustainable management of renewable resource and nature conservation.


Chemosphere | 2013

Metal toxicity and biodiversity in serpentine soils: application of bioassay tests and microarthropod index.

Giovanna Visioli; Cristina Menta; Ciro Gardi; Federica D. Conti

Eco-toxicological or bioassay tests have been intensively discussed as tools for the evaluation of soil quality. Tests using soil organisms, including microarthropods and plants, allow direct estimates to be made of important soil characteristics and functions. In this study we compared the results obtained by two in vitro standard bioassays following ISO or OECD guidelines: (i) the short term-chronic phytotoxicity germination and root elongation test using three different plant species Cucumis sativus L. (Cucurbitaceae), Lepidium sativum L. (Brassicaceae), and Medicago sativa L. (Fabaceae) and (ii) the inhibition of reproduction of Folsomia candida (Collembola) by soil pollutants to investigate the toxicity of a serpentine soil present in the Italian Apennines, rich in heavy metals such as Ni, Cr, and Co. In addition, microarthropod communities were characterised to evaluate the effects of metal contents on the soil fauna in natural conditions. Abundances, Acari/Collembola ratio, biodiversity indices and the QBS-ar index were calculated. Our results demonstrate that the two in vitro tests distinguish differences correlated with metal and organic matter contents in four sub-sites within the serpentinite. Soil fauna characterisation, not previously performed on serpentine soils, revealed differences in the most vulnerable and adapted groups of microarthropods to soil among the four sub-sites: the microarthropod community was found to be rich in term of biodiversity in the sub-site characterised by a lower metal content and a higher organic matter content and vegetation.


Frontiers in Environmental Science | 2016

High Nature Value Farmland: Assessment of Soil Organic Carbon in Europe

Ciro Gardi; Giovanna Visioli; Federica D. Conti; Marco Scotti; Cristina Menta; Antonio Bodini

High Nature Value Farmland (HNVF) is commonly associated with low intensity agricultural systems. HNVFs cover approximately 32% of the agricultural land in Europe and are of strategic importance for the European Union policy since they are reservoirs of biodiversity and provide several ecosystem services. Carbon sequestration is an important service that can be supplied by HNVFs as addressed in this study. Considering soil carbon content as a proxy for soil carbon storage, we compare HNVFs with soils that undergo more conventional land management (nHNVFs) and study the consequences of diverse land uses and geographic regions as additional explanatory variables. The results of our research show that, at the European level, organic carbon content is higher in HNVF than in nHNVF. However, this difference is strongly affected by the type of land use and the geographic region. Rather than seeing HNVF and nHNVF as two sharply distinct categories, as for carbon storage potential, we provide indications that the interplay between soil type (HNVF or nHNVF), land use and geographic region determines carbon content in soils.


Environmental Science and Pollution Research | 2018

Safety assessment of gasification biochars using Folsomia candida (Collembola) ecotoxicological bioassays

Federica D. Conti; Giovanna Visioli; Alessio Malcevschi; Cristina Menta

Biochar is a product of the thermal decomposition of biomass under a limited supply of oxygen and can be deriving from pyrolysis or gasification. As the product is rich in highly recalcitrant carbon, it has been proposed as a soil amendment to improve soil fertility and to stock carbon in soils. However, the contaminant compounds present in biochar could represent potential environmental threats. The gasification biochar is a promising by-product, but its effects on soil microarthropods are still nearly unknown. The aim of this study was to assess, using a prognosis approach, any ecotoxicological consequences of four biochars (conifer, poplar, grape marc, and wheat straw) on the springtail Folsomia candida. This was assessed through a series of tests: an avoidance behavior test, a survival and reproduction test, and a test based on the hatching of eggs. Biochars were tested at different concentrations (pulverized and diluted w/w with an artificial standard soil). The results showed that the springtails did not tend to avoid the biochars’ substrates up to the rate of 2–5%, but any higher levels of concentration caused the animals to keep away from it. While mortality was negatively affected only in the grape marc biochar, reproduction was significantly reduced in all biochars considered. The hatching of the eggs was anticipated at even the lowest concentrations of herbaceous biochars, while a severe delay was observed in both concentrations tested of the conifer biochar. The endpoints considered were negatively affected by pH, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals (in order of importance). The findings confirmed the potential adverse effects that gasification biochars could have on soil microarthropods and demonstrated the necessity of introducing these tests into biochar characterization protocols.


Environmental Monitoring and Assessment | 2016

Assessing biochar ecotoxicology for soil amendment by root phytotoxicity bioassays

Giovanna Visioli; Federica D. Conti; Cristina Menta; Marianna Bandiera; Alessio Malcevschi; Davey L. Jones; Teofilo Vamerali


Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology | 2014

Germination and root elongation bioassays in six different plant species for testing Ni contamination in soil.

Giovanna Visioli; Federica D. Conti; Ciro Gardi; Cristina Menta


Applied Soil Ecology | 2014

Does the natural "microcosm" created by Tuber aestivum affect soil microarthropods? A new hypothesis based on Collembola in truffle culture

Cristina Menta; Luis G. García-Montero; Stefania Pinto; Federica D. Conti; Giampietro Baroni; Mattia Maresi


Applied Soil Ecology | 2014

Monitoring soil restoration in an open-pit mine in northern Italy

Cristina Menta; Federica D. Conti; Stefania Pinto; Alan Leoni; C. Lozano-Fondón


Applied Soil Ecology | 2017

Microarthropods biodiversity in natural, seminatural and cultivated soils—QBS-ar approach

Cristina Menta; Federica D. Conti; Stefania Pinto

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Ciro Gardi

European Food Safety Authority

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