http://http://dspace.unitus.it:80 The DSpace digital repository system captures, stores, indexes, preserves, and distributes digital research material. 2013-05-23T04:42:01Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2151 Title: Biomass estimates by satellite data and ground measurements Authors: Chirici, Gherardo; Corona, Piermaria; Marchetti, Marco; Tonti, Daniela; Travaglini, Davide Abstract: L'abstract è disponibile nel file allegato 2009-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2148 Title: Sviluppo di una procedura innovativa per la cubatura del volume della massa legnosa di fustaie di latifoglie mediante LiDAR Authors: Corona, Piermaria; Chirici, Gherardo; Lamonaca, Andrea; Travaglini, Davide; Mason, Franco; Minari, Emma; Marchetti, Marco; Montaghi, Alessandro Abstract: La tecnica di scansione aerea con strumentazione LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) è sempre più presa in considerazione ai fini di analisi e monitoraggio degli attributi dendrometrici dei popolamenti forestali, ma anche per stimare attributi complessi quali il volume della massa legnosa e la biomassa legnosa. Il presente contributo propone una procedura innovativa per la stima del volume di massa legnosa di soprassuoli forestali mediante elaborazione di dati LiDAR in ambiente GIS, in particolare per i popolamenti a prevalenza di latifoglie dove i convenzionali metodi di stima basati sulle misurazioni LiDAR dell’altezza dei singoli fusti arborei conducono in genere a risultati relativamente insoddisfacenti. Description: L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore http://www.asita.it 2006-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2084 Title: Confronto di metodi parametrici e non-parametrici per la spazializzazione della provvigione legnosa tramite integrazione di misure a terra, dati telerilevati e informazioni ancillari Authors: Bertini, Roberta; Chirici, Gherardo; Corona, Piermaria; Travaglini, Davide Abstract: The use of remotely sensed data for forest inventory and monitoring of natural resources is ever increasing. Distinctively, remotely sensed data, integrated with ancillary data, can be exploited for the spazialization of biophysical attributes measured by forest inventories or management plans. Such applications are based on the relationships between the considered attributes and the spectral information measured by multispectral satellite images. Operative applications are commonly based on parametric or, more frequently, non-parametric approaches. The final aim of the present contribution is the spazialization of forest standing volume of various tree species in a study site in northern Italy by parametric (multiregressive) and non-parametric algorithms (k-Nearest Neighbors). The project is based on field data measured in productive forest stands dominated by Abies alba Mill. and/or Picea abies L. in the Provincia Autonoma di Trento (eastern Alpine Region of Italy). Remotely sensed images were acquired by the Landsat 7 ETM+ sensor while ancillary information is given by the altitude obtained from DEM and the site fertility from the GIS of the management plans. The contribution compares spazialization performance of several operative configurations of the tested methods in order to provide guidelines for the operative application of such techniques on vast areas. The study results emphasize the higher suitability of the tested non-parametric methods. Description: L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.sisef.it 2006-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2114 Title: ForestBIOTA data on deadwood monitoring in Europe Authors: Travaglini, Davide; Barbati, Anna; Chirici, Gherardo; Lombardi, Fabio; Marchetti, Marco; Corona, Piermaria Abstract: Deadwood is a key ecological factor in forest ecosystems. Its occurrence is fundamental since it represents a microhabitat for hundreds of species of invertebrates, fungi, bryophytes, lichens, amphibians, small mammals and birds. In recent years, deadwood has been recognized as a relevant indicator for the assessment and monitoring of forest biodiversity. In this paper the methodology for surveying woody necromass proposed by the ForestBIOTA project under Regulation (EC) No 2152/ 2003 (Forest Focus) is described. The amount of deadwood found on 91 Intensive Monitoring Level II plot of the EU and ICP Forest condition monitoring programme range from 0 to 258 m3 ha71. In the examined areas, total deadwood volume does not differ significantly among forest types, due to the high intra-type variability. On the other hand, its distribution between coarse and fine necromass and among necromass components is highly dependent on forest types. Description: L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.tandf.co.uk/journals/ 2006-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2090 Title: Background, main results and conclusions from a test phase for biodiversity assessments on intensive forest monitoring plots in Europe Authors: Fisher, Richard; Granke, Oliver; Chirici, Gherardo; Meyer, Peter; Seidling, Walter; Strofer, Silvia; Corona, Piermaria; Marchetti, Marco; Travaglini, Davide Abstract: The Forest Biodiversity Test phase Assessments (ForestBIOTA) project was carried out on 97 intensive monitoring plots located in 12 European countries. It aimed at the development and test implementation of monitoring methods for forest biodiversity across Europe. More specifically it covered the fields of (i) stand structure, (ii) forest deadwood, (iii) ground vegetation and (iv) epiphytic lichens. A forest type classification was applied in addition. The project took into account policy requirements stated by a number of political processes and institutions including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forests in Europe, the Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference and the European Union. Whereas detailed results of the assessments are presented in additional publications (Stofer et al. 2007, in prep, Meyer et al. 2007, submitted), this paper draws a number of general conclusions and gives recommendations for future development of forest biodiversity monitoring in Europe. 2008-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2095 Title: Forest ecotone survey by line intersect sampling Authors: Corona, Piermaria; Chirici, Gherardo; Travaglini, Davide Abstract: Given their ecological relevance, the survey of ecotones is of considerable interest in forest multiresource inventory. To this end, it is useful to set up survey procedures to provide efficient and reliable information about the length of such elements within the landscape mosaic. This note demonstrates a procedure based upon line intersect sampling on remotely sensed imagery. The estimate of ecotone length per unit area is obtained by visual interpretation of the changes from forest to other land use classes along each sampling line. The experimentation carried out in two test areas within forest landscapes of central Italy proves the operative soundness of the proposed procedure, which is more efficient than the classical approach by forest polygon delineation and perimeter mensuration in a GIS environment. Under the examined conditions, samples based on a moderately high number of lines characterized by relatively long length prove to be more efficient than those based on shorter survey units. Description: L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.nrcresearchpress.com 2003-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2144 Title: Estimation of growing stock of broadleaved forests by airborne laser scanning Authors: Corona, Piermaria; Lamonaca, Andrea; Chirici, Gherardo; Travaglini, Davide; Marchetti, Marco; Minari, Emma; Montaghi, Alessandro Abstract: Airborne laser scanning (ALS) is increasingly being proposed for surveying forest attributes. The objective of this paper is to present a new approach for the estimation of growing stock based on ALS data. The approach is distinctively developed for broadleaved stands where conventional methods for growing stock estimation based on ALS measurements of single tree heights frequently provide poor results. Theoretical background and model-based statistical estimators are reported. 2007-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2137 Title: Area-based assessment of forest standing volume by field measurements and airborne laser scanner data Authors: Barbati, Anna; Chirici, Gherardo; Corona, Piermaria; Montaghi, Alessandro; Travaglini, Davide Abstract: Airborne laser scanning (ALS) is increasingly applied as a tool for extracting forest inventory data. In recent years most applications for the assessment of forest standing volume rely on a single tree recognition approach, which generally gives satisfactory results in coniferous forests. The aim of this paper is to apply a rasterbased approach for the assessment of forest standing volume based on field measurements and a Digital Canopy Model (DCM) derived from ALS data. In addition, we explore the potential of hot spot analysis of DCM data for automatic forest gap detection, as a means to improve the accuracy of the estimation of forest standing volume by traditional estimation methods. Description: L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.tandf.co.uk/journals/ 2008-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/1902 Title: Deadwood in forest stands close to old-growthness under Mediterranean conditions in the Italian Peninsula Authors: Corona, Piermaria; Lombardi, Fabio; Chirici, Gherardo; Marchetti, Marco; Tognetti, Roberto; Lasserre, Bruno; Barbati, Anna; Ferrari, Barbara; Di Paolo, Silvia; Giuliarelli, Diego; Iovino, Francesco; Nicolaci, Antonino; Bianchi, Livio; Maltoni, Alberto; Travaglini, Davide Abstract: Considering that indicators of old-growth features can vary across the European ecoregions, this paper provides some results to identify the distinctive traits of old-growth forests in the Mediterranean ecoregion. Deadwood occurrence as indicator of naturalness is investigated in some remote forest areas that have developed in absence of anthropogenic disturbance over the past few decades. Eleven study sites across the Italian peninsula were elected and records of deadwood were carried out in 1-ha size plots. Deadwood volume, deadwood types and decay stages were inventoried in the selected sites. The amounts of deadwood indicate a large variability among the investigated forest stands: the total volume ranged between 2 and 143 m3ha-1, with an average of 60 m3ha-1. Lying deadwood is the most abundant component of deadwood in the investigated forests, due to the natural mortality occurring in the stands in relation to the processes established in the last decades. On the contrary, stumps are the less represented type of deadwood in almost all the study areas. All the decay classes are present in each study site. The amount of deadwood in Southern Europe, even if lower than that reported for North and Central European countries, could have a different meaning due to the faster decay occurring in Mediterranean forest ecosystems. For this reason, old-growth features and the characteristics of each indicator should be framed and referred to well-defined climatic and biogeographic contexts. Distinctively, under the conditions here investigated, three main deadwood features prove to characterize forest stands close to old-growthness: a ratio of dead to living wood not lower than 10%; lying deadwood much more abundant than the standing one; large range of deadwood size and decay classes across all the deadwood components. 2009-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2066 Title: Conversion of clearcut beech coppices into high forests with continuous cover: A case study in central Italy Authors: Ciancio, Orazio; Corona, Piermaria; Lamonaca, Andrea; Portoghesi, Luigi; Travaglini, Davide Abstract: Converting coppices into high forests with continuous cover has often been established during the last decades as a management goal in hilly and mountainous Mediterranean areas to attenuate the negative effects that frequent clearcutting may have on soil, landscape and biodiversity conservation. The silvicultural tool usually adopted for this purpose is the gradual thinning of sprouts during the long span of time required to complete the conversion, that also allows the owner to keep harvesting some wood. This research compared the effects of various thinning intensities (three treatments plus control) on the stand growth and structure of a beech coppice with standards. The optimal density after thinning was assessed by expressing mean tree spacing as a function of main stand attributes like stand height and stand dbh. This system was preferred to the empirical evaluation of the percentage of basal area to be removed in order to give forest managers general reference guidelines to adapt to the varying environments of the Mediterranean mountains. Results confirmed that the positive effects of thinning on mean stem volume is due more to the higher diameter increment than to different height growth. The acceleration of crown growth in the thinned plots allowed canopy closure to be achieved 13 years after thinning. This reduced the negative effects of the opening of the stand overlayer and the elimination of most suppressed trees on soil protection. Under the conditions examined, the best thinning intensity proved to be a stand density 20% lower than normal prescribed by the yield tables elaborated for beech high forests in Central and Southern Italy. 2005-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2138 Title: Aspects of biological diversity in the CONECOFOR plots. V. Deadwood surveying experiments in alpine and mediterranean forest ecosystems Authors: Travaglini, Davide; Mason, Franco; Lopresti, Massimo; Lombardi, Fabio; Marchetti, Marco; Chirici, Gherardo; Corona, Piermaria Abstract: In recent years, deadwood has become more and more considered as indicator in the assessment of the biodiversity and naturalness of forest ecosystems. Its occurrence, in an appropriate proportion according to forest use, is fundamental for the maintenance of biological diversity, since it represents a microhabitat for hundred of species of invertebrates, fungi, bryophytes, lichens, amphibians, small mammals and birds. Having acknowledged its importance in forest coenoses, quantification of deadwood components in a given habitat, in relation to forest type and type of management, becomes essential. In our study, different survey designs were tested and compared for assessing deadwood components: stumps, lying coarse wood pieces and lying fine wood pieces. As expected, the experiments carried out show that sample-based estimates of ground necromass tend to be more accurate as the quantity of necromass present within the area to be surveyed and the size of the sampling units increase. The adoption of four 7-m-radius subplots in a systematic configuration has proved to be a good compromise between accuracy and survey costs for volume estimation of stumps and lying wood pieces within the examined experimental forest stand plot.; Esperienze sperimentali di rilevamento della necromassa legnosa in cenosi forestali alpine e mediterranee. Negli ultimi anni, il legno morto è sempre più considerato un indicatore per valutare la biodiversità e la naturalità di un sistema forestale. La sua presenza, nelle opportune proporzioni commisurate anche alle finalità di coltivazione della foresta, è fondamentale per il mantenimento della diversità biologica, rappresentando il microhabitat per centinaia di specie di invertebrati, funghi, briofite, licheni, anfibi, piccoli mammiferi ed uccelli. Riconosciuta l’importanza della necromassa legnosa nelle cenosi forestali, diviene fondamentale la sua quantificazione in un determinato ambiente, distinguendone la presenza in funzione dei tipi forestali e delle forme di gestione. A tal fine, in questo studio sono state sperimentate e valutate comparativamente differenti strategie di rilievo di alcune componenti della necromassa legnosa a terra: ceppaie, rami grossi e rami fini. Come atteso, la sperimentazione mostra che la stima della necromassa grossolana e fine a terra tende ad essere più accurata all’aumentare della quantità di legno morto presente e all’aumentare delle dimensioni della superficie di rilevamento. Nelle condizioni esaminate, l’adozione di quattro subplots di 7 m di raggio in configurazione sistematica è risultato un buon compromesso tra accuratezza e costi di indagine per la stima del volume delle ceppaie e del legno morto a terra. 2005-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2213 Title: Stand structure attributes in potential Old-Growth Forests in the Apennines, Italy Authors: Calamini, Gianfranco; Maltoni, Alberto; Travaglini, Davide; Iovino, Francesco; Nicolaci, Antonino; Menguzzato, Giuliano; Corona, Piermaria; Ferrari, Barbara; Di Santo, Daniele; Chirici, Gherardo; Lombardi, Fabio Abstract: The aim of this paper is to provide early feedback on stand structure attributes in Italian Apennines forests that could be considered Old Growth Forests in the Mediterranean Eco-Region. Few data are nowadays available relating to this Region. 10 forest reserves across the Apennines were selected and a census of trees and structural parameters was conducted in permanent plots (0.16-1.0 ha), one plot for each selected forest stand. Dimensional and structural characters indicate a large variability among the investigated forest stands. The considered parameters are compared with those reported for other European countries. Old growth features and characteristics of each indicator should be revised and referred to the particular climatic and biogeographic context. The chosen forest study sites are to be considered old if related to common Apennine stands but, in some cases, their development stage is not so close to “truly” Old Growth Forest. Permanent plots allow future investigations on dynamic processes leading to real Old Growth Mediterranean Forests in Italian Apennines. 2010-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2333 Title: K-NN FOREST: a software for the non-parametric prediction and mapping of environmental variables by the k-Nearest Neighbors algorithm Authors: Chirici, Gherardo; Corona, Piermaria; Marchetti, Marco; Mastronardi, Alessandro; Maselli, Fabio; Bottai, Lorenzo; Travaglini, Davide Abstract: In the last decades researchers investigated the possibility of extending the information collected in sampling units during a field survey to wider geographical areas through the use of remotely sensed images. One of the most widely adopted approaches is based on the non-parametric k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN) algorithm. This contribution describes the software K-NN FOREST we developed to provide a complete tool for the implementation of the k-NN technique to generate spatially explicit estimations (maps) of a response variable acquired in the field by sampling units through the use of remotely sensed data or other ancillary variables. K-NN FOREST is designed to guide the user through a graphic user interface in the different phases of the process. K-NN FOREST is freely available for download and it is designed to run under Windows environment in conjunction with the GIS software IDRISI. 2011-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2067/2340 Title: Potenzialità del telerilevamento laser scanner aereo per la classificazione delle coperture forestali in funzione della forma di governo Authors: Travaglini, Davide; Bottalico, Francesca; Chirici, Gherardo; Corona, Piermaria; Nocentini, Susanna Abstract: In questo studio è stata valutata la potenzialità del telerilevamento laser scanner aereo (ALS) per classificare le forme di governo forestale in un bosco misto di latifoglie. La metodologia applicata prevede l’utilizzo del modello digitale delle chiome (CHM) ottenuto da dati ALS e l’impiego di procedure automatizzate per la segmentazione object-oriented delle immagini telerilevate. La classificazione delle forme di governo si basa sulle metriche estratte dal CHM. I risultati ottenuti indicano che la media delle altezze e il coefficiente di variazione delle altezze estratti dal CHM sono utili per distinguere i boschi governati a ceduo da quelli governati a fustaia; In this study aerial laser scanning (ALS) data has been tested to classify coppice stands and high forest stands in a mixed broadleaved forest. The method is based on a canopy height model (CHM) obtained from ALS data. Forest stands have been delineated using a object-oriented approach. The polygons have been classified into coppices and high forests based on the metrics derived from CHM. Our results indicate that the mean of the heights and the coefficient of variation of the heights extracted from CHM are useful to discriminate coppices from high forests. Description: L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.asita.it 2011-12-31T23:00:00Z