Assessment of microbial functional and genetic diversity of forest soils in Central Italy
Author(s)
Pignataro, Armando
Date Issued
April 27, 2012
Type
Doctoral Thesis
Abstract
The importance of biodiversity to ecosystem function has been placed several times over the last decades. In 2006 the European Community approved the last thematic strategy regarding the soil protection as enclosed in the Sixth Community Environmental Action. This paper refers to damages resulting from various degradation processes including those resulting from loss of soil biodiversity. In the same year the General Assembly of the United Nations declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. This act focus the attention of the world environment of the inexorable depletion of the planet following the destruction of ecosystems and habitats.
This study aimed to study soil biodiversity as a function of different lithological substrates, different plant cover, tree structure and different managements in natural forest soils. The choice to study natural forest ecosystems was because most of the studies regarding soil microbial diversity are primarily developed on agricultural ecosystems. The variables used have been based on the current literature and noting that most studies on soil biodiversity in forest ecosystems today are mainly the interactions between aboveground vegetation and diversity of soil in microcosms or modified plots. Chemical, biochemical and microbiological parameters, widely used as soil quality indicators, were chosen. The study was conducted in three Natural Reservation in central Italy (Monte Rufeno, Lago di Vico,VT, Selva di Meana, TR) in natural forests.
The lithological substrates, the diverse plant covers, canopy structure and practice managements significantly affected soil functional diversity.
The present thesis was therefore a preliminary attempt to lay the foundations for the constitution of a database and/or a proposal of a set of methodologies aimed to describe soil microbial diversity in natural forests. This could help to dispose of a background knowledge of the natural status of forest soil microorganisms to be used as a benchmark in studies aimed to infer soil quality level in response to natural or anthropic stress.
Additional information
Dottorato di ricerca in Ecologia forestale
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