Research area: Botany - Mycology - Agriculture
Coordinators: Silvia Assini, Matteo Barcella, Ilaria Brugellis, Alessia Gressani
ERC sectors: LS8_1 Ecosystem and community ecology, macroecology; LS8_2 Biodiversity; LS8_3 Conservation biology
1. Vegetation Science
The research focuses on the flora and vegetation (vascular and cryptogamic) of northern Italy, with particular reference to the Po Valley and the northern Apennines. Syntaxonomic, synchorological, synecological, and syndynamic aspects, as well as ecosystem functions, are investigated with a view to the conservation, enhancement, and monitoring of biodiversity, with particular reference to Directive 92/43/EEC. The investigations are conducted using the Braun-Blanquet phytosociological method.
2. Ecological Restoration
This line of research is dedicated to the development, testing, and application of strategies and interventions for the redevelopment/restoration of degraded sites and/or sites subjected to strong anthropogenic and/or natural pressures. Specifically, these include interventions to increase biodiversity, naturalistic woodland development, restoration of grassland and heathland habitats under the Habitats Directive, and management interventions to improve the conservation status of natural and semi-natural habitats. The methodological frameworks adopted include the Ministry of the Environment's guidelines for the translocation of wild plant species, the serial patch method, and the standards of the Society of Ecological Restoration. All interventions are monitored to verify their long-term effectiveness.
3. Energy from Plants
A recently developed multidisciplinary research line aimed at powering LED lights and environmental sensors with energy derived exclusively from the natural biochemical processes of plants. This led to experimentation with PMFC technology and the construction of the first prototypes, with the goal of achieving ever-increasing levels of energy performance. Since the first switching on of a single LED, it has been possible to power up to 6 of them and application methods for environmental sensors are now being developed.
University of Bologna (Prof. Nascimbene); Province of Pavia; ERSAF; SISV (Italian Society of Plant Sciences); Department of Electrical Engineering - University of Pavia (Prof. Malcovati, Dr. Grassi); Department of Animal Biology - University of Pavia (Dr. Calvio)
- LIFE Drylands Project, Scientific Director, PI LIFE18 NAT/IT/000803 (website)
- Cariplo Oltrenatura Project
1. Scienza della vegetazione
Della Rocca F., Tagliani A., Milanesi P., Barcella, M., & Assini S.P. (2023). Contrasting Response of Mountain Plant‐Pollinator Network to Fragmented Semi‐Natural Grasslands. Land, 12, 356. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020356
Gheza G., Di Nuzzo L., Vallese C., Barcella M., Benesperi R., Giordani P., Nascimbene J., & Assini S. (2021). Morphological and Chemical Traits of Cladonia Respond to Multiple Environmental Factors in Acidic Dry Grasslands. Microorganisms, 9, 453. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9020453
Gheza G., Assini S., Lelli C., Marini L., Mayrhofer H., & Nascimbene J. (2020). Biodiversity and conservation of terricolous lichens and bryophytes in continental lowlands of northern Italy: the role of different dry habitat types. Biodiversity and Conservation, 29(13): 3533-3550. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-020-02034-1.
Lazzaro L., Bolpagni R., Buffa G., Gentili R., Lonati M., Stinca A., Acosta A.T.R., Adorni M., Aleffi M., Allegrezza M., Angiolini C., Assini S. et al, (2020). Impact of invasive alien plants on native plant communities and Natura 2000 habitats: State of the art, gap analysis and perspectives in Italy. Journal of Environmental Management, 274, 111140 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111140
Gheza G., Barcella M., & Assini S. (2019). Terricolous lichen communities in Thero-Airion dry grasslands of the Po Plain (Northern Italy): syntaxonomy, ecology and conservation value. Tuexenia, 39: 377-400.
2. Restauro ecologico
D'Agostino M., Cao Pinna L., Carboni M., Assini S., Bacchetta G., et al., (2023). Best practices, errors, and perspectives of half a century of plant translocation in Italy. Conservation Biology, 2024;e14233.
Abeli et al. (2021).: IDPlanT: the Italian database of plant translocation. Plant Biosystems, DOI: 10.1080/11263504.2021.1985004
Gheza G., Assini S., Marini L., & Nascimbene J. (2018). Impact of an invasive herbivore and human trampling on lichen-rich dry grasslands: Soil-dependent response of multiple taxa. Science of the Total Environment, 639: 633-639.
Biella P., Ollerton J., Barcella M., & Assini S. (2017). Network analysis of phenological units to detect important species in plant-pollinator assemblages: can it inform conservation strategies? Community Ecology, 18(1): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1556/168.2017.18.1.1
Barcella M., Filipponi F., Assini S., et al. (2016). A simple model to support grazing management by direct field observation. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 234: 107-117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.04.027
3. Energia dalle piante
Di Lorenzo R., Grassi M., Assini S., Granata M., Barcella M., & Malcovati P. (2019). Electrical energy harvesting from pot plants. In: Andò B. et al. (eds), Sensors. CNS 2018. Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, vol. 539. Springer, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-04324-7
Imbrogno F., Assini S.P., Granata M., Di Lorenzo R., & Malcovati P. (2019). Experimental characterization of the electrical energy produced by microbial fuel cells supplied by pot plants (Conference Paper). 2019 IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Agriculture and Forestry, MetroAgriFor – Proceedings, 1 October 2019, Article number 8909234, Pages 269-273