Programma della conferenza

Brown trout Salmo trutta is listed among the 100 World’s Worst Invasive alien species and one of the world's top 30 worst aquatic invasive organisms. Due to its adaptation capacity, brown trout can colonize different environments, even those which significantly differ from its typical habitat, negatively impacting native populations (fishes, crustaceans, amphibians) and ecosystems through predation and competition (both for habitats and trophic resources), but also as vector of exotic parasites. However, the brown trout was widely introduced, due to its importance as a major target species for recreational fishing. Due to these reasons, extirpation activities have been performed in many countries, using different methods to face brown trout impacts. In the present work, we analyzed the effects of a seven-years long eradication project (2018 - 2024) in a karstic stream placed in Northeastern Italy (Friuli Venezia Giulia Region): the Rosandra Stream is the only surficial watercourse in the Italian portion of the classic Karst, flowing within the Natural Regional Reserve of the Rosandra-Glinščica Valley. The eradication project, funded by the Reserve Authority, allowed to collect 948 brown trout specimens through the years mainly collected via electrofishing sampling campaigns, implementing the use of fishing rods for specific situations, in collaborations with the Regional Authorithy for the Safeguard of Fish Resources. After few years, the eradication project showed positive effects on native Austropotamobius pallipes and Phoxinus lumaireul populations, which showed a significant increase in their abundances since the beginning of the eradication campaigns. These effects are particularly evident for freshwater crayfish populations, and obtained data are of pivotal importance in a conservation perspective, as A. pallipes is listed as an endangered species in the IUCN Redlist and is reported in the Annexes II and V of the Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC.

Soils simultaneously perform multiple ecological functions. Disturbances related to land use can lead to a decrease in biodiversity of soil microbiome and, consequently, due to its crucial role in regulating nutrient stocks and transformations, a depletion of soil ecological functions. The current study aims to assess the effects of different land uses on functions performed by soil microbial community in order to define good drivers of multifunctionality. In the Matese National Park, adjacent areas under different land uses (forest F, meadow M and, pasture P) were selected, and the soils sampled at three times (June T1, July T2 and, December 2023 T3) relating to specific management practices in M and P areas: sowing (T1), harvest (T2) and, five months after harvest (T3) in M; at the beginning (T1), after one month of grazing (T2) and, after the end of the grazing (T3) in P. Water content, pH, organic matter content, labile, recalcitrant and stable organic carbon fraction and enzymatic activities (hydrolase - FDA, β-glucosidase - BG, phosphatase - PHOS, β-glucosaminidase - NAG, arylsulfatase - ARS, laccase - ABTS) were used for the calculation of ecological indices: metabolic activity index (MAI) and soil multifunctionality index (SMF). The enzymatic activities showed, on average, the highest values in F (except for BG and PHOS), although with seasonal variations. In P almost all enzymatic activities increased in T3. In M, ARS and PHOS increased over time , while BG and FDA after a decreased in T2 reached again the initial values in T3. The high MAI values found in P and M highlighted the sustainability of the management practices implemented. In P the grazing affected SMF index, being SMF value higher after the end of grazing period (T3).

Soil provides multiple ecosystem services, producing food, playing a role in carbon sequestration and providing a reservoir for biodiversity. However, soils are subject to several disturbances (i.e. management practices in forests, tillage in agriculture fields, grazing in pastures). These disturbances can change soil properties and microbial community biodiversity, and seasonality also plays an important role in shaping the microbial community composition. Studies on the interactive effect of season and land use and their relative importance in driving change in soil microbial community are limited in the Mediterranean area.
Here, we aimed to answer how dominant vegetation, land use, and season affect the microbial community in different soil ecosystems. At this aim, for one year, the function (enzyme activities) and structure (DNA analysis) of the microbial communities were monitored in soils under different vegetation covers (turkey oak and beech) and land use (meadow and pasture); all the variables were analysed by variation partitioning analysis and the driving factors of the partitioning were determined (using permutational ANOVA). We also calculated the resilience of soil microbial community (by Metabolic Activity Index, MAI), deepening its response to different disturbances (forest management practices, tillage and grazing).
Dominant vegetation type and land use affected the soil microbial community more than the season in these Mediterranean ecosystems. MAI values higher in managed forests suggested a resilience response of the microbial communities and their recovery after about 15 years from cutting. Pasture and meadow management appeared not to affect soil microbial community functions, with MAI values higher in meadow respect to pasture.
This study provides novel insights into the factors that affect the composition of soil microbial communities, and related ecosystem functions, useful in implementing soil sustainable management practices.

Climate change is a key driver of global biodiversity loss, affecting wildlife through shifts in species phenology, physiology, behaviour, and distribution. These shifts can lead to habitat loss, local declines, and extinction cascades. Additionally, new species may compete with native ones, exacerbating conservation challenges. Traditionally, long-term distribution studies have focused on birds and mammals, but dragonflies, as bioindicator insects of ecological change, offer a valuable alternative. Easily identifiable by the public, dragonflies can be monitored through citizen science platforms, aiding in data collection even when institutional funding is scarce. One notable example is Trithemis annulata, a Libellulidae native to Afro-tropical regions, which has significantly expanded its range across southwestern Europe in recent decades, including Spain, France, and Italy. Historically confined to southern Italy for over 150 years, this species has spread northward into the Po Plains and several alpine valleys. To document and analyze the expansion of Trithemis annulata in Italy and determine the bioclimatic conditions for its current and future distribution, a dataset including 2,557 geographic distribution points from different online platforms from 1825 to 2023 was compiled. In the last 43 years, Trithemis annulata expanded northward at an average speed of 12 km/year, accelerating up to 34 km/year. Despite this rapid movement, the northward expansion of the species has not kept pace with rising temperatures, and the species has shown no significant upward shift. By 2040, Italy is projected to see a substantial increase in suitable areas for this Libellulidae, potentially expanding by up to 200%. This expansion, driven by climate warming, positions the species as a neo-native in recently invaded regions. Additionally, populations at the northernmost edge of its Italian range currently border the Alps, indicating a potential future expansion into central Europe.