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Dr. Filippo Giadrossich
University of Sassari, Department of Agricultural Science

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0 Erosion
0 Forestry
0 Hydrology
0 Silviculture
0 Slope Stability

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Slope Stability
shallow landslides
Erosion
Hydrology
Forestry
Silviculture
Catchment Hydrology

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Journal article
Published: 21 June 2021 in Forests
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The quantification of post-disturbance root reinforcement (RR) recovery dynamics is of paramount importance for the optimisation of forest ecosystem services and natural hazards risk management in mountain regions. In this work we analyse the long-term root reinforcement dynamic of spruce forests combining data of the Swiss National Forest Inventory with data on root distribution and root mechanical properties. The results show that root reinforcement recovery depends primarily on stand altitude and slope inclination. The maximum root reinforcement recovery rate is reached at circa 100 years. RR increases continuously with different rates for stand ages over 200 years. These results shows that RR in spruce stands varies considerably depending on the local conditions and that its recovery after disturbances requires decades. The new method applied in this study allowed for the first time to quantify the long term dynamics of RR in spruce stands supporting new quantitative approaches for the analysis of shallow landslides disposition in different disturbance regimes of forests.

ACS Style

Gianluca Flepp; Roger Robyr; Roberto Scotti; Filippo Giadrossich; Marco Conedera; Giorgio Vacchiano; Christoph Fischer; Peter Ammann; Dominik May; Massimiliano Schwarz. Temporal Dynamics of Root Reinforcement in European Spruce Forests. Forests 2021, 12, 815 .

AMA Style

Gianluca Flepp, Roger Robyr, Roberto Scotti, Filippo Giadrossich, Marco Conedera, Giorgio Vacchiano, Christoph Fischer, Peter Ammann, Dominik May, Massimiliano Schwarz. Temporal Dynamics of Root Reinforcement in European Spruce Forests. Forests. 2021; 12 (6):815.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gianluca Flepp; Roger Robyr; Roberto Scotti; Filippo Giadrossich; Marco Conedera; Giorgio Vacchiano; Christoph Fischer; Peter Ammann; Dominik May; Massimiliano Schwarz. 2021. "Temporal Dynamics of Root Reinforcement in European Spruce Forests." Forests 12, no. 6: 815.

Preprint content
Published: 04 March 2021
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SlideforMAP and SOSlope are part of a suite of software available through ecorisQ (www.ecorisq.org), an international, non-profit association promoting solutions for risk reduction of natural hazards. SlideforMap is a probabilistic model that quantifies the stabilizing effect of vegetation at the regional scale and localizes potential areas where forest protection could be improved. SOSlope is a hydro-mechanical model that computes the factor of safety at the slope scale, using a strain-step discrete element method, which includes the effects of vegetation root structure and composition. The research aims at investigating the landslide susceptibility at two different spatial scales, using both models. 

The study area is located on a vegetated slope near an interregional connecting road (Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, central Italy), which crosses the Foreste Casentinesi National Park (Tuscany) an important natural area for both touristic and recreational activities. 

A shallow landslide susceptibility analysis was performed at two different spatial scales, combining the use of the two previously mentioned models. In particular, SlideforMap was applied to identify the main susceptible areas to landslides at regional scale. Next, the identified unstable areas were investigated at detailed scale using SOSlope which simulated an intense rainfall event. Specifically, both distributions of root and soil forces along the slope were analyzed; for the sake of comparison, beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and spruce (Picea abies L.) parameters were used. Finally, a back-analysis was performed on real landslides. 

The results showed the activation of root reinforcement spatially distributed in the studied slope. The basal root reinforcement map highlights significant differences, with beech showing higher reinforcement values compared to spruce. According to the factor of safety map, landslides may occur along the investigated unstable area. 

SlideforMap and SOSlope may be useful tools to support land and forestry planning, allowing the localization and quantification of the protective effects of forests, root reinforcement included. Results demonstrated that the factor of safety can be used as benchmarks for silvicultural interventions, thus improving the whole planning activities in both forest and surrounding natural and man-made systems.

ACS Style

Ilenia Murgia; Filippo Giadrossich; Marco Niccolini; Federico Preti; Yamuna Giambastiani; Gian Franco Capra; Denis Cohen. Using SlideforMAP and SOSlope to identify susceptible areas to shallow landslides in the Foreste Casentinesi National Park (Tuscany, Italy). 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Ilenia Murgia, Filippo Giadrossich, Marco Niccolini, Federico Preti, Yamuna Giambastiani, Gian Franco Capra, Denis Cohen. Using SlideforMAP and SOSlope to identify susceptible areas to shallow landslides in the Foreste Casentinesi National Park (Tuscany, Italy). . 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ilenia Murgia; Filippo Giadrossich; Marco Niccolini; Federico Preti; Yamuna Giambastiani; Gian Franco Capra; Denis Cohen. 2021. "Using SlideforMAP and SOSlope to identify susceptible areas to shallow landslides in the Foreste Casentinesi National Park (Tuscany, Italy)." , no. : 1.

Preprint content
Published: 03 March 2021
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Research over the past several decades has shown that preferential flow is more the rule than the exception. However, our collective understanding of preferential flow processes has been limited by a lack of suitable methods to detect and visualize the initiation and evolution of non-uniform wetting at high spatial and temporal resolutions, particularly in real-world settings. In this study, we investigate water infiltration initiation by tree trunk and root systems. We carried out time-lapse ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys in conjunction with a simulated stemflow event to provide evidence of root-induced preferential flow and generate a three-dimensional representation of the wetted zone.

We established a survey grid (3.5 m × 5 m, with a local slope of 10.3°), consisting of ten horizontal and thirteen vertical parallel survey lines with 0.5 m intervals between them. The horizontal lines were downslope-oriented. The grid was placed around a Quercus suber L. We collected a total of 46 (2 GPR surveys × 23 survey lines) radargrams using an IDS (Ingegneria Dei Sistemi S.p.A.) Ris Hi Mod v. 1.0 system with a 900-MHz antenna mounted on a GPR cart. Two grid GPR surveys were carried out before and after the artificial stemflow experiment. In the experiment, we applied 100 L of brilliant blue dye (E133) solution on the tree trunk. The stemflow volume of 100 L corresponded to 63.2 mm of incident precipitation, considering a crown projected area of 201 m2 and a 1.3% conversion rate of rainfall to stemflow. Trench profiles were carefully excavated with hand tools to remove soil and detect both root location and size and areas of infiltration and preferential pathways on the soil profile.

The majority (84.4%) of artificially applied stemflow infiltrated into the soil, while the remaining 15.6% generated overland flow, which was collected by a small v-shaped plastic channel placed into a groove previously scraped on the downhill side of the tree. The 3D diagram clearly demarcated the dimension and shape of the wetted zone, thus providing evidence of root-induced preferential flow along coarse roots. The wetted zone extended downslope up to a horizontal distance of 3 m from the trunk and down to a depth of approximately 0.7 m. Put all together, this study shows the importance of accounting for plant and trees trunk and root systems when quantifying infiltration.

ACS Style

Ludmila Roder; Simone Di Prima; Sergio Campus; Filippo Giadrossich; Ryan D. Stewart; Majdi R. Abou Najm; Thierry Winiarski; Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo; Antonio D. del Campo; Laurent Lassabatere; Pier Paolo Roggero. Detecting stemflow-induced preferential flow pathways through time-lapse ground-penetrating radar surveys. 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Ludmila Roder, Simone Di Prima, Sergio Campus, Filippo Giadrossich, Ryan D. Stewart, Majdi R. Abou Najm, Thierry Winiarski, Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo, Antonio D. del Campo, Laurent Lassabatere, Pier Paolo Roggero. Detecting stemflow-induced preferential flow pathways through time-lapse ground-penetrating radar surveys. . 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ludmila Roder; Simone Di Prima; Sergio Campus; Filippo Giadrossich; Ryan D. Stewart; Majdi R. Abou Najm; Thierry Winiarski; Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo; Antonio D. del Campo; Laurent Lassabatere; Pier Paolo Roggero. 2021. "Detecting stemflow-induced preferential flow pathways through time-lapse ground-penetrating radar surveys." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 07 February 2021 in Forests
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Quantifying actual evapotranspiration (ETa) over natural vegetation is crucial in evaluating the water status of ecosystems and the water-use patterns in local or regional hydrological basins. Remote sensing-based surface energy balance models have been used extensively for estimating ETa in agro-environments; however, the application of these models to natural ecosystems is still limited. The surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL) physical-based surface energy balance model was applied to estimate the actual evapotranspiration over a heterogeneous coverage of Mediterranean maquis in a natural reserve in Sardinia, Italy. The model was applied on 19 Landsat 5 and 8 images from 2009 to 2014, and the results were compared to the data of a micrometeorological station with eddy covariance flux measurements. Comparing the SEBAL-based evaporative fraction (ΛS) to the corresponding tower-derived evaporative fractions (ΛT) showed good flux estimations in the Landsat overpass time (Coefficient of determination R 2 = 0.77, root mean square error RMSE = 0.05 and mean absolute error MAE = 0.076). Three methods were evaluated for upscaling instantaneous latent heat flux (λE) to daily actual evapotranspiration (ETa,D). The upscaling methods use the evaporative fraction (Λ), the reference evapotranspiration fraction (EFr) and the ratio of daily to instantaneous incoming shortwave radiation (Rs24/Rsi) as upscaling factors under the hypothesis of diurnal self-preservation. A preliminary analysis performed using only in-situ measured data demonstrated that the three factors were relatively self-preserved during the daytime, and can yield good ETa,D estimations, particularly when obtained at near the Landsat scene acquisition time (≈10:00 UTC). The upscaling factors obtained from SEBAL retrieved instantaneous fluxes, and some ancillary measured meteorological data were used to upscale SEBAL-estimated instantaneous actual λ to daily ET. The Λ EFr and Rs24/Rsi methods on average overestimated the measured ETa,D by nearly 20, 61 and 18%, respectively. The performance of the Λ and Rs24/Rsi methods was considered satisfactory, bearing in mind the high variable ground cover and the inherent variability of the biome composition, which cannot be properly represented in the Landsat moderate spatial resolution. In this study, we tested the potential of the SEBAL model application in a complex natural ecosystem. This modeling approach will be used to represent the spatial dynamics of ET, which will be integrated into further environmental and hydrological applications.

ACS Style

Hassan Awada; Simone Di Prima; Costantino Sirca; Filippo Giadrossich; Serena Marras; Donatella Spano; Mario Pirastru. Daily Actual Evapotranspiration Estimation in a Mediterranean Ecosystem from Landsat Observations Using SEBAL Approach. Forests 2021, 12, 189 .

AMA Style

Hassan Awada, Simone Di Prima, Costantino Sirca, Filippo Giadrossich, Serena Marras, Donatella Spano, Mario Pirastru. Daily Actual Evapotranspiration Estimation in a Mediterranean Ecosystem from Landsat Observations Using SEBAL Approach. Forests. 2021; 12 (2):189.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hassan Awada; Simone Di Prima; Costantino Sirca; Filippo Giadrossich; Serena Marras; Donatella Spano; Mario Pirastru. 2021. "Daily Actual Evapotranspiration Estimation in a Mediterranean Ecosystem from Landsat Observations Using SEBAL Approach." Forests 12, no. 2: 189.

Correction
Published: 17 December 2020 in Forests
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We have recently been made aware by the Forests Editorial Offices of some errors and omissions in the Introduction Section 1

ACS Style

Giampiero Branca; Irene Piredda; Roberto Scotti; Laura Chessa; Ilenia Murgia; Antonio Ganga; Sergio Campus; Raffaella Lovreglio; Enrico Guastini; Massimiliano Schwarz; Filippo Giadrossich. Correction: Branca, G., et al. Forest Protection Unifies, Silviculture Divides: A Sociological Analysis of Local Stakeholders’ Voices after Coppicing in the Marganai Forest (Sardinia, Italy). Forests 2020, 11, 708. Forests 2020, 11, 1353 .

AMA Style

Giampiero Branca, Irene Piredda, Roberto Scotti, Laura Chessa, Ilenia Murgia, Antonio Ganga, Sergio Campus, Raffaella Lovreglio, Enrico Guastini, Massimiliano Schwarz, Filippo Giadrossich. Correction: Branca, G., et al. Forest Protection Unifies, Silviculture Divides: A Sociological Analysis of Local Stakeholders’ Voices after Coppicing in the Marganai Forest (Sardinia, Italy). Forests 2020, 11, 708. Forests. 2020; 11 (12):1353.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Giampiero Branca; Irene Piredda; Roberto Scotti; Laura Chessa; Ilenia Murgia; Antonio Ganga; Sergio Campus; Raffaella Lovreglio; Enrico Guastini; Massimiliano Schwarz; Filippo Giadrossich. 2020. "Correction: Branca, G., et al. Forest Protection Unifies, Silviculture Divides: A Sociological Analysis of Local Stakeholders’ Voices after Coppicing in the Marganai Forest (Sardinia, Italy). Forests 2020, 11, 708." Forests 11, no. 12: 1353.

Journal article
Published: 11 August 2020 in New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science
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Background: Rainfall-triggered shallow landslides on steep slopes cause significant soil loss and can be hazards for property and people in many parts of the world. In New Zealand’s hill country, they are the dominant erosion process and are responsible for soil loss and subsequent impacts on regional water quality. Use of wide-spaced trees and afforestation with fast growing conifers are the primary land management tools in New Zealand to help control erosion and improve water quality. To decide where to implement erosion controls in the landscape requires determining the most susceptible places to these processes and models that incorporate how trees reinforce soils to understand if, and when, such treatments become effective. Methods: This paper characterises the mechanical properties of Pinus radiata D.Don roots (the common tree species used for afforestation in New Zealand) by means of field pullout tests and by measuring the root distribution at 360 degrees around trees. The Root Bundle Model (RBM) was used to calculate the root reinforcement. Statistical analysis was carried out to assess the statistical reduction coefficients of root reinforcement that depend on the number of measurements, used in geotechnical analysis to reduce the mean value of a parameter to a so-called characteristic value. Results: We show that to reach an effective level of root reinforcement, trees of 0.5 m DBH require a density of about 300 trees per hectare. Trees of this size are about 30 years of age across many sites and have generally reached the recommended conditions for clear-fell harvesting. The analysis of variance shows that 4 trees are the minimum number to be excavated to obtain sufficient root information to obtain less than 5% of error with a 95% of probability on the estimation of a design value of root reinforcement in accord with geotechnical standards. Conclusions: We found that the variability of lateral and basal root reinforcement does not limit the implementation of vegetation in slope stability models for Pinus radiata. We adopt for the first time the concept of a minimum sampling requirement and characteristic value, similarly to what is assumed for the value of effective soil cohesion in geotechnical guidelines for slope stability calculations.

ACS Style

Filippo Giadrossich; Massimiliano Schwarz; Michael Marden; Roberto Marrosu; Chris Phillips. Minimum representative root distribution sampling for calculating slope stability in Pinus radiata D.Don plantations in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science 2020, 50, 1 .

AMA Style

Filippo Giadrossich, Massimiliano Schwarz, Michael Marden, Roberto Marrosu, Chris Phillips. Minimum representative root distribution sampling for calculating slope stability in Pinus radiata D.Don plantations in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science. 2020; 50 ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Filippo Giadrossich; Massimiliano Schwarz; Michael Marden; Roberto Marrosu; Chris Phillips. 2020. "Minimum representative root distribution sampling for calculating slope stability in Pinus radiata D.Don plantations in New Zealand." New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science 50, no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 25 June 2020 in Forests
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Today, a forest is also understood as a real social actor with multiple-scale influences, capable of significantly conditioning the social, economic, and cultural system of a whole territory. The aim of this paper is to reconstruct and interpret the population’s perception of the silvicultural activities related to traditional use of forest resources of the southwestern Sardinian Marganai State Forest. The “Marganai case” has brought to the attention of the mass media the role of this forest and its silviculture. The research was carried out via semi-structured interviews with the main stakeholders in the area. The qualitative approach in the collection and analysis of the information gathered has allowed us to reconstruct the historical-cultural and social cohesion function that the forest plays in rural communities. The results highlight that the main risks concern the erosion of the cultural forest heritage due to the abandonment of the rural dimension (mainly by the new generations, but not only), with the consequent spread of deep distortions in the perception, interpretation, and necessity of forestry activities and policy.

ACS Style

Giampiero Branca; Irene Piredda; Roberto Scotti; Laura Chessa; Ilenia Murgia; Antonio Ganga; Sergio Francesco Campus; Raffaella Lovreglio; Enrico Guastini; Massimiliano Schwarz; Filippo Giadrossich; Sergio Campus. Forest Protection Unifies, Silviculture Divides: A Sociological Analysis of Local Stakeholders’ Voices after Coppicing in the Marganai Forest (Sardinia, Italy). Forests 2020, 11, 708 .

AMA Style

Giampiero Branca, Irene Piredda, Roberto Scotti, Laura Chessa, Ilenia Murgia, Antonio Ganga, Sergio Francesco Campus, Raffaella Lovreglio, Enrico Guastini, Massimiliano Schwarz, Filippo Giadrossich, Sergio Campus. Forest Protection Unifies, Silviculture Divides: A Sociological Analysis of Local Stakeholders’ Voices after Coppicing in the Marganai Forest (Sardinia, Italy). Forests. 2020; 11 (6):708.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Giampiero Branca; Irene Piredda; Roberto Scotti; Laura Chessa; Ilenia Murgia; Antonio Ganga; Sergio Francesco Campus; Raffaella Lovreglio; Enrico Guastini; Massimiliano Schwarz; Filippo Giadrossich; Sergio Campus. 2020. "Forest Protection Unifies, Silviculture Divides: A Sociological Analysis of Local Stakeholders’ Voices after Coppicing in the Marganai Forest (Sardinia, Italy)." Forests 11, no. 6: 708.

Journal article
Published: 05 June 2020 in Journal of Hydrology
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The macroscopic capillary length, λc, is a fundamental soil parameter expressing the relative importance of the capillary over gravity forces during water movement in unsaturated soil. In this investigation, we propose a simple field method for estimating λc using only a single-ring infiltration experiment of the Beerkan type and measurements of initial and saturated soil water contents. We assumed that the intercept of the linear regression fitted to the steady-state portion of the experimental infiltration curve could be used as a reliable predictor of λc. This hypothesis was validated by assessing the proposed calculation approach using both analytical and field data. The analytical validation demonstrated that the proposed method was able to provide reliable λc estimates over a wide range of soil textural characteristics and initial soil water contents. The field testing was performed on a large database including 433 Beerkan infiltration experiments, with the 99% of the experiments yielding realistic λc values. The generated λc values were then used in conjunction with four different methods for estimating saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, Ks. Estimated Ks values were close to those generated by a reference method, with relative error < 25% in nearly all cases. By comparison, assuming constant or soil-dependent λc values caused relative errors in Ks of up to 600%. Altogether, the proposed method constitutes an easy solution for estimating λc, which can improve our ability to estimate Ks in the field.

ACS Style

Simone Di Prima; Ryan D. Stewart; Mirko Castellini; Vincenzo Bagarello; Majdi R. Abou Najm; Mario Pirastru; Filippo Giadrossich; Massimo Iovino; Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo; Laurent Lassabatere. Estimating the macroscopic capillary length from Beerkan infiltration experiments and its impact on saturated soil hydraulic conductivity predictions. Journal of Hydrology 2020, 589, 125159 .

AMA Style

Simone Di Prima, Ryan D. Stewart, Mirko Castellini, Vincenzo Bagarello, Majdi R. Abou Najm, Mario Pirastru, Filippo Giadrossich, Massimo Iovino, Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo, Laurent Lassabatere. Estimating the macroscopic capillary length from Beerkan infiltration experiments and its impact on saturated soil hydraulic conductivity predictions. Journal of Hydrology. 2020; 589 ():125159.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Simone Di Prima; Ryan D. Stewart; Mirko Castellini; Vincenzo Bagarello; Majdi R. Abou Najm; Mario Pirastru; Filippo Giadrossich; Massimo Iovino; Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo; Laurent Lassabatere. 2020. "Estimating the macroscopic capillary length from Beerkan infiltration experiments and its impact on saturated soil hydraulic conductivity predictions." Journal of Hydrology 589, no. : 125159.

Preprint content
Published: 23 March 2020
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Until now, slope stability models include the effects of the vegetation by adding a fixed value of apparent root cohesion as an estimate of root strength. However, some studies have demonstrated that root reinforcement depends on poorly constrained factors such as the heterogeneous distribution of roots in the soil and their tensional and compressional strength behavior.

SOSlope (Self-Organized Slope) is a hydro-mechanical model that computes the factor of safety on a hillslope discretized into a two-dimensional array of blocks connected by bonds to simulate the interactions of root-soil systems (Cohen and Schwarz, 2017). SOSlope estimates slope stability considering the presence of vegetation as a function of parameters such as species, tree density and diameter at breast height. In particular, bonds between adjacent blocks represent mechanical forces acting across the blocks due to roots and soil, in tension or compression, depending on the relative position of blocks. It is a strain-step discrete element model that reproduces the self-organized redistribution of forces on a slope during a rainfall-triggered shallow landslide. The innovative aspect of this model is a complete evaluation of the effects of roots on slope stability calculated using the Root Bundle Model with Weibull survival function  (RBMw, Schwarz et al, 2013).

In this case study, SOSlope was used to reconstruct a critical shallow landslide triggering and to observe how the factor of safety changes depending on the presence, or not, of vegetation. The study area is located in the north-eastern part of the Oltrepò Pavese (Pavia, Italy), and is characterized by a high density of past landslides as reported in the database of Italian landslide inventories (IFFI). In the past, the common land use was vineyards, abandoned in the 1980s. Presently, the vegetation consists of grasses and shrubs moving to a thinned forest of young Robinia pseudoacacia L.    

On 27 and 28 April 2009 a shallow landslide triggered after an intense and prolonged rainfall event (160 mm accumulated in 62 h with a maximum intensity of 22.6 mm/h). A large number of shallow landslides occurred in the surrounding area with about 29 landslides per km2 (1600 landslides in 240 km2). Five years later, on 28 February - 2 March 2014, 15 meters from a monitoring station and close to the previously affected area, another superficial landslide was triggered after 30 days of rain with a total precipitation of 105.5 mm (68.9 mm in 42 h recorded by the rain gauge of the monitoring station). In addition to the significance of this large landslide, this case study was scientifically important because it wasthe first documented case of a natural shallow landslide induced by rainfall since the 1950s (Bordoni et al, 2015).

The results of SOSlope simulations show good agreement with the real event of 28 February - 2 March 2014, and emphasize the important role of tree roots in the variation of the factor of safety. In this specific case, adding trees results in a reduction of about 39% of the dimensions of the unstable area.

ACS Style

Massimiliano Schwarz; Ilenia Murgia; Filippo Giadrossich; Massimiliano Bordoni; Claudia Meisina; Gian Battista Bischetti; Gian Franco Capra; Denis Cohen. Factor of safety analysis with and without vegetation using the SOSlope model. 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Massimiliano Schwarz, Ilenia Murgia, Filippo Giadrossich, Massimiliano Bordoni, Claudia Meisina, Gian Battista Bischetti, Gian Franco Capra, Denis Cohen. Factor of safety analysis with and without vegetation using the SOSlope model. . 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Massimiliano Schwarz; Ilenia Murgia; Filippo Giadrossich; Massimiliano Bordoni; Claudia Meisina; Gian Battista Bischetti; Gian Franco Capra; Denis Cohen. 2020. "Factor of safety analysis with and without vegetation using the SOSlope model." , no. : 1.

Preprint content
Published: 23 March 2020
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The influence of vegetation on the hydro-geomorphological response is widely recognized, and root reinforcement mechanisms are an important component of slope stability models. The calculation of this essential information is very complex because of the multiple interactions in the root-soil system, but also because of several mechanical characteristics that influence the tension and compression behaviour of the root itself.

This contribution has two aims. The first one is to show parameters of root reinforcement effects of Robinia pseudoacacia (L.), a tree commonly used for the mitigation of rainfall-induced landslides at small scale. This species is very widespread because it is able to grow on marginal areas, such as abandoned hillside sites, or on infrastructures, such as road and railway scarps, but its characterization represents a gap in knowledge in the literature. Field pullout tests were performed to collect input data for the quantification of root reinforcement using the Root Bundle Model with Weibull survival function (RBMw, Schwarz et al, 2013). Recent studies have shown how the RBMw is a very efficient model for the evaluation of root reinforcement by considering the heterogeneity of both root mechanical characteristics and their distribution in the soil. However, due to the model complexity and the need for information difficult to obtain, other simpler but less accurate approaches, such as the Wu model, have been preferred. 

For this reason, the second aim of the work is to present a new tool written in C++, and called RBM++, easy to use that enables anyone, from Universities to private companies, to quantify the effect of roots on slope stability. RBM++ allows the calculation of root reinforcement using two different methods: the first one by entering own data of the mechanical parameters of the roots, estimated beforehand with pullout tests in the field, and the root distribution in the soil; the second one by selecting the tree species and the data related to the spatial root distribution. For the first method, it is necessary to use a pullout machine to obtain the data. Because this instrument is not commonly available the model has the option to use default parameters for nine tree species based on values found in the literature. 

Output from RBM++ comes in tabular format and with a plot that shows, via the graphical user interface, the spatial distribution of forces as a function of the distance from the tree trunk and size of the tree.   

RBM++ makes it easier to share and exchange knowledge related to root reinforcement. Therefore, it will allow the realization of a database containing standard data on root mechanical behavior of tree species commonly used for shallow landslide mitigation.

ACS Style

Ilenia Murgia; Denis Cohen; Filippo Giadrossich; Gian Franco Capra; Massimiliano Schwarz. A new tool to accurately calculate root reinforcement: the Root Bundle Model software RBM++. 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Ilenia Murgia, Denis Cohen, Filippo Giadrossich, Gian Franco Capra, Massimiliano Schwarz. A new tool to accurately calculate root reinforcement: the Root Bundle Model software RBM++. . 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ilenia Murgia; Denis Cohen; Filippo Giadrossich; Gian Franco Capra; Massimiliano Schwarz. 2020. "A new tool to accurately calculate root reinforcement: the Root Bundle Model software RBM++." , no. : 1.

Preprint content
Published: 23 March 2020
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The practice of coppicing is debated in the literature for the risk factors associated with soil erosion. Although erosion experiments provide useful data for estimating the susceptibility to soil erosion, there are many open questions that cannot be solved in isolated experiments, but which can be assessed by activating a long-term monitoring process. In this way, it is possible to correctly frame the spatial and temporal scale of soil erosion in coppice forests. 

The aim of the work is to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of remote sensing data in combination with field data, for monitoring the evolution of forest stands interested by coppicing in relation to soil erosion. 

We have installed a long-term monitoring network for erosion estimation, while Sentinel-2C satellite data were used for the period 2016-2018. Starting from this dataset, a selection of vegetation indices was calculated and compared to the morphological and topographical parameters of the study area, as well as the above-ground data collected during field activities. Using the Canonical Correspondences Analysis (CCA) the relationships between the matrix of vegetation indices, topographic and vegetational parameters and the respective performances of this protocol have been explored in order to describe the evolution of the forest stands in the study area associated to soil losses.

ACS Style

Filippo Giadrossich; Antonio Ganga; Sergio Campus; Ilenia Murgia; Irene Piredda; Raffaella Lovreglio; Simone Di Prima; Mario Pirastru; Roberto Scotti. Remote sensing data and field survey activities for monitoring the evolution of forest systems after coppicing and soil erosion: A case study in Sardinia (Italy). 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Filippo Giadrossich, Antonio Ganga, Sergio Campus, Ilenia Murgia, Irene Piredda, Raffaella Lovreglio, Simone Di Prima, Mario Pirastru, Roberto Scotti. Remote sensing data and field survey activities for monitoring the evolution of forest systems after coppicing and soil erosion: A case study in Sardinia (Italy). . 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Filippo Giadrossich; Antonio Ganga; Sergio Campus; Ilenia Murgia; Irene Piredda; Raffaella Lovreglio; Simone Di Prima; Mario Pirastru; Roberto Scotti. 2020. "Remote sensing data and field survey activities for monitoring the evolution of forest systems after coppicing and soil erosion: A case study in Sardinia (Italy)." , no. : 1.

Preprint content
Published: 09 March 2020
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Preferential flow is more the rule than the exception, in particular during water infiltration experiments. In this study, we demonstrate the potential of GPR monitoring to detect preferential flows during water infiltration. We monitored time-lapse ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys in the vicinity of single-ring infiltration experiments and created a three-dimensional (3D) representation of infiltrated water below the devices. For that purpose, radargrams were constructed from GPR transects conducted over two grids (1 m × 1 m) before and after the infiltration tests. The obtained signal was represented in 3D and a threshold was chosen to part the domain into wetted and non-wetted zones, allowing the determination of the infiltration bulb. That methodology was used to detect the infiltration below the devices and clearly pointed at nonuniform flows in correspondence with the heterogeneous soil structures. The protocol presented in this study represents a practical and valuable tool for detecting preferential flows at the scale of a single ring infiltration experiment.

ACS Style

Simone Di Prima; Thierry Winiarski; Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo; Ryan D. Stewart; Mirko Castellini; Majdi R. Abou Najm; Domenico Ventrella; Mario Pirastru; Filippo Giadrossich; Laurent Lassabatere. Ground-penetrating radar surveys for the detection of preferential flow into soils. 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Simone Di Prima, Thierry Winiarski, Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo, Ryan D. Stewart, Mirko Castellini, Majdi R. Abou Najm, Domenico Ventrella, Mario Pirastru, Filippo Giadrossich, Laurent Lassabatere. Ground-penetrating radar surveys for the detection of preferential flow into soils. . 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Simone Di Prima; Thierry Winiarski; Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo; Ryan D. Stewart; Mirko Castellini; Majdi R. Abou Najm; Domenico Ventrella; Mario Pirastru; Filippo Giadrossich; Laurent Lassabatere. 2020. "Ground-penetrating radar surveys for the detection of preferential flow into soils." , no. : 1.

Development and technical paper
Published: 13 February 2020 in Geoscientific Model Development
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Numerical modeling provides an opportunity to quantify the reaction of lakes to alterations in their environment, such as changes in climate or hydrological conditions. The one-dimensional hydrodynamic General Lake Model (GLM) is an open-source software and widely used within the limnological research community. Nevertheless, no interface to process the input data and run the model and no tools for an automatic parameter calibration yet exist. Hence, we developed glmGUI, a graphical user interface (GUI) including a toolbox for an autocalibration, parameter sensitivity analysis, and several plot options. The tool is provided as a package for the freely available scientific code language R. The model parameters can be analyzed and calibrated for the simulation output variables water temperature and lake level. The glmGUI package is tested for two sites (lake Ammersee, Germany, and lake Baratz, Italy), distinguishing size, mixing regime, hydrology of the catchment area (i.e., the number of inflows and their runoff seasonality), and climatic conditions. A robust simulation of water temperature for both lakes (Ammersee: RMSE =1.17 ∘C; Baratz: RMSE =1.30 ∘C) is achieved by a quick automatic calibration. The quality of a water temperature simulation can be assessed immediately by means of a difference plot provided by glmGUI, which displays the distribution of the spatial (vertical) and temporal deviations. The calibration of the lake-level simulations of lake Ammersee for multiple hydrological inputs including also unknown inflows yielded a satisfactory model fit (RMSE =0.20 m). This shows that GLM can also be used to estimate the water balance of lakes correctly. The tools provided by glmGUI enable a less time-consuming and simplified parameter optimization within the calibration process. Due to this, i.e., the free availability and the implementation in a GUI, the presented R package expands the application of GLM to a broader field of lake modeling research and even beyond limnological experts.

ACS Style

Thomas Bueche; Marko Wenk; Benjamin Poschlod; Filippo Giadrossich; Mario Pirastru; Mark Vetter. glmGUI v1.0: an R-based graphical user interface and toolbox for GLM (General Lake Model) simulations. Geoscientific Model Development 2020, 13, 565 -580.

AMA Style

Thomas Bueche, Marko Wenk, Benjamin Poschlod, Filippo Giadrossich, Mario Pirastru, Mark Vetter. glmGUI v1.0: an R-based graphical user interface and toolbox for GLM (General Lake Model) simulations. Geoscientific Model Development. 2020; 13 (2):565-580.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Bueche; Marko Wenk; Benjamin Poschlod; Filippo Giadrossich; Mario Pirastru; Mark Vetter. 2020. "glmGUI v1.0: an R-based graphical user interface and toolbox for GLM (General Lake Model) simulations." Geoscientific Model Development 13, no. 2: 565-580.

Journal article
Published: 14 June 2019 in Scientific Reports
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Tree roots contribute significantly to soil strength on hillslopes. In the case of wildfires, this effect may abruptly vanish and be lacking for a considerable period of time depending on the resistance and resilience of the forest. Despite its importance, quantitative data on the impact and dynamics of wildfires on slope stabilization is still lacking. We use the study case of the Fagus sylvatica L. to quantify the medium-term evolution of root reinforcement and its effect on slope stability in fire-injured forests. In the study, we upscale root reinforcement using field data for the calibration of the Root Bundle Model and detailed information on forest structure in 244 plots, and calculate the spatio-temporal dynamics of forest protective capacity using a three-dimensional probabilistic slope stability model (slideforNET) for different site types. In unburnt and low-burn forests, the protective capacity was found to remain constant over time. Forests hit by moderate burns continue to provide adequate protection for shallow (depth < 0.5 m) and cohesive soils only, whereas in the case of high severity fires, the protective capacity vanishes for 15 years and an increased shallow landslide probability remains for at least 40 years. These conditions call for appropriate sylvicultural post-fire measures.

ACS Style

Eric Gehring; Marco Conedera; Janet Maringer; Filippo Giadrossich; Enrico Guastini; Massimiliano Schwarz. Shallow landslide disposition in burnt European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests. Scientific Reports 2019, 9, 1 -11.

AMA Style

Eric Gehring, Marco Conedera, Janet Maringer, Filippo Giadrossich, Enrico Guastini, Massimiliano Schwarz. Shallow landslide disposition in burnt European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests. Scientific Reports. 2019; 9 (1):1-11.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Eric Gehring; Marco Conedera; Janet Maringer; Filippo Giadrossich; Enrico Guastini; Massimiliano Schwarz. 2019. "Shallow landslide disposition in burnt European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests." Scientific Reports 9, no. 1: 1-11.

Research article
Published: 19 February 2019 in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
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Tree roots provide surface erosion protection and improve slope stability through highly complex interactions with the soil due to the nature of root systems. Root reinforcement estimation is usually performed by in‐situ pullout tests, in which roots are pulled out of the soil to reliably estimate the root strength of compact soils. However, this test is not suitable for the scenario where a soil progressively fails in a series of slump blocks, for example, in unsupported soils near streambanks and road cuts where the soil has no compressive resistance at the base of the hillslope. The scenario where a soil is unsupported on its downslope extent and progressively deforms at a slow strain rate has received little attention, and we are unaware of any study on root reinforcement that estimates the additional strength provided by roots in this situation. Thus, we designed two complementary laboratory experiments to compare the force required to pull the root out. The results indicate that the force required to pullout roots is reduced by up to 50% when the soil fails as slump blocks compared to pullout tests. We also found that, for slump block failure, roots had a higher tendency to slip than to break, showing the importance of active earth pressure on root reinforcement behaviour, which contributes to reduced friction between soil and roots. These results were then scaled up to a full tree and tree stand using the root bundle and field‐measured spatial distributions of root density. Although effects on the force mobilized in small roots can be relevant, small roots have virtually no effect on root reinforcement at the tree or stand scale on hillslopes. When root distribution has a wide range of diameters, the root reinforcement results are controlled by large roots that hold much more force than small roots. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

ACS Style

Filippo Giadrossich; Denis Cohen; Massimiliano Schwarz; Antonio Ganga; Roberto Marrosu; Mario Pirastru; Gian Franco Capra. Large roots dominate the contribution of trees to slope stability. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2019, 44, 1602 -1609.

AMA Style

Filippo Giadrossich, Denis Cohen, Massimiliano Schwarz, Antonio Ganga, Roberto Marrosu, Mario Pirastru, Gian Franco Capra. Large roots dominate the contribution of trees to slope stability. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 2019; 44 (8):1602-1609.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Filippo Giadrossich; Denis Cohen; Massimiliano Schwarz; Antonio Ganga; Roberto Marrosu; Mario Pirastru; Gian Franco Capra. 2019. "Large roots dominate the contribution of trees to slope stability." Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 44, no. 8: 1602-1609.

Development and technical paper
Published: 04 February 2019 in Geoscientific Model Development Discussions
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Numerical modeling provides the opportunity to quantify the reaction of lakes on alterations in their environment, such as changes in climate or hydrological conditions. The one-dimensional hydrodynamic General Lake Model (GLM) is an open-source software and widely used within the limnological research community. Nevertheless, neither an interface to process the input data and run the model, nor tools for an automatic parameter calibration exist. Hence, we developed glmGUI, a Geographical User Interface (GUI) including a toolbox for an autocalibration, parameter sensitivity analysis, and several plot options. The tool is provided as a package for the freely available scientific code language R. The model parameters can be analyzed and calibrated for the simulation output variables water temperature and lake level. The glmGUI package is tested for two sites (Lake Ammersee, Germany, and Lake Baratz, Italy) distinguishing in size, mixing regime, hydrology of the catchment area (i.e. the number of inflows and their runoff seasonality), and climatic conditions. A robust simulation of water temperature for both lakes (Ammersee: RMSE = 1.17 °C, Baratz: RMSE = 1.30 °C) is achieved by a quick automatic calibration. The quality of a water temperature simulation can be assessed immediately by a difference plot provided by glmGUI, which displays the distribution of the spatial (vertical) and temporal deviations. The calibration of the lake level simulations of Lake Ammersee for multiple hydrological inputs including also unknown inflows yielded a satisfactory model fit (RMSE = 0.20 m). This shows that GLM can be also used to estimate the water balance of lakes correctly. The tools provided by glmGUI enable a less time-consuming and simplified parameter optimization within the calibration process. Due to this, the free availability and the implementation in a GUI, the presented R package expands the application of GLM to a broader field of lake modeling research and even beyond limnological experts.

ACS Style

Thomas Bueche; Marko Wenk; Benjamin Poschlod; Filippo Giadrossich; Mario Pirastru; Mark Vetter. glmGUI v1.0: an R-based Geographical User Interface and toolbox for GLM (General Lake Model) simulations. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions 2019, 2019, 1 -41.

AMA Style

Thomas Bueche, Marko Wenk, Benjamin Poschlod, Filippo Giadrossich, Mario Pirastru, Mark Vetter. glmGUI v1.0: an R-based Geographical User Interface and toolbox for GLM (General Lake Model) simulations. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions. 2019; 2019 ():1-41.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Bueche; Marko Wenk; Benjamin Poschlod; Filippo Giadrossich; Mario Pirastru; Mark Vetter. 2019. "glmGUI v1.0: an R-based Geographical User Interface and toolbox for GLM (General Lake Model) simulations." Geoscientific Model Development Discussions 2019, no. : 1-41.

Preprint content
Published: 04 February 2019
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ACS Style

Thomas Bueche; Marko Wenk; Benjamin Poschlod; Filippo Giadrossich; Mario Pirastru; Mark Vetter. Supplementary material to "glmGUI v1.0: an R-based Geographical User Interface and toolbox for GLM (General Lake Model) simulations". 2019, 1 .

AMA Style

Thomas Bueche, Marko Wenk, Benjamin Poschlod, Filippo Giadrossich, Mario Pirastru, Mark Vetter. Supplementary material to "glmGUI v1.0: an R-based Geographical User Interface and toolbox for GLM (General Lake Model) simulations". . 2019; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Bueche; Marko Wenk; Benjamin Poschlod; Filippo Giadrossich; Mario Pirastru; Mark Vetter. 2019. "Supplementary material to "glmGUI v1.0: an R-based Geographical User Interface and toolbox for GLM (General Lake Model) simulations"." , no. : 1.

Research article
Published: 19 December 2018 in Land Degradation & Development
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Inappropriate forest management degrades the quality of soil resources. Soil erosion, for instance, leads to decreased soil fertility and landscape quality. Coppice‐wood management includes risk factors for soil erosion due to the partial and temporary lack of soil cover, and this review highlights the importance of considering both an adequate methodology and objective interpretation of findings. This critical review of Vacca et al. (2017) was carried out due to the substantial deficiencies in the research design and methodology, analysis and interpretation of data, and conclusions in the paper that are not supported by their findings. In this paper, we provide a different interpretation of their data, which reveals absence of substantial risk of soil erosion, even in the short period after coppicing when the soil is most exposed. We aim to provide a clearer context for readers about the impact of coppice management in Quercus ilex stands in the south of Sardinia.

ACS Style

Filippo Giadrossich; Enrico Guastini. A critical analysis of Vacca, A., Aru, F., and Ollesch, G. (2017). Short‐term impact of coppice management on soil in a Quercus ilex L. Stand in Sardinia. Land Degradation & Development , 28(2), 553–565. Land Degradation & Development 2018, 30, 1767 -1772.

AMA Style

Filippo Giadrossich, Enrico Guastini. A critical analysis of Vacca, A., Aru, F., and Ollesch, G. (2017). Short‐term impact of coppice management on soil in a Quercus ilex L. Stand in Sardinia. Land Degradation & Development , 28(2), 553–565. Land Degradation & Development. 2018; 30 (15):1767-1772.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Filippo Giadrossich; Enrico Guastini. 2018. "A critical analysis of Vacca, A., Aru, F., and Ollesch, G. (2017). Short‐term impact of coppice management on soil in a Quercus ilex L. Stand in Sardinia. Land Degradation & Development , 28(2), 553–565." Land Degradation & Development 30, no. 15: 1767-1772.

Journal article
Published: 01 April 2018 in Flora
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Ofelia Andrea Valdés-Rodríguez; Filippo Giadrossich; Arturo Pérez-Vázquez; Juan Carlos Moreno-Seceña. Above- and below-ground biomass and allometry of Moringa oleifera and Ricinus communis grown in a compacted clayey soil. Flora 2018, 241, 35 -45.

AMA Style

Ofelia Andrea Valdés-Rodríguez, Filippo Giadrossich, Arturo Pérez-Vázquez, Juan Carlos Moreno-Seceña. Above- and below-ground biomass and allometry of Moringa oleifera and Ricinus communis grown in a compacted clayey soil. Flora. 2018; 241 ():35-45.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ofelia Andrea Valdés-Rodríguez; Filippo Giadrossich; Arturo Pérez-Vázquez; Juan Carlos Moreno-Seceña. 2018. "Above- and below-ground biomass and allometry of Moringa oleifera and Ricinus communis grown in a compacted clayey soil." Flora 241, no. : 35-45.

Preprint content
Published: 29 January 2018
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ACS Style

Filippo Giadrossich. Answer to Anonymous Referee#1. 2018, 1 .

AMA Style

Filippo Giadrossich. Answer to Anonymous Referee#1. . 2018; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Filippo Giadrossich. 2018. "Answer to Anonymous Referee#1." , no. : 1.