The magnitude and frequency of Extreme Weather Events (EWEs) are increasing, causing changes in species distribution. We assessed the short-term effects of a late spring frost on beech forests, using satellite images to identify damaged forests and changes in v-egetation phenology, as well as to support the analyses on associated moth communities. The EWE caused crown dieback above 1400 m of altitude, recovered only after several weeks. Nine stands for moth sampling, settled in impacted and non-impacted forests, allowed us to study changes in moth communities and in the wingspan of the most impacted species. The EWE modified community structures, reducing the abundance of beech-feeder species, but leaving species richness unaltered. Operophtera fagata and Epirrita christyi, dominant before the EWE, lost 93% and 89% of their population, respectively. We found a general increase in the average wingspan for these species, caused by the loss of small specimens in most impacted forests, suggesting a re-colonization from non-impacted forests. According to our results, populations of some species could be more resilient than others after an EWE due to their different dispersal ability. Forest ecosystems appear to be dynamic entities able to cope with extreme weather events but, likely, only if they continue to occur in the future at the current rate.

Chestnut forests were exploited from centuries for several uses and are still nowadays managed under coppice and orchard regimes. The different management practices created a typical mosaic-like structure in landscapes in which alternate different kind of habitat represented by young and mature coppices, old thinned coppices with the physiognomy of high forest, and managed or abandoned orchards. The aim of our study was to evaluate how the different kind of management could affect the hosted biodiversity. We used nocturnal Lepidoptera as indicators, sampled in different woodlots along an altitudinal gradient in the chestnut forests of the Catena Costiera Mountains, southern Italy. We analyzed a published dataset concerning 15 stands subjected to different management regimes. We found that the main variables affecting moth communities distribution were (i) the elevation at which the stands were located and (ii) the time elapsed from the last human intervention. In fact, the stands subjected to recent intervention (young coppices and managed orchards) showed low values of moth richness and abundance, on the contrary the stands subjected to old interventions (mature and old coppices and abandoned orchards) registered a high number of species and individuals, mainly due to their greater structural complexity. Despite the quantitative differences, in woodlots recently managed were collected exclusive species that increased the diversity at a landscape level. Our results underlined the importance to maintain a mosaic-like landscape taking into account also the altitude when interventions are planned in order to improve the ecological sustainability of chestnut forest exploitation.

In this paper we described the Heterocera fauna of the Calabrian black pine forest in the Sila Massif, southern Italy. We sampled 15 stands at 1270-1446 meters of altitude. One UV-Led light traps per stand was turned on once per month from May to November 2015 and from April to November 2016. We collected 18,827 individuals belonging to 367 species. Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Notodontidae) and Alcis repandata (Geometridae) were the most abundant species. Conifers are the main larval foodplant of 11 species and 4,984 individuals. Particularly interesting was the presence of Eupithecia indigata, discovered in Italy outside the Alps few years ago, abundant in pure Calabrian black pine stands. Also, the recently described Italian endemic Hylaea mediterranea was abundant, and together with E. indigata compose and unique species assemblage characterizing Lepidoptera fauna of the Calabrian black pine forests of the Sila Massif. During the spring, communities were dominated by Eupithecia indigata and Agrotis cinerea, during the summer Thaumetopoea pityocampa, Alcis repandata, Idaea deversaria, and Dendrolimus pini were dominant, and autumn communities were characterized by Pennithera firmata and Colostygia sericeata. We confirmed the presence of Acossus terebra, Dichagyris signifera, Acasis appensata, Mesotype didymata, Plusidia cheiranthi, Trichopteryx carpinata, and Lithophane socia. The relevant interest of this fauna was completed by the presence of several Italian endemic species: Hydriomena sanfilensis, Idaea mutilata, Itame messapiaria, Megalycinia serraria, Nychiodes ragusaria, and Xanthorhoe vidanoi.