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Many landscapes are the result of interactions between ecological processes, economic activities, and the administrative and political organisation of society. Therefore, as a consequence of human transformations over time, some landscapes may contain residual damaged habitats hosting testimony of past biodiversity that can be called “biodiversity heritage relicts”. From this perspective, the aim of the paper is to describe an applicative approach to habitat restoration in social-ecological landscapes. The approach entails the restoration of vegetation using GIS analysis integrated with field activities and a phytosociological method. The methodology includes expert and stakeholder involvement in order to increase the resilience of the measures over time, thereby consolidating landscape value. The approach was applied in the municipality of Campi Salentina, Province of Lecce, Italy, and the result was the restoration of an important riparian habitat classified under Directive 92/43/EEC as “Salix alba and Populus alba galleries” (code 92A0), which had not previously been recorded in the Province of Lecce. In this case, the project re-established a natural habitat that represented a “biodiversity heritage relict” in the landscape. The paper shows that direct knowledge of the landscape and the ability to identify “biodiversity heritage relicts”, in combination with a phytosociological approach, can enhance the effectiveness of ecological restoration projects. Moreover, social and institutional integration in projects helps ensure the management of the measures over time.
Teodoro Semeraro; Alessio Turco; Stefano Arzeni; Giuseppe La Gioia; Roberta D’Armento; Riccardo Taurino; Pietro Medagli. Habitat Restoration: An Applicative Approach to “Biodiversity Heritage Relicts” in Social-Ecological Systems. Land 2021, 10, 898 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Alessio Turco, Stefano Arzeni, Giuseppe La Gioia, Roberta D’Armento, Riccardo Taurino, Pietro Medagli. Habitat Restoration: An Applicative Approach to “Biodiversity Heritage Relicts” in Social-Ecological Systems. Land. 2021; 10 (9):898.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Alessio Turco; Stefano Arzeni; Giuseppe La Gioia; Roberta D’Armento; Riccardo Taurino; Pietro Medagli. 2021. "Habitat Restoration: An Applicative Approach to “Biodiversity Heritage Relicts” in Social-Ecological Systems." Land 10, no. 9: 898.
The Apulian Region (Italy) is a socio-ecological system shaped by the millennial co-evolution between human actions and ecological processes. It is characterized by monumental olive groves protected from Regional Law 14/2007 for the cultural value of the landscape, currently threatened by the spread of a devastating phytopathogen, the bacteria Xylella fastidiosa. The aim of this paper is to apply landscape resilience analysis focusing on ecosystem services to understand the potential effects and trade-offs of regeneration policies in a peri-urban area characterized by monumental olive groves land cover. The study involved land-cover and land-use analysis, supported by a survey on the inhabitants and an ecosystem services analysis. The results showed a mismatch between the agroecosystem and the social and economic use linked to leisure or hospitality. The study area was defined as a peri-urban landscape characterized by tourist use. From the interviews of the users, the cultural heritage of olive groves seems linked to the presence of olive trees like a status quo of the landscape and olive oil productions. The culture aspect could thus be preserved by changing the type of olive trees. In addition, the analysis showed that the microclimate could be preserved and enhanced in terms of air temperature and thermal comfort, by replacing the olive trees with varieties resistant to Xylella, such as cv. Leccino. Therefore, regeneration policies that promote replacing dead olive groves with new olive trees could be efficient to stimulate social components of the landscape and improve the resilience of ecosystem services in peri-urban areas in the interest of the cultural heritage of the users and benefits that they provide. An ecosystem services analysis at a local scale could be a strategy for an integrated regenerate approach between land-use and land-cover with social, ecological, and economic evolutions vision orientated to a sustainable and desirable future.
Teodoro Semeraro; Elisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Valentina Catanzaro; Luigi De Bellis; Lorenzo Cotrozzi; Giacomo Lorenzini; Marzia Vergine; Andrea Luvisi. How Ecosystem Services Can Strengthen the Regeneration Policies for Monumental Olive Groves Destroyed by Xylella fastidiosa Bacterium in a Peri-Urban Area. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8778 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Elisa Gatto, Riccardo Buccolieri, Valentina Catanzaro, Luigi De Bellis, Lorenzo Cotrozzi, Giacomo Lorenzini, Marzia Vergine, Andrea Luvisi. How Ecosystem Services Can Strengthen the Regeneration Policies for Monumental Olive Groves Destroyed by Xylella fastidiosa Bacterium in a Peri-Urban Area. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):8778.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Elisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Valentina Catanzaro; Luigi De Bellis; Lorenzo Cotrozzi; Giacomo Lorenzini; Marzia Vergine; Andrea Luvisi. 2021. "How Ecosystem Services Can Strengthen the Regeneration Policies for Monumental Olive Groves Destroyed by Xylella fastidiosa Bacterium in a Peri-Urban Area." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 8778.
Neglected and underutilized species (NUS) are cultivated, semi-domesticated, or wild plant species, not included in the group of the major staple crops, since, in most cases, they do not meet the global market requirements. As they often represent resilient species and valuable sources of vitamins, micronutrients, and other phytochemicals, a wider use of NUS would enhance sustainability of agro-systems and a choice of nutritious foods with a strategic role for addressing the nutritional security challenge across Europe. In this review, we focused on some examples of NUS from the Apulia Region (Southern Italy), either cultivated or spontaneously growing species, showing interesting adaptative, nutritional, and economical potential that can be exploited and properly enhanced in future programs.
Aurelia Scarano; Teodoro Semeraro; Marcello Chieppa; Angelo Santino. Neglected and Underutilized Plant Species (NUS) from the Apulia Region Worthy of Being Rescued and Re-Included in Daily Diet. Horticulturae 2021, 7, 177 .
AMA StyleAurelia Scarano, Teodoro Semeraro, Marcello Chieppa, Angelo Santino. Neglected and Underutilized Plant Species (NUS) from the Apulia Region Worthy of Being Rescued and Re-Included in Daily Diet. Horticulturae. 2021; 7 (7):177.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAurelia Scarano; Teodoro Semeraro; Marcello Chieppa; Angelo Santino. 2021. "Neglected and Underutilized Plant Species (NUS) from the Apulia Region Worthy of Being Rescued and Re-Included in Daily Diet." Horticulturae 7, no. 7: 177.
In the context of urban land-use growth and the consequent impacts on the environment, green spaces provide ecosystem services for human health. The ecosystem services concept synthesises human–environmental interactions through a series of combined components of biodiversity and abiotic elements, linking ecological processes and functions. The concept of green infrastructure (GI) in the urban context emphasises the quality and quantity of urban and peri-urban green spaces and natural areas. In dense urban contexts, the applications of GI are limited and not applied to the potential urban spaces such as roofs and gardens. Often, roofs are characterised by impermeable paved surfaces with negative effects on human well-being, whereas garden designs do not consider social needs and environmental interactions. The role of urban stressors or the urban context as a driving force or pressure of urban green space is not always well understood and employed in the planning of green spaces. This is partly due to a knowledge gap between different science disciplines that operate on different scales, from single processes of the plants (which focus on plant responses to environmental stresses affecting human well-being) to urban ecosystems (which focus on the biodiversity and urban space planning–human well-being relationship). This can create a paradox, as green spaces that are not adequately designed might not produce the expected effects. In this paper, an overview of benefits and limitations of applying the ecosystem services approach when designing green spaces is presented. The focus is on the main urban ecosystem services provided by green roofs and community gardens such as GI that can represent strategies to provide ecological and social multifunctionality to waterproofed surfaces connected to the buildings and low-exploited gardens being the main areas that affect dense urban settlements, and thus, increasing the ecosystem services in the urban environment, such as reducing the Urban Heat Island, as well as flooding events. Specifically, the paper highlights (i) feedback between ecological processes and functions that support ecosystem services, (ii) urban environmental stresses in relation to disservices that these can create for human well-being and (iii) key issues that should be considered in the planning and design of urban ecosystem services. Such a new vision of urban ecosystem services highlights the need to look at GI as an active part of the urban space design in the built environment.
Teodoro Semeraro; Aurelia Scarano; Riccardo Buccolieri; Angelo Santino; Eeva Aarrevaara. Planning of Urban Green Spaces: An Ecological Perspective on Human Benefits. Land 2021, 10, 105 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Aurelia Scarano, Riccardo Buccolieri, Angelo Santino, Eeva Aarrevaara. Planning of Urban Green Spaces: An Ecological Perspective on Human Benefits. Land. 2021; 10 (2):105.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Aurelia Scarano; Riccardo Buccolieri; Angelo Santino; Eeva Aarrevaara. 2021. "Planning of Urban Green Spaces: An Ecological Perspective on Human Benefits." Land 10, no. 2: 105.
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) can support decision-makers in constructing more sustainable plans, programs, and policies (PPPs). To be more coherent with new frontiers of sustainable cities, PPPs need to include conservation objectives and to increase ecosystem service (ES) strategies. The ES concept is not intrinsic to the SEA process; therefore, it is necessary to develop an approach and methodology to include it. In this paper, we propose a methodology to integrate the concept of ecosystem services in all phases of the SEA process for a sub-urban plan, including the design of mitigation measures. The case study is represented by a peri-urban development plan in the municipality of Gallipoli in South Italy, characterized by a strong tourism economy and valuable agro-ecosystems. The analysis shows the priority ecosystem services that are selected considering the sustainable development and environmental goals, the context of referment, and the aims of the peri-urban plan. After, we highlight the potential ecosystem services developed considering the design of mitigation actions like green infrastructure, which could be implemented in the peri-urban plan. The capacity to develop green infrastructure in SEA processes can configure the SEA as a tool for ecological urban design that is integrated with urban planning. This requires the ability to transfer ecological and planning theories into practical actions and the capacity of different disciplines to work in a transdisciplinary approach.
Teodoro Semeraro; Benedetta Radicchio; Pietro Medagli; Stefano Arzeni; Alessio Turco; Davide Geneletti. Integration of Ecosystem Services in Strategic Environmental Assessment of a Peri-Urban Development Plan. Sustainability 2020, 13, 122 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Benedetta Radicchio, Pietro Medagli, Stefano Arzeni, Alessio Turco, Davide Geneletti. Integration of Ecosystem Services in Strategic Environmental Assessment of a Peri-Urban Development Plan. Sustainability. 2020; 13 (1):122.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Benedetta Radicchio; Pietro Medagli; Stefano Arzeni; Alessio Turco; Davide Geneletti. 2020. "Integration of Ecosystem Services in Strategic Environmental Assessment of a Peri-Urban Development Plan." Sustainability 13, no. 1: 122.
The growth of urban populations leads to cities and their suburbs to spread, expand, and replace agricultural and natural lands. Indeed, urbanization brings to land-use change, altering the relationship between human societies and environmental resources with loss of important natural and rural ecosystem goods and services. In urban areas, the elements that provide ecosystem services are defined as 'green infrastructure'. The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is an appraisal process introduced in the EU regulation with Directive 2001/42/CE to assess the effect of the Plans and Programmes on the environment and human well-being. An important part of SEA processes is represented by the analysis of different scenarios of the urban development with mitigation measures: actions must be implemented in order to avoid and reduce the expected adverse environmental impacts. Currently, among these measures, few or none takes into consideration the assessment of ecosystem services, and therefore, the concept of ecosystem services in urban planning is purely conceptual than practical. Starting from a case study in the Gallipoli municipality, South Italy, we propose a methodological analysis to evaluate ecosystem services in a SEA process. In particular, we have analyzed different urban scenarios in synergy with the mitigation measures proposed. The results show a decrease in ecosystem services passing from the current agricultural land use to an urban development forecast with the enhancement of ecosystem services if we apply specific mitigation actions to the original urban plan. Authors believe that a correct and profitable assessment of ecosystem services in SEA strategy allows passing from an approach mainly oriented towards a conservation purpose to an approach aimed also to the improvement of ecosystem services within the territory transformation processes. In accordance with the spontaneous vegetation and the typical crops of the area, the mitigation measures developed are mainly focalized on green infrastructures that can increase the ecological functions.
Teodoro Semeraro; Stefano Arzeni; Alessio Turco; Pietro Medagli. Ecosystem Services in Strategic Environmental Assessment: a Case Study of an Urban Development Plan in Gallipoli City. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 2020, 960, 022018 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Stefano Arzeni, Alessio Turco, Pietro Medagli. Ecosystem Services in Strategic Environmental Assessment: a Case Study of an Urban Development Plan in Gallipoli City. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 2020; 960 (2):022018.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Stefano Arzeni; Alessio Turco; Pietro Medagli. 2020. "Ecosystem Services in Strategic Environmental Assessment: a Case Study of an Urban Development Plan in Gallipoli City." IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 960, no. 2: 022018.
The worldwide increase in urban and industrial areas represents a challenge for urban green management, pollutant mitigation and environmental monitoring. We propose an analysis approach for the spatial and spatial-temporal distribution of pollutants in the environment through dendrochemistry techniques, in order to gauge the value of this discipline in urban ecosystem. The proposed analysis models can be useful to evaluate significant changes in space and time related to economic activities and to describe the “impacts” of adopted strategies, as demonstrated in the case study of the opening or closure of factories, and therefore to describe the cause-effect relation connected with human activities. Trees represent a key factor for urban planning, providing a wide variety of ecosystem services including in-depth environmental monitoring, which is one of the main elements to be included in a high quality urban design. The proposed approach aims at suggesting the dendrochemistry as a novel and feasible tool definable as a cost-saving ecosystem service in the urban context.
Teodoro Semeraro; Andrea Luvisi; Luigi De Bellis; Roberta Aretano; Sandro Sacchelli; Gherardo Chirici; Marco Marchetti; Claudia Cocozza. Dendrochemistry: Ecosystem Services Perspectives for Urban Biomonitoring. Frontiers in Environmental Science 2020, 8, 1 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Andrea Luvisi, Luigi De Bellis, Roberta Aretano, Sandro Sacchelli, Gherardo Chirici, Marco Marchetti, Claudia Cocozza. Dendrochemistry: Ecosystem Services Perspectives for Urban Biomonitoring. Frontiers in Environmental Science. 2020; 8 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Andrea Luvisi; Luigi De Bellis; Roberta Aretano; Sandro Sacchelli; Gherardo Chirici; Marco Marchetti; Claudia Cocozza. 2020. "Dendrochemistry: Ecosystem Services Perspectives for Urban Biomonitoring." Frontiers in Environmental Science 8, no. : 1.
This paper presents a conceptual framework that looks at photovoltaic systems in synergy with ecosystem services. The focus is to connect business success with social and ecological progress based on the operative concept of multifunctional land use. Such an approach attempts to harmonise the needs of the industrial processes of photovoltaic systems and the ecological and social needs of the landscape context. Different from the usual design of ground photovoltaic systems in farmlands or brownfields, a new framework is proposed, combining photovoltaic panels and vegetation. A case study is considered, applying the framework to existing photovoltaic systems in the Apulia region (southern Italy). The analysis shows how the framework has, among others, the major functions of increasing solar energy production, recycling wastewater, creating raw material for biofuel, as well as providing animal habitat and mitigating air temperature. The latter is preliminarily evaluated by means of modelling simulations performed with a computational fluid dynamics and microclimate model, ENVI-met. This approach opens up a new vision of the infrastructure design of photovoltaic systems which can produce new social and economic income.
Teodoro Semeraro; Roberta Aretano; Amilcare Barca; Alessandro Pomes; Cecilia Del Giudice; Elisa Gatto; Marcello Lenucci; Riccardo Buccolieri; Rohinton Emmanuel; Zhi Gao; Alessandra Scognamiglio. A Conceptual Framework to Design Green Infrastructure: Ecosystem Services as an Opportunity for Creating Shared Value in Ground Photovoltaic Systems. Land 2020, 9, 238 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Roberta Aretano, Amilcare Barca, Alessandro Pomes, Cecilia Del Giudice, Elisa Gatto, Marcello Lenucci, Riccardo Buccolieri, Rohinton Emmanuel, Zhi Gao, Alessandra Scognamiglio. A Conceptual Framework to Design Green Infrastructure: Ecosystem Services as an Opportunity for Creating Shared Value in Ground Photovoltaic Systems. Land. 2020; 9 (8):238.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Roberta Aretano; Amilcare Barca; Alessandro Pomes; Cecilia Del Giudice; Elisa Gatto; Marcello Lenucci; Riccardo Buccolieri; Rohinton Emmanuel; Zhi Gao; Alessandra Scognamiglio. 2020. "A Conceptual Framework to Design Green Infrastructure: Ecosystem Services as an Opportunity for Creating Shared Value in Ground Photovoltaic Systems." Land 9, no. 8: 238.
The urban area is characterized by different urban ecosystems that interact with different institutional levels, including different stakeholders and decision-makers, such as public administrations and governments. This can create many institutional conflicts in planning and designing the urban space. It would arguably be ideal for an urban area to be planned like a socio-ecological system where the urban ecosystem and institutional levels interact with each other in a multi-scale analysis. This work embraces a planning process that aims at being applied to a multi-institutional level approach that is able to match different visions and stakeholders' needs, combining bottom-up and top-down participation approaches. At the urban scale, the use of this approach is sometimes criticized because it appears to increase conflicts between the different stakeholders. Starting from a case study in the Municipality of Lecce, South Italy, we apply a top-down and bottom-up participation approach to overcome conflicts at the institutional levels in the use of the urban space in the Plan of the Urban University Center. The bottom-up participation action analyzes the vision of people that frequent the urban context. After that, we share this vision in direct comparison with decision-makers to develop the planning and design solutions. The final result is a draft of the hypothetical Plan of the Urban University Center. In this way, the bottom-up and top-down approaches are useful to match the need of the community that uses the area with the vision of urban space development of decision-makers, reducing the conflicts that can arise between different institutional levels. In this study, it also emerges that the urban question is not green areas vs. new buildings, but it is important to focus on the social use of the space to develop human well-being. With the right transition of information and knowledge between different institutional levels, the bottom-up and top-down approaches help develop an operative effective transdisciplinary urban plan and design. Therefore, public participation with bottom-up and top-down approaches is not a tool to obtain maximum consensus, but mainly a moment of confrontation to better address social issues in urban planning and design.
Teodoro Semeraro; Zaccarelli Nicola; Alejandro Lara; Francesco Sergi Cucinelli; Roberta Aretano. A Bottom-Up and Top-Down Participatory Approach to Planning and Designing Local Urban Development: Evidence from an Urban University Center. Land 2020, 9, 98 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Zaccarelli Nicola, Alejandro Lara, Francesco Sergi Cucinelli, Roberta Aretano. A Bottom-Up and Top-Down Participatory Approach to Planning and Designing Local Urban Development: Evidence from an Urban University Center. Land. 2020; 9 (4):98.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Zaccarelli Nicola; Alejandro Lara; Francesco Sergi Cucinelli; Roberta Aretano. 2020. "A Bottom-Up and Top-Down Participatory Approach to Planning and Designing Local Urban Development: Evidence from an Urban University Center." Land 9, no. 4: 98.
Forests are important in sequestering CO2 and therefore play a significant role in climate change. However, the CO2 cycle is conditioned by drought events that alter the rate of photosynthesis, which is the principal physiological action of plants in transforming CO2 into biological energy. This study applied recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) to describe the evolution of photosynthesis-related indices to highlight disturbance alterations produced by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO, years 2005 and 2010) and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO, year 2015) in the Amazon forest. The analysis was carried out using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images to build time series of the enhanced vegetation index (EVI), the normalized difference water index (NDWI), and the land surface temperature (LST) covering the period 2001–2018. The results did not show significant variations produced by AMO throughout the study area, while a disruption due to the global warming phase linked to the extreme ENSO event occurred, and the forest was able to recover. In addition, spatial differences in the response of the forest to the ENSO event were found. These findings show that the application of RQA to the time series of vegetation indices supports the evaluation of the forest ecosystem response to disruptive events. This approach provides information on the capacity of the forest to recover after a disruptive event and, therefore is useful to estimate the resilience of this particular ecosystem.
Teodoro Semeraro; Andrea Luvisi; Antonio O. Lillo; Roberta Aretano; Riccardo Buccolieri; Norbert Marwan. Recurrence Analysis of Vegetation Indices for Highlighting the Ecosystem Response to Drought Events: An Application to the Amazon Forest. Remote Sensing 2020, 12, 907 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Andrea Luvisi, Antonio O. Lillo, Roberta Aretano, Riccardo Buccolieri, Norbert Marwan. Recurrence Analysis of Vegetation Indices for Highlighting the Ecosystem Response to Drought Events: An Application to the Amazon Forest. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12 (6):907.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Andrea Luvisi; Antonio O. Lillo; Roberta Aretano; Riccardo Buccolieri; Norbert Marwan. 2020. "Recurrence Analysis of Vegetation Indices for Highlighting the Ecosystem Response to Drought Events: An Application to the Amazon Forest." Remote Sensing 12, no. 6: 907.
The growth of urban populations causes cities, and their suburbs, to spread, expand, and replace natural lands by agricultural. Urbanization brings land-use change, altering the relationship between human societies and environmental resources. Therefore, the management of natural resources connected to urban expansion has become one of the most important challenges in attaining sustainable landscape. Quarrying is a crucial component of local socio-economic development providing key materials for infrastructures and buildings. However, like many other human activities, quarrying causes a significant impact on the environment. In Mediterranean countries, quarrying activities exert increasing pressures on limited soil and water resources, thus accelerating erosion processes and subsequent destruction of existing arable lands. Quarrying operations can profoundly alter pre-existing ecosystems and perturb hydro-geological and hydrological regimes. They can profoundly modify the substratum, change landscape patterns and integrity, destroy natural habitats and interrupt their natural succession, as well as alter genetic resources. The resulting situation is seriously compromised by anthropic regeneration processes on degraded sites after the end of quarrying activities, which are not focused on potential natural vegetation which these sites could develop, considering the surrounding ecosystems. In this work, we propose a landscape regeneration project which was developed as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure on quarrying activity located in the municipality of Lecce, South Italy. This project aims to integrate environmental and landscape aspects with the economic and social ones in order to guarantee the sustainability of the proposed intervention. The new project modifies the one presented at the start of the quarrying activity which planned planting of trees directly on the bottom of the quarry, (about 40 meters deep from the ground level and three meters above the groundwater level). The new project foresees the partial filling of the quarry using waste materials according to the environmental legislation. This allows to protect the groundwater better and to create a microclimate more suited to the development of natural vegetation. The quarry filling activity represents an economic activity for the company and therefore can guarantee the development of jobs for at least 5 years. In addition, the proposed project aims to reconstitute the pre-existing vegetation, consistently with the surrounding ecosystem. This will allow the development of the priority habitat *6220: Pseudo-steppe with grasses and annuals of the Thero-Brachypodietea (Directive 92/43/CEE), producing a landscape of recognized ecological value, not detached from the surrounding landscape. In this way, the closed quarry can act as a stepping stone and play a significant role in regulating green infrastructure in landscapes.
Teodoro Semeraro; Stefano Arzeni; Alessio Turco; Stefano Margiotta; Giuseppe La Gioia; Roberta Aretano; Pietro Medagli. Landscape Project for the Environmental Recovery of a Quarry. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 2019, 603, 032020 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Stefano Arzeni, Alessio Turco, Stefano Margiotta, Giuseppe La Gioia, Roberta Aretano, Pietro Medagli. Landscape Project for the Environmental Recovery of a Quarry. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 2019; 603 (3):032020.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Stefano Arzeni; Alessio Turco; Stefano Margiotta; Giuseppe La Gioia; Roberta Aretano; Pietro Medagli. 2019. "Landscape Project for the Environmental Recovery of a Quarry." IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 603, no. 3: 032020.
This paper is devoted to the analysis of the impact of changes in olive urban forests affected by Xylella fastidiosa on ecosystem services. The focus is on microclimate and thermal comfort evaluated by two indices: the temperature of equivalent perception (TEP) and the predicted mean vote (PMV), which take into account both microclimate parameters and personal factors (heat resistance of clothing and human activity). The work has been carried out through (i) a qualitative analysis of the potential ecosystem services changes caused by temporary transition from olive groves to uncultivated soil, (ii) a study of the potential change of land use from monumental olive groves to other types of use, and (iii) a quantitative analysis on microclimate impact due to the loss of ecosystem services in two selected neighborhoods located in the Apulia region and chosen due to their proximity to the urban context. The analysis revealed that (i) direct effects on ecosystem services are principally linked with regulation functions and cultural services, (ii) a critical loss of cultural value of monumental olive groves occurred in the two neighborhoods, (iii) such a loss may lead to an increase of TEP and PMV, indicating a decrease of thermal comfort in the whole neighborhoods. Thus, it is necessary to plan the replanting policies of the use of the areas affected by X. fastidiosa not only in terms of agricultural planning but also in terms of landscape, urban planning, and human well-being.
Teodoro Semeraro; Elisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Marzia Vergine; Zhi Gao; Luigi De Bellis; Andrea Luvisi. Changes in Olive Urban Forests Infected by Xylella fastidiosa: Impact on Microclimate and Social Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2019, 16, 2642 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Elisa Gatto, Riccardo Buccolieri, Marzia Vergine, Zhi Gao, Luigi De Bellis, Andrea Luvisi. Changes in Olive Urban Forests Infected by Xylella fastidiosa: Impact on Microclimate and Social Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16 (15):2642.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Elisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Marzia Vergine; Zhi Gao; Luigi De Bellis; Andrea Luvisi. 2019. "Changes in Olive Urban Forests Infected by Xylella fastidiosa: Impact on Microclimate and Social Health." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 15: 2642.
Fire disturbance is an intrinsic component of the Mediterranean biome playing an important role in ecosystem dynamics and processes. However, frequent and severe anthropogenic wildfires can be detrimental to natural ecosystems, particularly in small natural protected areas, where they may hamper the flow of ecosystem services (ES). While post-fire dynamics of individual ES are heavily context-dependent, the primary productivity of the ecosystem can be regarded as a generic driver of several provisioning and regulating ES, as it represents the amount of energy available to plants for storage, growth, and reproduction, which drives future ecosystem structure and functions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of anthropogenic wildfire on the primary productivity of a rare wetland ecosystem in the Natura 2000 site “Torre Guaceto” in Southern Europe. Productivity was estimated by calculating a 15-year time series of vegetation indices (EVI and NDWI) from remotely sensed MODIS imagery. Our results in terms of PP trends may be relevant to assess the change in ecosystems services provided by wetlands. Interactions between wildfire, ecosystem productivity and climate were then analyzed. During the selected period, climate did not play a significant effect on primary productivity, which was mainly driven by post-fire vegetation recovery. Findings of the present study demonstrate that the wildfire affecting the Natural Protected Area of Torre Guaceto in summer 2007 had a major effect on primary productivity, inducing the regeneration of Phragmites australis and the replacement of old individuals by structurally and functionally better ones.
Teodoro Semeraro; Giorgio Vacchiano; Roberta Aretano; Davide Ascoli. Application of vegetation index time series to value fire effect on primary production in a Southern European rare wetland. Ecological Engineering 2019, 134, 9 -17.
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Giorgio Vacchiano, Roberta Aretano, Davide Ascoli. Application of vegetation index time series to value fire effect on primary production in a Southern European rare wetland. Ecological Engineering. 2019; 134 ():9-17.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Giorgio Vacchiano; Roberta Aretano; Davide Ascoli. 2019. "Application of vegetation index time series to value fire effect on primary production in a Southern European rare wetland." Ecological Engineering 134, no. : 9-17.
The scale of the potential impacts of climate change is uncertain but, concurrently with other demographic, land-use, socioeconomic changes, it is affecting water availability and demand and increasing competition for water. As temperature increases, evaporation increases, resulting in droughts and devastating effects on fresh water supplies. Water will be one of the key resources for a sustainable urban development. Making clean water available in the next forty or so years will require the extending of the service to 3.7 billion more residents in urban areas. Therefore, it is necessary to promote an engineered redistribution of fresh water in space and time. This problem must be solved in a sustainable way using an innovative Green Infrastructure (GI) able to increase the water provision in urban systems realizing the recovery of rainwater and domestic water and reusing the same for irrigation and non-potable uses. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop a project idea of GI focused on the reuse of water resource in a condominium of 40 housing units located in Lecce, south Italy. In particular, the project will exploit the free areas on the roof of the building, accounting a total surface of about 900 sqm. The project involves the construction of a green roof to develop the ecological functions linked to the purification of wastewater like in a Constructed Treatment Wetland (CTW) that represents a low-cost alternative to conventional secondary or tertiary wastewater treatment. This green roof allows the reuse of wastewater on site for sanitary, garden activities and other uses in the building, reducing the exploitation of the already scarce regional freshwater resources. The project idea also includes the possibility of using aromatic and medicinal plant species for phytoremediation, with potential applications in phytotherapy and cosmetics. CTWs produce ecosystem services like ones provided by wetlands and, therefore, act as sinks of CO2. Moreover, it is widely recognized that the green roof reduces the heating of the buildings caused by the solar irradiation, thus reducing the consumption of energy necessary to cool the apartments. So, the green roof turns from an unused cemented roof into a source of ecosystem services related to both the reuse of water resources and the development of potential economic activities. The cost of the work can be reduced by government incentives for the development of gardens in condominiums or for energy efficiency of the building. At the municipal level, the replication of this project on many buildings could reduce the water demand for residential areas as well as can mitigate the island heat effect that afflicts urban area during the summer and improve the quality of life in the city. This approach offers many opportunities for integration of water resource conservation, economic development and public health promotion.
Teodoro Semeraro; Roberta Aretano; Alessandro Pomes. Green Roof Technology as a Sustainable Strategy to Improve Water Urban Availability. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 2019, 471, 092065 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Roberta Aretano, Alessandro Pomes. Green Roof Technology as a Sustainable Strategy to Improve Water Urban Availability. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 2019; 471 (9):092065.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Roberta Aretano; Alessandro Pomes. 2019. "Green Roof Technology as a Sustainable Strategy to Improve Water Urban Availability." IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 471, no. 9: 092065.
Land-use/land-cover analysis using Geographic Information System (GIS) application can describe and quantify the transformation of the landscape, evaluating the effectiveness of municipal planning in driving urban expansion. This approach was applied in the municipality of Spongano (Salento, South Italy) in order to evaluate the spatial heterogeneity and the transformations of the land use/land cover from 1988 to 2016. This approach was also used to examine the spread of Xylella fastidiosa, which is a plant pathogen of global importance that is reshaping the Salento landscape. The land-use maps are based on the CORINE Land Cover project classification, while the topological consistency was verified through field surveys. A change detection analysis was carried out using the land-use maps of 1988 and 2016. The most extensive land-use class is olive groves (34–36%), followed by non-irrigated arable lands and shrub and/or herbaceous vegetation associations. The main transition of land involved non-irrigated arable lands, which lost 76 ha and 23 ha to shrub and olive areas, respectively. Meanwhile, the artificial surfaces class doubled its extension, which involved mainly the transition from shrub and heterogeneous agricultural areas. However, the olive groves class is threatened by the dramatic phytosanitary condition of the area, indicating a compromised agroecosystem, which is causing a de facto transition into unproductive areas. The results highlight the inconsistency between what was planned by the urban plan in the past and how the landscape of Spongano has been changed over time. This evidence suggests that it is necessary to develop a plan based on learning by doing, in order to shape and adapt the processes of territorial transformation to the unpredictability of the ecologic, social, and economic systems, as well as ensure that these processes are always focused on environmental issues.
Giuseppe Maggiore; Teodoro Semeraro; Roberta Aretano; Luigi De Bellis; Andrea Luvisi. GIS Analysis of Land-Use Change in Threatened Landscapes by Xylella fastidiosa. Sustainability 2019, 11, 253 .
AMA StyleGiuseppe Maggiore, Teodoro Semeraro, Roberta Aretano, Luigi De Bellis, Andrea Luvisi. GIS Analysis of Land-Use Change in Threatened Landscapes by Xylella fastidiosa. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (1):253.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiuseppe Maggiore; Teodoro Semeraro; Roberta Aretano; Luigi De Bellis; Andrea Luvisi. 2019. "GIS Analysis of Land-Use Change in Threatened Landscapes by Xylella fastidiosa." Sustainability 11, no. 1: 253.
Maria Rita Pasimeni; Donatella Valente; Teodoro Semeraro; Irene Petrosillo; Giovanni Zurlini. Anthropogenic Landscapes. Encyclopedia of Ecology 2019, 472 -481.
AMA StyleMaria Rita Pasimeni, Donatella Valente, Teodoro Semeraro, Irene Petrosillo, Giovanni Zurlini. Anthropogenic Landscapes. Encyclopedia of Ecology. 2019; ():472-481.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaria Rita Pasimeni; Donatella Valente; Teodoro Semeraro; Irene Petrosillo; Giovanni Zurlini. 2019. "Anthropogenic Landscapes." Encyclopedia of Ecology , no. : 472-481.
Socio-ecological landscapes typically characterized by non-linear dynamics in space and time are difficult to be analyzed using standard quantitative methods, due to multiple processes interacting on different spatial and temporal scales. This poses a challenge to the identification of appropriate approaches for analyzing time series that can evaluate system properties of landscape dynamics in the face of disturbances, such as uncontrolled fires. The purpose is the application of non-linear methods such as recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) to landscape ecology. The examples concern the time series of burnt and unburnt Mediterranean rangelands, to highlight potential and limits of RQA. We used RQA together with joint recurrence analysis (JRA) to compare the evolutionary behavior of different land uses. Time series of forests and grasslands in rangelands present both periodic and chaotic components with a rather similar behavior after the fire and clear transitions from less to more regular/predictable dynamics/succession. Results highlight the impacts of fire, the recovery capacity of land covers to pre-burnt levels, and the decay of synchronization towards the previous regime associated with vegetation secondary succession consistent with early successional species. RQA and JRA with their set of indices (recurrence rate: RR, laminarity: LAM, determinism: DET, and divergence: DIV) can represent new sensitive measures that may monitor the adaptive capacity and the resilience of landscapes. However, future applications are needed to standardize the analysis by strengthening the accuracy of this approach in describing the ongoing transformations of natural and man-managed landscapes.
Giovanni Zurlini; Norbert Marwan; Teodoro Semeraro; K. Bruce Jones; Roberta Aretano; Maria Rita Pasimeni; Donatella Valente; Christian Mulder; Irene Petrosillo. Investigating landscape phase transitions in Mediterranean rangelands by recurrence analysis. Landscape Ecology 2018, 33, 1617 -1631.
AMA StyleGiovanni Zurlini, Norbert Marwan, Teodoro Semeraro, K. Bruce Jones, Roberta Aretano, Maria Rita Pasimeni, Donatella Valente, Christian Mulder, Irene Petrosillo. Investigating landscape phase transitions in Mediterranean rangelands by recurrence analysis. Landscape Ecology. 2018; 33 (9):1617-1631.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiovanni Zurlini; Norbert Marwan; Teodoro Semeraro; K. Bruce Jones; Roberta Aretano; Maria Rita Pasimeni; Donatella Valente; Christian Mulder; Irene Petrosillo. 2018. "Investigating landscape phase transitions in Mediterranean rangelands by recurrence analysis." Landscape Ecology 33, no. 9: 1617-1631.
Teodoro Semeraro; Alessandro Pomes; Cecilia Del Giudice; Danilo Negro; Roberta Aretano. Planning ground based utility scale solar energy as green infrastructure to enhance ecosystem services. Energy Policy 2018, 117, 218 -227.
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Alessandro Pomes, Cecilia Del Giudice, Danilo Negro, Roberta Aretano. Planning ground based utility scale solar energy as green infrastructure to enhance ecosystem services. Energy Policy. 2018; 117 ():218-227.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Alessandro Pomes; Cecilia Del Giudice; Danilo Negro; Roberta Aretano. 2018. "Planning ground based utility scale solar energy as green infrastructure to enhance ecosystem services." Energy Policy 117, no. : 218-227.
This work carries out a landscape analysis for the last 60years to compare the degree of preservation of two areas on the same Italian coastline characterized by different environmental protection levels: a National designated protected areas and a highly tourist coastal destination. The conversion of natural land-covers into human land uses were detected for protected and unprotected coastal stretches highlighting that the only establishment of a protected area is not enough to stem undesirable land-use outcomes. A survey analysis was also conducted to assess attitudes of beach users and to evaluate their perception of natural habitats, beach and coastal water quality, and coastal dynamic over time. The results of 2071 questionnaires showed that there is similarity between subjective and objective data. However, several beach users perceived a bad quality of coastal water in the legally unprotected coastal area. The implications from a planning and management perspective are discussed.
Roberta Aretano; Luca Parlagreco; Teodoro Semeraro; Giovanni Zurlini; Irene Petrosillo. Coastal dynamics vs beach users attitudes and perceptions to enhance environmental conservation and management effectiveness. Marine Pollution Bulletin 2017, 123, 142 -155.
AMA StyleRoberta Aretano, Luca Parlagreco, Teodoro Semeraro, Giovanni Zurlini, Irene Petrosillo. Coastal dynamics vs beach users attitudes and perceptions to enhance environmental conservation and management effectiveness. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 2017; 123 (1-2):142-155.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoberta Aretano; Luca Parlagreco; Teodoro Semeraro; Giovanni Zurlini; Irene Petrosillo. 2017. "Coastal dynamics vs beach users attitudes and perceptions to enhance environmental conservation and management effectiveness." Marine Pollution Bulletin 123, no. 1-2: 142-155.
The concept of Green Infrastructure (GI) emphasises the quality as well as quantity of urban, peri-urban greens spaces and natural areas, their multifunctional role, and the importance of interconnections between habitats. If a Green Infrastructure is proactively planned, developed, and maintained it has the potential to guide urban development by providing a framework for economic growth and nature conservation. GI includes parks and reserves, sporting fields, riparian areas like stream and river banks, greenways and trails, community gardens, street trees, and nature conservation areas, as well as less conventional spaces such as green walls, green alleyways, and cemeteries. Today we have to face new challenges about increasing energy use, decreasing water resources, limited spaces and ecological preservation. This problem must be solved in a sustainable way using innovative GI that combine technology with landscape design by enhancing ecosystem services provision. The aim of this research is to evaluate and develop multifunctional role of GI in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem services' enhancement by taking into account two case study in southern Italy: Constructed Treatment and photovoltaic energy plants. An effective way of tackling water resource problem is to use Constructed Treatment Wetlands (CTW) as low-cost alternative to conventional secondary or tertiary wastewater treatment. For this purpose, an annual monitoring of fauna and vegetation was carried out in order to identify species of national and international interest strongly related to the new habitats availability. Results have shown the ability of CTW in providing ancillary benefits, well beyond the primary aim of water purification, such as sustaining wildlife habitats and biodiversity at local and global scales, as well as its potential role in terms of recreational and educational opportunities. In the second case, we developed a GI project idea that proposes to evolve the photovoltaic energy plants in southern Italy, especially in Apulia region, into "new urban photo-ecological gardens". The aim of our research is to harmonise economic development and biodiversity conservation to safeguard the ecological processes that underpin human well-being, creating a strong synergism between renewable energy planning and valorisation of ecosystem services. Therefore, a new approach is proposed to manage photovoltaic solar farms, shifting from "negative vegetation management", focused mainly at the elimination of invasive plants, to "active vegetation management", i.e. the cultivation of plants with an economic and ecological value. This approach would offer many opportunities for integration between economic development, nature valorisation and public health promotion.
Teodoro Semeraro; Roberta Aretano; Alessandro Pomes. Green Infrastructure to Improve Ecosystem Services in the Landscape Urban Regeneration. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 2017, 245, 82044 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Roberta Aretano, Alessandro Pomes. Green Infrastructure to Improve Ecosystem Services in the Landscape Urban Regeneration. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 2017; 245 ():82044.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Roberta Aretano; Alessandro Pomes. 2017. "Green Infrastructure to Improve Ecosystem Services in the Landscape Urban Regeneration." IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 245, no. : 82044.