Suchergebnisse
Filter
12 Ergebnisse
Sortierung:
SSRN
Five years after Vaia: Forest and land management in mountain environments: experiences and knowledge five years after the Vaia storm
In: L' ITALIA FORESTALE e MONTANA, Band 78, Heft 5, S. 197-213
ISSN: 2036-3494
The Vaia Storm had a significant impact on forests and on the related sector in North-Eastern Italy, considerably influencing forest management and the wood supply chain. Five years after the event, on October 30th 2023 in the Aula Magna of the Agripolis campus of the University of Padua, young researchers from the TESAF and DAFNAE Departments presented their results from ongoing research on windthrow and related cascade disturbances (e.g. bark beetle outbreaks). In the first part of the day, contributions from the various regions (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Veneto) and the autonomous provinces (Bolzano/Bozen and Trento) were presented, with an update on the post-event management experiences and problems. In the second part, the projects financed by the University of Padua were presented (VAIAFRONT of TESAF and the "Young Researchers for Vaia" initiative), followed by talks delivered by doctoral students and research fellows who presented the main results relating to the research conducted on the Vaia storm. The problem was addressed from different points of view and with a multidisciplinary approach, analyzing aspects related to silviculture and forest ecology, mechanization and forest uses, entomology, hydrology, geomatics and the socio-economic context. Given the interest of the topics covered, here we report the summary of the contributions presented by the young researchers, with the hope that this will encourage the exchange of knowledge and provide inspiration for further collaborations and in-depth studies.
Estimated Biomass Loss Caused by the Vaia Windthrow in Northern Italy: Evaluation of Active and Passive Remote Sensing Options
Windstorms are a major disturbance factor for European forests. The 2018 Vaia storm, felled large volumes of timber in Italy causing serious ecological and financial losses. Remote sensing is fundamental for primary assessment of damages and post-emergency phase. An explicit estimation of the timber loss caused by Vaia using satellite remote sensing was not yet undertaken. In this investigation, three different estimates of timber loss were compared in two study sites in the Alpine area: pre-existing local growing stock volume maps based on lidar data, a recent national-level forest volume map, and an novel estimation of AGB values based on active and passive remote sensing. The compared datasets resemble the type of information that a forest manager might potentially find or produce. The results show a significant disagreement in the different biomass estimates, related to the methods used to produce them, the study areas characteristics, and the size of the damaged areas. These sources of uncertainty highlight the difficulty of estimating timber loss, unless a unified national or regional European strategy to improve preparedness to forest hazards is defined. Considering the frequent impacts on forest resources that occurred in the last years in the European Union, remote sensing-based surveys targeting forests is urgent, particularly for the many European countries that still lack reliable forest stocks data.
BASE
Combined forest and soil management after a catastrophic event
International audience ; At the end of October 2018, a storm of unprecedented strength severely damaged the forests of the eastern sector of the Italian Alps. The affected forest area covers 42,500 ha. The president of one of the damaged regions asked for help from the University of Padua. After eight months of discussion, the authors of this article wrote a consensus text. The sometimes asper debate brought to light some crucial aspects: 1) even experienced specialists may have various opinions based on scientific knowledge that lead to conflicting proposals for action. For some of them there is evidence that to restore a destroyed natural environment it is more judicious to do nothing; 2) the soil corresponds to a living structure and every ecosystem's management should be based on it; 3) faced with a catastrophe, people and politicians find themselves unarmed, also because they rarely have the scientific background to understand natural processes. Yet politicians are the only persons who make the key decisions that drive the economy in play and therefore determine the near future of our planet. This article is an attempt to respond directly to a governor with a degree in animal production science, who formally and prudently asked a university department called "Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry" for help before taking decisions; 4) the authors also propose an artistic interpretation of facts (uncontrolled storm) and conclusions (listen to the soil). Briefly, the authors identify the soil as an indispensable source for the renewal of the destroyed forest, give indications on how to prepare a map of the soils of the damaged region, and suggest to anchor on this soil map a series of silvicultural and soil management actions that will promote the soil conservation and the faster recovery of the natural dynamic stability and resilience.
BASE
Combined forest and soil management after a catastrophic event
International audience ; At the end of October 2018, a storm of unprecedented strength severely damaged the forests of the eastern sector of the Italian Alps. The affected forest area covers 42,500 ha. The president of one of the damaged regions asked for help from the University of Padua. After eight months of discussion, the authors of this article wrote a consensus text. The sometimes asper debate brought to light some crucial aspects: 1) even experienced specialists may have various opinions based on scientific knowledge that lead to conflicting proposals for action. For some of them there is evidence that to restore a destroyed natural environment it is more judicious to do nothing; 2) the soil corresponds to a living structure and every ecosystem's management should be based on it; 3) faced with a catastrophe, people and politicians find themselves unarmed, also because they rarely have the scientific background to understand natural processes. Yet politicians are the only persons who make the key decisions that drive the economy in play and therefore determine the near future of our planet. This article is an attempt to respond directly to a governor with a degree in animal production science, who formally and prudently asked a university department called "Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry" for help before taking decisions; 4) the authors also propose an artistic interpretation of facts (uncontrolled storm) and conclusions (listen to the soil). Briefly, the authors identify the soil as an indispensable source for the renewal of the destroyed forest, give indications on how to prepare a map of the soils of the damaged region, and suggest to anchor on this soil map a series of silvicultural and soil management actions that will promote the soil conservation and the faster recovery of the natural dynamic stability and resilience.
BASE
Combined forest and soil management after a catastrophic event
International audience ; At the end of October 2018, a storm of unprecedented strength severely damaged the forests of the eastern sector of the Italian Alps. The affected forest area covers 42,500 ha. The president of one of the damaged regions asked for help from the University of Padua. After eight months of discussion, the authors of this article wrote a consensus text. The sometimes asper debate brought to light some crucial aspects: 1) even experienced specialists may have various opinions based on scientific knowledge that lead to conflicting proposals for action. For some of them there is evidence that to restore a destroyed natural environment it is more judicious to do nothing; 2) the soil corresponds to a living structure and every ecosystem's management should be based on it; 3) faced with a catastrophe, people and politicians find themselves unarmed, also because they rarely have the scientific background to understand natural processes. Yet politicians are the only persons who make the key decisions that drive the economy in play and therefore determine the near future of our planet. This article is an attempt to respond directly to a governor with a degree in animal production science, who formally and prudently asked a university department called "Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry" for help before taking decisions; 4) the authors also propose an artistic interpretation of facts (uncontrolled storm) and conclusions (listen to the soil). Briefly, the authors identify the soil as an indispensable source for the renewal of the destroyed forest, give indications on how to prepare a map of the soils of the damaged region, and suggest to anchor on this soil map a series of silvicultural and soil management actions that will promote the soil conservation and the faster recovery of the natural dynamic stability and resilience.
BASE
Combined forest and soil management after a catastrophic event
International audience ; At the end of October 2018, a storm of unprecedented strength severely damaged the forests of the eastern sector of the Italian Alps. The affected forest area covers 42,500 ha. The president of one of the damaged regions asked for help from the University of Padua. After eight months of discussion, the authors of this article wrote a consensus text. The sometimes asper debate brought to light some crucial aspects: 1) even experienced specialists may have various opinions based on scientific knowledge that lead to conflicting proposals for action. For some of them there is evidence that to restore a destroyed natural environment it is more judicious to do nothing; 2) the soil corresponds to a living structure and every ecosystem's management should be based on it; 3) faced with a catastrophe, people and politicians find themselves unarmed, also because they rarely have the scientific background to understand natural processes. Yet politicians are the only persons who make the key decisions that drive the economy in play and therefore determine the near future of our planet. This article is an attempt to respond directly to a governor with a degree in animal production science, who formally and prudently asked a university department called "Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry" for help before taking decisions; 4) the authors also propose an artistic interpretation of facts (uncontrolled storm) and conclusions (listen to the soil). Briefly, the authors identify the soil as an indispensable source for the renewal of the destroyed forest, give indications on how to prepare a map of the soils of the damaged region, and suggest to anchor on this soil map a series of silvicultural and soil management actions that will promote the soil conservation and the faster recovery of the natural dynamic stability and resilience.
BASE
Combined forest and soil management after a catastrophic event
International audience ; At the end of October 2018, a storm of unprecedented strength severely damaged the forests of the eastern sector of the Italian Alps. The affected forest area covers 42,500 ha. The president of one of the damaged regions asked for help from the University of Padua. After eight months of discussion, the authors of this article wrote a consensus text. The sometimes asper debate brought to light some crucial aspects: 1) even experienced specialists may have various opinions based on scientific knowledge that lead to conflicting proposals for action. For some of them there is evidence that to restore a destroyed natural environment it is more judicious to do nothing; 2) the soil corresponds to a living structure and every ecosystem's management should be based on it; 3) faced with a catastrophe, people and politicians find themselves unarmed, also because they rarely have the scientific background to understand natural processes. Yet politicians are the only persons who make the key decisions that drive the economy in play and therefore determine the near future of our planet. This article is an attempt to respond directly to a governor with a degree in animal production science, who formally and prudently asked a university department called "Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry" for help before taking decisions; 4) the authors also propose an artistic interpretation of facts (uncontrolled storm) and conclusions (listen to the soil). Briefly, the authors identify the soil as an indispensable source for the renewal of the destroyed forest, give indications on how to prepare a map of the soils of the damaged region, and suggest to anchor on this soil map a series of silvicultural and soil management actions that will promote the soil conservation and the faster recovery of the natural dynamic stability and resilience.
BASE
Combined forest and soil management after a catastrophic event
International audience ; At the end of October 2018, a storm of unprecedented strength severely damaged the forests of the eastern sector of the Italian Alps. The affected forest area covers 42,500 ha. The president of one of the damaged regions asked for help from the University of Padua. After eight months of discussion, the authors of this article wrote a consensus text. The sometimes asper debate brought to light some crucial aspects: 1) even experienced specialists may have various opinions based on scientific knowledge that lead to conflicting proposals for action. For some of them there is evidence that to restore a destroyed natural environment it is more judicious to do nothing; 2) the soil corresponds to a living structure and every ecosystem's management should be based on it; 3) faced with a catastrophe, people and politicians find themselves unarmed, also because they rarely have the scientific background to understand natural processes. Yet politicians are the only persons who make the key decisions that drive the economy in play and therefore determine the near future of our planet. This article is an attempt to respond directly to a governor with a degree in animal production science, who formally and prudently asked a university department called "Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry" for help before taking decisions; 4) the authors also propose an artistic interpretation of facts (uncontrolled storm) and conclusions (listen to the soil). Briefly, the authors identify the soil as an indispensable source for the renewal of the destroyed forest, give indications on how to prepare a map of the soils of the damaged region, and suggest to anchor on this soil map a series of silvicultural and soil management actions that will promote the soil conservation and the faster recovery of the natural dynamic stability and resilience.
BASE
Massive windfalls boost an ongoing spruce bark beetle outbreak in the Southern Alps
In: L' ITALIA FORESTALE e MONTANA, Band 77, Heft 1, S. 23-34
ISSN: 2036-3494
European coniferous forests are currently threatened by bark beetles (e.g. Ips typographus) because of an increasing incidence of triggering factors, such as drought and windstorms. Furthermore, such natural disturbances are expected to increase in terms of magnitude and frequency due to climate change, and thus interacting with each other. Here, we present a particular case study in the Southern Italian Alps (Gares, Canale d'Agordo, Belluno), in which wind disturbance interacts with an ongoing outbreak of I. typographus, probably associated with an extended drought in the previous three years. By combining remote sensing and field surveys, we spatially reconstructed the bark beetle attack in the period 2015-2021, which includes the Vaia windstorm in October 2018. Although the windstorm occurred in an expanding phase of the bark beetle outbreak, attacks on standing trees did not occur during the first year after the windstorm but were observed two years later. Our findings suggest that an overlap of a large availability of wind felled trees with an incipient outbreak of I. typographus resulted in an immediate decrease of standing trees mortality in the year following the storm. However, the fallen trees worked as a hidden sink for the beetle population, which in the following years massively attacked the standing trees that survived the storm.
Responding to Natural Disaster Emergencies as the Starting Point to Mainstream Climate Change-Sensitive Governance at Local Scale
In 2018, the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia was affected by the violent Storm Vaia, which hit Italy in late October and early November. In response to the emergency situation, a commissioner was appointed by the Italian Government to manage post-emergency interventions. The Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia set up a Support Office: an internal structure of the Civil Protection Department with the task of coordinating the post-emergency phase, organizing access to funds, strengthening synergies with local authorities, and raising awareness about the importance of implementing planning measures to reduce the risks resulting from climate change. One of the main tools for work and dialogue between stakeholders has been an online platform, the use of which has encouraged the spread of digitization, together with good practices, even in smaller municipalities, ensuring effective and constant monitoring and the transparency of procedures. Created to cope with an absolutely extraordinary condition and supported by tangible high-quality results, this system, designed to cope with exceptional events, has become a replicable model of administrative support to fragile areas.
BASE
Hijacked: a critical treatment of the public rhetoric of good and bad religion
In: NAASR working papers
Introduction: "And what kind of society does that create?" / Russell T. McCutcheon -- Good Muslim, bad Muslim : neo-orientalism and the study of religion / Aaron W. Hughes -- Religious studies and the jargon of authenticity / Jason Ā. Josephson-Storm -- Toward a critique of postsecular rhetoric / Naomi R. Goldenberg -- The political utility of the past : the case of Greek fire-walking rituals / Vaia Touna -- Privatized publics and scholarly silos : gender, religion, and their theoretical fault Lines / K. Merinda Simmons -- What's religious freedom got to do with it? On the niqab affair in Canadian politics / Matt Sheedy -- The strange and familiar spiritual journey of Reza Aslan / Martha Smith Roberts -- The journalist-ethnographer, religious diversity, and the euphemisation of social relations / Carmen Becker -- Scopophilia and the manufacture of "good" religion / Leslie Dorrough Smith -- Naturalizing the transnational capitalist class : Reza Aslan's believer and the ideological reproduction of an emerging social formation / Craig Prentiss -- Authentic religion--or, how to be a good citizen / Steffen Führding -- 'Bad religion' on the university campus : "political correctness" and the future of the insider/outsider problem in the study of religion / Adrian Hermann, Stefan Priester -- Studying religion in a post-truth world / Stephanie Gripentrog -- The good, the bad, and the non-religion : the good/bad rhetoric in non-religion studies / Christopher R. Cotter -- The campus as a 'safe space'? A sociology of knowledge perspective on the new student protests / David Kaldewey -- What teaching new religions tells us about the discourse on 'good' and 'bad' religion / David G. Robertson -- Unintentionally constructing 'good' and 'bad' religions in teaching classical European social theories at a Japanese university / Mitsutoshi Horii -- Good and bad, legitimate and illegitimate religion in education / Wanda Alberts -- Benign religion as normal religion / Suzanne Owen.