Biodiversity, ecosystem services and climate change

Cluster

Land and Environment (AT)

Description

The group carries out its research in close contact with the territory, focusing on aspects of the landscape, biodiversity and changes in the biotic and abiotic compartment as a consequence of global climate change.

Three are the main fields of research. The first concerns the identification of Nature-based solutions for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The objective is to evaluate the potential impact on carbon and biodiversity of natural reforestation, of the management abandonment of forests and the possible mitigation impact linked to changes in the radiation balance of crops, e.g. using natural mutants with lower chlorophyll content in the leaves.

The group also operates in the field of Land use change and ecosystem services. In this context, the research considers the relationships between ecosystem services and land use patterns, through models and maps of the spatial flow of services, as well as the analysis of trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services and territorial components. The activity is based on an integrated approach that includes spatial modeling based on GIS, satellite surveys, and remote sensing technologies.

Finally, the third research topic concerns the Effects of abiotic stresses on soil and plant-soil relationships in both natural and agricultural environments. The aim is to study the chemical and biological characteristics of soil and rhizosphere, and the functional traits of spontaneous and cultivated species subjected to the stress, in particular flooding and salinization. Among the properties of soils, attention is given to the organic matter and the mobility of nutrients and contaminants. In addition to basic analyses in the field and in the laboratory, real-time imaging and microsensor techniques are emplyed, useful for the studying the microscopic dynamics that characterize the rhizosphere.