31. The status and role of genetic diversity of trees for the conservation and management of riparian ecosystems : a European experts' perspectiveFilip Alimpić, Jelena Milovanović, Remigiusz Pielech, Georgi Hinkov, Roland Jansson, Simon Dufour, Marcin Beza, Nebi Bilir, Luis Santos del Blanco, Gregor Božič, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Riparian vegetation supports high biodiversity providing many services and is, therefore, an important landscape element. Riparian ecosystems are subject to numerous pressures leading to population decline and genetic erosion of riparian plants. This may have cascading effects at various ecosystem levels, including decreasing ecosystem services, so identifying the current status of genetic diversity of riparian tree species is vital to improve the effectiveness of restoration efforts. We aimed to elicit expert views on the status and importance of genetic diversity of tree species, and conservation needs across European riparian ecosystems. Sharing of such information among researchers, managers and policymakers has the potential to enhance ecological restoration and management of riparian ecosystems. We identified experts in riparian genetic resources conservation and management across Europe. These included stakeholders with different perspectives, ranging from researchers to practitioners. We designed a set of questionnaires where our identified experts were asked to answer questions related to the status and conservation of genetic diversity of riparian tree species in their respective countries. Specifically, we asked about societal awareness, legislative tools, good practices and conservation or restoration projects accounting for intraspecific genetic diversity and differentiation of tree species in riparian ecosystems. Questionnaire responses were analysed and discussed in light of the scientific literature to define needs and priorities related to the management and conservation of genetic diversity of riparian tree species. The experts recognized that a combination of in situ and ex situ measures and/or integrative conservation of riparian ecosystems is the most appropriate option for conserving the genetic diversity of riparian tree species. Simultaneous application of conservation measures at the level of priority species, identified by experts, and protection of riparian areas are required. Synthesis and applications. This study revealed the importance of recognizing the ecological processes that shape the genetic diversity of riparian tree species in hydrographic networks (dendritic spatial configuration, specific patterns of gene flow among riparian populations, fragmentation of river by dams) but also the need to overcome socio-economic barriers, such as lack of policy priority, deficiency in funding and weak legislation framework.
Keywords: biodiversity conservation, genetic erosion, genetic resources conservation, knowledge transfer, management, riparian genetic diversity, vegetation
Published in DiRROS: 08.12.2022; Views: 448; Downloads: 299
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32. Citizen science and monitoring forest pests : a beneficial alliance?Maarten De Groot, Michael J.O. Pocock, Jochem Bonte, Pilar Fernandez-Conradi, Elena Valdés-Correcher, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Purpose of the Review One of the major threats to tree health, and hence the resilience of forests and their provision of ecosystem services, is new and emerging pests. Therefore, forest health monitoring is of major importance to detect invasive, emerging and native pest outbreaks. This is usually done by foresters and forest health experts, but can also be complemented by citizen scientists. Here, we review the use of citizen science for detection and monitoring, as well as for hypothesis-driven research and evaluation of control measures as part of forest pest surveillance and research. We then examine its limitations and opportunities and make recommendations on the use of citizen science for forest pest monitoring. Recent Findings The main opportunities of citizen scientists for forest health are early warning, early detection of new pests, monitoring of impact of outbreaks and scientific research. Each domain has its own limitations, opportunities and recommendations to follow, as well as their own public engagement strategies. The development of new technologies provides many opportunities to involve citizen scientists in forest pest monitoring. To enhance the benefits of citizen scientists’ inclusion in monitoring, it is important that they are involved in the cocreation of activities. Summary Future monitoring and research may benefit from tailor-made citizen science projects to facilitate successful monitoring by citizen scientists and expand their practice to countries where the forest health sector is less developed. In this sense, citizen scientists can help understand and detect outbreaks of new pests and avoid problems in the future.
Keywords: forest health, community science, forest management, awareness raising, forest protection
Published in DiRROS: 28.11.2022; Views: 489; Downloads: 230
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33. Handbook for non native tree species in the urban spaceAjša Alagić, Aleksander Marinšek, Ana Dolenc, Andrey Krasovskiy, Anica Simčič, Anja M. Bindewald, Anja Müller-Meißner, Bénédicte Baxerres, Claudia Cocozza, Debojyoti Chakraborty, Janez Kermavnar, Lado Kutnar, Simon Zidar, Tina Trampuš, Živa Bobič Červek, 2022, dictionary, encyclopaedia, lexicon, manual, atlas, map Keywords: non-native tree species, Alps, invasive alien species, forest management, urbanspace, climate changes
Published in DiRROS: 12.08.2022; Views: 553; Downloads: 204
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34. Management of non-native tree species in forests of the Alpine spaceSonia Abluton, Ajša Alagić, Bénédicte Baxerres, Frédéric Berger, Anja M. Bindewald, Sylvain Bouquet, Martin Braun, Giuseppe Brundu, Patricia Detry, Freya-Isabel Georges, Janez Kermavnar, Lado Kutnar, Aleksander Marinšek, Anica Simčič, Simon Zidar, 2022, dictionary, encyclopaedia, lexicon, manual, atlas, map Keywords: non-native tree species, Alps, invasive alien species, forest management, climate changes
Published in DiRROS: 12.08.2022; Views: 585; Downloads: 191
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35. A methodological proposal for the climate change risk assessment of coastal habitats based on the evaluation of ecosystem services : lessons learnt from the INTERREG project ECO-SMARTAlberto Barausse, Cécil J. W. Meulenberg, Irene Occhipinti, Marco Abordi, Lara Endrizzi, Giovanna Guadagnin, Mirco Piron, Francesca Visintin, Liliana Vižintin, Alessandro Manzardo, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Climate change is seriously impacting coastal biodiversity and the benefits it provides to humans. This issue is particularly relevant in the case of the European Union’s Natura 2000 network of areas for nature protection, where the sensitivity of local ecosystems calls for intervention to increase resistance and resilience to climate-related risks. Given the complex ways in which climate can influence conservation hotspot areas, there is a need to develop effective strategic approaches and general operational models to identify priorities for management and inform adaptation and mitigation measures. Here, a novel methodological proposal to perform climate risk assessment in Natura 2000 sites is presented that implements the systematic approach of ISO 14090 in combination with the theoretical framework of ecosystem services assessment and local stakeholder participation to identify climate-related issues for local protected habitats and improve the knowledge base needed to plan sustainable conservation and restoration measures. The methodology was applied to five Natura 2000 sites located along the Adriatic coast of Italy and Slovenia. Results show that each of the assessed sites, despite being along the coast of the same sea, is affected by different climate-related issues, impacting different habitats and corresponding ecosystem services. This novel methodology enables a simple and rapid screening for the prioritization of conservation actions and of the possible further investigations needed to support decision making, and was found to be robust and of general applicability. These findings highlight the importance of designing site-specific adaptation measures, tailored to address the peculiar response to climate change of each site in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Keywords: ecosystem, ecosystem services, climate change adaptation, nature conservation, sustainability, coastal management
Published in DiRROS: 01.07.2022; Views: 658; Downloads: 434
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36. Private forest owner's cooperation in the machinery ring : is it a solution for wood mobilization from small-scale private forests?Špela Pezdevšek Malovrh, Nike Krajnc, Matevž Triplat, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Legislation and policy makers have recognized private forest owners cooperation in machinery ring as an instrument to support wood mobilization through efficient use of machinery. The study analyzes private forest owner’s cooperation in the machinery ring in Slovenia and determines whether this cooperation contributes to wood mobilization from small-scale private forests. The research was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, the survey was conducted among the members of machinery rings at their annual general meetings (24 machinery rings participated in the survey, representing 64.9% of the total number of machinery rings). The questionnaire was distributed to all members present at the annual general meetings (n=529) and only those who were private forest owner or provided services within machinery rings were eligible to complete the questionnaire (n=438). In the second phase, data on the amount of service provided by machinery ring members were compared with the amount of felling in private forests for 2019 to gain insight into the extend of forestry work (timber harvesting) carried out in a private forest under neighbourhood assistance.The results show that machinery rings members are predominantly male, on average 50 years old, mainly with high school education and occupation in agriculture, owning on average 15.2 ha of forest. Regardless of forest management activities, machinery ring members perform forest management activities in their forest by themselves or with the help of family members. Only a small proportion of members use neighbourhood assistance to carry out the work. This most often occurs in the transport of timber. A very small proportion of members provide forest services through the machinery ring, but their scope of services is not insignificant. In 2019, machinery ring members most often performed harvesting activities with the chain saw, followed by timber skidding as a service. Equipment with machinery for providing services is good among members – about three quarters of them have a chainsaw and an adapted agricultural tractor, but this machinery is quite old, showing that machinery is insufficiently used for forestry operations. The results show that machinery rings are nowadays an essential part of strategic (operational) management in Slovenian agriculture and forestry, and provide important insights into the possibilities to improve forestry operations and the future development cooperation between private forest owners in machinery rings to support wood mobilization from small-scale private forests.
Keywords: private forest management, harvesting intensity, cooperation, machinery cooperation, neighbourhood assistance
Published in DiRROS: 25.04.2022; Views: 565; Downloads: 411
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37. "Kosovo, My Land"? : Slovenians, Albanians, and the Limits of Yugoslav Social CohesionJure Ramšak, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: The author examines the Kosovo crisis in the context of the pluralisation and democratisation of Slovenian society in the 1980s and early 1990s. This issue became a catalyst not only for the repositioning of structures of party leadership in relation to Belgrade, but also with respect to general public debates. By charting individual stages of the critical decade of 1981%1991, the author presents Slovenian perceptions of Kosovo%s political, economic, and social issues, first through the works of neo-Marxist critics and later through the activism of a group of left-liberal intellectuals, which included the provision of legal support and a high-profile social action related to the violations of Kosovar Albanian human rights. The author discusses the constraints encountered by this brief attempt to establish a pan-Yugoslav civil society initiative. At the same time, he shows how the complexities of the Kosovo crisis were used to coalesce the Slovenian nation into flight from Yugoslavia.
Keywords: self-management socialism, human rights, social cohesion, dissolution of Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Slovenia
Published in DiRROS: 23.12.2021; Views: 701; Downloads: 636
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38. Agricultural landscape affects sex-specific differences in the abundance of Drosophila suzukii in raspberry orchardsMaarten De Groot, Magda Rak Cizej, Andreja Kavčič, Špela Modic, Franček Poličnik, Nina Šramel, Primož Žigon, Jaka Razinger, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: In recent decades, the spotted wing Drosophila (SWD) (Drosophila suzukii), an invasive pest, has caused a great deal of damage to fruit crops. There is therefore an urgent need to develop strategies to control the populations of this species. It has been found that the landscape context can buffer or increase the severity of pest outbreaks in agriculture, and it is important to understand how this process works in SWD for all crops. Given this background, we investigated the influence of forest on SWD populations in raspberry orchards and surrounding agricultural land. We selected 10 locations in the central part of Slovenia, five of which were closer than 200 m from the forest edge and five of which were more than 200 m from the forest edge. We collected SWD adults in three habitat types per location from the end of June until the end of October 2020. The results showed that forest harboured a larger SWD population than orchards and agricultural land. Over the season, the number of individuals increased exponentially over time, and the difference between forest and other habitat types increased. The distance from the forest had a negative effect on the abundance of SWD. There was a difference in abundance observed between males and females, with males being less abundant farther away from the forest than females. However, the distance from the forest only had a negative effect on the abundance of females in September. Based on the results, we propose potential measures for the control of SWD in raspberry orchards.
Keywords: agricultural ecosystem, integrated pest management, invasive species, raspberry, spotted wing drosophila
Published in DiRROS: 15.11.2021; Views: 750; Downloads: 768
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39. Comparing environmental impacts of alien plants, insects and pathogens in protected riparian forestsKatharina Lapin, Sven Bacher, Thomas L. Cech, Rok Damjanić, Franz Essl, Freya-Isabel Georges, Gernot Hoch, Andreja Kavčič, András Koltay, Saša Kostić, Ivan Lukić, Aleksander Marinšek, Laszlo Nagy, Sonja Novak Agbaba, Janine Oettel, Saša Orlović, Leopold Poljaković-Pajnik, Marcus Sallmannshofer, Martin Steinkellner, Srdjan Stojnić, Marjana Westergren, Milica Zlatković, Anita Zolles, Maarten De Groot, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: The prioritization of alien species according to the magnitude of their environmental impacts has become increasingly important for the management of invasive alien species. In this study, we applied the Environmental Impact Classification of Alien Taxa (EICAT) to classify alien taxa from three different taxonomic groups to facilitate the prioritisation of management actions for the threatened riparian forests of the Mura-Drava-Danube Biosphere Reserve, South East Europe. With local experts we collated a list of 198 alien species (115 plants, 45 insects, and 38 fungi) with populations reported in southeast European forest ecosystems and included them in the EICAT. We found impact reports for 114 species. Eleven of these species caused local extinctions of a native species, 35 led to a population decrease, 51 to a reduction in performance in at least one native species and for 17 alien species no effects on individual fitness of native species were detected. Fungi had significantly highest impact and were more likely to have information on their impacts reported. Competition and parasitism were the most important impact mechanisms of alien species. This study is, to our knowledge, the first application of EICAT to all known alien species of several taxonomic groups in a protected area. The impact rankings enabled to identify taxa that generally cause high impacts and to prioritize species for the management in protected areas according to their impact magnitudes. By following a standardized impact protocol, we identified several alien species causing high impacts that do not appear on any expert-based risk list, which are relevant for policymakers. Thus, we recommend that alien species be systematically screened to identify knowledge gaps and prioritize their management with respect to spatio-temporal trends in impact magnitudes.
Keywords: alien species, biological invasions, EICAT, invasive species management, protected areas, species prioritization
Published in DiRROS: 29.10.2021; Views: 848; Downloads: 668
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40. Short-term impacts of harvesting intensity on the upper soil layers in high karst Dinaric fir-beech forestsEmira Hukić, Matjaž Čater, Aleksander Marinšek, Mitja Ferlan, Milan Kobal, Daniel Žlindra, Hamid Čustović, Primož Simončič, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: The present study addresses the short-term effects of different harvest intensities under close-to-nature selective management on the upper soil layers in Slovenian and Bosnian Dinaric karst fir-beech forests. The different harvest intensities coincided with the single-tree and irregular shelterwood management, common in the region. The effect of harvesting intensity on the upper soil layers (Ol, Of, Ol and 0%10 cm mineral soil) was investigated by a repeated measurements experiment in Slovenia on 27 research plots in close-to nature managed forests. The properties of the upper layers (concentration of SOC and TN, C/N ratio, weights, BD and SOC stocks) were analyzed twice, before (2011) and after (2014) treatment of 50% and 100% harvest intensity in relation to the total standing growing stock of trees. As a control, we used no-treatment <20% harvesting intensity plots. To extend this experiment, we added three comparable plots from the Bosnian site: one in an old-growth forest with 0% harvest intensity and two in the managed forest with <20% harvest intensity. The results of the assessment of mean differences indicated a significant influence of harvesting intensity on the decrease in SOC, TN concentrations, weights and SOC stocks in the organic layers and the increase in BD and SOC stocks in the 0%10 cm mineral soil. The highest relative decreases in Ol, Of and Oh SOC stocks occurred in 50% (%10 and %38%) and 100% (%16 and %49%) harvest intensities. Negligible relative differences in both organic and 0%10 cm mineral layers were found for the <20% harvest intensity in the region. The change in forest light conditions resulting from differences in canopy openness as a function of applied harvest intensity explained the significant difference in the properties of the upper soil layers. The impact of the short-term losses in SOC stocks, in terms of overall soil productivity, may depend on the regeneration dynamics and melioration methods.
Keywords: close-to-nature forest management, harvest intensity, Calcic Cambisol, forest soil, soil organic carbon
Published in DiRROS: 10.05.2021; Views: 1085; Downloads: 777
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