Close-to-Nature Silviculture to Maintain a Relict Population of White Oak on Etna Volcano (Sicily, Italy): Preliminary Results of a Peculiar Case Study

• Published in: Plants (Basel) 2023-05, Vol.12 (10), p.2053
• Main Authors: Sferlazza, Sebastiano, Londi, Guglielmo, La Mela Veca, Donato Salvatore, Maetzke, Federico Guglielmo, Vinciguerra, Salvatore, Spampinato, Giovanni
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arboriculture; BACI study; Biodiversity; Biological diversity; Birds; Calabrian black pine forests; Case studies; Climate change; Community structure; Dynamic structural analysis; Ecosystems; Flowers & plants; Forest ecosystems; Forests; Global temperature changes; Habitat loss; Habitats; Impact analysis; Lava; Oak; Old growth forests; old-growth forest; Plants; Protection and preservation; Seedlings; Silviculture; Species diversity; species diversity indices; taxonomic distinctness; Taxonomy; Terrestrial ecosystems; Thinning; vascular plants; Volcanoes; White oak
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants12102053

Habitat loss is a potential long-term effect of projected climate change for Mediterranean forest ecosystems. Here, we investigated the effectiveness of a close-to-nature silvicultural practice to conserve an old-growth white oak forest patch in Sicily (Italy) and promote regeneration dynamics. The study area, although small, is distinctive for its isolation, position and environmental characteristics. We conducted a Before–After Control–Impact (BACI) study to analyse the responses of different taxonomic groups (vascular plants and birds) to silvicultural treatments (selection thinning, no thinning), and to determine whether close-to-nature silviculture practices may cause significant shifts in the investigated communities. Specifically, we assessed the responses of (1) vascular plants by means of species diversity and taxonomic distinctness indices and (2) birds in terms of diversity, abundance and forest specialisation. Preliminary results suggest that cautious close-to-nature silviculture practice could—by mimicking natural gap dynamics—contribute to maintaining old-growth forest patches and promote oak seedling emergence without short-term detrimental impacts on biodiversity. Although the monitoring has to be repeated over the long-term, the multi-taxon approach and indices incorporating information on taxonomic relationships into diversity measures were demonstrated to be valuable tools for interpreting biotic community structure and dynamics.