ConservaZione HaBitat inverteBrati 5: 133–135 (2011)
CnBfvr
History of the CONECOFOR study area "SAR1
Marganai" (Iglesias, SW Sardinia): main aspects
and values
Cristiana COCCIUFA1,2
Corpo Forestale dello Stato, Ufficio CONECOFOR, Via G. Carducci 5, I-00186 Rome, Italy.
Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, I-00146 Rome, Italy.
E-mail: [email protected]
1
2
*In: Nardi G., Whitmore D., Bardiani M., Birtele D., Mason F., Spada L. & Cerretti P. (eds), Biodiversity of Marganai and
Montimannu (Sardinia). Research in the framework of the ICP Forests network. Conservazione Habitat Invertebrati, 5: 133–135.
ABSTRACT
The present paper describes the characteristics of the permanent monitoring plot "SAR1 Marganai" (Iglesias, Southern Sardinia), belonging to
the national network CONECOFOR (CONtrollo ECOsistemi FORestali – Forest Ecosystem Control) and managed by the National Forestry Service
of Italy (Corpo Forestale dello Stato). Since 1995, the monitoring of several forest parameters (crown condition, soil chemistry, leaf chemistry,
atmospheric deposition chemistry, tree growth, ground vegetation, ozone injury assessment and meteorological observations) is implemented at
the Marganai site in accordance with ICP Forests (International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on
Forests) protocols.The ICP Forests Programme (currently active at the site), together with further activities connected to other projects implemented
in CONECOFOR study areas, has produced a long data series (at least fifteen years) on forest conditions, which represents a great added value in
the framework of the European Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTER-Europe). For this reason, the Marganai plot is considered an "LTERlike" site and, given the high environmental relevance of the area, it is suitable to suggest hints, methods and research activities to be carried out
at forest study sites formally admitted in the LTER-Europe network.
Key words: forest monitoring, ICP Forests, Long Term Ecological Research, dataset, invertebrates.
RIASSUNTO
Storia dell'area di studio CONECOFOR "SAR1 Marganai" (Iglesias, Sardegna meridionale): aspetti principali e valore
L'articolo descrive le caratteristiche del plot di monitoraggio permanente "SAR1 Marganai" (Iglesias, Sardegna), appartenente alla Rete nazionale
di aree di studio in ambiente forestale denominata CONECOFOR (CONtrollo ECOsistemi FORestali) e gestita dal Corpo Forestale dello Stato. Dal
1995, nell'area di studio di Marganai è stato attivato il rilevamento di numerosi parametri forestali (condizioni delle chiome, chimica dei suoli,
chimica delle foglie, chimica delle deposizioni atmosferiche, accrescimento della componente arborea, fenologia delle chiome, meteorologia,
danni alle chiome da ozono atmosferico), secondo i protocolli del Programma Cooperativo Internazionale per la Valutazione ed il Monitoraggio
degli Effetti dell'Inquinamento Atmosferico sulle Foreste (ICP Forests). Il monitoraggio ICP Forests (ancora oggi attivo) e le attività legate ad altri
progetti nei quali le aree CONECOFOR sono state incluse hanno permesso di creare un set di dati sullo stato delle foreste lungo almeno 15 anni,
che ha assunto grande valore nell'ambito della Ricerca Ecologica a Lungo Termine Europea (LTER-Europe). Per questo, l'area di studio di Marganai
è definita "LTER-like" ed è considerata potenzialmente capace, anche per il suo elevato valore naturalistico, di suggerire spunti, metodi e ricerche
sulle aree di studio forestali formalmente ammesse nella Rete Europea di Ricerca Ecologica a Lungo Termine, LTER-Europe.
The CONECOFOR (CONtrollo ECOsistemi
FORestali – Forest Ecosystem Control) Programme
was launched in Italy in 1995 as a national branch of
the UN-ECE International Co-operative Programme
on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution
Effects on Forests (ICP Forests, http://www.icpforests.org), in the framework of EC Regulation
n. 1091/94 and under the UN-ECE Convention
on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution. The
inception and coordination of the Programme in Italy
was implemented by the National Forestry Service
(Corpo Forestale dello Stato), which became the
Italian Focal Centre for the international programme.
Between 1995 and 1996, 20 monitoring stations were
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Cristiana Cocciufa
set up in forest ecosystems, thus creating a network of
Permanent Monitoring Plots (PMPs) in selected areas
representative of the forest environment in Italy. The
Marganai study area was included in this group. Later
(from 1999 until 2004), new monitoring stations were
included and a total of 31 study areas was achieved.
Each of these plots is a fenced 50 x 50 m square
area, where several environmental measurements are
carried out according to agreed ICP Forests protocols.
As the ICP Forests Programme has the main objective
of monitoring the effects of air pollution on the health
of forests, the focus has been on vegetation traits and
their ecological interactions with air and soil: crown
condition assessment, chemical content of soil and
foliage, deposition chemistry, tree growth, ground
vegetation, meteorological conditions (cf. Ferretti
et al. 2006). Data from all CONECOFOR plots
have been collected, stored and managed under EC
Regulation n. 2152/2003 Forest Focus. Monitoring
activities have been carried out with the following
financial support: until 2007, co-funding by the
EU and various regulations (the last of which Forest
Focus); 2008, National Forestry Service; 2009–
2010, LIFE+ Project "Further Development and
Implementation of an EU-level Forest Monitoring
System" (FutMon, http://www.futmon.org/); 2011,
National Forestry Service. The SAR1 Marganai
permanent monitoring plot is located in Sardinia
(Iglesias commune, Carbonia-Iglesias province), at
700 m above sea level, on a mountain slope near the
west coast of the island (cf. Mason et al. 2006). It is
a Quercus ilex high stand, with Ilex aquifolium and
Cyclamen repandum in the shrub and herbaceous
layers. Standard observations on leaves and soil began
when the study area was set up in 1995. In 1996 also
ground vegetation, tree growth and crown condition
assessments were implemented in the plot, followed
by ozone injury assessment (from 1997 until 2006),
crown phenology (since 2002), meteorological
observations (since 2005), atmospheric depositions
(since 2006). The mentioned parameters are still
being actively monitored at the site. Additional
biodiversity parameters (epiphytic lichens, deadwood,
invertebrates) were studied between 2003 and 2006
in 12 CONECOFOR plots in Italy, including
Marganai, in the framework of a pilot project
aimed at investigating biodiversity in selected ICP
Forests monitoring stations in Europe (ForestBiota,
www.forestbiota.org/) (Ferretti et al. 2006). All
CONECOFOR study areas rely on about 15 years
Fig. 1. Map showing LTER-like sites in Europe (http://www.lter-europe.net/sites-platforms). The red circle shows the Marganai (Iglesias,
Carbonia-Iglesias prov.) permanent monitoring plot.
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History of the CONECOFOR study area "SAR1 Marganai" (Iglesias, SW Sardinia): main aspects and values
of almost uninterrupted data collection on forest
conditions: this long dataset has been recognised
as a high value for Long Term Ecosystem Research
in Europe (http://www.lter-europe.net/), being the
main criterion for the selection of LTER sites. The
activities implemented at plot level have formed
the basis for several studies about forest conditions
(Petriccione et al. 2009a), effects of climate change
on forest ecosystems (Petriccione et al. 2009b) and
biodiversity assessment (Bredemeier et al. 2007). The
value of the Marganai area is particularly due to the
Mediterranean climate and environment, potentially
resulting in relevant connections for ecological studies
with other – albeit rare – Mediterranean research sites
in Europe. The focus on the invertebrate fauna is also
relevant to the goals of the European LTER Network:
a recent survey among 12 LTER-Europe countries
(Cocciufa, unpublished data) pointed out that among
73 case studies regarding 5 selected animal groups
studied at site level (beetles, amphibians, reptiles,
birds and small mammals), 10% of all publications
concern beetles. Ten CONECOFOR study sites have
been included in the Italian LTER Network and are
formally part of the European LTER Network. The
current challenge for the European Network is the
classification and ranking of the existing monitoring
and research facilities in Europe, based on parameters
assessed in the field, research questions, equipment,
etc. (Cocciufa et al. 2011). In this framework, within
the European Network, the Marganai study area is
considered an "LTER-like" site (fig. 1). LTER-like
sites, though not formally included in the LTER
Network, have been set in areas of high environmental
and ecological value; this is true also for the SAR1
Marganai plot. It is possible that LTER-like sites
will also give relevant hints and inputs on ecological
studies to be run at formal LTER sites.
Acknowledgements
This paper was prepared in the context of the ICP
Forests monitoring programme.
I wish to thank Enrico Pompei (Corpo Forestale
dello Stato, Ispettorato Generale del CFS, Divisione 6^ "Monitoraggio Ambientale – INFC e
CONECOFOR", Rome) for critically reading the
manuscript.
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