Satellite and in situ data integrated analysis to study the upper ocean an coastal environment of the Italian seas

The thesis objectives are to develop new methodologies for study of the space and time variability of Italian upper ocean ecosystem through the combined use of multi-sensors satellite data and in situ observations and to identify the capability and limits of remote sensing observations to monitor the marine state at short and long time scales. Three oceanographic basins have been selected and subjected to different types of analyses. The first region is the Tyrrhenian Sea where a comparative analysis of altimetry and lagrangian measurements was carried out to study the surface circulation. The results allowed to deepen the knowledge of the Tyrrhenian Sea surface dynamics and its variability and to defined the limitations of satellite altimetry measurements to detect small scale marine circulation features. Channel of Sicily study aimed to identify the spatial-temporal variability of phytoplankton biomass and to understand the impact of the upper ocean circulation on the marine ecosystem. An combined analysis of the satellite of long term time series of chlorophyll, Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Level field data was applied. The results allowed to identify the key role of the Atlantic water inflow in modulating the seasonal variability of the phytoplankton biomass in the region. Finally, Italian coastal marine system was studied with the objective to explore the potential capability of Ocean Color data in detecting chlorophyll trend in coastal areas. The most appropriated methodology to detect long term environmental changes was defined through intercomparison of chlorophyll trends detected by in situ and satellite. Then, Italian coastal areas subject to eutrophication problems were identified. This work has demonstrated that satellites data constitute an unique opportunity to define the features and forcing influencing the upper ocean ecosystems dynamics and can be used also to monitor environmental variables capable of influencing phytoplankton productivity.

Identificazione di un QTL principale per resistenza a ruggine bruna sul cromosoma 7B di frumento duro

Leaf rust caused by Puccinia triticina is a serious disease of durum wheat (Triticum durum) worldwide. However, genetic and molecular mapping studies aimed at characterizing leaf rust resistance genes in durum wheat have been only recently undertaken. The Italian durum wheat cv. Creso shows a high level of resistance to P. triticina that has been considered durable and that appears to be due to a combination of a single dominant gene and one or more additional factors conferring partial resistance. In this study, the genetic basis of leaf rust resistance carried by Creso was investigated using 176 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from the cross between the cv. Colosseo (C, leaf rust resistance donor) and Lloyd (L, susceptible parent). Colosseo is a cv. directly related to Creso with the leaf rust resistance phenotype inherited from Creso, and was considered as resistance donor because of its better adaptation to local (Emilia Romagna, Italy) cultivation environment. RILs have been artificially inoculated with a mixture of 16 Italian P. triticina isolates that were characterized for virulence to seedlings of 22 common wheat cv. Thatcher isolines each carrying a different leaf rust resistance gene, and for molecular genotypes at 15 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci, in order to determine their specialization with regard to the host species. The characterization of the leaf rust isolates was conducted at the Cereal Disease Laboratory of the University of Minnesota (St. Paul, USA) (Chapter 2). A genetic linkage map was constructed using segregation data from the population of 176 RILs from the cross CL. A total of 662 loci, including 162 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and 500 Diversity Arrays Technology markers (DArTs), were analyzed by means of the package EasyMap 0.1. The integrated SSR-DArT linkage map consisted of 554 loci (162 SSR and 392 DArT markers) grouped into 19 linkage blocks with an average marker density of 5.7 cM/marker. The final map spanned a total of 2022 cM, which correspond to a tetraploid genome (AABB) coverage of ca. 77% (Chapter 3). The RIL population was phenotyped for their resistance to leaf rust under artificial inoculation in 2006; the percentage of infected leaf area (LRS, leaf rust susceptibility) was evaluated at three stages through the disease developmental cycle and the area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) was then calculated. The response at the seedling stage (infection type, IT) was also investigated. QTL analysis was carried out by means of the Composite Interval Mapping method based on a selection of markers from the CL map. A major QTL (QLr.ubo-7B.2) for leaf rust resistance controlling both the seedling and the adult plant response, was mapped on the distal region of chromosome arm 7BL (deletion bin 7BL10-0.78-1.00), in a gene-dense region known to carry several genes/QTLs for resistance to rusts and other major cereal fungal diseases in wheat and barley. QLr.ubo-7B.2 was identified within a supporting interval of ca. 5 cM tightly associated with three SSR markers (Xbarc340.2, Xgwm146 e Xgwm344.2), and showed an R2 and an LOD peak value for the AUDPC equal to 72.9% an 44.5, respectively. Three additional minor QTLs were also detected (QLr.ubo-7B.1 on chr. 7BS; QLr.ubo-2A on chr. 2AL and QLr.ubo-3A on chr. 3AS) (Chapter 4). The presence of the major QTL (QLr.ubo-7B.2) was validated by a linkage disequilibrium (LD)-based test using field data from two different plant materials: i) a set of 62 advanced lines from multiple crosses involving Creso and his directly related resistance derivates Colosseo and Plinio, and ii) a panel of 164 elite durum wheat accessions representative of the major durum breeding program of the Mediterranean basin. Lines and accessions were phenotyped for leaf rust resistance under artificial inoculation in two different field trials carried out at Argelato (BO, Italy) in 2006 and 2007; the durum elite accessions were also evaluated in two additional field experiments in Obregon (Messico; 2007 and 2008) and in a green-house experiment (seedling resistance) at the Cereal Disease Laboratory (St. Paul, USA, 2008). The molecular characterization involved 14 SSR markers mapping on the 7BL chromosome region found to harbour the major QTL. Association analysis was then performed with a mixed-linear-model approach. Results confirmed the presence of a major QTL for leaf rust resistance, both at adult plant and at seedling stage, located between markers Xbarc340.2, Xgwm146 and Xgwm344.2, in an interval that coincides with the supporting interval (LOD-2) of QLr.ubo-7B.2 as resulted from the RIL QTL analysis. (Chapter 5). The identification and mapping of the major QTL associated to the durable leaf rust resistance carried by Creso, together with the identification of the associated SSR markers, will enhance the selection efficiency in durum wheat breeding programs (MAS, Marker Assisted Selection) and will accelerate the release of cvs. with durable resistance through marker-assisted pyramiding of the tagged resistance genes/QTLs most effective against wheat fungal pathogens.

Erosione e sollevamento nell'arco calabro-peloritano

The Calabrian-Peloritani arc represents key site to unravel evolution of surface processes on top of subducting lithosphere. During the Pleistocene, in fact the arc uplifted at rate of the order of about 1mm/yr, forming high-standing low-relief upland (figure 2). Our study is focused on the relationship between tectonic and land evolution in the Sila Massif, Messina strait and Peloritani Mts. Landforms reflect a competition between tectonic, climatic, and surficial processes. Many landscape evolution models that explore feedbacks between these competing processes, given steady forcing, predict a state of erosional equilibrium, where the rates of river incision and hillslope erosion balance rock uplift. It has been suggested that this may be the final constructive stage of orogenic systems. Assumptions of steady erosion and incision are used in the interpretation of exhumation and uplift rates from different geologic data, and in the formulation of fluvial incision and hillslope evolution models. In the Sila massif we carried out cosmogenic isotopes analysis on 24 samples of modern fluvial sediments to constrain long-term (~103 yr) erosion rate averaged on the catchment area. 35 longitudinal rivers profiles have been analyzed to study the tectonic signal on the landscape evolution. The rivers analyzed exhibit a wide variety of profile forms, diverging from equilibrium state form. Generally the river profiles show at least 2 and often 3 distinct concave-up knickpoint-bounded segments, characterized by different value of concavity and steepness indices. River profiles suggest three main stages of incision. The values of ks and θ in the lower segments evidence a decrease in river incision, due probably to increasing uplift rate. The cosmogenic erosion rates pointed out that old landscape upland is eroding slowly at ~0.1 mm/yr. In the contrary, the flanks of the massif is eroding faster with value from 0.4 to 0.5 mm/yr due to river incision and hillslope processes. Cosmogenic erosion rates mach linearly with steepness indices and with average hillslope gradient. In the Messina area the long term erosion rate from low-T thermochronometry are of the same order than millennium scale cosmogenic erosion rate (1-2 mm/yr). In this part of the chain the fast erosion is active since several million years, probably controlled by extensional tectonic regime. In the Peloritani Mts apatite fission-track and (U-Th)/He thermochronometry are applied to constraint the thermal history of the basement rock. Apatite fission-track ages range between 29.0±5.5 and 5.5±0.9 Ma while apatite (U-Th)/He ages vary from 19.4 to 1.0 Ma. Most of the AFT ages are younger than the overlying terrigenous sequence that in turn postdates the main orogenic phase. Through the coupling of the thermal modelling with the stratigraphic record, a Middle Miocene thermal event due to tectonic burial is unravel. This event affected a inner-intermediate portion of the Peloritani belt confined by young AFT data (<15 Ma) distribution. We interpret this thermal event as due to an out-of–sequence thrusting occurring in the inner portion of the belt. Young (U-Th)/He ages (c. 5 Ma) record a final exhumation stage with increasing rates of denudation since the Pliocene times due to postorogenic extensional tectonics and regional uplift. In the final chapter we change the spatial scale to insert digital topography analysis and field data within a geodynamic model that can explain surface evidence produced by subduction process.

Magma injections and destabilization of basaltic volcanoes: a numerical study. Application to La Reunion (Indian ocean, France) and Stromboli (Tyrrhenian sea, Italy)

Most basaltic volcanoes are affected by recurrent lateral instabilities during their evolution. Numerous factors have been shown to be involved in the process of flank destabilization occurring over long periods of time or by instantaneous failures. However, the role of these factors on the mechanical behaviour and stability of volcanic edifices is poorly-constrained as lateral failure usually results from the combined effects of several parameters. Our study focuses on the morphological and structural comparison of two end-member basaltic systems, La Reunion (Indian ocean, France) and Stromboli (southern Tyrrhenian sea, Italy). We showed that despite major differences on their volumes and geodynamic settings, both systems present some similarities as they are characterized by an intense intrusive activity along well-developed rift zones and recurrent phenomena of flank collapse during their evolution. Among the factors of instability, the examples of la Reunion and Stromboli evidence the major contribution of intrusive complexes to volcano growth and destruction as attested by field observations and the monitoring of these active volcanoes. Classical models consider the relationship between vertical intrusions of magma and flank movements along a preexisting sliding surface. A set of published and new field data from Piton des Neiges volcano (La Reunion) allowed us to recognize the role of subhorizontal intrusions in the process of flank instability and to characterize the geometry of both subvertical and subhorizontal intrusions within basaltic edifices. This study compares the results of numerical modelling of the displacements associated with high-angle and low-angle intrusions within basaltic volcanoes. We use a Mixed Boundary Element Method to investigate the mechanical response of an edifice to the injection of magmatic intrusions in different stress fields. Our results indicate that the anisotropy of the stress field favours the slip along the intrusions due to cointrusive shear stress, generating flank-scale displacements of the edifice, especially in the case of subhorizontal intrusions, capable of triggering large-scale flank collapses on basaltic volcanoes. Applications of our theoretical results to real cases of flank displacements on basaltic volcanoes (such as the 2007 eruptive crisis at La Reunion and Stromboli) revealed that the previous model of subvertical intrusions-related collapse is a likely mechanism affecting small-scale steeply-sloping basaltic volcanoes like Stromboli. Furthermore, our field study combined to modelling results confirms the importance of shallow-dipping intrusions in the morpho-structural evolution of large gently-sloping basaltic volcanoes like Piton de la Fournaise, Etna and Kilauea, with particular regards to flank instability, which can cause catastrophic tsunamis.

Epidemiologia delle strongilosi dell'asino: quali applicazioni per il controllo delle infezioni da elminti?

Strongylosis in equids, despite being very common, have never been studied from a strictly ecological point of view. Mathematical models are important ecological tools used to study the temporal dynamics of parasite populations, and are useful to study the effect of different biological parameters, as well as to analyse the outcome produced by perturbations such as anthelmintic treatments. This work describes the study of the temporal dynamics of strongyles infection in an organic donkey population, performed using coprological quantitative analysis and donkeys’ age as a proxy of the time of infection. Force of infection was then estimated for Strongylus vulgaris and small strongyles and the results used as the basis for the development of mathematical models. In particular, the comparison of models output and field data made it possible to estimate the transmission coefficient  and to consequently calculate the basic reproduction number R0 and the threshold host density. Small strongyles model includes hypobiosis and, more interestingly as never found in literature, a density-dependent development rate of hypobiotic larvae in adult parasites in order to simulate a negative feedback between larvae emergence from hypobiosis and adult parasite abundance. Simulations of pharmacological and environmental treatments showed that parasite eradication was possible for S. vulgaris only, while small strongyles, due to hypobiosis and density-dependent development rate of their hypobiotic larvae, are very difficult to control and impossible to eradicate. In addition, density-dependence in larval development has been demonstrated to act as a key factor in improving parasite population survival and abundance even in absence of human intervention.

Analisi dei cantieri di Cippatura in merito ad aspetti operativi e di salvaguardia degli operatori

La cippatura è un processo produttivo fondamentale nella trasformazione della materia prima forestale in biomassa combustibile che coinvolgerà un numero sempre più crescente di operatori. Scopo dello studio è stato quantificare la produttività e il consumo di combustibile in 16 cantieri di cippatura e determinare i livelli di esposizione alla polvere di legno degli addetti alla cippatura, in funzione di condizioni operative differenti. Sono state identificate due tipologie di cantiere: uno industriale, con cippatrici di grossa taglia (300-400kW) dotate di cabina, e uno semi-industriale con cippatrici di piccola-media taglia (100-150kW) prive di cabina. In tutti i cantieri sono stati misurati i tempi di lavoro, i consumi di combustibile, l’esposizione alla polvere di legno e sono stati raccolti dei campioni di cippato per l’analisi qualitativa. Il cantiere industriale ha raggiunto una produttività media oraria di 25 Mg tal quali, ed è risultato 5 volte più produttivo di quello semi-industriale, che ha raggiunto una produttività media oraria di 5 Mg. Ipotizzando un utilizzo massimo annuo di 1500 ore, il cantiere semi-industriale raggiunge una produzione annua di 7.410 Mg, mentre quello industriale di 37.605 Mg. Il consumo specifico di gasolio (L per Mg di cippato) è risultato molto minore per il cantiere industriale, che consuma in media quasi la metà di quello semi-industriale. Riguardo all’esposizione degli operatori alla polvere di legno, tutti i campioni hanno riportato valori di esposizione inferiori a 5 mg/m3 (limite di legge previsto dal D.Lgs. 81/08). Nei cantieri semi-industriali il valore medio di esposizione è risultato di 1,35 mg/m3, con un valore massimo di 3,66 mg/m3. Nei cantieri industriali si è riscontrato che la cabina riduce drasticamente l’esposizione alle polveri di legno. I valori medi misurati all’esterno della cabina sono stati di 0,90 mg/m3 mentre quelli all’interno della cabina sono risultati pari a 0,20 mg/m3.

Quantifying and modeling ecosystem services provided by urban greening in cities of the Southern Alps, N Italy

Population growth in urban areas is a world-wide phenomenon. According to a recent United Nations report, over half of the world now lives in cities. Numerous health and environmental issues arise from this unprecedented urbanization. Recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of urban green spaces and the role they play in improving both the aesthetics and the quality of life of its residents. In particular, urban green spaces provide ecosystem services such as: urban air quality improvement by removing pollutants that can cause serious health problems, carbon storage, carbon sequestration and climate regulation through shading and evapotranspiration. Furthermore, epidemiological studies with controlled age, sex, marital and socio-economic status, have provided evidence of a positive relationship between green space and the life expectancy of senior citizens. However, there is little information on the role of public green spaces in mid-sized cities in northern Italy. To address this need, a study was conducted to assess the ecosystem services of urban green spaces in the city of Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy. In particular, we quantified the cooling effect of urban trees and the hourly amount of pollution removed by the urban forest. The information was gathered using field data collected through local hourly air pollution readings, tree inventory and simulation models. During the study we quantified pollution removal for ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter (<10 microns). We estimated the above ground carbon stored and annually sequestered by the urban forest. Results have been compared to transportation CO2 emissions to determine the CO2 offset potential of urban streetscapes. Furthermore, we assessed commonly used methods for estimating carbon stored and sequestered by urban trees in the city of Bolzano. We also quantified ecosystem disservices such as hourly urban forest volatile organic compound emissions.

Relationships between plant diversity and environmental heterogeneity in rupicolous grasslands on gypsum. The case study of Alysso-Sedion albi (Habitat 6110).

Plant communities on weathered rock and outcrops are characterized by high values in species richness (Dengler 2006) and often persist on small and fragmented surfaces. Yet very few studies have examined the relationships between heterogeneity and plant diversity at small scales, in particular in poor-nutrient and low productive environment (Shmida and Wilson 1985, Lundholm 2003). In order to assess these relationships both in space and time in relationship, two different approaches were employed in the present study, in two gypsum outcrops of Northern Apennine. Diachronic and synchronic samplings from April 2012 to March 2013 were performed. A 50x50 cm plot was used in both samplings such as the sampling unit base. The diachronic survey aims to investigate seasonal patterning of plant diversity by the use of images analysis techniques integrated with field data and considering also seasonal climatic trend, the substrate quality and its variation in time. The purpose of the further, synchronic sampling was to describe plant diversity pattern as a function of the environmental heterogeneity meaning in substrate typologies, soil depth and topographic features. Results showed that responses of diversity pattern depend both on the resources availability, environmental heterogeneity and the manner in which the different taxonomic group access to them during the year. Species richness and Shannon diversity were positively affected by increasing in substrate heterogeneity. Furthermore a good turnover in seasonal species occurrence was detected. This vegetation may be described by the coexistence of three groups of species which created a gradient from early colonization stages, characterized by greater slope and predominance of bare rock, gradually to situation of more developed soil.

Testing the effectiveness of phytoscreening to monitor shallow groundwater contamination by chlorinated ethenes

The research presented herein aims to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of a relatively new technique called phytoscreening. Parallel to the well-known phytoremediation, it consists of exploiting the absorbing potential of trees to delineate groundwater contamination plumes, especially for chlorinated ethenes (i.e., PCE, TCE, 1,2-cis DCE, and VC). The latter are prevalent contaminants in groundwater but their fate and transport in surface ecosystems, such as trees, are still poorly understood and subjected to high variability. Moreover, the analytical validity of tree-coring is still limited in many countries due to a lack of knowledge of its application opportunities. Tree-cores are extracted from trunks and generally analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. A systematic review of former literature on phytoscreening for chlorinated ethenes is presented in this PhD thesis to evaluate the factors influencing the effectiveness of the technique. Besides, we tested the technique by probing eight sites contaminated by chlorinated ethenes in Italy (Emilia-Romagna) in different hydrogeological and seasonal settings. We coupled the technique with the assessment of gaseous-phase concentrations directly on-site, inserting detector tubes or a photoionization detector in the tree-holes left by the coring tool. Finally, we applied rank order statistic analysis on field data along with literature data to assess under which conditions phytoscreening should be applied to either screen or monitor environmental contamination issues. A relatively high correlation exists between tree-core and groundwater concentrations (Spearman’s ρ > 0.6), being higher for compounds with higher sorption, for sites with shallower and thinner aquifers, and when sampling specific tree types with standardized sampling and extraction protocols. These results indicate the opportunities for assessing the occurrence, type, and concentration of solvents directly from the stem of trees. This can reduce the costs of characterization surveys, allowing rapid identification of hotspots and plume direction and thus optimizing the drilling of boreholes.

A robotic platform for precision agriculture and applications

Agricultural techniques have been improved over the centuries to match with the growing demand of an increase in global population. Farming applications are facing new challenges to satisfy global needs and the recent technology advancements in terms of robotic platforms can be exploited. As the orchard management is one of the most challenging applications because of its tree structure and the required interaction with the environment, it was targeted also by the University of Bologna research group to provide a customized solution addressing new concept for agricultural vehicles. The result of this research has blossomed into a new lightweight tracked vehicle capable of performing autonomous navigation both in the open-filed scenario and while travelling inside orchards for what has been called in-row navigation. The mechanical design concept, together with customized software implementation has been detailed to highlight the strengths of the platform and some further improvements envisioned to improve the overall performances. Static stability testing has proved that the vehicle can withstand steep slopes scenarios. Some improvements have also been investigated to refine the estimation of the slippage that occurs during turning maneuvers and that is typical of skid-steering tracked vehicles. The software architecture has been implemented using the Robot Operating System (ROS) framework, so to exploit community available packages related to common and basic functions, such as sensor interfaces, while allowing dedicated custom implementation of the navigation algorithm developed. Real-world testing inside the university’s experimental orchards have proven the robustness and stability of the solution with more than 800 hours of fieldwork. The vehicle has also enabled a wide range of autonomous tasks such as spraying, mowing, and on-the-field data collection capabilities. The latter can be exploited to automatically estimate relevant orchard properties such as fruit counting and sizing, canopy properties estimation, and autonomous fruit harvesting with post-harvesting estimations.

Analysis of the long-term subsidence in the urban area of Bologna

Land subsidence in urban areas represents a widespread geological hazard and a pressing challenge for modern society. This research focuses on the subsidence process affecting the city of Bologna (Italy). Since the 1960s, Bologna has experienced ground deformation due to aquifers overexploitation that peaked during the 1970s with rates of 10 cm/year. Despite a general reduction in these rates over the subsequent decades, thanks to groundwater regulations policies, recent data underscore a substantial subsidence resurgence. To reconstruct the subsurface stratigraphic architecture of Bologna’s urban area and generate a 3D geological model, a multidisciplinary approach centred on a stratigraphic analysis relying on the lithofacies criterion was adopted. The convergence of the analyses within this framework resulted in partitioning the study area into three geological domains exhibiting unique morphological features and depositional stacking patterns. Subsequently, since long-term data are crucial for a comprehensive understanding of ongoing subsidence, a methodology was developed to generate cumulative ground displacement time series and maps by integrating ground-based and remotely-sensed measurements. While the reconstructed long-term subsidence field consistently aligns with the primary geological variations summarised in the 3D model, the generated cumulative displacement curves systematically match pluriannual trends observed in groundwater level and pumping monitoring data. Lastly, to evaluate the expression of the observed relationships from a geotechnical perspective, a series of one-dimensional subsidence calculations were conducted considering the mechanical properties of the investigated deposits and piezometric data. These analyses provided valuable insight into the overall mechanical behaviour of the existing soils, as well as the post-pumping groundwater level and pore pressure distributions, consistent with field data. The methodological approach employed enables a comprehensive analysis of land subsidence in urban areas, allowing the exploration of individual factors governing the deformation process and their interactions, even within complex stratigraphic and hydrogeological environments such as Bologna’s urban area.