Alessandra Lagomarsino

Council for Agricultural Research and Agricultural Economy Analysis | CREA · Research Centre for Agrobiology and Pedology (Florence) (CRA-ABP)

Maximazing nitrogen use efficiency of animal manures and reducing environmental pollution, require optimal management during both manure storage and field application. In aerobic digestion plan, bichar could be used to cover storage tank of the liquid fraction to contain ammonia emissions, and increase carbon content of the soils. This study invest...

Management of livestock wastes significantly contribute to gaseous losses in the form of N2O, CH4 and NH3, causing threats to soil health and climate. Several strategies reducing the environmental impact of wastes storage are available today. Among them, we tested the effectiveness of adding biochar alone and in combination with bio acidification o...

Healthy soils form the basis of sustainable viticulture, where soil characteristics have a direct impact on wine quantity and quality. Soil not only provides water and nutrients to vines, but is also a living medium containing micro- and macroorganisms that perform many ecological functions and provide ecosystem services. These organisms are involv...

Over the past 30 years, farming in the Alpine region has undergone important changes: the average number of animals per farm and the use of external inputs have increased while the diversity of farming practices has decreased, becoming similar to intensive farming. This change has led to a reduction in the supply of agroecosystem services and the s...

No-tillage practices have a recognised beneficial impact on soil and water conservation while reducing erosion processes and enhancing soil organic matter content. However, scientists continue to debate the effectiveness of no-tillage in reducing soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from farming. Following the same line of inquiry pursued by the aut...

Ciliates are an important component of the detritus and energy flow in forest ecosystems. The present study aims to provide an early insight into the abundance and composition of the ciliate community inhabiting deadwood in relation to the different decay classes. We took advantage of a mesocosm experiment of black pine deadwood already underway to...

The contribution of litterfall (dead leaves, twigs, etc., fallen to the ground) and forest floor (organic residues such as leaves, twigs, etc., in various stages of decomposition, on the top of the mineral soil) is fundamental in both forest ecosystem sustainability and soil greenhouse gases (GHG) exchange system with the atmosphere. The effect of...

The present study provides a deeper insight on variations of microbial abundance and community composition concerning specific environmental parameters related to deadwood decay, focusing on a mesocosm experiment conducted with deadwood samples from black pine of different decay classes. The chemical properties and microbial communities of deadwood...

Carbon and nitrogen are stoichiometrically linked in soil organic matter to influence ecosystem services. The objective of our study was to determine the impact of Red pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) and Oak (Quercus coccifera) forest vegetation on soil aggregate protected carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry in the Göksu catchment of Turkey. Soils were coll...

• Key message A multi-criteria analysis can be an interesting tool to assess the effects of silvicultural treatments on ecosystem services supply. In the degraded forests, thinning has a positive effect on the provision of ecosystem services such as timber and bioenergy production, climate change mitigation, and recreational attractiveness. • Conte...

The shift of tree species composition from conifers to mixed stands as a silvicultural management option for substituting pure plantations can have consequences for the greenhouse gas (GHG) budgets and climate impact. In this context, the main objective of the study was to assess the effect of tree species composition on GHG fluxes, organic matter...

Digestate from biogas production can be recycled to the soil as conditioner/fertilizer improving the environmental sustainability of the energy supply chain. In a three-year maize-triticale rotation, we investigated the short-term effects of digestate on soil physical, chemical, and microbiological properties and evaluated its effectiveness in comp...

The global average surface temperature is determined by the energy balance of the Earth, which is affected by, among other factors, gases that can absorb or reflect either solar radiation or the radiation from the Earth’s surface. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere absorb radiation emitted from the Earth’s surface and re-emit that radiation...

Deadwood decomposition is a complex and dynamic process with large implications for biogeochemical cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in forest soil and litter. Moreover, it affects functional and structural diversity of fungal and bacterial communities in these components. Mesocosms with deadwood blocks at progressive decay classes were set in...

In Mediterranean regions, the accumulation of nitrogenous substrates in soil during summer fallow period has been linked to pulses of N2O emissions upon soil rewetting. Although the mechanisms of N2O emission after soil rewetting have been previously studied, potential mitigation of agronomic practices on N2O pulses is still poorly understood. We s...

Understanding the drivers affecting SOM decomposition, GHG emissions and feedback to climate change in subarctic fragile and highly patterned landforms is crucial nowadays. A field campaign was conducted at catchment scale in Finnish Lapland, aiming at detecting differences in GHG fluxes in a mosaic of subarctic landforms: pine, mixed, birch and op...

An integrated characterization of physical, chemical, biochemical and microbiological properties of litter fractions (litter, fragmented and humified), corresponding at three decomposition phases, has been conducted in a degraded pine forest. Litter fractions were characterized in terms of C and N content, microbial communities’ structure, enzyme a...

Deadwood plays an important role in the forest ecosystems, providing nutrients and habitat for a wide range of organisms, preventing soil erosion, and improving carbon storage. Microorganisms are primary agents in wood decomposition. The aim of the present research is to describe the changes in diversity, structure and abundance of microbial commun...

The intensity of thinning has an impact on annual litterfall production in coniferous forests. The knowledge of thinning impacts on forest mass and litterfall production and thus, their correlation with soil–atmospheric GHG fluxes exchange in the Mediterranean region remains limited.The aim of this study was i) to quantify the spatial and temporal...

Knowledge of the response of thinning implementation on forest soil–atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) (CO2, CH4, N2O) fluxes exchange system in Mediterranean region is limited because of the high heterogeneity of both soil properties and forest biomass. The novelty of this study is grounded predominantly in evaluating for the first time the response...

Deadwood is a key element in forest ecosystems contributing to biodiversity conservation, carbon (C) stocking and cycling, and nutrient inputs to soil. Forest management has an important role to maintain deadwood temporary C stock by regulating the amount of deadwood in forests during harvesting operations. Deadwood C stocks can be estimated direct...

Negli ultimi anni è stata enfatizzata l'importanza della bioeconomia circolare al fine di accrescere la competitività delle imprese dei paesi membri dell'Unione Europea. Nell'ambito della bioeconomia circo-lare il settore forestale riveste un ruolo chiave con particolare riferimento alle potenzialità di produzione bioenergetica. Il principale obiet...

The long-term effects of two different soil management practices, natural grass cover (NC) and conservation tillage (CT), on soil functions (carbon sequestration, habitat for organisms, and water movement and retention) were determined in a high-density, mature olive orchard (Olea europaea L. cv. Frantoio) growing in a sandy loam soil (Typic Haplox...

In Mediterranean ecosystems an increasing demand for in situ trace gas exchange data is emerging to enhance the adaptation and mitigation strategies under forest degradation. Field-chamber green-house gas fluxes and site characteristics were analysed in two Mediterranean peri-urban pine forests showing degradation symptoms. We examined the effect o...

This multidisciplinary research work evaluated the effects of soil erosion on grape yield and quality and on different soil functions, namely water and nutrient supply, carbon sequestration, organic matter recycling, and soil biodiversity, with the aim to understand the causes of soil malfunctioning and work out a proper strategy of soil remediatio...

Purpose Leaf transpiration drives many of the processes involved in phyto-technologies, and it can represent a useful mechanism to remove water from different kind of storage basins presenting inorganic, organic or microbiological contamination (phyto-dehydration), with the aim to reduce the risk of environmental contamination. In this framework, a...

Urban and peri-urban forests play a relevant role for the urban population providing recreational and relaxing opportunities, improving air and water quality, and maintaining local biodiversity. In the last century, anthropic pressure and social requests on urban and peri-urban forests was drastically increased. In this context, surveys aimed to in...

Soil enzymes were used to assess the impact of different treatments applied in four farms, each one with three vineyards as replicates, on soil functionality. 8 enzymes related to C, N, S and P cycling were measured and functional diversity indexes were estimated. Three treatments were compared: compost, green manure and dry mulching with respect t...

Biological invasions are a global threat to biodiversity. Since the spread of invasive alien plants may have many impacts, an integrated approach, assessing effects across various ecosystem components, is needed for a correct understanding of the invasion process and its consequences. The nitrogen-fixing tree Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust) is...

GHGs production and emission may vary depending on soil physical properties, water management and fertilization. Two paddy soils characterized by different texture were incubated to evaluate the impact of flooding (permanent or intermittent) and N addition on potential N2O, CH4 and CO2 production and release into atmosphere and soil solution. Relat...

Water availability, together with temperature, represents the most limiting abiotic factor regulating soil CO2 efflux (SR). Besides the direct effect of water limitation, drought also influences plant activity, determining changes in the quality and quantity of root exudates, thus indirectly affecting soil microbial activity. To determine how the s...

In the Sustainable Forest Management, deadwood is a fundamental substrate for numerous species, and a key factor in carbon and nutrient cycles. The main aim of the paper is to estimate the amount of deadwood in two Calabrian pine forests (Monte Morello in Italy; Xanthi in Greece) characterized by different stand conditions and management practices....

In Sustainable Forest Management, decaying wood plays an important role in forest biodiversity, carbon balance and nutrient cycling. The management of this important component of forest ecosystems is limited by the fact that little is known about relationships between substrate quality and community structure of wood-inhabiting microorganisms. Duri...

Climate warming is predicted to raise the mean global temperature by 1°C in the next 50 years, and this change is believed to be capable of affecting soil organic matter cycling and nutrient availability. With the aim of increasing knowledge on the response of forest soils to the ongoing climate change, we used altitude as a proxy for temperature c...

No-tillage (NT) is considered an agricultural practice to preserve soil organic carbon (C), however large uncertainties still affect land-use management measures for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from agricultural soil. Short-term changes during the transition between conventional tillage (CT) and NT systems have to be further investigate...

The LIFE Projects SelPiBio (LIFE13 BIO/IT/000282 ”Innovative silvicultural treatments to enhance soil Biodiversity in artificial black Pine stands”) and FoResMit (LIFE14 CCM/IT/000905 ”Recovery of degraded coniferous Forests for environmental sustainability Restoration and climate change Mitigation”) are two Italian projects aimed at testing and ve...

The LIFE Projects SelPiBio (LIFE13 BIO/IT/000282 ”Innovative silvicultural treatments to enhance soil Biodiversity in artificial black Pine stands”) and FoResMit (LIFE14 CCM/IT/000905 ”Recovery of degraded coniferous Forests for environmental sustainability Restoration and climate change Mitigation”) are two Italian projects aimed at testing and ve...

Agronomic research is important to identify suitable options for improving soil carbon (C) sequestration and reducing soil CO2 emissions. Therefore, the objectives of this study were i) to analyse the on-farm effects of different nitrogen fertilization sources on soil respiration, ii) to explore the effect of fertilization on soil respiration sensi...

In Italian vineyards, it is quite common to have areas characterized by problems in vine health, grape production and quality, often caused by improper land preparation before vine plantation and/or management. Causes for soil malfunctioning can include reduced contribution of the soil fauna to the ecosystem services such as nutrient cycles and org...

The Black Locust Robinia pseudoacacia (BL) is a nitrogen-fixing tree belonging to the family Fabaceae. It is nowadays widespread and naturalized in Europe, temperate Asia, Australia, New Zealand, northern and southern Africa and temperate South America. This plant is an aggressive invader often spreading and replacing native forest formations in th...

Biochar and its properties can be significantly altered according to how it is produced, and this has ramifications towards how biochar behaves once added to soil. We produced biochars from corncob and miscanthus straw via different methods (slow pyrolysis, hydrothermal and flash carbonization) and temperatures to assess how carbon cycling and soil...

Reducing CH4 and N2O emissions from rice cropping systems while sustaining production levels with less water requires a better understanding of the key processes involved. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation is one promising practice that has been shown to reduce CH4 emissions. However, little is known about the impact of this practice on...

Methane (CH4) is the dominant greenhouse gas (GHG) implicated in global warming from paddy fields, with emissions largely controlled by water and residue management practices. The permanent flooding-based conventional cultivation system is an important anthropogenic source of atmospheric CH4. However, rice fields also emit N2O, especially in relati...

In the symbiosis between rhizobia and legumes, host plants can form symbiotic root nodules with multiple rhizobial strains, potentially showing different symbiotic performances in nitrogen fixation. Here, we investigated the presence of mixed nodules, containing rhizobia with different degrees of mutualisms, and evaluate their relative fitness in t...

Effect of strain competition on host plants. (A) Nodulation index. Percentage of nodulated plants for single and mixed strains combinations. Values are means (śstandard deviation) of three independent experiments, each involving at least 20 plants. (B) Nodulation score. Mean number of nodules/plant. Values indicate means ś standard deviation of num...

Input data and code used to generate the figures.

Number of copies of the genome/nodule of the qPCR estimates in the in vivo experiment. The plants were inoculated with the wild type strains. Measurements were performed on three nodules for each mixed inoculum.

description of the two projects

In both conventional and organic Italian vineyards, it is quite common to have areas characterized by problems in vine health, grape production and quality, often caused by improper land preparation before vine plantation and/or management. Causes for soil malfunctioning can include: reduced contribution of the soil fauna to the ecosystem services...

Microorganisms are vital in mediating the earth’s biogeochemical cycles; yet, despite our rapidly increasing ability to explore complex environmental microbial communities, the relationship between microbial community structure and ecosystem processes remains poorly understood. Here, we address a fundamental and unanswered question in microbial eco...

The water management system of cultivated paddy rice soils is one of the most important factors affecting the respective magnitudes of CH4 and N2O emissions. We hypothesized an effect of past management on soil microbial communities and greenhouse gas (GHG) production potential. The objectives of this study were to i) assess the influence of water...

Sette Fasce Tampone, realizzate secondo le indicazioni tecniche contenute nello standard di condizionalità 5.2, in diversi ambiti e contesti climatici, sono state monitorate per un periodo biennale, al fine di quantificare la loro efficienza nella rimozione di azoto inorganico disciolto. Tale azoto è costituito per lo più da molecole di azoto nitri...

p>Sette Fasce Tampone, realizzate secondo le indicazioni tecniche contenute nello standard di condizionalità 5.2, in diversi ambiti e contesti climatici, sono state monitorate per un periodo biennale, al fine di quantificare la loro efficienza nella rimozione di azoto inorganico disciolto. Tale azoto è costituito per lo più da molecole di azoto nit...

Seven buffer strips (BS) adjacent to fresh water bodies, realized according to the technical data contained in the Standard 5.2 of Crosscompliance, located in different areas and climate contexts, were monitored for a period of two years. It was done in order to quantify their effectiveness in removing dissolved inorganic nitrogen conveyed through...

The aim of this study was to assess the role of cork oak (Quercus suber L.) trees on the small-scale variation of soil organic matter (SOM) pools in an agro-silvo-pastoral system under Mediterranean semi-arid conditions in northeastern Sardinia, Italy. Six cork oak trees were selected in a wooded grassland (30% tree ground cover). For each tree, an...

Forest ecosystems play an important role in trace gas fluxes between soil and atmosphere. Changes in current and future management strategies (afforestation, land-use change, silvicultural treatments, etc..) in combination with climate changes could contribute to altering the present greenhouse gases (GHGs) balance, converting some forest ecosystem...

Mixtures of grasslands and perennial woody crops or vineyards represent a major source of potential carbon storage or release. Understanding the spatial variability of soil properties in these ecosystems is important in determining soil constraints related to the management of soil resources. The aims of the study were 1) to explore the spatial var...

Soil fertility is fundamental in determining crops productivity in all farming systems. Production of biogas through anaerobic digestion of energy crops generates residues that can represent a valuable resource to sustain and improve soil fertility and to increase soil organic matter content. Residues from anaerobic digestion contain organic fracti...

During 2012 season, two rice fields have been selected in Italy (Cantaglia farm, Bologna province) and subjected to different water management: one under continuous flooding (WET) and the other under alternate wetting and drying (AWD). In AWD, re-flushing occurred in order to maintain water field capacity over 60 %. Two rice varieties (one commonly...

Long-term experiments provide important information on the impact of agricultural management practices on soil quality. In 1994, a trial was started to investigate the effects of four different tillage systems on organic carbon and physical properties of a Calcari Fluvic Cambisol loam soil under continuous maize. The tillage practices compared were...

Aims Heavy-metal tolerance is a widespread phenotype in bacteria, particularly occurring in strains isolated from heavy-metal contaminated sites. Concerning nickel tolerance, the nre system is one of the most common. An ortholog of the nreB gene is present in the alfalfa symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti also, which stir the attention on its function...