Enrica Roccotiello

• PhD
• Researcher at University of Genoa

This study investigated the accumulation and distribution of nickel in the leaves and roots of the Mediterranean shrub Alyssoides utriculata to assess its potential use in phytoremediation of Ni contaminated soils. Total (AAS and ICP-MS) Ni, Ca and Mg contents were analyzed in the plants and related to their bioavailability (in EDTA) in serpentine...

Abandoned industrial sites and mines may constitute possible hazards for surrounding environment due to the presence of toxic compounds that may contaminate soils and waters. The possibility to remove metal contaminants, specifically nickel (Ni), by means of fungi was presented exploiting a set of fungal strains isolated from a Ligurian dismissed m...

Zn uptake and compartmentalisation were studied in two ferns, the European Polypodium cambricum L., a possible Zn tolerant, and the sub-tropical Pteris vittata L., an As accumulator also able to accumulate Zn. Ferns growing in hydroponic systems were exposed to Zn concentrations ranging from non-toxic to lethal doses (0, 50, 125, 250, 500 mg kg(-1)...

Urban vegetation has been shown to improve air quality. Green envelopes can provide wide vegetated surfaces in dense cities. This research investigates the performances of four selected plant species used for vertical greening systems, comparing the fine and ultrafine dusts (PM10, PM2.5) collecting capacity by leaves, under the same conditions (hei...

Urban ecosystems are complex, fragmented, densely populated areas, characterized by high level of anthropic pressure, lack of green spaces, habitat fragmentation and local biodiversity loss. In addition, most urban areas face important issues, among which the heat-island effect, poor air quality, and, overall, the deterioration of water resources a...

Urbanization causes habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss, factors often overlooked in traditional nature-based solutions that prioritize human-centric benefits. In response, ecologically inclusive design approaches, such as multispecies building envelopes, have emerged to support cohabitation between human and other-than-human stakeholders....

Vertical greening systems (VGS) are artificial niches enriching cityscapes with ecosystem services. To accurately define these services, studying various species’ performance within VGS due to differing plant variables, such as Leaf Area Index (LAI), is crucial. This study quantifies the performance of two north-oriented VGS scenarios for microclim...

An effective way to reduce complexity in ecological modelling is by grouping species that share similar characteristics into functional groups or types. Often, the creation of plant functional groups (PFGs) is carried out for each case study in an ad-hoc way using a small set of traits. This limits the transferability of these PFGs to other geograp...

Urbanisation catalyses habitat loss, impacting humans and biodiversity. To mitigate this, the ECOLOPES research project proposes multispecies building envelopes that enhance ecosystem services provision through cohabitation. Initial envelope designs are optimized and evaluated with a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making model informed by key perfo...

The inoculation of plants with plant-growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM) (i.e., bacterial and fungal strains) is an emerging approach that helps plants cope with abiotic and biotic stresses. However, knowledge regarding their synergic effects on plants growing in metal-rich soils is limited. Consequently, the aim of this study was to investigate...

Research is revealing an increasing number of positive effects of nature for humans. At the same time, biodiversity in cities, where most humans live, is often low or in decline. Tangible solutions are needed to increase urban biodiversity. Architecture is a key discipline that has considerable influence on the built‐up area of cities, thereby infl...

Urbanisation, due to its contribution to climate change and loss of biodiversity, damages ecosystems, thereby affecting human health and well-being. Current urban and architectural design approaches, that aim to reduce the environmental impact of buildings, include, among other strategies, the integration of greening systems but focusing primarily...

A low cost and lightweight moss envelope system for buildings has been developed to address the problem of the lack of greening in densely urbanized areas. Several moss species have been sampled in the wild, selected, based on their ability to tolerate the abiotic stresses of urban environments, cultivated in controlled conditions and tested for th...

Dense urban areas are facing relevant issues related to their high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and ecosystem health. The study presents a case study of a regeneration project with Nature-based Solutions in the city of Genoa (Italy) and, more specifically, in a neighbourhood characterised by relevant health and well-being issues....

Vegetables represent a major source of Ni exposure. Environmental contamination and cultural practices can increase Ni amount in tomato posing significant risk for human health. This work assesses the tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) response to Ni on the agronomic yield of fruits and the related production of allergens. Two cultivars were grown i...

The co-growth and synergistic interactions among fungi and bacteria from the rhizosphere of plants able to hyper accumulate potentially toxic metals (PTMs) are largely unexplored. Fungi and bacteria contribute in an essential way to soil biogeochemical cycles mediating the nutrition, growth development, and health of associated plants at the rhizos...

Urban areas are facing significant challenges regarding degradation of environments and ecosystems, species loss, and increased vulnerability to climate hazards, all of which impact negatively upon human health and well-being.Focusing on building envelopes can offer an effective approach to the regeneration of urban ecosystems, by providing new spa...

Vegetables represent a major source of Ni exposure. Environmental contamination and cultural practices can increase Ni amount in tomato posing significant risk for human health. This work assesses the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) response to Ni on the agronomic yield of fruits and the related production of allergens. Two cultivars were grown in...

Is it possible to improve the efficiency of bioremediation technologies? The use of mixed cultures of bacteria and fungi inoculated at the rhizosphere level could promote the growth of the associated hyperaccumulating plant species and increase the absorption of metals in polluted soils, broadening new horizons on bioremediation purposes. This work...

The soil–root interface is the micro-ecosystem where roots uptake metals. However, less than 10% of hyperaccumulators’ rhizosphere has been examined. The present study evaluated the root and shoot response to nickel in hyperaccumulator and non-hyperaccumulator species, through the analysis of root surface and biomass and the ecophysiological respon...

Saxifraga florulenta is a monocarpic species endemic to SW Alps, whose reproductive biology is still unknown. Its knowledge may provide useful information on how the species may face the global warming. In this study, we investigated the plant–pollinator interactions and the mating system of the plant. We described the phenology of the inflorescenc...

According to projects and practices that the Italian botanists and ecologists are carrying out for bringing “more nature in the city”, new insights for a factual integration between ecological perspectives and more consolidated aesthetic and agronomic approaches to the sustainable planning and management of urban green areas are provided.

Vertical greening systems and green roofs provide ecosystem services in the urban context. Despite the important benefits they provide, economic (initial and maintenance costs) and environmental issues may limit the widespread diffusion of these greening systems. Mosses can be a low-cost and low-maintenance alternative green envelope for large-scal...

Applying vertical greening systems (VGS) on both new and existing buildings can offer multiple environmental benefits, including air pollutants’ mitigation and air quality improvement. The direct effects of VGS on air quality are mainly related to the absorption of fine dust particles and the uptake of gaseous pollutants. Indirect effects, e.g., co...

In this chapter, the mitigation effect of greening solutions on air pollution within urban canyons is reviewed. First, a glance at the specific scientific literature is made and the different outcomes by authors about the effectiveness of greening solutions on air quality improvements are stressed. The main parameters to consider, the most promisin...

High nickel (Ni) levels exert toxic effects on plant growth and plant water content, thus affecting photosynthesis. In a pot experiment, we investigated the effect of the Ni concentration on the physiological characteristics of the Ni hyperaccumulator Alyssoides utriculata when grown on a vermiculite substrate in the presence of different external...

Main conclusion: The heterologous expression of AtPCS1 in tobacco plants exposed to arsenic plus cadmium enhances phytochelatin levels, root As/Cd accumulation and pollutants detoxification, but does not prevent root cyto-histological damages. High phytochelatin (PC) levels may be involved in accumulation and detoxification of both cadmium (Cd) an...

L’inquinamento dei suoli prodotto dall’attività mineraria è al quarto posto nel mondo come causa di contaminazione. In Europa il numero di attività potenzialmente inquinanti (es. industrie, cave, miniere) interessa circa 3 milioni di siti, tra questi circa 250000 richiederebbero urgenti operazioni di bonifica. Le proprietà fisico-chimiche dei siti...

A multidisciplinary study has been performed in order to evaluate the mycoflora in a Cu-rich waste rock dump from the derelict Fe-Cu sulphide mine (Libiola Mine, Eastern Liguria, Italy). The goals of this research were to test the growth responses of isolated strains in copper enriched media and to evaluate their potential use in mycoremediation. T...

The relationship between waste rocks and trees growing on the Hop waste-rock dump from the Rosia Montana gold mine (Romania) and also on soils along Rosia river were investigated. Plant samples, consisting in leaves, branches and roots of Salix spp., Popolus trenud a, Betula pendula, Pinus sylvestris species, and rhizospheric soils of the same spec...

Two field exercises were carried out to compare chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements taken in the field by field teams working on the same project. In the first exercise (2007, Passo Pura, Ampezzo, Udine, Northern Italy) the operators took measurements on the same leaf areas (maintaining fixed leaf clips); in the second (2009, Monterotondo Marit...

Liguria (NW Italy) is a region characterised by a great richness in habitats, flora, and mycobiota. In the first half of last century, many areas of Liguria were frequently reforested with conifers, mainly pines. This type of habitat is still uninvestigated from a mycological perspective. As a consequence, our work aims at assessing mycodiversity u...

Reduction of pollen flow can affect plant abundance and population viability and cause selection on plant mating system and floral traits. Little is known on the effect of this phenomenon in species naturally restricted to small and isolated habitats, that may have developed strategies to cope with long-term isolation and small population size. We...

Daphne gnidium L. is a circum-Mediterranean evergreen shrub. The production of flowers and fruits of single individuals within a population were recorded. Despite very high efforts along the flowering season, all plants seemed to show a different allocation of resources during the reproductive process. All plants bore flowers with a complete male f...

Primula allionii is a primrose endemic to the Maritime Alps. In order to evaluate its conservation status, we investigated its demographic structure and reproductive success. We studied the plant in three different plots in Roya Valley (France), representing the different structure of cliffs where the plant usually lives. The mean dimensional attri...

Primula allionii is a primrose endemic to Maritime Alps. The plant was studied in three different plots representing the different structures of cliffs where the species usually lives. The reproductive success of the plant was analyzed in order to evaluate its conservation status. Mean plant dimensions and distribution within the plots were evaluat...

This work illustrates the results of a multidisciplinary study aimed at understanding the relations among the mineralogy and chemistry of a sulphidic waste rock-dumps from the Libiola mine (eastern Liguria, Italy) and the metal uptake by fungi and plants spontaneously growing in a flat part at the bottom of this dump. The soil of the studied dump i...

The authors carried out quantitative ecological investigations in Gruppo di Voltri (Liguria, Italy) in order to compare vascular flora, vegetation and soil in two different types of outcrops - serpentinites and calc-schists - in close contact with each other. In particular, the authors analyzed: richness and species diversity, floristic peculiariti...

Pteris vittata is known to hyperaccumulate arsenic, and a large number of studies on this fern species can be found in the literature aimed at evaluating its behavior when coexposed to other toxic elements. In the present study, P. vittata was treated with different concentrations of As and/or Cd in a hydroponic system, that is, under complete bioa...

Plants growing under zinc excess store it in leaves, the organs in charge with carbon assimilation. Therefore, leaf modifications can help to understand the plant responses to environmental stresses. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that high zinc concentration can affect leaf anatomy and physiology of Populus alba cv. Villafranca, a tree sp...

Seeds of 27 species of Moehringia and four related representatives of Arenaria (old M. sect. Pseudomoehringia) were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Novel morphological features were observed in addition to those found in a previous similar study. The new information thus obtained provided new insight into the taxonomic value of discrete m...

Phytotoxicity test were performed to evaluate their application in environmental monitoring on different substrates e.g. commercial detergents (D1, D2) and surface water from the dismissed Cu and Fe mine of Libiola (NW Italy), respectively. Seeds of Vicia faba were grown in 0, 10, 30, 60, 100 g/l of D1 and D2. Number of germinated seeds and root le...

Two field exercises were carried out to compare chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements taken in the field by field teams working on the same project. In the first exercise (2007, Passo Pura, Ampezzo, Udine, Northern Italy) the operators took measurements on the same leaf areas (maintaining fixed leaf clips); in the second (2009, Monterotondo Marit...

The research was carried out in the abandoned Libiola sulphide mine (NW Italy). This site presents serious environmental problems due to active Acid Mine Drainage processes, which determine acidification and heavy metals pollution of soils and waters. In this area most of the soil related to waste-rocks deposits exceeds commercial and industrial li...

This study evaluated relationships between the serpentine soil from a waste-rock dump of the abandoned Libiola sulphide mine (NW Italy) and its pioneer vegetation. We identified the tolerance of various species to environmental conditions and evaluated physical or chemical factors that influenced the first plants to colonize this stressful environm...

Cerastium utriense Barberis (Caryophyllaceae) is an endemic plant growing on ultramafi c outcrops in northwestern Italy. Despite its great phytogeographical importance, little is known about its ecological requirements and environmental range. Thus, the main objective of the present work was to examine and clarify these aspects. On the basis of a p...

Daphne gnidium is a circum-Mediterranean evergreen shrub. Flower and pollen features related to pollination mechanism were analyzed, and the seasonal presence of insects visiting the plant was monitored. The morphology and functionality of flowers are compatible with entomophily, as are pollen viability, which is maintained for a few hours only aft...

The function of diaspores in Moehringia genus was investigated and field observations pointed out the elaiosome role in seed predation and dispersal by ants. Histochemical stainings underlined the presence of lipid in the strophiole.Our results are congruent with the hypothesis that some representatives of the genus Moehringia adopt myrmecochory, e...

A screening of Pteridophytes growing on serpentine and metalliferous soils in Northern Italy was carried out to assess the ability of these plants to tolerate or accumulate trace elements of toxicological interest. Few data are available on metal tolerance/accumulation of terrestrial ferns growing in the Mediterranean region, and several species pr...

Seeds of 30 species of Moehringia and 12 representatives of the Caryophyllaceae were examined with the Scanning Electron Microscope. High diversity was found in seed coat micromorphology, and a number of novel morphological features have been observed. Comparison with other representatives of the Caryophyllaceae has provided new insight into the po...

Thymelaea hirsuta is a subdioecious plant, bearing hermaphroditic (perfect) or monosexual (male or female) flowers from September to May. Flowers are grouped in a condensed raceme (capitulum) in which the flower sequence may occur within the same flowering season or from year to year; nevertheless floral variation is constant within sexually stable...

The development of isidia in thalli of Pseudevernia furfuracea from the Carnic Alps (North-eastern Italy), and the effects of these structures on CO. gas exchanges were investigated. The ontogenetic events were studied by comparison of sections stained with different histochemical tests and SEM observations. A high cell turnover rate in both symbio...

Thymelaea hirsuta is a circum-Mediterranean subdioecious shrub used to model the evolutionary pathway from heterodichogamy to dioecy. Since discordant data on the pollination mechanism of this plant have been reported, in this study we have tried to clarify the complex of features and events involved in the breeding system of this species at the No...

Thymelaea hirsuta (L.) End. is a circum-Mediterranean, subdioecious, evergreen shrub supposed to be an evolutionary example of the pathway from heterodichogamy to dioecy. However, discordant data concerning the pollination mechanism of the plant have been reported in different zones of the species range (France, Egypt and Italy). The present study,...