Maria Laura Carranza

University of Molise | Università del Molise · Department of Biosciences and Territory

Urban settlements can support significant biodiversity and provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Remote sensing (RS) offers valuable tools for monitoring and conserving urban biodiversity. Our research, funded by the Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan (National Biodiversity Future Centre—Urban Biodiversity), undertakes a systematic scientif...

Recent studies have explored the ecological relationship between native urban forests and self-sown non-native forests in large cities and metropolises but further research efforts dedicated to analyzing this relationship in small cities are still needed. To improve our understanding of the ecology of urban native and alien forests in Mediterranean...

Shorebirds play a crucial role in assessing the health of coastal ecosystems due to their life history, behaviour, migratory patterns, and feeding preferences. Many shorebird species are experiencing population declines worldwide, driven by habitat loss and climate change. Understanding these challenges requires extensive data on their distribution...

Butterflies and plant species are widely used as model systems in biodiversity and conservation research. However, little is known about spatial patterns of butterfly diversity linked to plant communities across coastal dune ecotones. We explored the relation between butterfly and vegetation diversity in a Mediterranean protected dune system in Cen...

The "Nature Map of the Municipality of Campobasso: Habitat Map at 1:5,000 scale" is presented and described as part of the collaboration between the ISPRA-Carta della Natura group and researchers from the Department of Biosciences and Territory of the University of Molise, in the context of the National Biodiversity Future Center project. The map w...

Invasive alien plants (IAPs) are a great challenge for biodiversity conservation and management. Multi-temporal landscape analysis has a great potential for describing plant invasion, however conservation solutions accounting of landscape dynamics are still limited. This research aims to explore the spatial-temporal pattern of the IAP Carpobrotus s...

The poster shows the first results of LIFEPLAN project (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/projects/lifeplan) in the N2K IT7228221 Foce Trigno-Marina di Petacciato in the Molise coast analyzing the the faunistic biodiversity in the site by camera traps and the relation with dune EU habitat conservation.

Results of the urban woods studies in Campobasso, a representative case of study of small inland city for Spoke 5 (Urban), were presented in the first annual report of NBFC (National Biodiversity Future Center) in Palermo, 20th-22th May 2024.

Recent studies have explored the ecological relationship between native urban forests and self-sown non-native forests in large cities and metropolises but further research efforts dedicated to analyzing this relationship in small cities are still needed. To improve our understanding of the ecology of urban native and alien woods in Mediterranean s...

Aims: We introduce ReSurveyEurope — a new data source of resurveyed vegetation plots in Europe, compiled by a collaborative network of vegetation scientists. We describe the scope of this initiative, provide an overview of currently available data, governance, data contribution rules, and accessibility. In addition, we outline further steps, includ...

Trait‐based ecology has already revealed main independent axes of trait variation defining trait spaces that summarize plant adaptive strategies, but often ignoring intraspecific trait variability (ITV). By using empirical ITV‐level data for two independent dimensions of leaf form and function and 167 species across five habitat types (coastal dune...

Terrestrial ecosystems affect climate by reflecting solar irradiation, evaporative cooling, and carbon sequestration. Yet very little is known about how plant traits affect climate regulation processes (CRPs) in different habitat types. Here, we used linear and random forest models to relate the community-weighted mean and variance values of 19 pla...

Balázs Deák 52 | Guillaume Decocq 53 | Iwona Dembicz 54 | Jürgen Dengler 55,56 | Valter Di Cecco 57 | Jan Dick 58 | Martin Diekmann 59 | Hartmut Dierschke 60, † | Thomas Dirnböck 61 | Inken Doerfler 62 | Jiří Doležal 63,64 | Ute Döring 65 | Tomasz Durak 66 | Ciara Dwyer 67 | Rasmus Ejrnaes 68 | Inna Ermakova 69 | Brigitta Erschbamer 70 | Giuliano F...

A systematic review to assess which RS techniques have been used in urban biodiversity monitoring over the last 15 years. This work is funded by the NBFC framework, Spoke 5 (Urban).

Coastal ecosystems, encompassing land and marine environments and hosting substantial biodiversity, are among the most threatened worldwide. The European Habitats Directive prioritises coastal habitats and species, requiring legislative, direct protection, monitoring, and informational measures. Accurate habitat and species monitoring is crucial to...

FUN-VIOLA (FUNctional traits of VegetatIOn of centraL Apennines) is a database of field measured plant functional traits for species of Mediterranean high mountain habitats in Central Italy. It includes records of 9 plant traits (Leaf Area, Specific Leaf Area, Leaf Dry Matter Content, Plant Height Vegetative, Plant Height Generative, Leaf Thickness...

Biodiversity monitoring is crucial for ecosystem conservation, but ground data collection is limited by cost, time, and scale. Remote sensing is a convenient approach providing frequent, near-real-time information with fine resolution over wide areas. According to the Spectral Variation Hypothesis (SVH), spectral diversity (SD) is an effective prox...

Coastal dune landscapes are characterized by a steep environmental gradient, and many insects are associated with specific sectors of the dune zonation. We investigated communities of diurnal lepidopterans in two different zones (the shifting dune and the backdune) in the Natura 2000 site Foce Trigno-Marina di Petacciato (N2K IT7228221; Central Ad...

Monitoring city boundaries and extents is a mandatory task so as to achieve the 11th Goal of sustainable development agenda 2030. This work aims at exploring the potential of the SAR dataset recorder by the SIASGE constellation for mapping urban areas and their extent. In particular, urban maps have been produced by applying the Urban EXTent algori...

Invasive alien species are among the main global drivers of biodiversity loss posing major challenges to nature conservation and to managers of protected areas. The present study applied a methodological framework that combined invasive Species Distribution Models, based on propagule pressure, abiotic and biotic factors for 14 invasive alien plant...

Ecological theory predicts close relationships between macroclimate and functional traits. Yet, global climatic gradients correlate only weakly with the trait composition of local plant communities, suggesting that important factors have been ignored. Here, we investigate the consistency of climate-trait relationships for plant communities in Europ...

Ecological theory predicts close relationships between macroclimate and functional traits. Yet, global climatic gradients correlate only weakly with the trait composition of local plant communities, suggesting that important factors have been ignored. Here, we investigate the consistency of climate-trait relationships for plant communities in Europ...

Citation: Villalobos Perna, P.; Di Febbraro, M.; Carranza, M.L.; Marzialetti, F.; Innangi, M. Remote Sensing and Invasive Plants in Coastal Ecosystems: What We Know So Far and Future Prospects. Land 2023, 12, 341. https://doi. Abstract: Coastal environments are highly threatened by invasive alien plants (IAP), and Remote Sensing (RS) may offer a so...

Coastal dune ecosystems are highly threatened, and one of the strongest pressures is invasive alien plants (IAPs). Mitigating the negative effects of IAPs requires development of optimal identification and mapping protocols. Remote sensing offers innovative tools that have proven to be very valuable for studying IAPs. In particular, unmanned aerial...

Uncontrolled and unsustainable urban sprawl are altering the Earth’s surface at unprecedented rates. This research explores the potential of active remote sensors for mapping urban areas, for monitoring urban expansion processes and for depicting landscape pattern dynamics in a metropolis of South America. Based on multi-temporal urban cover maps o...

Coastal wetlands are biodiversity hotspots, highly threatened, and for which restoration actions have been widely implemented. Systematic monitoring of biodiversity after restoration actions on Mediterranean salt marshes vegetation needs further attention. We analyzed temporal changes in plant species composition and ecology in a restored brackish...

Biodiversity monitoring is crucial for ecosystem conservation, yet field data collection is limited by costs, time, and extent. Remote sensing represents a convenient approach providing frequent, near-real-time information over wide areas. According to the Spectral Variation Hypothesis (SVH), spectral diversity (SD) is an effective proxy of environ...

Global change threatens alpine biodiversity and its effects vary across habitat types and biogeographic regions. We explored vegetation changes over the last 20 years on two Mediterranean alpine calcareous grasslands in central Apennines (Italy): stripped grasslands (EUNIS code E4.436) with Sesleria juncifolia growing on steep slopes, and wind edge...

Invasive alien plants (IAPs) are increasingly threatening biodiversity worldwide; thus, early detection and monitoring tools are needed. Here, we explored the potential of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images in providing intermediate reference data which are able to link IAP field occurrence and satellite information. Specifically, we used very hi...

This paper addresses a re-visitation study, carried out in 2020, relating to the presence ofherbaceous vegetation in high-altitude areas where vegetation had been already studied in 2003. The study focuses on two high-altitude habitats of the Majella National Park: screes and small dolines. The aim is to monitor the species composition and its past...

Mediterranean landscapes constitute a biodiversity hotspot where species distribution and composition have been shaped by a long history of traditional land use. In this work, we investigated the effects of landscape patterns on community composition and the functional, morphological, and ecological traits of 21 small mammal species in the Mediterr...

Alien plants represent a significant threat to species diversity and composition in natural habitats. Nevertheless, little is known about the dynamic of the invasion process and how its effects on native species change over time. In this study, we explored vegetation changes that occurred in invaded coastal dune habitats over the last 10–15 years (...

The macro-site includes the following research sites along the Apennine mountain range: LTER_EU_IT_022 – Central and Southern Apennine: Majella-Matese LTER_EU_IT_025 – Central Apennine: Velino-Duchessa LTER_EU_IT_024 – Central Apennine: Gran Sasso LTER_EU_IT_023 – Northern Apennine It consists of “orographic islands” with high elevation vegetation...

We analyzed plant functional diversity (FD) and redundancy (FR) in Mediterranean high-mountain communities to explore plant functional patterns and assembly rules. We focused on three above-ground plant traits: plant height (H), a good surrogate of competition for light strategies, and specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC), us...

High mountain ecosystems are hotspots of biodiversity that are highly vulnerable to climate warming and land use change. In Europe, high mountain habitats are included in the EC Directive 92/43/EEC (Habitats Directive) and the identification of practices facilitating effective monitoring is crucial for meeting HD goals. We analyzed the temporal cha...

Remote Sensing (RS) is a useful tool for detecting and mapping Invasive Alien Plants (IAPs). IAPs mapping on dynamic and heterogeneous landscapes, using satellite RS data, is not always feasible. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with ultra-high spatial resolution data represent a promising tool for IAPs detection and mapping. This work develops an op...

We evaluated the ecological impacts of the invasive alien species (IAS) Acacia saligna on the vegetation composition and structure of two coastal dunes woody habitats of Union concern (2250*: coastal dunes with Juniperus spp. and 2260: dunes with sclerophyllous vegetation consisting of Cisto-Lavanduletalia). We sampled 20 paired plots per habitat t...

Aim Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) prescribes the quantification of species vulnerability based on three components: sensitivity, adaptive capacity and exposure. Such assessments should be performed through combined approaches that integrate trait‐based elements (e.g., measures of species sensitivity such as niche width) with correl...

Aim The number of naturalized (i.e. established) alien species has increased rapidly over recent centuries. Given the differences in environmental tolerances among species, little is known about what factors determine the extent to which the observed size of the naturalized range of a species and hence the extent to which the observed richness of n...

Significance Invasive alien species pose major threats to biodiversity and ecosystems. However, identifying drivers of invasion success has been challenging, in part because species can achieve invasiveness in different ways, each corresponding to different aspects of demographics and distribution. Employing a multidimensional perspective of invasi...

Aims Biodiversity is traditionally studied mostly at the species level, but biogeographical and macroecological studies at higher taxonomic levels can provide valuable insights into the evolutionary processes at large spatial scales. Our aim was to assess the representation of vascular plant families within different vegetation formations across Eu...

Combining field collected and remotely sensed (RS) data represents one of the most promising approaches for an extensive and up-to-date ecosystem assessment. We investigated the potential of the so called spectral variability hypothesis (SVH) in linking field-collected and remote-sensed data in Mediterranean coastal dunes and explored if spectral d...

Aim European grassland communities are highly diverse, but patterns and drivers of continental‐scale diversities remain elusive. This study analyses taxonomic and functional richness in European grasslands along continental‐scale temperature and precipitation gradients. Location Europe. Methods We quantified functional and taxonomic richness of 5...

Question Does spectral diversity captured by unmanned aerial systems (UAS) provide reliable information for monitoring the eco‐geomorphological integrity of Mediterranean coastal dune ecosystems? Can this information discriminate between two coastal areas with low (LP) and high (HP) human pressure? Location Tyrrhenian coast, Central Italy. Method...

Aim Alpine habitats support unique biodiversity confined to high‐elevation areas in the current interglacial. Plant diversity in these habitats may respond to area, environment, connectivity and isolation, yet these factors have been rarely evaluated in concert. Here we investigate major determinants of regional species pools in alpine grasslands,...

While climatic research about treeline has a long history, the climatic conditions corresponding to the upper limit of closed alpine grasslands remain poorly understood. Here, we propose a climatic definition for this limit, the 'grassline', in analogy to the treeline, which is based on the growing season length and the soil temperature. Eighty-sev...

Beach litter accumulation patterns are influenced by biotic and abiotic factors, as well as by the distribution of anthropogenic sources. Although the importance of comprehensive approaches to deal with anthropogenic litter pollution is acknowledged, integrated studies including geomorphologic, biotic, and anthropic factors in relation to beach deb...

The 8th International Symposium "Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas. Problems and Measurements Techniques" was organized by CNR-IBE in collaboration with FCS Foundation, and Natural History Museum of the Mediterranean and under the patronage of University of Florence, Accademia dei Geogofili, Tuscany Region and Livorno Province. It is the oc...

Coastal dunes are found at the boundary between continents and seas representing unique transitional mosaics hosting highly dynamic habitats undergoing substantial seasonal changes. Here, we implemented a land cover classification approach specifically designed for coastal landscapes accounting for the within-year temporal variability of the main c...

“Dai balconi ai parchi urbani: buone pratiche per un giardinaggio consapevole”, prodotto nell’ambito del progetto LIFE ASAP, è un opuscolo di tipo tecnico-pratico che intende fornire alcune informazioni di base sulle piante esotiche invasive presenti in Italia nonché, seguendo le buone pratiche dettate nel Codice di condotta dei florovivaisti, prop...

The present study aimed to investigate the role of propagule pressure (P), abiotic (A), and biotic (B) factors (collectively indicated as PAB) on the suitability of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia (Italy) to be invaded by the tree Acacia saligna, recently included in the list of invasive alien species of European Union concern. To this aim, a...

Coastal erosion, in combination with sea-level rise and extreme meteorological events, is globally threatening the biodiversity and functioning of dune ecosystems, along with the essential ecosystem services they provide. In this study, by quantifying the intensity of erosion and accretion processes occurred over two decades in a wide Mediterranean...

Mediterranean high mountain grasslands are shaped by climatic stress and understanding their functional adaptations can contribute to better understanding ecosystems’ response to global change. The present work analyses the plant functional traits of high-elevation grasslands growing in Mediterranean limestone mountains to explore, at the community...