Park managers in alpine areas must deal with the increase in forest coverage that has been observed in most European mountain areas, where traditional farming and agricultural practices have been abandoned. The aim of this study is to develop a fine-scale model of a broad area to support the managers of Paneveggio Nature Park (Italy) in conservation planning by focusing on the fate of priority areas for conservation in the next 50-100 years. GIS analyses were performed to assess the afforestation dynamic over time using two historical maps (from 1859 and 1936) and a series of aerial photographs and ortho-photos (taken from 1954 to 2006) covering a time span of 150 years. The results show an increase in the forest surface area of about 35%. Additionally, the forest became progressively more compact and less fragmented, with a consequent loss of ecotones and open habitats that are important for biodiversity. Markov chain-cellular automata models were used to project future changes, evaluating the effects on a habitat scale. Simulations show that some habitats defined as priority by the EU Habitat Directive will be compromised by the forest expansion by 2050 and suffer a consistent loss by 2100. This protocol, applied to other areas, can be used for designing long-term management measures with a focus on habitats where conservation status is at risk.

Vibrational pest control techniques have been recently developed for several Hemiptera, suggesting that similar strategies could be applied to other species that emit vibrational signals. To evaluate the applicability of a control method for Philaenus spumarius, the vector of Xylella fastidiosa in olive orchards in Italy, we investigated its mating behavior and characterized the associated substrate-borne signals. The vibrational signals emitted by males and females were recorded with a laser vibrometer from the surface of a leaf. Male and female repertoires consisted each of three vibrational signals with distinct features. Pair formation begun with the calling signal of a receptive female and mating was accomplished when a vibrational duet was established and maintained until the male reached the female on the plant. Female calls and duets occurred only in trials conducted in September, while earlier in the season females emitted rejection signals to courting males. Intrasexual communication between males involved the emission of vibrational signals, whose role is still not clear. Playback trials with either a female or male calling signal elicited the emission of different vibrational signals by the tested males. Further experiments with playbacks are warranted to identify vibrational signals to be used for manipulating P. spumarius behavior and develop a future control method.

© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionForest cover in the Alps in the past centuries was shaped by human activities: agriculture and timber harvesting affected the lower and intermediate elevations while farming the higher (MacDonald et al. 2000). In fact, the traditional form of farming in the Alps involved moving livestock (mainly cows and sheep) from the valleys to the higher pastures according to the season. In winter the animals were sheltered in the valleys while during the summer they were carried to higher pastures where they could exploit the seasonal abundance of food. The herdsman used to stay in the typical mountain dairy called "Malga" surrounded by natural pastures or grassland derived from forest clearance (Piussi 2000). Farming in these areas was traditionally extensive and carried out by means of local and frugal breeds.During World War I the forests of the eastern Italian Alps were extensively exploited by the soldiers because the fighting took place on the national border which ran along the tops of the mountains in the area being investigated. Since the end of World War II land use in mountain areas has changed dramatically: as many people moved to the cities, the traditional activities were almost abandoned, and consequently the pressure that shaped the vegetation for centuries was no longer there (De Natale et al. 2005, Sitzia et al. 2007, Sitzia 2009). While these social issues affect the Alps as well as in the study area, their impact on vegetation distribution and composition are harder to estimate (Swetnam et al. 1999, Scarascia-Mugnozza et al. 2000, Ciolli et al. 2002, Dullinger et al. 2003, Garbarino et al. 2009).There are interesting studies showing that agriculture related biodiversity is highly threatened both through abandonment and intensification but, unfortunately, much of the available data concerns arable and lowland farmland, although there is a lack of knowledge in mountain areas (Marriott et al. 2004).The The problem has been fully recognised also at EU level: a recent EEA report (European Environment Agency 2004) stresses the fact that the prevalence of high nature value farmland is in less productive areas, such as those located in southern Europe and in mountainous regions. Many relevant conservation efforts have been undertaken at a European level, such as the Pan-European biological and landscape diversity strategy, the Bern Convention, the European Landscape Convention, the Birds and Habitats Directives.In order to understand the ecological dynamics in the Alps under changing social and climatic conditions, it is crucial to develop a knowledge of what the forest landscape was like in the past and to get a precise idea of the rapidity of the natural succession set up in the open semi-natural grassland habitats.Multi-temporal analysis of historical maps, aerial photographs and satellite images with the aid of GIS is the best tools to reconstruct the past distribution of forest cover. The recent availability of aerial and satellite imagery and of the instru...

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Bushmeat hunting is a pantropical threat to rainforest mammals. Understanding its effects on species richness, community composition and population abundance is of critical conservation relevance. As data on the pre-hunting state of mammal populations in Africa are not generally available, we evaluated the impacts of illegal bushmeat hunting on the mammal community of two ecologically similar forests in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania. The forests differ only in their protection status: one is a National Park and the other a Forest Reserve. We deployed systematic camera trap surveys in these forests, amounting to  and  camera days in the Forest Reserve and the National Park, respectively, and investigated differences between the two areas in estimated species-specific occupancies, detectabilities and species richness. We show that the mammal community in the Forest Reserve is degraded in all aspects relative to the National Park. Species richness was almost % lower in the Forest Reserve (median  vs  species, highest posterior density intervals - and -, respectively). Occupancy of most species was also reduced significantly and the functional community appeared significantly altered, with an increase in rodents, and loss of large carnivores and omnivores. Overall, our results show how ineffective reserve management, with almost absent law enforcement, leads to uncontrolled illegal hunting, which in turn has a significant impact on the mammal fauna of globally important sites for conservation.