Rete italiana monitoraggio delle condizioni dei boschi - Forestry and Wood

Italian Monitoring network on forest condition

The network articulates as following: 

1. Large-scale forest condition monitoring (Level I) 

Level I monitoring provides an annual overview on forest condition based on a 16x16 km grid net covering around 6000 plots in Europe and 260 in Italy. In addition, soil and foliar analyses are carried out. 

 

Crown condition assessments 

Crown condition at Level I has proven to be a valuable tool for 
detecting status and trends of tree condition in Europe. It is assessed annually at the European level on all 16 * 16 km Level I points. The main parameters to be assessed are: 

Defoliation (percentage of leaf or needle loss) 

Discolouration 

Damages visible on the trees 

 

Soil condition assessments 

There are clear correlations between the deposition of air pollutants and forest soil chemistry. Its condition is essential for many organisms living in the soil and for forest functions like water storage and filtering. Nutrient imbalances in the soil are linked to tree health and condition. 

More than 5000 ICP Forests Level I plots were monitored in two forest soil surveys across Europe. The first took place between 1986 and 1996 and the second between 2004 and 2008 under the Forest Focus Regulation (EC No. 2152/2003). 

 

Foliar survey 

Changes in environmental conditions may affect foliar nutrient 
concentrations. The monitoring of tree nutrition is thus essential for assessing forest condition. A foliar survey in the 1990s has covered approximately 1400 plots. A number of countries are carrying out repeated foliar surveys. 

      2. Forest Intensive monitoring (Level II) 

The Level II network is the key for providing insight into causes 
affecting the condition of forest ecosystems and into effects of 
different stress factors. 

Around 800 plots have been established in Europe representing the major forest types. The integrating evaluation of different surveys offers the possibility to understand complex ecosystem processes. 

In Italy the Liv II network cover 31 plots distributed from North to South along the Apennines Mountains and from East to West on the Alpine chain and covering the main Italian forest types: 

24 plots are located in mountainous area, between 700 and 1900 m a.s.l. 

17 plots are located inside protected areas 

22 plots are interested by target forest species and/or habitat (Direttiva Habitat CE n. 92/43). 

• Action forest growth-representative for Italy: Dott.ssa Giada Bertini  
• Action Foliage and Litterfall and LAI- responsible for Italy: Dott. Andrea Cutini 
• Action Meteorology - responsible for Italy: Dott. Silvano Fares 

Liv I and Liv II network-responsible for Italy: Comando Unità Forestali Ambientali ed Agroalimentari dell’Arma dei Carabinieri