Monumental trees represent both historical heritage and scientific assets; they have important cultural and biodiversity values. These trees can be found in different landscape contexts ranging from remote mountain areas to cities. In Italy, an official list of monumental trees was recently produced and published under the Law no. 10 of 14 January 2013 and the Ministerial Decree 23 October 2014. Several criteria can be used to identify these trees: age and/or size, shape and growth habit, ecological value, floristic rarity, architectural structure, landscape quality, and historical, cultural and religious value. Our aim was to describe the community of monumental trees and the relative importance between native and non-native species within urban areas and urban-related cover types. We analysed the official list and included it in a geographic database to distinguish between, national and regional, native and non-native species by using recently published national species checklists. Among the total 2081 records of single or group of trees forming the list, we focused on those occurring within towns, cities and over urban-related land covers (e.g. villas, gardens). A high proportion of these species (>50%) are non-native to Italy or to the regions in which they are found and, among these, some are considered invasive (e.g. Robinia pseudoacacia). By using the geographic coordinates it was possible to analyse the urban and the environmental contexts in which these trees are growing. These trees are found both in private (e.g. historical villas, religious locations) and public (e.g. parks and roads) urban spaces. In general, these monumental trees represent an important feature in terms of biodiversity, well-being and cultural value of Italian urban settings. In addition, they can be considered as sentinel sites to monitor potential naturalisation processes of non-native species along a latitudinal range and can provide useful ecological information for tree management.

Native and non-native monumental trees in Italian urban areas / Campagnaro, T.; La Porta, N.; Monteverdi, M. C.; Semenzato, P.; Sitzia, T.; Brundu, G.. - (2018), pp. 209-209. (Intervento presentato al convegno Word Forum on Urban Forests tenutosi a Mantova nel 27/11-01/12-2018).

Native and non-native monumental trees in Italian urban areas

Brundu G.
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
2018-01-01

Abstract

Monumental trees represent both historical heritage and scientific assets; they have important cultural and biodiversity values. These trees can be found in different landscape contexts ranging from remote mountain areas to cities. In Italy, an official list of monumental trees was recently produced and published under the Law no. 10 of 14 January 2013 and the Ministerial Decree 23 October 2014. Several criteria can be used to identify these trees: age and/or size, shape and growth habit, ecological value, floristic rarity, architectural structure, landscape quality, and historical, cultural and religious value. Our aim was to describe the community of monumental trees and the relative importance between native and non-native species within urban areas and urban-related cover types. We analysed the official list and included it in a geographic database to distinguish between, national and regional, native and non-native species by using recently published national species checklists. Among the total 2081 records of single or group of trees forming the list, we focused on those occurring within towns, cities and over urban-related land covers (e.g. villas, gardens). A high proportion of these species (>50%) are non-native to Italy or to the regions in which they are found and, among these, some are considered invasive (e.g. Robinia pseudoacacia). By using the geographic coordinates it was possible to analyse the urban and the environmental contexts in which these trees are growing. These trees are found both in private (e.g. historical villas, religious locations) and public (e.g. parks and roads) urban spaces. In general, these monumental trees represent an important feature in terms of biodiversity, well-being and cultural value of Italian urban settings. In addition, they can be considered as sentinel sites to monitor potential naturalisation processes of non-native species along a latitudinal range and can provide useful ecological information for tree management.
2018
Native and non-native monumental trees in Italian urban areas / Campagnaro, T.; La Porta, N.; Monteverdi, M. C.; Semenzato, P.; Sitzia, T.; Brundu, G.. - (2018), pp. 209-209. (Intervento presentato al convegno Word Forum on Urban Forests tenutosi a Mantova nel 27/11-01/12-2018).
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11388/221321
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