Zannini, Piero
(2021)
Biodiversity of Sacred Natural Sites in Italy, [Dissertation thesis], Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna.
Dottorato di ricerca in
Scienze della terra, della vita e dell'ambiente, 33 Ciclo. DOI 10.48676/unibo/amsdottorato/9837.
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Abstract
Here, I aimed to assess the value of Sacred Natural Sites (SNS) for biodiversity conservation, by
asking: Which is the state of the art on SNS and biodiversity conservation and their overall effect on
biodiversity? Do SNS in Italy complement the network of Protected Areas (PA)? Which is the effect
of SNS and PA in Italy as drivers of forest cover changes? Do SNS in Italy conserve plant diversity?
First, I carried out a systematic review on SNS and biodiversity conservation by means of
descriptive statistics and vote counting. Then, I built a geo-referenced nation-wide survey of SNS
and compared it with the national network of PA in terms of land uses and landscape characteristics,
while investigating their spatial distributions. I also investigated the role of SNS and PA in respect
with forest cover changes between 1936 and 2018. Finally, I evaluated the diversity of plant
communities found at 30 SNS scattered across Italy by comparing them with related control areas.
Most of research up-to-date has been dealing with plants, while largely focusing on asian and
african SNS. Hence, the rest of this thesis aims to help close the aforementioned geographical gap.
Among the main results, I found that SNS and PA hardly overlapped, being located in different
landscape contexts and over different land uses, showing a potential complementarity. Moreover,
SNS and PA were associated with a decrease in forest loss and an increase in forest gain, hinting
both at a positive effect on forest conservation and an allarming abandonment of cultural
landscapes. Finally, plant communities of SNS were highly diverse, but patterns varied across
macrohabitats.
SNS provided positive conservation outcomes likely due to traditional management, social taboos
and unique natural features. Legal recocgnition and innovative policies are required to protect SNS
and their biological specificity.
Abstract
Here, I aimed to assess the value of Sacred Natural Sites (SNS) for biodiversity conservation, by
asking: Which is the state of the art on SNS and biodiversity conservation and their overall effect on
biodiversity? Do SNS in Italy complement the network of Protected Areas (PA)? Which is the effect
of SNS and PA in Italy as drivers of forest cover changes? Do SNS in Italy conserve plant diversity?
First, I carried out a systematic review on SNS and biodiversity conservation by means of
descriptive statistics and vote counting. Then, I built a geo-referenced nation-wide survey of SNS
and compared it with the national network of PA in terms of land uses and landscape characteristics,
while investigating their spatial distributions. I also investigated the role of SNS and PA in respect
with forest cover changes between 1936 and 2018. Finally, I evaluated the diversity of plant
communities found at 30 SNS scattered across Italy by comparing them with related control areas.
Most of research up-to-date has been dealing with plants, while largely focusing on asian and
african SNS. Hence, the rest of this thesis aims to help close the aforementioned geographical gap.
Among the main results, I found that SNS and PA hardly overlapped, being located in different
landscape contexts and over different land uses, showing a potential complementarity. Moreover,
SNS and PA were associated with a decrease in forest loss and an increase in forest gain, hinting
both at a positive effect on forest conservation and an allarming abandonment of cultural
landscapes. Finally, plant communities of SNS were highly diverse, but patterns varied across
macrohabitats.
SNS provided positive conservation outcomes likely due to traditional management, social taboos
and unique natural features. Legal recocgnition and innovative policies are required to protect SNS
and their biological specificity.
Tipologia del documento
Tesi di dottorato
Autore
Zannini, Piero
Supervisore
Co-supervisore
Dottorato di ricerca
Ciclo
33
Coordinatore
Settore disciplinare
Settore concorsuale
Parole chiave
Sacred Natural Sites; Protected areas; Biodiversity Conservation; Biological Conservation; Conservation Biology; OECMs; Cultural Landscape; Vote-Counting; Land planning; Conservation policy; Forest Gain; Forest Loss; Spatial Modelling; Diversity.
URN:NBN
DOI
10.48676/unibo/amsdottorato/9837
Data di discussione
21 Maggio 2021
URI
Altri metadati
Tipologia del documento
Tesi di dottorato
Autore
Zannini, Piero
Supervisore
Co-supervisore
Dottorato di ricerca
Ciclo
33
Coordinatore
Settore disciplinare
Settore concorsuale
Parole chiave
Sacred Natural Sites; Protected areas; Biodiversity Conservation; Biological Conservation; Conservation Biology; OECMs; Cultural Landscape; Vote-Counting; Land planning; Conservation policy; Forest Gain; Forest Loss; Spatial Modelling; Diversity.
URN:NBN
DOI
10.48676/unibo/amsdottorato/9837
Data di discussione
21 Maggio 2021
URI
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