Administrative unit: Università degli Studi di Padova Department: Territorio e Sistemi Agro-Forestali (TESAF) ___________________________________________________________________ PHD PROGRAM: LAND, ENVIRONMENT, RESOURCES AND HEALTH BATCH: XXIX FOREST HABITAT MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION PRIORITIES: A MULTI-SCALE AND MULTI-TAXON APPROACH PhD Program Coordinator: Prof. Davide Matteo Pettenella Supervisor: Prof. Tommaso Sitzia External evaluators: Dr. Annabel Porté, Université de Bordeaux, France Dr. Duncan McCollin, The University of Northampton, United Kingdom PhD candidate: Thomas Campagnaro Sede Amministrativa: Università degli Studi di Padova Dipartimento di Territorio e Sistemi Agro-Forestali (TESAF) ___________________________________________________________________ CORSO DI DOTTORATO DI RICERCA IN TERRITORIO, AMBIENTE, RISORSE E SALUTE CICLO XXIX FOREST HABITAT MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION PRIORITIES: A MULTI-SCALE AND MULTI-TAXON APPROACH Coordinatore: Ch.mo Prof. Davide Matteo Pettenella Supervisore: Ch.mo Prof. Tommaso Sitzia Valutatori: Ph.D. Annabel Porté, Université de Bordeaux, Francia Ph.D. Duncan McCollin, The University of Northampton, Regno Unito Dottorando: Thomas Campagnaro Contents Summary ............................................................................................................................ 9 Riassunto ......................................................................................................................... 11 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 13 1.1 What do we mean by habitats? ..................................................................................... 13 1.2 Habitat management ...................................................................................................... 14 1.2.1 The European Habitats Directive .................................................................................. 16 1.2.2 Invasive alien species: an important threat to habitats .................................................. 17 1.3 Forest biodiversity and management .......................................................................... 18 1.3.1 Spontaneous forest expansion ................................................................................... 20 1.4 Research objectives ....................................................................................................... 21 1.5 Research framework ...................................................................................................... 22 2. Paper I: Identifying habitat conservation priorities under the Habitats Directive: application to two Italian biogeographical regions ....................................................... 25 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 26 2.2 Methods .......................................................................................................................... 27 2.2.1 Study area ................................................................................................................. 27 2.2.2 Methodological framework ......................................................................................... 28 2.3 Results ............................................................................................................................ 33 2.4 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 42 2.4.1 A method to identifying habitat conservation priorities ................................................ 42 2.4.2 Habitat conservation priorities and management for the case study regions .............. 43 2.4.3 Applicability and implications ...................................................................................... 44 2.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 45 2.6 Supplementary Material ................................................................................................. 47 2.7 References ...................................................................................................................... 48 3. Paper II: Ecological risk and accessibility analysis to assess the impact of roads under Habitats Directive .................................................................................................. 55 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 56 3.2 Case Study ..................................................................................................................... 58 3.2.1 Study area and geographical context ......................................................................... 58 3.2.2 The forest road plan ................................................................................................... 58 3.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 60 5 3.3.1 Conceptual framework ............................................................................................... 60 3.3.2 Direct effects related to ecological risk ....................................................................... 61 3.3.3 Indirect effects related to accessibility ........................................................................ 66 3.4 Results ............................................................................................................................ 67 3.4.1 Ecological risk ............................................................................................................ 67 3.4.2 Forest accessibility ..................................................................................................... 68 3.4.3 Identification of alternatives ........................................................................................ 69 3.4.4 Mitigations and restrictions to accessibility ................................................................. 69 3.5 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 69 3.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 71 3.7 References ...................................................................................................................... 73 4. Paper III: Using forest management to control invasive alien species: helping implement the new European regulation on invasive alien species ........................... 81 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 82 4.2 Invasive alien tree species in Europe ........................................................................... 83 4.3 Forest management: risks and opportunities .............................................................. 85 4.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 87 4.5 References ...................................................................................................................... 89 5. Paper IV: Multi-scale analysis of alpine landscapes with different intensities of abandonment reveals similar spatial pattern changes: implications for habitat conservation .................................................................................................................... 93 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 95 5.2 Materials and Methods ...................................................................................................... 97 5.2.1. Study area ................................................................................................................... 97 5.2.2 Land cover maps .......................................................................................................... 98 5.2.3. Data analysis ............................................................................................................... 99 5.3 Results .......................................................................................................................... 102 5.3.1 Landscape change ................................................................................................... 102 5.3.2 Multi-scale analysis of landscape change ................................................................ 103 5.4 Discussion .................................................................................................................... 108 5.4.1 Landscape-scale dynamics ...................................................................................... 108 5.4.2 Multi-scale response of landscape change ............................................................... 110 5.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 113 5.6 References .................................................................................................................... 115 6 6. Paper V: Wildlife conservation through forestry abandonment: responses of beetle communities to habitat change in