So, this has been only the first year of FORGENIUS activities. It is now time for lab work, while dreaming about next year’s trips from Florence to the heart of the Mediterranean.
Travelling through the genetic diversity of Italian forests
| by Andrea Piotti & Camilla Avanzi (IBBR-CNR)
Italy's ecosystems are of extraordinary diversity. This is largely due to its biogeographic position – located at the centre of the Mediterranean – and to its environmental heterogeneity, with habitats that change abruptly from very cold to hot or arid to humid even over short distance.
This heterogeneity amazes evolutionary biologists too – the Italian peninsula is a dynamic jigsaw puzzle of hot and cold spots of genetic diversity, of geographical barriers to migration and, today, of increasing selective pressure for many species.
At the CNR in Florence, we have been working on the genetic diversity of Italian forest tree populations for almost 40 years. Every year, our field trips enable us to study the complex mosaic of forest habitats, and experience the results of this intricate demographic history first-hand. The FORGENIUS project gives us a unique opportunity to further explore this treasure, even in the most remote corners, with a special focus on its conservation. Sampling forest trees and revising the Italian network of Genetic Conservation Units (GCU) involves meticulously studying all the available information, contacting local experts and interacting with them, optimising long trips to unexplored areas, reviewing past decisions about key populations for in-situ conservation plans … all the time feeling in awe of the amazing forests we come into contact with!
During the first year of FORGENIUS field activities, we have travelled from one of the smallest “unrecognised” micro-nations in Europe (the Principality of Seborga in Liguria) to the two largest islands in the Mediterranean (Sicily and Sardinia), from the southernmost forests of the target species in Europe (Silver fir, Abies alba, in Calabria) to the northernmost ones (Aleppo pine, Pinus halepensis, in Liguria), from the most widespread European forest tree species to the rarest (Sicilian fir, A. nebrodensis).
Our field trip to Sardinia was something we’ll never forget. Thanks to the help of colleagues from the Universities of Sassari and Cagliari, we collected enough information to establish the first GCUs in this area, which is crucial to track forest tree migrations across the Mediterranean basin. Obviously, this was done without giving up any of the local delicacies with unpronounceable names but unforgettable taste!
FORGENIUS also represents cooperation and exchanges among different disciplines, and participating in other Work Package activities has been a lot of fun. While accompanying our French colleagues from the WP2 field team to the Italian GCUs, we learnt so much. Collecting such a huge amount of data in the field requires a deep knowledge of trees, the use of masses of equipment to handle a great variety of measurements, as well as the ability to deal with any potential problems that may arise when working in a forest. At the end of the day, one must never forget the final task – shipping boxes full of samples all over Europe!