XXXVI CICLO | Salvaneschi Pietro

I am deeply interested in the conservation of natural environments, particularly forests. This interest guided my university studies, which were focused on forest environments, their conservation, and the development of innovative management approaches. Currently, during my PhD, I have concentrated my research on soil erosion within forests, paying special attention to the impact of deforestation. My work involves both field studies and the development of models to evaluate soil erosion. We have developed a new approach to coppice forest management aimed at reducing soil erosion and hydrogeological risk. To assess soil erosion, we also designed a new erosion plot specifically for use in forests and other natural environments.

In forest environments, soil erosion is not well- studied, particularly in the context of comparing different cutting methods and their subsequent impact on soil erosion and hydrological risk. To address this, we developed a new method for coppicing forests, known as the Banded Standard Method (BSD). Unlike traditional coppicing methods where standards are uniformly distributed across the forest surface, our method positions the standards in a band parallel to the contour lines. Initially, we created a theoretical model using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), which yielded positive results. We then identified the most suitable rainfall erosivity factor for our study area. Following this, we field-tested the method by establishing two plots: one using the Scattered Standards Method and the other using the BSD method. Based on these two plots, we constructed two erosion plots. In addition to this, using the optimal r-factor we found, we developed two more USLE models, incorporating as much collected data as possible. The results indicated a decrease in soil erosion when using the BSD method, both in the field and in the models, with a significant reduction in the presence of gravel.

• SCHIRONE, B., SALVANESCHI, P.,CIANFAGLIONE, K., PECCI, M., ANDRISANO, T. .,VESSELLA, F., & PETROSELLI, A. (2021). A proposal for modifying coppicing geometry in order to reduce soil erosion in the forest areas. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, 49(2), 12325.
• Petroselli, A.; Apollonio, C.; De Luca, D.L.; Salvaneschi, P.; Pecci, M.; Marras, T.; Schirone, B. Comparative Evaluation of the Rainfall Erosivity in the Rieti Province, Central Italy, Using Empirical Formulas and a Stochastic Rainfall Generator. Hydrology 2021, 8, 171.
• Allegrini A, Salvaneschi P, Schirone B, Cianfaglione K, Di Michele A. Multipurpose plant species and circular economy: Corylus avellana L. as a study case. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2022 Jan 11;27(1):11.
• Silva, E., Naji, W., Salvaneschi, P., Climent- Gil, E., Derak, M., López, G., Bonet, A., Aledo, A., & Cortina-Segarra, J. (2023). Prioritizing areas for ecological restoration: A participatory approach based on cost-effectiveness. Journal of Applied Ecology, 60, 1194–1205.