Edited by: Mohsen Ahmadi, Isfahan University of Technology, Iran
Reviewed by: Farzin Shabani, Qatar University, Qatar; Luciano Bosso, Anton Dohrn Zoological Station Naples, Italy
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Climate change has profound implications for global ecosystems, particularly in mountainous regions where species distribution and composition are highly sensitive to changing environmental conditions. Understanding the potential impacts of climate change on native forest species is crucial for effective conservation and management strategies. Despite numerous studies on climate change impacts, there remains a need to investigate the future dynamics of climate suitability for key native forest species, especially in specific mountainous sections. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by examining the potential shifts in altitudinal range and suitability for forest species in Italy's mountainous regions. By using species distribution models, through MaxEnt we show the divergent impacts among species and scenarios, with most species experiencing a contraction in their altitudinal range of suitability whereas others show the potential to extend beyond the current tree line. The Northern and North-Eastern Apennines exhibit the greatest and most widespread impacts on all species, emphasizing their vulnerability. Our findings highlight the complex and dynamic nature of climate change impacts on forest species in Italy. While most species are projected to experience a contraction in their altitudinal range, the European larch in the Alpine region and the Turkey oak in the Apennines show potential gains and could play significant roles in maintaining wooded populations. The tree line is generally expected to shift upward, impacting the European beech—a keystone species in the Italian mountain environment—negatively in the Alpine arc and Northern Apennines, while showing good future suitability above 1,500 meters in the Central and Southern Apennines. Instead, the Maritime pine emerges as a promising candidate for the future of the Southern Apennines. The projected impacts on mountain biodiversity, particularly in terms of forest population composition, suggest the need for comprehensive conservation and management strategies. The study emphasizes the importance of using high-resolution climate data and considering multiple factors and scenarios when assessing species vulnerability. The findings have implications at the local, regional, and national levels, emphasizing the need for continued efforts in producing reliable datasets and forecasts to inform targeted conservation efforts and adaptive management strategies in the face of climate change.
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The findings of the most recent Italian National Inventory of Forests and forest Carbon Pools (Inventario Nazionale delle Foreste e dei Serbatoi forestali di Carbonio INFC-2015, Gasparini et al.,
The rapid changes in climate, as highlighted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC,
Species Distribution Models (SDMs)—also referred to as Correlative Species Distribution Models, bioclimatic envelope models, correlative ecological niche models, or habitat suitability models—are computational models used to examine the relationships and equilibrium between the geographic distribution of species or species groups and a set of environmental variables (Guisan and Thuiller,
This study aims to project the potential suitability of selected target forest species in Italy into the medium-term future, considering the foreseen environmental changes associated with the ongoing climate crisis, especially in mountain areas. We seek to assess the potential shifts in the distribution areas of these species under two distinct socio-economic forcing scenarios: a moderate scenario (RCP 4.5, Thomson et al.,
For comprehensive methodological reporting, we adhered to the ODMAP (Overview, Data, Model, Assessment, Prediction) protocol v1.0 (for detail see
To encompass the entire Italian territory, the study area was delimited by national administrative boundaries. Presence data for forest species were obtained from the second National Inventory of Forests and forest Carbon Pools - INFC 2005 (
Species selected for the analyses, with their Latin and Common names.
Silver fir | 348 | 0.928 | |
Field maple | 533 | 0.815 | |
European hornbeam | 296 | 0.845 | |
Chestnut | 1,150 | 0.844 | |
Common hazel | 393 | 0.817 | |
European beech | 1,316 | 0.910 | |
Manna ash | 1,506 | 0.804 | |
European larch | 661 | 0.906 | |
Hop hornbeam | 1,403 | 0.824 | |
Norway spruce | 951 | 0.901 | |
Swiss stone pine | 87 | 0.963 | |
Aleppo pine | 172 | 0.810 | |
Maritime pine | 149 | 0.922 | |
Scots pine | 437 | 0.910 | |
Turkey oak | 1,468 | 0.822 | |
Holm oak | 708 | 0.822 | |
Sessile oak | 313 | 0.847 | |
Downy oak | 2,111 | 0.771 | |
Pedunculate oak | 126 | 0.866 | |
Cork oak | 205 | 0.921 |
Presence points identify the number of INFC2005 samples where individuals of the selected species have been identified. The AUC is the Area Under Curve value obtained from the best MaxEnt model.
To ensure optimal modeling performance, we incorporated Very High Resolution (VHR) climate data into our analyses. The VHR-REA_IT dataset (Raffa et al.,
From the VHR-REA_IT dataset, we selected four variables (maximum, minimum, mean temperature, and precipitation) at a native temporal resolution of 1 hour. These variables were then converted into monthly mean values for the period 1991-2020, referred to as the “historical” period. Subsequently, the Climate Tools Library in SAGA-GIS 7.8.2 (
For the analysis of altitude and slope, the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) over Europe (EU-DEM v1.1) was used, as available from the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (
To tune the modeling process, we used the SDMtoolbox package v2.5 (Brown et al.,
During the tuning phase, various settings were explored to train the MaxEnt models, including the number of predictors, background data selection, model complexity, and threshold selection. To address multicollinearity among the predictors, a preliminary analysis was conducted as indicated by Dormann et al. (
For the background data, different selection types (Minimum Convex Polygon, Buffer Distance from Observation Points) and selection distances ranging from 20 to 500 km were considered. As it was not possible to calibrate the model on independent data as suggested by Araujo et al. (
In the MaxEnt settings, “logistic” was set as the output format, the replicated run type was selected as “crossvalidate”, and the random test percentage was set to 20. The Replicates number was set to 5. Five feature classes were included: linear, quadratic, product, hinge, and threshold. Moreover, a combination of regularization multipliers (0.2, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 5, 10) was employed to fine-tune the models. Response curves were generated to analyze the relationships between predictor variables and habitat suitability for the target species. Additionally, we assessed the importance of the predictor variables through jackknifing (Baldwin,
We generated both continuous and binary outputs to assess the habitat suitability, or probability of occurrence, for each species. However, this study will focus solely on the discussion of the continuous outputs, whereas the binary outputs (presence-no presence) will not be addressed. To convert the continuous data into binary format, we employed two threshold methods: the 10th percentile training presence (PTP) and the maximum test sensitivity and specificity logistic (MTSS).
Subsequently, we employed a model selection approach (Zurell et al.,
Following the tuning phase and selection of the best model, we proceeded to use it to generate maps depicting the future land suitability for the target species for the future time period of 2021–2050. To obtain future projections, we recalculated the 19 bioclimatic indicators using the VHR-PRO_IT dataset (Raffa et al.,
The VHR-PRO_IT dataset covers the time window of 1981-2070, for 1981-2005 under the historical greenhouse gas forcing, and for 2006-2070 under the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5 (also “scenarios” hereafter). RCP 4.5 is a stabilization scenario where total radiative forcing is stabilized, shortly after 2100, to 4.5 Wm-2 (650 ppm CO2-equivalent) by employing technologies and strategies to reduce GHG emissions, whereas RCP 8.5 is a business as usual scenario and it is characterized by increasing GHG emissions and high GHG concentration levels, leading to 8.5 Wm-2 in 2100 (1,370 ppmv CO2-equivalent). In our calculations, we specifically considered the time span of 2021–2050, aligning with the guidelines provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in their 6th Assessment Report (IPCC,
The VHR-PRO_IT dataset is a scenario-driven simulation, therefore a correction of model bias was required to ensure comparability with the historical dataset VHR-REA_IT. We applied a constant anomaly correction based on the difference (for temperatures) or ratio (for precipitation) between VHR-REA_IT and VHR-PRO_IT during the overlapping period of 1991–2020, following the approach outlined in Maraun and Widmann (
and
Where
To address the potential challenges arising from differences in environmental conditions between the historical and future periods, we employed the clamping option in MaxEnt during the future projection phase (Phillips et al.,
At first, the EU-DEM dataset was classified into 150-meter bands. Afterward, zonal statistics were conducted on the three suitability datasets within five distinct and homogeneous mountainous biogeographical regions defined by the “Italian Ecoregion Map” (Blasi et al.,
The tuning phase, aimed at optimizing the model performance based on AUC values, resulted in the selection of specific MaxEnt settings. These settings include the exclusion of highly correlated predictors with a threshold of 0.9, background selection using the Minimum Convex Polygon method with a distance of 500 km, 5 replicates, and the consideration of Linear, Quadratic, Hinge, and Threshold feature classes with a regularization multiplier of 0.5. These settings were carefully chosen to ensure that a consistent and effective set of parameters maximized the performance of all 20 species simultaneously. The AUC results for these settings can be found in
The generated suitability maps for the historical (4.5 and 8.5 scenarios) and future periods have a spatial resolution of approximately 2.2 km.
Example of raw data, representing the output of our modeling procedure. Map of expected suitability for European beech 2021–2050, under the RCP 8.5 scenario. Visualization threshold 0.2.
This section encompasses a total area of 1,794,031 hectares and is bordered by the Maritime Alps to the South−West and Lake Maggiore to the Eastern boundary. The altitude within this section ranges from 26 to 4,790 meters. Notable changes in suitability are observed for various species within this area as shown in
Results for Section 1—Western Alps.
Silver fir | 0.35 | 0.27 | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.28 | 0.24 | −44.73 | −19.77 |
Field maple | 0.34 | 0.26 | 0.43 | 0.23 | 0.45 | 0.27 | 26.15 | 32.16 |
European hornbeam | 0.33 | 0.32 | 0.34 | 0.30 | 0.39 | 0.32 | 3.24 | 17.13 |
Chestnut | 0.43 | 0.35 | 0.40 | 0.31 | 0.40 | 0.31 | −7.65 | −7.17 |
Common hazel | 0.55 | 0.32 | 0.40 | 0.27 | 0.31 | 0.23 | −26.80 | −42.27 |
European beech | 0.39 | 0.28 | 0.28 | 0.26 | 0.35 | 0.27 | −26.79 | −8.66 |
Manna ash | 0.30 | 0.27 | 0.28 | 0.27 | 0.38 | 0.29 | −6.40 | 29.16 |
European larch | 0.44 | 0.27 | 0.59 | 0.38 | 0.61 | 0.40 | 32.61 | 37.18 |
Hop hornbeam | 0.30 | 0.26 | 0.29 | 0.22 | 0.47 | 0.29 | −4.37 | 54.82 |
Norway spruce | 0.49 | 0.26 | 0.57 | 0.32 | 0.52 | 0.33 | 17.52 | 6.98 |
Swiss stone pine | 0.16 | 0.20 | 0.16 | 0.20 | 0.13 | 0.19 | 0.50 | −17.74 |
Aleppo pine | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.02 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.11 | −26.61 | 73.14 |
Maritime pine | 0.10 | 0.21 | 0.07 | 0.18 | 0.11 | 0.23 | −29.19 | 4.93 |
Scots pine | 0.43 | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.31 | 0.40 | 0.29 | 16.79 | −5.66 |
Turkey oak | 0.17 | 0.23 | 0.20 | 0.25 | 0.24 | 0.26 | 14.72 | 37.97 |
Holm oak | 0.05 | 0.14 | 0.04 | 0.13 | 0.07 | 0.15 | −29.43 | 29.23 |
Sessile oak | 0.52 | 0.39 | 0.46 | 0.36 | 0.43 | 0.34 | −11.79 | −17.45 |
Downy oak | 0.28 | 0.26 | 0.21 | 0.24 | 0.33 | 0.27 | −23.50 | 19.21 |
Pedunculate oak | 0.19 | 0.27 | 0.20 | 0.29 | 0.21 | 0.25 | 6.22 | 9.54 |
Cork oak | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.06 | −42.60 | 47.59 |
The values shown represent the average suitability and the standard deviation referred to the species, obtained within the mountain section. The historical and future periods, the two RCPs, and the anomaly (%) between the future and historical periods are reported.
Regarding altitudinal shifts, noteworthy observations include the upward shifting of the maximum suitability range for the European hornbeam and Turkey oak, with an increase from 2 bands (300 m) under the RCP 4.5 scenario to 3 bands (450 m) under the RCP 8.5 scenario. The Chestnut (
Suitability in altitudinal bands for the Western Alps section. In gray, historical (1981–2020); light blue, future RCP 4.5 (2021–2050); orange, future RCP 8.5 (2021-2050).
This section covers a total area of 3,656,143 hectares and extends from the Eastern shore of Lake Maggiore to the Julian Alps. The altitude within this section ranges from 25 to 3,950 meters above sea level. Noteworthy findings (
Results for Section 2—Central and Eastern Alps.
Silver fir | 0.40 | 0.32 | 0.22 | 0.23 | 0.28 | 0.26 | −43.28 | −30.07 |
Field maple | 0.28 | 0.29 | 0.22 | 0.22 | 0.31 | 0.29 | −20.18 | 11.40 |
European hornbeam | 0.37 | 0.32 | 0.33 | 0.31 | 0.45 | 0.36 | −9.37 | 2.32 |
Chestnut | 0.37 | 0.31 | 0.34 | 0.28 | 0.33 | 0.27 | −8.59 | −10.67 |
Common hazel | 0.55 | 0.30 | 0.29 | 0.26 | 0.23 | 0.18 | −46.18 | −57.14 |
European beech | 0.36 | 0.26 | 0.27 | 0.25 | 0.34 | 0.27 | −24.46 | −4.97 |
Manna ash | 0.41 | 0.29 | 0.36 | 0.29 | 0.52 | 0.33 | −12.17 | 27.68 |
European larch | 0.55 | 0.27 | 0.76 | 0.34 | 0.77 | 0.35 | 38.61 | 40.19 |
Hop hornbeam | 0.42 | 0.31 | 0.37 | 0.27 | 0.59 | 0.33 | −12.10 | 41.56 |
Norway spruce | 0.60 | 0.29 | 0.73 | 0.34 | 0.64 | 0.34 | 21.21 | 6.69 |
Swiss stone pine | 0.27 | 0.31 | 0.27 | 0.31 | 0.24 | 0.29 | 0.00 | −12.73 |
Aleppo pine | 0.03 | 0.09 | 0.02 | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.11 | −4.48 | 33.23 |
Maritime pine | 0.02 | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.03 | −60.15 | 4.29 |
Scots pine | 0.53 | 0.32 | 0.56 | 0.34 | 0.49 | 0.32 | 6.22 | −7.54 |
Turkey oak | 0.09 | 0.13 | 0.07 | 0.09 | 0.13 | 0.15 | −29.78 | 40.41 |
Holm oak | 0.04 | 0.11 | 0.02 | 0.11 | 0.04 | 0.08 | −38.63 | −1.80 |
Sessile oak | 0.47 | 0.34 | 0.37 | 0.32 | 0.32 | 0.27 | −22.50 | −31.21 |
Downy oak | 0.37 | 0.27 | 0.25 | 0.21 | 0.39 | 0.30 | −33.65 | 0.52 |
Pedunculate oak | 0.23 | 0.33 | 0.23 | 0.33 | 0.27 | 0.33 | −1.07 | 15.90 |
Cork oak | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.01 | −32.87 | −25.07 |
The values shown represent the average suitability and the standard deviation referred to the species, obtained within the mountain section. The historical and future periods, the two RCPs, and the anomaly (%) between the future and historical periods are reported.
Regarding altitudinal shifts, significant reductions in suitability are predicted across the entire altitudinal range for the Silver fir (
Suitability in altitudinal bands for the Central and Eastern Alps section. In gray, historical (1981-2020); light blue, future RCP 4.5 (2021–2050); orange, future RCP 8.5 (2021–2050).
This section covers an area of 3,880,014 hectares and extends from the Ligurian Apennines in the North to the Tuscan−Romagna Apennines in the South, including the hills known as the “Colline Metallifere”. The altitude within this section ranges from 10 to 2,142 meters above sea level. Our projections (
Results for Section 3—Northern and Northwestern Apennines.
Silver fir | 0.16 | 0.23 | 0.09 | 0.16 | 0.11 | 0.19 | −42.53 | −32.90 |
Field maple | 0.59 | 0.20 | 0.49 | 0.22 | 0.51 | 0.28 | −17.86 | −14.85 |
European hornbeam | 0.57 | 0.22 | 0.43 | 0.44 | 0.25 | 0.28 | −25.53 | −55.91 |
Chestnut | 0.48 | 0.27 | 0.37 | 0.31 | 0.36 | 0.30 | −22.92 | −25.87 |
Common hazel | 0.48 | 0.22 | 0.46 | 0.26 | 0.28 | 0.21 | −4.56 | −41.94 |
European beech | 0.22 | 0.29 | 0.15 | 0.24 | 0.17 | 0.25 | −32.48 | −22.09 |
Manna ash | 0.60 | 0.17 | 0.48 | 0.18 | 0.43 | 0.28 | −20.99 | −27.96 |
European larch | 0.03 | 0.07 | 0.03 | 0.06 | 0.03 | 0.06 | −19.31 | −17.69 |
Hop hornbeam | 0.59 | 0.22 | 0.36 | 0.24 | 0.50 | 0.29 | −38.41 | −14.34 |
Norway spruce | 0.12 | 0.17 | 0.09 | 0.15 | 0.07 | 0.12 | −20.85 | −3.82 |
Swiss stone pine | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | −69.08 |
Aleppo pine | 0.28 | 0.16 | 0.11 | 0.09 | 0.24 | 0.14 | −59.08 | −12.69 |
Maritime pine | 0.41 | 0.27 | 0.22 | 0.27 | 0.29 | 0.30 | −47.71 | −31.02 |
Scots pine | 0.24 | 0.26 | 0.19 | 0.25 | 0.13 | 0.18 | −1.83 | −47.34 |
Turkey oak | 0.64 | 0.19 | 0.57 | 0.29 | 0.56 | 0.26 | −11.18 | −11.82 |
Holm oak | 0.37 | 0.27 | 0.15 | 0.21 | 0.26 | 0.17 | −58.87 | −29.43 |
Sessile oak | 0.54 | 0.18 | 0.56 | 0.22 | 0.47 | 0.22 | 4.72 | −13.21 |
Downy oak | 0.62 | 0.15 | 0.46 | 0.15 | 0.48 | 0.26 | −25.59 | −22.03 |
Pedunculate oak | 0.40 | 0.17 | 0.51 | 0.31 | 0.38 | 0.24 | 27.13 | −4.27 |
Cork oak | 0.07 | 0.11 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.08 | 0.10 | −48.41 | 10.59 |
The values shown represent the average suitability and the standard deviation referred to the species, obtained within the mountain section. The historical and future periods, the two RCPs, and the anomaly (%) between the future and historical periods are reported.
Regarding altitudinal shifts, a reduction in suitability for the Silver fir is expected at lower altitudes (below 1,500 m a.s.l.). The Field maple, European beech (
Suitability in altitudinal bands for the Northern and Northwestern Apennines section. In gray, historical (1981-2020); light blue, future RCP 4.5 (2021–2050); orange, future RCP 8.5 (2021–2050).
This particular section covers an area of 2,639,776 hectares and extends from the Umbria-Marche Apennines in the North to the Mainarde and Maiella mountains in the South. The altitude within this section ranges from 0 to 2,850 meters above sea level. As reported in
Results for Section 4—Central Apennines.
Silver fir | 0.24 | 0.28 | 0.17 | 0.24 | 0.18 | 0.26 | −29.77 | −0.24 |
Field maple | 0.68 | 0.19 | 0.63 | 0.24 | 0.60 | 0.29 | −0.76 | −11.57 |
European hornbeam | 0.53 | 0.27 | 0.45 | 0.26 | 0.45 | 0.29 | −1.46 | −14.98 |
Chestnut | 0.39 | 0.23 | 0.37 | 0.26 | 0.37 | 0.27 | −5.58 | −4.32 |
Common hazel | 0.45 | 0.23 | 0.52 | 0.30 | 0.36 | 0.28 | 15.67 | −19.46 |
European beech | 0.31 | 0.30 | 0.27 | 0.29 | 0.29 | 0.29 | −13.55 | −7.73 |
Manna ash | 0.64 | 0.19 | 0.55 | 0.19 | 0.54 | 0.26 | −14.26 | −1.61 |
European larch | 0.09 | 0.14 | 0.05 | 0.11 | 0.06 | 0.13 | −44.85 | −2.94 |
Hop hornbeam | 0.58 | 0.24 | 0.46 | 0.26 | 0.59 | 0.28 | −21.32 | 0.00 |
Norway spruce | 0.17 | 0.21 | 0.13 | 0.20 | 0.11 | 0.16 | −22.31 | −37.57 |
Swiss stone pine | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 2.54 | −66.28 |
Aleppo pine | 0.37 | 0.22 | 0.15 | 0.11 | 0.31 | 0.18 | −59.75 | −17.72 |
Maritime pine | 0.23 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.23 | 0.23 | 0.25 | −12.77 | 0.00 |
Scots pine | 0.22 | 0.21 | 0.14 | 0.17 | 0.14 | 0.18 | −38.58 | −35.74 |
Turkey oak | 0.59 | 0.26 | 0.63 | 0.32 | 0.59 | 0.31 | 7.87 | 1.44 |
Holm oak | 0.33 | 0.20 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.25 | 0.19 | −49.20 | −25.31 |
Sessile oak | 0.39 | 0.17 | 0.45 | 0.21 | 0.34 | 0.21 | 15.48 | −12.98 |
Downy oak | 0.64 | 0.20 | 0.42 | 0.20 | 0.54 | 0.26 | −33.99 | −16.07 |
Pedunculate oak | 0.37 | 0.21 | 0.47 | 0.34 | 0.43 | 0.31 | 26.44 | 16.91 |
Cork oak | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.05 | −21.81 | 49.80 |
The values shown represent the average suitability and the standard deviation referred to the species, obtained within the mountain section. The historical and future periods, the two RCPs, and the anomaly (%) between the future and historical periods are reported.
Regarding altitudinal shifts, a reduction in suitability is projected across the entire altitudinal range for the Silver fir (particularly under the RCP 4.5 scenario), Aleppo pine, and Holm and Downy oaks (
Suitability in altitudinal bands for the Central Apennines section. In gray, historical (1981-2020); light blue, future RCP 4.5 (2021-2050); orange, future RCP 8.5 (2021-2050).
Encompassing a total area of 1,943,464 hectares, the Southern Apennines section stretches from the Matese massif in the North to Pollino in the South. Altitude ranges from 32 to 2,250 meters above sea level. Projections (
Results for Section 5—Southern Apennines.
Silver fir | 0.19 | 0.24 | 0.11 | 0.19 | 0.11 | 0.19 | −39.48 | −38.87 |
Field maple | 0.61 | 0.18 | 0.65 | 0.22 | 0.61 | 0.25 | 5.06 | −1.05 |
European hornbeam | 0.51 | 0.22 | 0.44 | 0.21 | 0.40 | 0.22 | −12.68 | −20.38 |
Chestnut | 0.45 | 0.21 | 0.43 | 0.24 | 0.39 | 0.23 | −3.09 | −12.15 |
Common hazel | 0.40 | 0.19 | 0.40 | 0.21 | 0.27 | 0.18 | 0.00 | −32.34 |
European beech | 0.26 | 0.29 | 0.25 | 0.28 | 0.23 | 0.26 | −3.16 | −11.49 |
Manna ash | 0.67 | 0.20 | 0.59 | 0.19 | 0.57 | 0.23 | −12.68 | −14.67 |
European larch | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.02 | −57.23 | −48.11 |
Hop hornbeam | 0.57 | 0.20 | 0.50 | 0.22 | 0.52 | 0.25 | −12.09 | −8.05 |
Norway spruce | 0.08 | 0.11 | 0.05 | 0.08 | 0.04 | 0.06 | −40.78 | −54.30 |
Swiss stone pine | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.95 | −74.65 |
Aleppo pine | 0.53 | 0.19 | 0.23 | 0.12 | 0.39 | 0.16 | −56.32 | −26.28 |
Maritime pine | 0.28 | 0.22 | 0.40 | 0.28 | 0.32 | 0.26 | 46.02 | 14.70 |
Scots pine | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.09 | 0.12 | 0.06 | 0.10 | −28.58 | −50.13 |
Turkey oak | 0.68 | 0.17 | 0.77 | 0.21 | 0.72 | 0.22 | 13.12 | 5.26 |
Holm oak | 0.48 | 0.16 | 0.42 | 0.21 | 0.33 | 0.16 | −11.26 | −31.13 |
Sessile oak | 0.38 | 0.15 | 0.51 | 0.19 | 0.30 | 0.15 | 34.03 | −22.89 |
Downy oak | 0.69 | 0.17 | 0.51 | 0.17 | 0.55 | 0.21 | −25.84 | −20.10 |
Pedunculate oak | 0.49 | 0.18 | 0.66 | 0.27 | 0.66 | 0.26 | 35.69 | 36.35 |
Cork oak | 0.05 | 0.08 | 0.06 | 0.08 | 0.10 | 0.13 | 23.68 | 117.39 |
The values shown represent the average suitability and the standard deviation referred to the species, obtained within the mountain section. The historical and future periods, the two RCPs, and the anomaly (%) between the future and historical periods are reported.
Suitability in altitudinal bands for the Southern Apennines section. In gray, historical (1981–2020); light blue, future RCP 4.5 (2021–2050); orange, future RCP 8.5 (2021–2050).
The findings of this study provide insights into the potential future dynamics of climate suitability for key native forest species in Italy.
Despite exhibiting strong performance values during the training phase, the modeling results revealed variations in performance among species. These discrepancies can be attributed to the ecological characteristics of the species. The performance values align well with the findings of Tsoar et al. (
Our focus was on five mountainous sections, including two in the Alps and three in the Apennines. Although with many overlapping points, future trajectories reveal diversified impacts among species and scenarios, with the RCP 4.5 scenario showing slightly worse overall outcomes. Most species are expected to experience a contraction in their altitudinal range of suitability, but some show a propensity to extend beyond the current tree line, as observed in previous studies (Cudlin et al.,
This may result in various consequences. Firstly, it could lead to a loss of diversity as specialized species with limited niche tolerance might disappear due to competition from more widely distributed species (Jump et al.,
The European beech, a keystone species in the Italian mountain environment, shows evident impacts as reported in Buonincontri et al. (
Regarding the predicted tree line upward shifting, it is plausible to attribute this phenomenon to the expected temperature increase in mountainous areas, which is known to impact the thermal limitations on the altitudinal distribution of species, including freezing tolerance and growth requirements (Körner,
However, it is important to acknowledge certain limitations associated with the approach we have adopted and therefore the results obtained. The SDM approach is known to be subject to various assumptions and uncertainties (Guisan and Thuiller,
The divergent projections observed between scenarios suggest varying impacts of climate change on suitability for the species under consideration, which can be seen as both a limitation and a strength of our study. These differences can be interpreted as the upper and lower bounds of the projected outcomes. Our results highlight the complex and dynamic nature of possible climate change impacts, emphasizing the need to consider multiple factors and scenarios when assessing species vulnerability and planning conservation actions. In conclusion, we expect significant and far-reaching impacts on mountain biodiversity, particularly in terms of forest population composition. The rapid pace of climate change in mountainous regions appears incompatible with the adaptive capacities and dynamics of arboreal plant organisms. This work also emphasizes the importance of using very high-resolution climate data, which is essential for formulating hypotheses about future forest dynamics and providing valuable information across different scales. Our findings have implications at the local, regional, and national levels and provide information that can improve future woodland management strategies. In further detail, this study can be useful in identifying priority locations for conservation, offering valuable guidance for multiple aspects of forest management and restoration. Firstly, providing insights that can assist in the selection of suitable species for future reforestation policies, considering their potential success in specific areas. Moreover, our results can aid in promoting certain species over others in silvicultural choices, which is crucial for optimizing ecosystem benefits and promoting biodiversity and resilience in managed forest stands (Testolin et al.,
Furthermore, they highlight once again the importance of considering different emission scenarios to encompass the full range of potential outcomes and effectively plan for future conservation and management strategies. It is important to acknowledge that this type of study is characterized by considerable uncertainty, and continued efforts are required to produce increasingly reliable datasets and forecasts. Understanding the climatic vulnerability of different species can assist in prioritizing conservation efforts and implementing targeted management strategies.
In the near future, our goal is to update our analyses using data from the latest national forest inventory, enlarging the set of species considered. Additionally, the inclusion of human-introduced, allochthonous, and invasive species could be a further step in enhancing our understanding of future forest dynamics.
The datasets generated for this study are available in GIS format, primarily in raster form, from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. All datasets related to the RCP 8.5 scenario, including bioclimatic indicators and species suitability, are openly accessible in NetCDF format at
SN: conceptualization, formal analysis, and visualization. SN, CC, and MS: methodology and writing—review and editing. SN and CC: data curation and writing—original draft preparation. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
This research was partially funded by the HIGHLANDER (HIGH performance computing to support smart LAND sERvices) project (Connecting European Facility—CEF—Telecommunications sector under agreement number INEA/CEF/ICT/A2018/1815462) and by the European Union-NextGenerationEU in scope of the National Biodiversity Future Center through Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research MIUR PNRR Mission 4.
The authors wish to thank Giulia Capotorti from Sapienza University (Rome, Italy) for providing the last version of the Italian Ecoregion Map dataset.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: