Wildlife, and in particular wild ungulates, have undergone a strong demographic increase throughout Europe, especially in the last thirty years. The occurrence of damage by wild ungulates in particular, wild boar has increased dramatically in recent decades and amounts to hundreds of thousands of euros per year in several European countries. This species is considered invasive and damaging to agriculture and environment. The wild boar has been listed in the 100 “World's Worst Invaders” by the IUCN's group of invasive species specialists. In the Molise Region the presence of these ungulates is particularly high. This is mainly due to: the abandonment of the countryside; the strong reforestation habitat; the climate change and the considerable food availability; the increase of areas off-limits to hunting activity linked to the rise of protected areas (Parks and Protected Areas, Oases, Restocking and Capture wildlife Areas, Dog Training Areas, etc.). The considerable diffusion of these ungulates caused an increase of the human-wildlife conflict.The first step in the adaptive management policies of a species is the study of the environment and its variables, as well as the determination of population estimates. The optimal density depends on the socio-environmental characteristics of the territory, the damage recorded and the conservationist specific needs. It is important to underline that the management of damages is not limited only to the quantitative aspects, but also to the different ways of perception of it, and the study of the environmental qualitative characteristics of each context. This research initially focused on the study of the species, searching from the bibliography for a series of information regarding the biology, the ethology and impact that the species causes on the different contexts in which it is found today which varies from cultivated fields, pastures used for the traditional zootechnics, protected areas such as parks, oases, areas forbidden to hunting up to anthropized areas and urban contexts. Subsequently, it was evaluated the potential of the Geographic Information System (GIS) software and its application in wildlife management of large mammals, especially on wild boar species. Finally, the application of this knowledge was planned for the creation of models and maps useful for the political and technical decision-maker working in wildlife management. This is to improve and make more effective the actions on the territory for the adaptive management of this species, especially in a landscape that presents itself with a scarcity of economic and human resources, with great difficulty in repeating updated data. The results of these studies are presented in the form of submitted and published manuscripts (indexed journals Scopus/WOS: • Part I: Assessing the risk of damages by wild boars (Sus scrofa) in Italian landscapes and relation to the incidence of road accidents: the case of Molise Region It was studied the spatial analysis of the Molise area in order to identify areas for the control of the species and consequent containment measures based on the law 157/92 for the protection of agricultural and anthropized areas. • Part II: Wild Boar in urban and peri-urban areas: corridor elements of the landscape in an urban area of Southern Italy In this study, environmental variables related to the species were analysed in order to identify elements of the ecological network linked to the wild boar in the city of Campobasso. • Part III: Estimation of the wild boar population in Southern Italian Apennines by Pellet Count Group technic. Preliminary results This paper proposes an estimate of the wild boar population in a study area, located in the south / south-eastern part of the Italian Apennines. • Part IV: Behaviour to changing conditions of wildlife species in urban areas during lockdown: a review Other elements of study concerned the behaviour to changing conditions of wildlife species in urban areas during COVID 19 lockdown.
La fauna selvatica, ed in particolare gli ungulati selvatici, hanno subito un forte incremento demografico in tutta Europa negli ultimi trent'anni. Il verificarsi di danni da parte degli ungulati selvatici in particolare, dei cinghiali sta causando negli ultimi decenni danni di milioni di euro a carico della collettività. Questa specie è considerata fortemente invasiva e dannosa per l'agricoltura e l'ambiente, infatti è stato inserito nella lista dei 100 “peggiori specie invasive del mondo” da gruppi di specialisti della IUCN. In Molise la presenza di questi ungulati è particolarmente elevata. Ciò è dovuto principalmente: all'abbandono delle campagne; l’avanzata del bosco; il cambiamento climatico, la notevole disponibilità di cibo; l'aumento delle aree interdette all'attività venatoria legate all'innalzamento delle aree protette (Parchi e Aree Protette, Oasi, Aree Faunistiche di Ripopolamento e Cattura, Aree di Addestramento Cani, ecc.). La notevole diffusione di questi ungulati ha determinato un aumento dei conflitti uomo-fauna selvatica. Il primo passo nelle politiche di gestione adattativa di una specie è lo studio dell’ambiente e le sue variabili, oltre alla determinazione delle stime di popolazione. Le densità ottimale dipende dalle caratteristiche socio-ambientali del territorio, dal danno registrato e dalle specifiche esigenze gestionali. È importante sottolineare che la gestione del danno non si limita solo agli aspetti quantitativi, ma anche alle diverse modalità di percezione dello stesso e allo studio delle caratteristiche qualitative ambientali in ciascun contesto. Questa ricerca si è inizialmente concentrata sullo studio della specie, ricercando in bibliografia una serie d’informazioni riguardanti la biologia, l'etologia e l'impatto che la specie provoca sui diversi contesti in cui si trova oggi, che varia dai campi coltivati, ai pascoli utilizzati per la zootecnia tradizionale, aree protette quali parchi, oasi, aree interdette alla caccia fino ad aree antropizzate e contesti urbani. Successivamente sono state valutate le potenzialità dei software GIS (Sistemi Informativo Geografici) e la loro applicazione nella gestione faunistica dei grandi mammiferi, in particolare sulle specie cinghiale. Infine, l'applicazione di queste conoscenze è stata pianificata per la creazione di modelli e mappe utili ai decisori politici e tecnici che operano nella gestione della fauna selvatica. Questo per migliorare e rendere più efficaci le azioni sul territorio per la gestione adattativa di questa specie, soprattutto in contesti che si presentano con una scarsità di risorse economiche e umane, con grande difficoltà a ripetere dati aggiornati. I risultati di questi studi sono presentati sotto forma di manoscritti inviati e pubblicati (riviste indicizzate Scopus/WOS): • Parte I: Valutazione del rischio di danni da cinghiale (Sus scrofa) nei paesaggi italiani e relazione con l'incidenza degli incidenti stradali: il caso della Regione Molise E' stata studiata l'analisi spaziale dell'area molisana al fine di individuare aree di controllo della specie in base alla Legge Nazionale 157/92 per la tutela delle aree agricole e antropizzate. • Parte II: Il cinghiale nelle aree urbane e periurbane: elementi di corridoio del paesaggio in un'area urbana del Sud Italia In questo studio sono state analizzate le variabili ambientali relative alla specie al fine di identificare gli elementi della rete ecologica legata al cinghiale nella città di Campobasso. • Parte III: Stima della popolazione di cinghiali nell'Appennino meridionale italiano mediante tecnica Pellet Count Group. Risultati preliminari Questo lavoro propone una stima della popolazione di cinghiale in un'area di studio situata a sud dell’Appennino Italiano, tramite il metodo del Pellet Count Groups. • Parte IV: Comportamento al cambiamento delle condizioni delle specie selvatiche nelle aree urbane durante il blocco: una rassegna Altri elementi di studio hanno riguardato il comportamento di alcune specie in aree urbane durante il lockdown dovuto al COVID 19.
Management of locally abundant wild mammals in a landscape context through Geographic Information System (GIS): experimental approaches to wild boars
DI BRITA, Aldo
2022-09-26
Abstract
Wildlife, and in particular wild ungulates, have undergone a strong demographic increase throughout Europe, especially in the last thirty years. The occurrence of damage by wild ungulates in particular, wild boar has increased dramatically in recent decades and amounts to hundreds of thousands of euros per year in several European countries. This species is considered invasive and damaging to agriculture and environment. The wild boar has been listed in the 100 “World's Worst Invaders” by the IUCN's group of invasive species specialists. In the Molise Region the presence of these ungulates is particularly high. This is mainly due to: the abandonment of the countryside; the strong reforestation habitat; the climate change and the considerable food availability; the increase of areas off-limits to hunting activity linked to the rise of protected areas (Parks and Protected Areas, Oases, Restocking and Capture wildlife Areas, Dog Training Areas, etc.). The considerable diffusion of these ungulates caused an increase of the human-wildlife conflict.The first step in the adaptive management policies of a species is the study of the environment and its variables, as well as the determination of population estimates. The optimal density depends on the socio-environmental characteristics of the territory, the damage recorded and the conservationist specific needs. It is important to underline that the management of damages is not limited only to the quantitative aspects, but also to the different ways of perception of it, and the study of the environmental qualitative characteristics of each context. This research initially focused on the study of the species, searching from the bibliography for a series of information regarding the biology, the ethology and impact that the species causes on the different contexts in which it is found today which varies from cultivated fields, pastures used for the traditional zootechnics, protected areas such as parks, oases, areas forbidden to hunting up to anthropized areas and urban contexts. Subsequently, it was evaluated the potential of the Geographic Information System (GIS) software and its application in wildlife management of large mammals, especially on wild boar species. Finally, the application of this knowledge was planned for the creation of models and maps useful for the political and technical decision-maker working in wildlife management. This is to improve and make more effective the actions on the territory for the adaptive management of this species, especially in a landscape that presents itself with a scarcity of economic and human resources, with great difficulty in repeating updated data. The results of these studies are presented in the form of submitted and published manuscripts (indexed journals Scopus/WOS: • Part I: Assessing the risk of damages by wild boars (Sus scrofa) in Italian landscapes and relation to the incidence of road accidents: the case of Molise Region It was studied the spatial analysis of the Molise area in order to identify areas for the control of the species and consequent containment measures based on the law 157/92 for the protection of agricultural and anthropized areas. • Part II: Wild Boar in urban and peri-urban areas: corridor elements of the landscape in an urban area of Southern Italy In this study, environmental variables related to the species were analysed in order to identify elements of the ecological network linked to the wild boar in the city of Campobasso. • Part III: Estimation of the wild boar population in Southern Italian Apennines by Pellet Count Group technic. Preliminary results This paper proposes an estimate of the wild boar population in a study area, located in the south / south-eastern part of the Italian Apennines. • Part IV: Behaviour to changing conditions of wildlife species in urban areas during lockdown: a review Other elements of study concerned the behaviour to changing conditions of wildlife species in urban areas during COVID 19 lockdown.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Tesi_A_Di-Brita.pdf
Open Access dal 27/09/2023
Descrizione: Tesi di Dottorato
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13.68 MB
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