Zurich – The summer seasons of the last decades, often very hot and dry as those of 2003, 2012 and 2015, have left a mark in European forests, where many trees have completely or partially dried. These phenomena are worrying scientists in various regions of the Earth, where progressive increases in the mortality rate of trees, caused by anomalous aridity events, are observed. The Carso area has also been affected in recent years by a multitude of black pine specimens, and still many trees show spare or darkened foliage. However, alongside these dead or dying specimens, other individuals appear with lush blooms demonstrating that they are able to overcome even the most dry summer seasons. What is their secret? A recent study by Vegetal Eco-physiology Lab led by Prof. Andrea Nardini, in collaboration with colleagues from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland) and Paul Scherrer Institute, Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry (PSI, Villigen, Switzerland) reveals the possible physiological bases of the different response of black pine individuals to aridity events. The study was published in the Tree Physiology magazine, earning the cover of the April issue, and as first names that of Laura Petrucco, a student of the Trieste University. (9colonne)
