Biography
Dr Claudia Canedoli is a researcher at the Landscape Ecology Laboratory in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Milano Bicocca. She holds a PhD in urban ecology and her background is primarily focused on the quantification and mapping of ecosystem services within terrestrial ecosystems, especially urban and natural forests. Her current work centres on bridging gaps in biodiversity knowledge, investigating biodiversity associated with trees, species relationships, and reducing conflicts between humans and trees in urban areas.
Abstract
Co-presenter: Davide Corengia
How many species of organisms live on a single tree? What are these species and how do they interact with the tree itself? Ecology has plenty of questions that still need answers. With a team of ecologists and arborists, Claudia Canedoli and Davide Corengia have begun a research project financed by the Maisons du Monde Foundation aimed at addressing these challenging issues.
Urban forest trees are essential: they maintain biodiversity, deliver fundamental ecosystem services and are ultimately major contributors to a city’s resilience. Habitat trees harbour the highest level of biodiversity, but they are also the most threatened in urban landscapes and this constitutes a major problem in biodiversity conservation. This project has described the biological communities of a number of trees in Milan, identifying the whole variety of life from microorganisms (fungi, bacteria or algae) to mosses and lichens, invertebrates, and vertebrates. The results show the presence of thousands of organisms spanning different taxonomical groups.
This presentation will explore the seasonal turnover of communities, which change significantly during the year, and also the vertical patterns of species occupancy. Biodiversity changes according to vertical structure, for abundance and diversity, and this varies across different organisms. This information is very important for tree care specialists: pruning or branch removal may have a great impact on biological communities.
The project has also tested a sampling protocol to help replicate surveys. The results are crucial for raising awareness of conserving habitat trees in urban areas. A website has been created to convey the message (www.biotreeversity.com) and an exhibition entitled ‘A Journey Around a Tree’ will be hosted by the Natural History Museum of Milan from September to November 2024. This will constitute a unique opportunity for citizens and experts to debate this topic.
Davide Corengia is a European Tree Worker and works in projects aimed at integrating biodiversity conservation measures into tree management practices. He founded Biotreeversity, an action community which studies, manages and communicates the importance of trees by considering the biodiversity associated with them. He collaborates with various research projects including the creation of artificial nests for bats, birds and insects and tree biodiversity surveys. He is a member of SIA, the Italian Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.