Montelibretti (RM)

The IRET office in Montelibretti (RM) is located within the CNR Territorial Research Area of Rome, where it has almost 800 square metres of office, laboratory and infrastructure space. The work carried out at the site is carried out by around 40 experts including researchers, technologists, technicians and administrative staff.

Research activities, both basic and applied, are carried out with the aim of increasing basic knowledge and clarifying the mechanisms that generate and maintain biological diversity, efficiency and resilience in terrestrial ecosystems, and to provide support in planning monitoring, conservation and management activities, based on scientific evidence.

The staff of the office carry out a broad spectrum of research ranging from plant ecophysiology and ecotoxicology to animal biodiversity, forest management, spatial modelling and remote sensing. The research is supported by laboratories, instrumentation and infrastructures that allow the different problems to be tackled through different approaches. One of the Eddy Covariance Towers, part of the ICOS Research Infrastructure, located on the Castelporziano Presidential Estate (RM), is attached to the Montelibretti site.

The main research areas of the unit are:

• Study of phytotechnology and phytoremediation aimed at the remediation of contaminated sites, the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions and the dissemination of related ecosystem services;
• Analysis of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) to study the physiological aspects of leaf emission/absorption in response to abiotic and biotic stresses;
• Spatial modelling for monitoring the effect of climate change on animal and plant species, and for planning biodiversity conservation strategies;
• Research in the field of remote sensing, identifying sensors and algorithms that can support the analysis and monitoring of biophysical parameters of vegetation;
• Defining sustainable forest management strategies to promote biodiversity conservation in productive forests, combining economic, environmental and social needs;
• Studying the basic components, evolution and conservation of animal biodiversity using morphological/molecular approaches.