News

February 28, 2025

Arctic: The Tundra is Expanding at an Unprecedented Rate

The tundra, the typical vegetation of Arctic polar regions, has been rapidly expanding—not just recently, but since the beginning of the last century. This was revealed by an international study coordinated by the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISP), in collaboration with the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, and the ENI-CNR Joint Research Center. According to the research, which was featured on the cover of Nature Communications Earth &

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February 26, 2025

Forest Biodiversity: PRISMA and Lidar Revolutionize Habitat Monitoring

A study by the Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRET) has demonstrated the effectiveness of hyperspectral data from the Italian Space Agency’s PRISMA satellite and Lidar information in monitoring forest habitat diversity with high detail and accuracy Remote sensing technologies based on PRISMA and Lidar data can significantly improve environmental and forest habitat monitoring, supporting more precise strategies for the management and conservation of European forests. This is demonstrated by a study published

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February 14, 2025

Enhanced Environmental Monitoring Station at Capodimonte: Activities Resume

A new operational phase has begun for the Real Bosco di Capodimonte site, an integral part of the ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System) infrastructure. Thanks to technological upgrades, environmental data acquisition activities have resumed. The Principal Investigator of the station is the National Research Council’s Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (CNR-IRET), which recently published a study in the journal Urban Climate on the role of urban green areas in carbon sequestration and heatwave mitigation. Real Bosco di Capodimonte with the research

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diagramma della fenologia
January 31, 2025

Phenology: The Study of Periodic Life Cycle Events in Plants

A new study published in Current Forestry Reports, the result of a collaboration between CNR-IRET, the University of Québec, Northern Arizona University, the Slovenian Forestry Institute, and WSL, synthesizes recent advancements and identifies knowledge gaps in the phenology of both belowground and aboveground organ development in extra-tropical forest ecosystems. Phenology, the study of periodic life cycle events in plants, is essential for understanding tree health, resource competition, and the impact of climate change on ecosystems. By examining the phenological processes of

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ricercatore in grotta
January 10, 2025

New Water Directive, current draft fails to protect underground ecosystems

Safeguarding underground ecosystems from the negative impacts of human activities is essential to maintain the quality of drinking water. This is the main message of a letter published in December in the scientific journal Science, signed by sixty European researchers. The initiative was led by Tiziana Di Lorenzo and Stefano Mammola, scientists from IRET-CNR and IRSA-CNR and from the NBFC (National Biodiversity Future Center) in Palermo, respectively. The letter was addressed to representatives of the European Union with the aim of urging

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programma
November 5, 2024

Bernini Minister of University and Research to visit Iret in Porano

On Nov. 13, pv. the Minister of University and Research Sen. Anna Maria Bernini will visit the Porano headquarters of the National Research Council’s Institute for Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (CNR-IRET). The minister will be welcomed at the historic Villa Paolina headquarters, where she will meet with Institute Director Carlo Calfapietra, staff and the press. Also present will be Maria Chiara Carrozza, President of the CNR, and Laura Pernazza, President of the Province of Terni The Porano branch of the

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bosco
October 10, 2024

CNR IRET on air on TG Hi-Tech

The Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Institute of the National Research Council (CNR-IRET) was among the protagonists of the Sept. 27 edition of TG Mondo Hi-Tech. As part of the report, produced by the DiRE agency, Gaia Vaglio Laurin, from the Montelibretti (RM) office, told about the study she conducted in collaboration with the University of Tuscia. Published in the journal Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, the work demonstrates the effectiveness of satellite remote sensing in monitoring the spread of “ink disease” in

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mappa Italia e immagini satellitari di vegetazione
October 3, 2024

Forest monitoring: phenology as a tool for understanding climate change

To monitor the effects of climate change on forests, it is important to adopt integrated, in situ and satellite approaches aimed at analyzing phenology, that is, the different stages of leaf development through the different seasons. This is the conclusion of a study, published in the journal Ecological Indicators, conducted by scientists from the National Research Council’s Institute for Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (CNR-IRET), the Edmund Mach Foundation, and the Universities of Tuscia, Bolzano, Caserta, and Florence. The team analyzed

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foto di gruppo con ricercatori e regina di spagna
September 30, 2024

Queen of Spain meets Spanish researchers working in Italy, CNR IRET also participates

As part of “World Cancer Research Day,” Queen Letizia of Spain met with a set of researchers from ASIERI (Association of Spanish Researchers in the Italian Republic), chaired by Isabel Noguès, of the National Research Council’s Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Institute (CNR-Iret). The event, organized by AIRC (Italian Foundation for Cancer Research) together with the equivalent Spanish association (Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer), took place in Milan, Italy, at the IFOM (ETS Foundation Institute of Molecular Oncology) on Sept. 26. This

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foto di carlo calfapietra
September 1, 2024

Carlo Calfapietra has been reappointed as director of the CNR-IRET

The Directorate of the National Research Council’s Institute for Terrestrial Ecosystems Research (CNR-IRET) has once again been entrusted to Carlo Calfapietra, who has served first as Acting Director and then as Director of the Institute since 2018. A native of Viterbo and a graduate of the University of Tuscia in Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Calfapietra worked as a Marie Curie Researcher in the United States, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, before returning to Italy to the CNR. His topics of interest

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