This study aimed to evaluate the environmental footprint and feed energy conversion ratio of Alpine dairy chains in the Eastern Alps, taking into account both the milk production and dairy processing ...phases, and to identify farm management features useful for targeting mitigation measures in the production phase. A cradle-to-farm gate Life Cycle Assessment model that included herd and manure management, on-farm feedstuff production and purchased feedstuffs and materials (dairy farm), and production inputs and dairy outputs (dairy processing) was applied to 75 farms (10 dairies). As functional units, we used 1 kg fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM) and 1 m2 of agricultural land, to account for production intensity and land managed by alpine farms, respectively. Impact categories (CML-IA and CED methods, background data from Ecoinvent database) assessed were global warming (GWP), GWP plus land-use change (GWP_LUC), acidification (AP) and eutrophication (EP) potentials, cumulative energy demand (CED) and land occupation (LO). Feed energy conversion ratio (whole diet - ECR; potentially human-edible portion of the diet - HeECR) was computed as the ratio between gross energy in feeds and that in milk. Mean ECR was 6.6 ± 0.5 MJ feed/MJ milk, of which only 8% derived from potentially human-edible feedstuffs. For 1 kg of FPCM at the dairy farm, GWP averaged 1.19 kg CO2-eq, GWP_LUC 1.31 kg CO2-eq, AP 17.3 g SO2-eq and EP 6.0 g PO4-eq (coefficients of variation, CV, ranged 17–21%), whereas mean CED was 2.7 MJ and LO 2.1 m2/y (CVs: 40–46%). When dairy processing was included, the impact values for 1 kg of dairy product were from 8 to 13 times greater than those obtained for 1 kg FPCM. Based on the outcomes of a principal component analysis, the farm management features most related to impacts and feed ratios were milk yield (MY, for the impacts per unit of milk and ECR), stocking rate (SR, for the impacts per unit of area), and percentages of concentrates (C, for GWP_LUC and HeECR). Step-wise analysis evidenced that strategies aiming to decrease the environmental footprint referred to milk and managed area at the same time and to improve the feed energy conversion ratios should include MY, SR and C jointly. These issues are particularly important for the sustainability of mountain farming systems, which need to create a virtuous link with local forage resources and the territory.
•Alpine dairy products (milk, cheese, butter) environmental footprints were analysed.•The impacts were mostly due to milk production, and very little to milk processing.•Farm impacts and efficiency per milk unit and per land unit varied in trade-off.•Milk yield, stocking rate and concentrate dietary % are farm indicators of impacts.•Low impacts with average milk yield, low stocking rate and low level of concentrates.
Five alpine pastures (34±14ha) of the Belluno province, patchily damaged by wild boar, were chosen to investigate on main environmental parameters that might influence the rooting sites selection. ...Eighty damage sites were examined. For each damage surrounding type of grassland and distance from woodland were recorded and mapped using a G.I.S. software. Proportional availability (% of total pasture surface) of grassland types (rough grass, rich grass, degraded, shrubs and trees) and classes of distance from woodland (<30m, 30-60m, 60-120m, >120m), and the respective use (% of total damage events) were estimated and compared with Chi-square test. A selection index was calculated as use/availability and Bonferroni confidence intervals (95%) were used to test significance. Degraded pastures and areas closer to woodland blocks were preferred. A vegetational analysis inside and outside the damaged areas showed a reduction in frequency of species producing bulbs and rhizomes, and in Poaceae as respect to other families of lower forage value. Future studies should investigate the role of different root forms, and invertebrate richness, on rooting site selection. Longer term studies are also needed to better define the evolution of pasture botanical composition of damaged areas.
•In laryngeal oncology it is crucial to assess mobility of vocal cord-arytenoid unit.•Current mobility assessment is flawed by weak inter-observer agreement.•Tumor extension assessment by dedicated ...radiologists is recommended.
In clinical practice the assessment of the “vocal cord-arytenoid unit” (VCAU) mobility is crucial in the staging, prognosis, and choice of treatment of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). The aim of the present study was to measure repeatability and reliability of clinical assessment of VCAU mobility and radiologic analysis of posterior laryngeal extension.
In this multi-institutional retrospective study, patients with LSCC-induced impairment of VCAU mobility who received curative treatment were included; pre-treatment endoscopy and contrast-enhanced imaging were collected and evaluated by raters. According to their evaluations, concordance, number of assigned categories, and inter- and intra-rater agreement were calculated.
Twenty-two otorhinolaryngologists evaluated 366 videolaryngoscopies (total evaluations: 2170) and 6 radiologists evaluated 237 imaging studies (total evaluations: 477). The concordance of clinical rating was excellent in only 22.7% of cases. Overall, inter- and intra-rater agreement was weak. Supraglottic cancers and transoral endoscopy were associated with the lowest inter-observer reliability values. Radiologic inter-rater agreement was low and did not vary with imaging technique. Intra-rater reliability of radiologic evaluation was optimal.
The current methods to assess VCAU mobility and posterior extension of LSCC are flawed by weak inter-observer agreement and reliability. Radiologic evaluation was characterized by very high intra-rater agreement, but weak inter-observer reliability. The relevance of VCAU mobility assessment in laryngeal oncology should be re-weighted. Patients affected by LSCC requiring imaging should be referred to dedicated radiologists with experience in head and neck oncology.
This paper presents a synthesis of the results of the ACCELERATES project (Assessing Climate Change Effects on Land Use and Ecosystems from Regional Analysis to the European Scale), obtained in the ...case study of the Belluno province (north-east Italy), a context chosen as representative of the Alpine area. Selected results of the analysis of the relationships between future scenarios of change, farming systems, land use and biodiversity are presented. An initial historical analysis of the dynamics of land use with respect to the agricultural, socio-economic and demographic dynamics identified the main drivers of change and the positive and negative factors for conservation of the rural land and of biodiversity. In a subsequent stage the scenarios of future climate and land use changes were used to analyse the future for the species selected as indicators of biodiversity in the studied area. The results obtained provided useful information for the identification of suitable agri-environmental policies at the local scale. Maintenance of the livestock production systems typical of mountain agriculture is shown to be the key factor for contrasting land abandonment and the consequent expansion of woodlands, with negative effects in terms of simplification of landscape and impacts on species of naturalistic interest.
Data of roe deer traffic collisions from 1989 to 2004 in the Belluno province were analyzed to describe patterns of road kills by zone, season and sex and to compare resulting annual trends and sex ...ratios with those estimated for roe deer population. The province was divided in 2 districts on the base of differences in climate, landscape and roe deer population status. Pearson's simple correlation was used to investigate the associations, in the two districts, among road kills data, year, population density, traffic index, and snow depth. Bonferroni's confidential intervals to 95% of significance were used to compare the monthly distributions of collisions between sexes and between districts. In conclusion, the analysis of car accidents may not reflect population trends and sex ratios when traffic rates change and when different ecological factors, others from deer density, influence the probability of deer to incur in a car accident. In addition, differences of accident probability between sexes and months can be found in areas with different landscapes, climates and population structures. These factors should be evaluated in order to manage accident risk and to understand the potential of car accidents records as a tool for monitoring population status.
Natural wolf recolonization of the Alps brings the challenge to reduce livestock losses and social conflicts. The uncommon impact of a wolf pack on the cattle farming systems of the “Lessinia”, in ...the eastern Italian Alps was examined in this study. Dairy cattle farming predominates there using summer pastures (June-September) and grazing on lowland meadows out of summer. Grazing is organized with aim to minimize labour and costs. Animals are usually left unattended during the day and night in unprotected pastures. Since the return of the wolf in 2012, which formed a pack in 2013, attacks to livestock increased rapidly. Predations peaked during the summer, and they also were extended into the preceding and following months, especially during 2014. Cattle were the predominant species predated (79% of events and 71% of individual losses), with a strong selection towards young age classes. To prevent attacks, livestock should be grouped and kept protected by electric fences or in stables during the night, but this is in contrast with the freegrazing management that farmers have adopted for reducing costs. We suggest that management costs and introduction of protection measures changes should be taken into account for a future economic valorisation of the cattle farming sector.
fr Nous avons étudié la superposition spatiale et la sélection de l'habitat des populations de mouflons introduits et de chamois autochtones du Parc National des Dolomites Bellunesi (Alpes italiennes ...orientales). La distribution du mouflon dans le parc change clairement d'une saison à l'autre (en hiver : décembremai, entre 400-800 m d'altitude ; en été : juin-novembre, entre 1600-1800 m d'altitude). Par conséquent, la population se superpose avec celle du chamois seulement en été. Nous avons alors étudié la distribution estivale du mouflon à une échelle plus fine. Nous avons pu montrer que les territoires les plus utilisés par chacune des deux espèces étaient séparés. Les deux espèces évitaient les terrains avec des escarpements ou blocs rocheux et les forêts denses, toutefois le mouflon utilisait les bosquets de Pinus mugo et les éboulis beaucoup plus fréquemment que le chamois; ce dernier au contraire cherchait plus les pâturages alpins et les forêts de Larix decidua. En conclusion, nous observons une ségrégation spatiale des populations de chamois et de mouflons, de plus, elles utilisaient des ressources différentes. es En el Parque Nacional "Dolomiti Bellunesi" (Este de los Alpes italianos) se estudió el solapamiento espacial y la selección de hábitat entre el muflón (introducido) y la población autóctona de rebeco. La distribución del muflón en el Parque mostró una marcada estacionalidad: con un rango de 400 a 800 m de diciembre a mayo y de 1600 a 1800 de junio a noviembre. Solo existe solapamiento significativo con los rebecos en verano, por lo que el estudio en profundidad de la selección y solapamiento de hábitat del muflón se realizó durante esos meses. Los resultados mostraron una segregación entre las áreas más intensivamente usadas por las dos especies. Aunque ambas especies evitan zonas de afloramientos rocosos y bosque denso, el muflón usa las pedrizas y bosquetes de Pinus mugo más intensamente que el rebeco. Inversamente, el rebeco usa más pastos alpinos y bosquetes de Larix decidua. Por lo tanto, el rebeco y el muflón se segregan espacialmente y usan distintos recursos.
Landscape changes in three Belluno province areas, Ampezzano, Comelico and Valbelluna, for a total of 32 municipalities, were studied. Changes of open (arable, prairies and pastures) and forest areas ...were obtained by 1984 and 2000 cartographic data bases. Moreover, for each municipality included in the survey, statistical data on population variables, number and type of farms were obtained by censuses. Data were processed by stepwise regression analyses. The reduction of open areas was slowed down by the presence of cattle farms, which however are losing their role due to intensification of production systems, and by holiday homes; these factors limited also the increase of forest. Hence, the protection of traditional cattle farms and the promotion of tourism industry are able to limit forest increase in mountain areas of Belluno province.
Sono stati studiati i cambiamenti del paesaggio in tre zone della provincia di Belluno, Ampezzano, Comelico e Valbelluna, per un totale di 32 comuni. La variazione delle aree aperte (coltivi, prati e pascoli) e di quelle boschive è stata ricavata cartograficamente da database del 1980 e del 2000. Per ogni comune interessato dall´indagine sono stati inoltre ottenuti da censimenti i dati relativi a variabili sulla popolazione, la numerosità e le caratteristiche delle aziende agricole e zootecniche. I dati sono stati elaborati con analisi di regressione stepwise. La diminuzione delle aree aperte risulta rallentata dalla presenza di allevamenti bovini da latte, che stanno però perdendo tale ruolo per la tendenza all´intensivizzazione, e dall´aumento delle seconde case, parametri che limitano anche l´aumento del bosco. La tutela delle aziende zootecniche tradizionali e la promozione della vocazione turistica di queste aree sono quindi fattori in grado di limitare l´avanzata dei boschi nelle montagne bellunesi
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