Exotic plant invasions are considered one of the major threats to biodiversity causing important impacts at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. Understanding the drivers of plant ...invasions across multiple spatial and temporal scales often requires a landscape approach. The effect of landscape composition on biological invasion has been extensively studied, whereas landscape configuration effects were seldom considered or the analyses were limited to single species. Here, we aimed to analyze how the expansion of urban and agricultural areas can affect exotic species richness (both neophytes and archaeophytes) at three spatial scales, namely regional (scale: 37.5 km
2
), landscape (scale: 7.1 km
2
) and local (scale: 100 m
2
). We considered the possible contribution of urban and agricultural areas both in terms of composition (i.e. habitat cover) and configuration (i.e. shape complexity of patches). First, we found that increasing urbanization coupled with high shape complexity of urban elements were major drivers of both neophyte and archaeophyte invasions across heterogeneous landscapes. In particular, shape complexity seemed to be a key driver of plant invasions at large spatial scale, whereas the type of recipient habitat and urban cover determined the exotic success at the patch level. Second, archaeophytes were also affected by agriculture land use, i.e. agricultural patches shape complexity increased their spread at both regional and landscape scales. High shape complexity of highly disturbed habitats is expected to increase the exchange surface that exotic plant use to spread their propagules across the landscape mosaics. Our findings suggest that urban planning aimed at curbing urban fragmentation by both reducing shape complexity and diffuse urban sprawl might greatly improve the resistance of landscapes to biological invasions.
The objective of this work is the energy characterisation and evaluation of the energy efficiency potential of the rubber manufacturing industry in Italy, exploiting the detailed data included in ...energy audits by large and energy-intensive companies. This sector is divided into two sub-activities: the manufacture of rubber products and the production of tyres. Existing studies are focused mainly on tyre production, and there is a lack of quantitative evaluation of energy indicators that can provide guidance for improving process efficiency. In this work, updated global and specific energy performance indicators (EnPIs) related to the production process and to the auxiliary and general services are defined and evaluated. At the same time, targeted actions and interventions to improve the energy efficiency of the sector are analysed, showing the role of different intervention areas and their cost-effectiveness. The analysis is based on 100 Italian mandatory energy audits of the sector collected according to Art.8 EU Directive 27/2012. The applied methodology made it possible to calculate specific energy performance indicators by considering the overall and sub-process energy consumption of different production sites. Based on a detailed database containing real data from recent energy audits, this study provides an up-to-date and reliable benchmark for the rubber industry sector. In addition, the analysis of energy audits allows the identification of the most effective energy efficiency interventions for the rubber industry in terms of cost-effectiveness and payback time.
Promoting energy efficiency is a key element of the strategic commitment of the European Community. Prominent among the binding measures established by the 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive to further ...this vision is the requirement for large companies to conduct energy audits every four years. After receiving the second cycle of energy audit reports in December 2019, a new description of the energy situation of Italian companies was made available. This presented the previously inaccessible possibility of comparing the two situations reported in 2015 and 2019 to assess the development of energy efficiency practices in organizations subject to the legislative obligation of energy audits in the country. To this end, in collaboration with the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), a project was initiated with the aim of developing the tools and methodologies necessary to assess in more detail the evolution that has occurred in the four years since 2015. In this paper, the findings of the analysis conducted on a significant sample of companies in Italy are presented. Through the design of a maturity model to assess the degree of progress achieved in a company’s energy management, the results of the two situations were analyzed. The analysis was deepened by assessing the progress achieved in different aspects of Energy Management: “Strategic Approach”, “Awareness, Competence, and Knowledge”, “Methodological Approach”, “Organizational Structure”, “Energy Performance Management and Information System”, and “Best Practices”. Furthermore, the observed variations were statistically tested using a pairwise t-test to make statistical inferences about the maturity of the total population of Italian enterprises under legislative obligation. The results have shown an increase in overall energy management maturity in each maturity dimension.
In this work, a novel methodology to assess energy performance indicators of productive and economic sectors trough the analysis of the Italian mandatory energy audits database is presented. The ...updating of sectoral reference energy performance indicators is fundamental for both companies and policy makers—for the formers to evaluate and compare their energy performance with competitors in order to achieve improvements and for the latter to effectively monitor the impact of energy policies. This methodology could be potentially applied to all production sectors, providing key information needed to characterize various production processes from an energy point of view. Awareness of energy efficiency and sectorial benchmarking represent the first necessary steps for companies moving towards energy transition. This paper provides details of the statistical method developed and its application to the NACE 23 division “Manufacturing of other non-metallic mineral products”, with a focus on the cement industry. For this sector, results are presented in terms of specific indicators based on energy source. General results, methodological insights, and validation of the proposed case study are discussed.
The foundry industry is regarded as one of the most energy-intensive industrial sector due to its energy consumption up to 9 MWh/ton of produced metal. As a result, many companies are trying to ...increase the energy efficiency of their foundry plants. Since many energy-saving technologies are proposed by manufacturers and the literature, choosing the most appropriate one is a difficult task. Moreover, being updated with the available energy-saving solutions is complicated because of the quick technology advances. Consequently, this paper aims at investigating the recent and future opportunities and investments for reducing the energy consumptions of the technologies of Italian foundry companies. Additionally, it aims at presenting a list of available technological solutions validated by Italian experts. To this end, the Energy Audits developed by 231 plants were analyzed to extract the implemented and planned interventions. Furthermore, the economic data available within the Energy Audits were studied to determine the advantages of a given technological solutions compared to the others. It emerged that the companies are strongly investing in increasing the efficiency of the auxiliary systems such as compressors and motors. The outcomes of this study can assist both researchers and energy managers in choosing the most appropriate energy-saving solutions.
The increased focus on energy efficiency, both at the national and international levels, has fostered the diffusion and development of specific energy consumption benchmarks for most relevant ...economic sectors. In this context, energy-intensive facilities, such as hospitals and health structures, represent a unique case. Indeed, despite the high energy consumption of these structures, scientific literature lacks the presence of adequate energy performance benchmarks, especially in regard to the European context. Thus, this study aimed at defining energy benchmark indicators for the Italian private healthcare sector using data collected from the Italian mandatory energy audits according to Art.8 EU Directive 27/2012. The benchmark indicators’ definition was made using a methodology proposed by the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA). This methodology provided the calculation of specific energy performance indicators (EnPIs) by considering the global energy consumption of the different sites and the sector’s relevant variables. The results obtained were compared with those obtained from a consolidated but more complex methodology: the one envisaged by the Environmental Protection Agency. The results obtained allowed us to validate the reliability of the proposed methodology, as well as the validity and future usability of the calculated indicators. Relying on a significant database containing actual data from recent energy audits, this study was thus able to provide an up-to-date and reliable benchmark for the private healthcare sector.
Aim: To investigate whether differences in the elevational trend in native and alien species richness were dependent on climate or human pressures. Specifically we tested whether life-form and/or ...alien/native status modifies the response of plant species richness to human population and temperature along: (1) a complete elevational gradient, and (2) within separate elevational bands that, by keeping temperature within a narrow range, elucidate the effects of human pressures more clearly. Location: Two provinces (c. 7507 km 2 ) on the southern border of the European Alps (Italy), subdivided into 240 contiguous sampling cells (c. 35.7 km 2 ). Methods: We used an extensive dataset on alien and native species richness across an elevation gradient (20—2900 m a.s.l.). Richness of natives and naturalized aliens were separately related to temperature, human population and Raunkiaer life-form using general linear mixed models. Life-form describes different plant strategies for survival during seasons with adverse cold/arid conditions. Results: The relationship between species richness and temperature for natives was strongly dependent on life-form, while aliens showed a consistent positive trend. Similar trends across alien and native life-forms were found for the relationship between species richness and human population along the whole gradient and within separate elevational bands. Main conclusions: The absence of life-form-dependent responses amongst aliens supports the hypothesis that the distribution of alien plant species richness was more related to propagule pressure and availability of novel niches created by human activities than to climatic filtering. While climate change will potentially contribute to relaxing species thermal constraints, the response of alien species to future warming will also be contingent on changes in anthropogenic pressures.
Ceramic tile manufacturing is a highly energy-intensive process. Concerns about carbon emissions and energy costs make energy management crucial for this sector, which holds a leading role in Italian ...industry. The paper discusses the energetic and environmental performance of cogeneration (CHP) in the ceramic industry, where prime mover exhaust heat is supplied to a spray-dryer system, contributing to the satisfaction of the thermal demand and decreasing natural gas consumption. A thermodynamic model of a dryer unit, validated against real data, has been set-up to provide a detailed representation of the thermal fluxes involved in the process. Then, the thermal integration with two types of CHP prime movers of similar electric size (4 MW) is investigated. Energetic results show that the gas turbine can contribute up to 81% of dryer thermal consumption, whilst internal combustion engine contribution is limited to 26%. A methodology was ad-hoc defined for the environmental assessment of CHP, accounting for global (CO2) and local (CO and NOX) emissions. Results confirm that CHP units guarantee reduction of CO2 and NOX compared to separate generation, with maximum values equal to 81 g/kWhth and 173 mg/kWhth, respectively; CO emission is decreased only in the case of gas turbine operation, with savings equal to 185 mg/kWhth.
This study investigates how Pesticide Risk Indicators (PRIs) can be applied to help develop sound economic policies. We modified one of the numerous PRIs proposed over the years, the Environmental ...Impact Quotient (EIQ), originally developed for the fruit industry, to consider co-formulants and adjuvants. The new formula includes three components representing the externalities of farm worker risk, consumer risk, and ecological risk. It also considers the potential externalities of the use of pesticides on residents living near the farms where these products are used. We applied the modified EIQ to two areas located in central Italy (the Chiana Valley in Tuscany and the Tiber and Upper Tiber Valleys in Tuscany/Umbria), surveying a sample of farms to determine the quantity and types of pesticides used on five crops: durum wheat, soft wheat, corn, tobacco, and olives. After calculating the impact quotient, we used data from a survey conducted in a different Italian region regarding the willingness to pay (WTP) for a pesticide-free environment and determined the WTP for even minimal changes in that quotient. Using those results, we simulated the changes in welfare (calculated as changes in willingness to pay) that would result from modifying the amount of land used for each crop. Our findings indicate that the proposed WTP indicator may have broad utility and that its application may lead to enhanced awareness of the consequences of pesticide use in farming.
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