ETD

Archivio digitale delle tesi discusse presso l'Università di Pisa

Tesi etd-08282020-002449


Tipo di tesi
Tesi di laurea magistrale
Autore
FORNI, SARA
URN
etd-08282020-002449
Titolo
Effect of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) grazing on the expansion of dwarf shrubs in mountain birch forest ecosystems
Dipartimento
BIOLOGIA
Corso di studi
CONSERVAZIONE ED EVOLUZIONE
Relatori
relatore Dott.ssa Ciccarelli, Daniela
relatore Dott.ssa Uboni, Alessia
Parole chiave
  • rangifer tarandus
  • vaccinium myrtillus
  • vaccinium vitis-idaea
  • empetrum nigrum
  • berry-producing dwarf shrubs
  • reindeer grazing
  • mountain birch forest
  • Fennoscandia mountain
Data inizio appello
21/09/2020
Consultabilità
Tesi non consultabile
Riassunto
Berry-producing dwarf shrubs are essential elements of the mountain birch forest ecosystem. These plants are exposed to different stress conditions, like herbivore pressure and extreme meteorological factors. In this study I tried to understand how the three most abundant berry-producing dwarf shrubs species (Empetrum nigrum, Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea) respond to reindeer presence, mean temperature and precipitation. The study took place in four site across Fennoscandia mountain for two years during summer, where were collected data to evaluate plant growth and sexual reproduction. The presence of reindeer has a positive effect on the three species of berry-producing dwarf shrubs, but a high grazing pressure can negatively affect the growth and the sexual reproduction of the plants. High precipitation negatively affects the three species of berry-producing dwarf shrubs, while all the species are positively affected by milder mean temperature. V. vitis-idaea resulted to be the species least influenced by both reindeer presence and meteorological factors. The study shown that the abundance of berry-producing dwarf shrubs may increase in the mountain birch forest, with the variation of reindeer presence and meteorological factors.
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