Decisive in situ and ex situ conservation strategies to secure the critically endangered Sicilian fir, Abies nebrodensis
The technical meeting for the 3 years and 6 months since the beginning of the project was held on May 17, 2023, at the Municipality of Polizzi Generosa (Italy). The beneficiaries gathered to review the progress and challenges of the project, considering the extension of the project duration requested to complete the remaining activities and achieve all expected results.
On April 17-18, the “Innovative Woody Plant Cloning” conference was held as part of the COPYTREE project (COST Action CA21157 – European Network for Innovative Woody Plant Cloning).
LIFE4FIR was presented to researchers and practitioners through the poster “An innovative protocol to propagate and preserve the threatened Sicilian fir through somatic embryogenesis technique” (Jouini et al.).
The LIFE4FIR project consortium met on 7th November in Spain for the periodic monitoring meeting. The meeting was organized by the University of Seville at the Santo Domingo Convent in Ronda, Málaga.
During the first day, the beneficiaries and the external monitor met in the beautiful venue to discuss the technical results obtained, the dissemination activities carried out, and to monitor the financial aspects. The meeting was a precious opportunity to manage the critical aspects of the project and discuss the activities to be completed in the coming months.
Afterwards, two days of visits to the Abies Pinsapo populations in the “Pinsapar Sierra de Las Nieves” forest and the “Pinsapar de Junqueras” forest were organised, followed by a visit to the nursery where the seedlings of this species are propagated.
On 10 November 2022, the University of Seville organized an open day for students. During the meeting, the technical-scientific issues relating to the conservation of threatened Mediterranean fir trees were addressed, referring to the experience of the LIFE4FIR project.
The Italian and Spanish researchers involved in the project and some political authorities took part in the meeting (here the program of the event).
On 7 November 2022, a replication event was held in Ronda (Spain) to promote the LIFE4FIR project and the LIFE programme, in its thirtieth year.
During the event, issues relating to the conservation strategies implemented in the project were addressed, as well as possible solutions to be adopted and applied also to other species of conifers at risk of extinction (here the programme of the event).
The event hosted Roberto Danti, coordinator of the project, Montserrat Arista from the University of Seville (beneficiary of the project) and representatives of Spanish institutions involved in the conservation of biodiversity of Abies pinsapo and other species: Jose López Quintanilla, Regional Coordinator (Junta de Andalucía ) of the Abies pinsapo conservation project; Rafael Haro, Director of the Sierra de las Nieves National Park; Antonio Rivas, Director of the El Castillejo Botanical Garden.
Researchers from the LIFE4FIR team participated in the IV National Congress on Micropropagation held in Bari in October 2022. During the event, the oral presentation ‘Biotechnology for biodiversity conservation: an overview of its application for the conservation of the critically endangered Abies nebrodensis (Sicilian fir) in Sicily‘ (Izgu et al.) was delivered.
The activities of the LIFE4FIR project also include the implementation of a video surveillance system which, on the one hand, represents a deterrent for any illegal activities and, on the other, allows the monitoring of wild herbivores.
The plant consists of several video cameras (powered by solar panels and batteries) which have been positioned in ertain strategic points of the Abies nebrodensis trail.
The system was completed and activated in June 2022. Below are some photos taken during the installation of the cameras and the start-up of the system.
Roberto Danti, coordinator of the LIFE4FIR project, was a guest of Story Time, a program of the Radio Italia 5 schedule.
During the interview Roberto presented the LIFE4FIR project and its objectives, underlining the enormous importance of protecting biodiversity and Abies Nebrodensis.
The LIFE4FIR project and the safeguarding of Abies Nebrodensis were featured at the 117th edition of the SBI congress. For the occasion, the poster ‘Manual pollinations among individuals of Abies nebrodensis‘ (Schicchi et al.) was produced and presented.
Researchers from the LIFE4FIR team presented the project, objectives, and ongoing activities at the 31st edition of the IHC, which took place in August in Angers.
During the event, an oral presentation titled ‘Strategies for the conservation by biotechnological approaches of Abies nebrodensis, a relict conifer of Sicily‘ (Wead et al.) was held.
At the same time, the e-poster ‘In vitro germination of mature embryos from Abies nebrodensis, an endangered species in Sicily‘ (Jouini et al.) was also presented.
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