Definitions of Biodiversity: species, genes and ecosystems
Biodiversity Hotspots. The Mediterranean Biome. Italian ecoregion.
Biodiversity Importance: products and services
Agro-biodiversity and Forest Biodiversity. The urban environment.
Regulations

Species diversity
Basics of the theory of evolution.
Species, range and population concepts.
Taxonomy and phylogeny
Autochtony, adaptation, provenance, races, clines, ecotypes, varieties and subspecies.
Endemic, rare and threaten and forest species.
Alfa, beta, gamma metrics and indexes.

Ecological diversity
Ecological functioning and attributes of forest ecosystems
Natura 2000 Network
Old growth populations and monumental trees.
Disjunct and marginal populations.
Glacial refugia and hybrid zones.
Urban and periurban forest patches.

Genetic Diversity
Forest genetic resources
Environmental influence and natural variability.
Factors of genetic variation
Genetic markers.
DNA Barcoding, Phylogenetic Diversity Index (PDI)

Threats
Soil consumption. fragmentation, pollution, fires, fauna/grazing, wrong silvicultural regimes and urban management.
Bottle necks, alien species, genetic pollution.
Climate change.

Conservation.
General indications.
In situ conservation strategies. Gene conservation units
Ex situ conservation strategies. Germplams banks and living collections.
Forest nursery activities. How to increase and value urban green infrasctures.

R. Cazzolla Gatti, 2014, Biodiversità in teoria e in pratica (Edizioni Liberia Universitaria)
Lesson notes and powerpoint presentations

Introduction to the course: an overview of the topics to be addressed.

Definitions: the concept of biodiversity and its levels (genetic, species, and community or ecosystem biodiversity).

Multidisciplinary approach of the Conservation Biology

Biodiversity in space and time
- the concept of biodiversity at different spatial scales (alpha, beta, gamma diversity), how biodiversity varies on the planet, and how the population of living beings has changed over time.
- Biodiversity hotspots.
- Species ranges (cosmopolitan vs endemic)
- Biodiversity in Italy.

Importance of biodiversity: in itself and in relation to human activities.
- The concept of ecosystem services.

Methods for measuring and monitoring species and community biodiversity.
- Biodiversity measures (counting, relative abundance).
- Biodiversity estimates (overview of biodiversity indices and their application).
- Functional characteristics of species (biological forms, chorological types, biogeographic importance of species, guilds, etc.).

Main threats: concepts of speciation, segregation, and extinction.
- Habitat loss and degradation (land consumption, human activities' impacts on ecosystem conservation).
- Invasive alien species (biogeography and conservation).
- Climate change (climate variations and species migrations).

Tools for Biodiversity Conservation:
- Natura Directives.
- Protected areas.
- Types of financing.

Primark, Boitani. 2013. Biologia della conservazione. Zanichelli 403 pp.