Analysis of regulating ecosystem services at the mediterranean nature reserve of Castelporziano (Rome, Italy) in response to changing environmental conditions

Abstract The Castelporziano Presidential Estate, a State Nature Reserve of roughly 6,000 hectares covered by natural forests, with over 30 years of field data collection is a precious data hub that might contribute to better understand the effects of Climate Change abiotic and biotic-related stress on natural vegetation and, eventually, to their ecosystem services provision. This research presents on-going studies on plant-environment interactions conducted within the Estate, with a focus on ecosystem carbon fluxes, pollution (ozone and particulate matter), drought and heat stress, and biotic infections that have occurred over time. The present study concentrates over the period from 2013 to 2024. In the first part, we present a series of continuous measurements on a semi-hourly basis, which was undertaken to build up a time series capable of interpreting the effect of the control factors (climate, ecological processes, water availability) on the eco-physiological parameters of the holm oak forest. Ten years of high-frequency measurements allowed us to estimate the possible effect of climate and water availability on carbon assimilation. The holm oak forest of Castelporziano showed high rates of carbon assimilation each year with minimal changes in response to drought and high temperatures, thus making this ecosystem particularly resilient to climate changes. In the second part, we present remote sensing-based analyses that investigate changes of vegetation health and function over the last six years, which were affected by both biotic (pest invasion) and abiotic (more frequent and intense droughts) factors.