The response of Bonis Catchment in Calabria -Southern Italy to different management options under climate change scenarios

Forests ecosystems provide several ecosystem services among which the regulation of thehydrological cycle. These ecosystems are exposed to different forms of disturbances induced byhuman activities, management strategies, and climate change. The objective of INNOMED project,for the Italian case study, is to understand the response of forest to different silvicultural practicesunder climate change conditions. The study site is the the Bonis catchment located in themountain area of Sila Greca (39°25'15''N, 16°12'38''W), in the Calabria region (southern Italy). Thissmall catchment has a surface of 1.39 km2and a mean elevation of 1131 m above sea level.Almost 93% of the total area is covered by forest stand, dominated by about 50-year-old Calabrianpine (Pinus laricio Poiret) forests. In order to simulate the response of the catchment to differentclimate and management scenarios, FEST-WB distributed hydrological model was used. Within theframework of this project, FEST-FOREST module has been implemented in order to considervegetation dynamics interactions with the hydrological response of the watershed. Since 1986, thebasin was monitored through the installation of different instruments. Rainfall was measured bythree rain gauges (with a tipping bucket) together with temperature that were measured at threedifferent meteorological stations. In May 2003, a tower for measurement of eddy fluxes wasinstalled at an altitude of 1100 m a.s.l, on a 54 years old plantation of Laricio pine which allowedmonitoring of other parameters. Runoff was measured at the outlet of the catchment using agauging structure. These data were used for the calibration and validation of the model beforebeing implemented for future scenarios simulations. The results of these simulations delivered thepotential impacts and the vulnerability of the Bonis catchment to different scenarios. Theseoutcomes provide for the stakeholders a scientifically based and solid information for asustainable management of the catchment.