The development of tools to quickly identify the fate of damaged trees after a stress event such as a wildfire is of great importance. In this context, an innovative approach to assess irreversible physiological damage in trees could help to support the planning of management decisions for disturbed sites to restore biodiversity, protect the environment and understand the adaptations of ecosystem functionality. The vitality of trees can be estimated by several physiological indicators, such as cambium activity and the amount of starch and soluble sugars, while the accumulation of ethanol in the cambial cells and phloem is considered an alarm sign of cell death. However, their determination requires time-consuming laboratory protocols, making the approach impractical in the field. Biosensors hold considerable promise for substantially advancing this field. The general objective of this review is to define a system for quantifying the plant vitality in forest areas exposed to fire. This review describes recent electrochemical biosensors that can detect plant molecules, focusing on biosensors for glucose, fructose, and ethanol as indicators of tree vitality.

Fire up Biosensor Technology to Assess the Vitality of Trees after Wildfires

Touloupakis, Eleftherios;Calegari Moia, Isabela;Zampieri, Raffaella Margherita;Di Lorenzo, Tiziana;Muzzini, Valerio Giorgio;Traversi, Maria Laura;Giovannelli, Alessio
2024

Abstract

The development of tools to quickly identify the fate of damaged trees after a stress event such as a wildfire is of great importance. In this context, an innovative approach to assess irreversible physiological damage in trees could help to support the planning of management decisions for disturbed sites to restore biodiversity, protect the environment and understand the adaptations of ecosystem functionality. The vitality of trees can be estimated by several physiological indicators, such as cambium activity and the amount of starch and soluble sugars, while the accumulation of ethanol in the cambial cells and phloem is considered an alarm sign of cell death. However, their determination requires time-consuming laboratory protocols, making the approach impractical in the field. Biosensors hold considerable promise for substantially advancing this field. The general objective of this review is to define a system for quantifying the plant vitality in forest areas exposed to fire. This review describes recent electrochemical biosensors that can detect plant molecules, focusing on biosensors for glucose, fructose, and ethanol as indicators of tree vitality.
2024
Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri - IRET - Sede Secondaria Firenze
Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri - IRET - Sede Secondaria Montelibretti
biosensors, abiotic stress, wildfire, tree vitality
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Fire up Biosensor Technology to Assess the Vitality of Trees after Wildfires.pdf

accesso aperto

Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 5.64 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
5.64 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14243/505404
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 0
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact