ERSE Ecological Research and Services for the Environment is a Tuscany Company of experts in Environmental Biology and Natural Sciences. ERSE works throughout the national territory.

Vegetational surveys

Vegetation surveys with the braun-blanquet method, floristic transects, analysis of valuable trees, and lichen biodiversity.

Based on a careful and in-depth analysis of the vegetation composition of natural environments and various ecological situations, ERSE conducts floristic and vegetation surveys across the entire national territory in accordance with current regulations. These surveys are aimed at identifying the floristic categories present within the study area; the field data collected are georeferenced and digitized on GIS at the required scale and are used for conducting floristic investigations aimed at environmental restoration, producing technical vegetation maps or thematic maps, and land use analysis.

BraunBlanquet

Braun-Blanquet Method

The Braun-Blanquet method is traditionally used to describe the vegetation structure, that is the way in which the various components of the vegetation cover are arranged within a certain environment. The survey involves the identification of a homogeneous area, based on physiographic and landscape criteria, which is a representative sample of the vegetation to be studied: a sheet showing the percentages of vegetation coverage for each range of height considered is filled (seven intervals, from 23 cm to 25 m); the floristic list is drawn up for each range; the percentage of covering is determined for each of the identified species.

The data obtained can be used as a synthetic descriptor of the plant community in the area or be further processed (e.g. through cluster analysis or other statistical methods).

Analysis through floristic transects

The relief’s execution consists in going through a linear transect, possibly straight and having a defined length, writing down the floristic population’s composition and the frequency with which each species is detected. Unlike the descriptive methods (like The Braun-Blanquet) this constitutes a statistical sampling (where there is a correlation between the frequency of the species found and their coverage). In the presence of an impact gradient, the method is suitable for monitoring vegetation sample strips, allowing to highlight changes in the floristic composition between the proximal and distal band (probably not impacted). Thanks to its speed of execution and high repeatability, the method can be frequently repeated, so as to be functional to the analysis of possible impacts, due to the construction of infrastructure (ante-operam, currently ongoing and post-operam).

20230714 125141 016

Analysis on valuable arboreal specimens

The phytosanitary investigation on valuable arboreal specimens is based on principles expressed by the VTA (Visual Tree Assessment) protocol: through visual analysis, verifying the crown, the presence of dry wood parts, cords, fungal bodies, wounds or other symptoms, it is possible to diagnose the specimen’s health, in order to estimate the effect of any impact and/or propose corrective actions. The evaluated parameters include species and social position, morphometric characteristics, the crown’s posture as well as all the macroscopic changes affecting the epigean apparatus.

LBI (lichenic biodiversity index)

The Lichenic Biodiversity Index allows to estimate the state of lichen diversity under standard conditions after long exposure to air pollution and/or other types of environmental stress. The method applies only to epiphytic lichens, in order to limit the variability of ecological parameters independent of pollution and related to the lithic substrate.

Vegetational surveys