Management of insect pests to preserve the forestry environment

The research group investigates the insect pests in the forestry environment, with special regard to exotic and/or invasive species, biodiversity conservation, and environment management. The accidental introduction of exotic species may severely affect the ecosystem of the invaded areas. The displacement of species breaks down the geographic barriers, causing ecosystem simplification and loss of biodiversity.

The research aims at improving the knowledge of the invasion process, such as prevention, early warning, rapid response, management of the introduced species. Further research is carried out on the population dynamic of native forestry pests, and on the relation between elevation and climate change.

Know-how:
monitoring and rearing techniques, mass rearing of natural enemies for biological control, olfactometer bioassays, low impact control strategies, management of the introduced species, risk-assessment.

Available resources:
microscopes and stereomicroscopes, olfactometer, laboratories equipped for molecular analyses, greenhouses, climatic chambers.

Recent results:
monitoring and management of forestry pests, such as the processionary moth, ambrosia and bark beetles, the box tree moth, the fall webworm, and the Asian longhorned beetle; monitoring and management of the tortrix moths in chestnut groves; biological control of the Asian chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus; evaluation of the host range of the exotic biocontrol agent Torymus sinensis.

• Progetto PSR 2014-2020, Misura 16 - Operazione 16.2.1 “Living lab per la gestione sostenibile delle biomasse REsiduAli della filiera Castagno: ridurre le emissioni e favorire la TransizIONe a sistemi forestali competitivi, circolari e resilienti” finanziato dalla Regione Piemonte (2023-2024)
• Progetto “Sperimentazione di metodi di riqualificazione di aree degradate, per effetto della piralide del bosso Cydalima perspectalis” finanziato dall’Ente di gestione delle Aree Protette delle Alpi Cozie (2020-2022)
• Progetto PSR 2014-2020 Misura 16 - Operazione 16.2 “Progetti pilota per la cooperazione ed il miglioramento della competitività della castanicoltura regionale” finanziato dalla Regione Piemonte (2020-2023)
  
• Progetto Interreg V A "Italia-Svizzera 2014-2020” “Linee guida per il monitoraggio e la gestione delle emergenze fitosanitarie nelle foreste delle Alpi centro-occidentali (MONGEFITOFOR)" (2019-2022)
• Progetto “Productive Green Infrastructure for post-industrial urban regeneration (PROGIREG)”, Horizon 2020 (2018-2023)
• Progetto "Attività di monitoraggio e controllo delle cidie del castagno con l'impiego di trappole innescate con feromoni sessuali" finanziato dall’Isagro S.P.A. (2018-2020)

• Ferracini C., Pogolotti C., Fontana E.V., Saitta V., Rollet I. (2023). Egg parasitoid complex of the pine processionary moth in NW Italy. Biocontrol Science and Technology, doi:10.1080/09583157.2023.2269488
• Ferracini C., Pogolotti C., Mancardi P., Miglio M., Bonelli S., Barbero F. (2022). The box tree moth: an invasive species severely threatening Buxus natural formation in NW Italy. Forests 13: 178. doi:10.3390/f13020178
• Ferracini, C., Pogolotti, C., Alma, A. (2022). A mismatch in the emergence of Torymus sinensis may affect the effectiveness of this biocontrol agent? Biological Control 174, 105029. doi: doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2022.105029
• Ferracini C., Pogolotti C., Rama F., Lentini G., Saitta V., Mereghetti P., Mancardi P., Alma A. (2021). Pheromone‐mediated mating disruption as management option for Cydia spp. in chestnut orchard. Insects 12, 905. doi:10.3390/insects12100905
• Ferracini C., Saitta V., Pogolotti C., Rollet I., Vertui F., Dovigo L. (2020). Monitoring and management of the pine processionary moth in the northwestern Italian Alps. Forests 11: 1253-1265. doi:10.3390/f11121253

The research group presents many national collaborations with public (Universities, Phytosanitary Services, Natural parks) and private institutions, in addition to the international collaborations:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) - Unité Expérimentale et Forêt Méditerranéenne, Antibes (France)
ARVALIS - Institut du végétal (France)
Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Università di Edimburgo (Scotland) 
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf (Switzerland)
Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University (Japan)
Fera Science Ltd. (UK)