Forest resilience, extreme events and disturbances
Fire, drought, wind, insects and other disturbances are components of forest dynamics, but their frequency, intensity and interactions are changing. We study the capacity of forests to resist, recover or transform after disturbance, with particular attention to the combined effects of climate, forest structure and management.
Research questions
- How are disturbance regimes and impacts changing in a warmer climate?
- Which structural and management characteristics increase resistance and recovery capacity?
- When does a disturbance lead to forest recovery, and when does it trigger a persistent ecosystem transition?
Approaches and methods
We integrate post-disturbance field surveys, dendrochronology, historical reconstructions, satellite and drone imagery, climate data, wildfire modelling and simulations of post-disturbance trajectories.
Related projects
REWILD-FIRE · FIRE-BOX · RiForestAzione · Campo dei Fiori · Branzi · Appennino Tosco-Emiliano · Parco del Ticino · Val di Mello · GOCCIA · Colli Berici · Levissima / Sanpellegrino · ERSAF / AIB Lombardia
Selected publications
- Bui T.U., Vacchiano G. (2026). Assessing forest resilience after windthrow: linking deadwood, regeneration, and landscape-scale susceptibility.
- Malanchini L. et al. (2025). Modeling wildfires in the Alpine context: Lessons learnt from real case studies.
- Kulakowski D. et al. (2017). A walk on the wild side: Disturbance dynamics and the conservation and management of European mountain forest ecosystems.
- Moris J.V. et al. (2017). Resilience of European larch forests to wildfires in the western Alps.
- Vacchiano G. et al. (2014). Fire severity, residuals and soil legacies affect regeneration of Scots pine in the Southern Alps.
- Vacchiano G. et al. (2016). Assessing the Effect of Disturbances on the Functionality of Direct Protection Forests.