{"id":766,"date":"2026-08-21T02:23:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T00:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/?page_id=766"},"modified":"2026-09-10T01:18:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T23:18:26","slug":"protection-forests-hydrogeological-hazards","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/en\/research\/protection-forests-hydrogeological-hazards\/","title":{"rendered":"Protection forests and hydrogeological hazards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group forestlab-line-image-4\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large forestlab-line-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2026\/08\/Antey-masso.jpg\" alt=\"Foresta di protezione e rischio da caduta massi\" class=\"wp-image-923\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2026\/08\/Antey-masso.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2026\/08\/Antey-masso-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2026\/08\/Antey-masso-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2026\/08\/Antey-masso-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2026\/08\/Antey-masso-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We study the role of forests in reducing natural hazards in mountain environments. Their protective function depends on the position of the forest relative to the hazard process and exposed elements, as well as on stand structure. Our aim is to identify where forest cover provides a measurable protective benefit and how that function can be maintained over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Research questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Where does forest presence effectively contribute to risk reduction?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Which forest structures provide an effective and persistent protective function?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can protection be maintained during silvicultural interventions or after disturbance?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Approaches and methods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We combine risk-based GIS analysis, hazard modelling, forest structure inventories, remote sensing and stand stability assessments. Spatial analyses explicitly consider the source\u2013forest\u2013exposed element chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related projects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"\/en\/?page_id=570#regione-lombardia-foreste-protezione\">Lombardy Region \u2013 protection forests<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"\/en\/?page_id=570#campo-dei-fiori\">Campo dei Fiori<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"\/en\/?page_id=570#riforestazione-valle-seriana\">RiForestAzione<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"\/en\/?page_id=570#branzi-bostrico\">Branzi<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"\/en\/?page_id=570#appennino-tosco-emiliano\">Tuscan-Emilian Apennines<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"\/en\/?page_id=570#levissima\">Levissima \/ Sanpellegrino<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Selected publications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Vacchiano G. et al. (2016). <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1659\/MRD-JOURNAL-D-15-00075.1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Assessing the Effect of Disturbances on the Functionality of Direct Protection Forests<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Piazza N. et al. (2025). Growing trees decrease the frequency of avalanche release in an alpine afforestation in the Swiss Alps.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vacchiano G. et al. (2015). <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.coldregions.2015.03.004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Effect of avalanche frequency on forest ecosystem services in a spruce\u2013fir mountain forest<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"\/en\/?page_id=576\">All publications \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We study the role of forests in reducing natural hazards in mountain environments. Their protective function depends on the position of the forest relative to the hazard process and exposed elements, as well as on stand structure. Our aim is to identify where forest cover provides a measurable protective benefit and how that function can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":274,"featured_media":923,"parent":566,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-766","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/766"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/274"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1469,"href":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/766\/revisions\/1469"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forestlab.unimi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}