SSD BIO/03 – Environmental and applied botany
Research interest Plant-environment interactions. Research activities aim to understand mechanisms involved in the interactions between plants and the environment. Are focused on several Mediterranean plant species (cultivated and wild) and models (i.e. Arabidopsis and poplar) subjected to abiotic stress conditions such as water stress, mechanical stress and heavy metals. Investigations are also carried out to evaluate the effects of biochar and the combination of biochar-heavy metals on plant growth and development. The approach used for these studies is multidisciplinary involving analysis at anatomical, morphological, physiological and molecular level.
Conservation Biology. Researches related with Germplasm Bank of Molise and Botanic Garden of the Apennine Flora of Capracotta aiming at the ex situ conservation of autochthonous plant varieties and ecotypes and endangered species. In particular, these activities are finalized at the recovery and conservation of traditional local varieties and their identification and morphological, genetic and biochemical characterization. Furthermore, in the case of spontaneous plant species investigations are carried out in order to identify optimal conditions for conservation, germination and propagation and to understand mechanisms regulating seed dormancy.
Keywords

Abiotic stress, Conservation Biology, Plant genomic, Plant proteomic, Root biology, Ex situ conservation, Seed biology, Seed dormancy, Seed germination
Public engagement

AScientific coordinator of projects and agreements with local and national public bodies and private enterprises in order to transfer knowledge on ex situ conservation of plant diversity and the use of biochar for soil amendment and in phytoremediation (Collaboration with Istitute of Biosciences and Bioresources (IBBR) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), PROSEEAA project http://www.biochar-molise-proseeaa.it)
Scientific coordinator of Germplasm Bank of University of Molise and the Apennine Flora Botanic Garden (http://www.giardinocapracotta.unimol.it/en/index.html)
Component of the committee for the organization of “Research days of Bioscience and Territory Department”