Fire up Biosensor Technology to Assess the Vitality of Trees after Wildfires
Eleftherios Touloupakis,
Isabela Calegari Moia,
Raffaella Margherita Zampieri,
Claudia Cocozza,
Niccolò Frassinelli,
Enrico Marchi,
Cristiano Foderi,
Tiziana Di Lorenzo,
Negar Rezaie,
Valerio Giorgio Muzzini,
Maria Laura Traversi,
Alessio Giovannelli
Affiliations
Eleftherios Touloupakis
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Isabela Calegari Moia
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Raffaella Margherita Zampieri
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Claudia Cocozza
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali—DAGRI, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Firenze, Italy
Niccolò Frassinelli
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali—DAGRI, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Firenze, Italy
Enrico Marchi
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali—DAGRI, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Firenze, Italy
Cristiano Foderi
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali—DAGRI, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Firenze, Italy
Tiziana Di Lorenzo
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Negar Rezaie
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Valerio Giorgio Muzzini
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council, Research Area of Rome 1, Strada Provinciale 35d n. 9, Montelibretti, 00010 Rome, Italy
Maria Laura Traversi
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Alessio Giovannelli
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
The development of tools to quickly identify the fate of damaged trees after a stress event such as a wildfire is of great importance. In this context, an innovative approach to assess irreversible physiological damage in trees could help to support the planning of management decisions for disturbed sites to restore biodiversity, protect the environment and understand the adaptations of ecosystem functionality. The vitality of trees can be estimated by several physiological indicators, such as cambium activity and the amount of starch and soluble sugars, while the accumulation of ethanol in the cambial cells and phloem is considered an alarm sign of cell death. However, their determination requires time-consuming laboratory protocols, making the approach impractical in the field. Biosensors hold considerable promise for substantially advancing this field. The general objective of this review is to define a system for quantifying the plant vitality in forest areas exposed to fire. This review describes recent electrochemical biosensors that can detect plant molecules, focusing on biosensors for glucose, fructose, and ethanol as indicators of tree vitality.
