The Eurasian otter is one of the most endangered mammals in Italy and its distribution is now restricted in two isolated portions in southern Italy. However, in recent times, this species has shown a tendency to expand its range, especially northwards. It is therefore important to identify suitable areas on the border of its expansion range where the species can establish and disperse, so that these areas can be targeted for conservation actions. To this aim, the distribution, quality and connectivity of habitats of seven river catchments located in the northern portion of the current otter range in Italy were assessed. Catchments included both rivers where the otter currently occurs and where it is likely to expand in the short-medium term. An expert-based Habitat Suitability (HS) model was developed and validated using otter presence-absence data based on standard field surveys. Fine scale riverbank land cover, extra-riparian coarse scale land cover, altitude, bank slope, and human disturbance were considered as the main factors in the HS model. These variables were available or newly created in the form of digital maps (layers) and the HS model was built by sequentially filtering these layers. Connectivity was assessed within and between river basins through landscape algorithms by taking into account variables that could influence otter dispersal.Tthe results indicated that the seven rivers considered are heterogeneous both in terms of habitat suitability and in terms of connectivity. Among these, one river in particular (the river Volturno), where otters are currently present, showed one of the largest extensions of suitable habitats and the best connectivity both within the river and between the river and the neighbouring catchments, suggesting that this river could play a strategic role in the survival and expansion of otters in the surrounding areas.
Interception is one of the most underestimated processes in hydrological cycle in arid and semiarid regions. In Qilian Mountains of northwestern arid and semiarid China, the Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) forest plays an important role in the hydrological cycle of the inland Heihe River basin. The historical disturbance of Qinghai spruce forest has resulted in various ecological problems. In order to realize the sustainable development of Heihe River basin, the Chinese government implemented restoration practices for Qinghai spruce in the past three decades. In this study, we estimated the rainfall interception in the actual and potential distribution of Qinghai spruce forest. Some of the important findings include: (1) The interception ratio of rainfall events ranged from 11-51% with a mean value of 27.02%; (2) Totally, 147 Mt of rainfall is intercepted by canopy of actual Qinghai spruce forest, in the projected potential distribution of the forest, totally 407 Mt of rainfall will be intercepted.