The junipers as pioneer forest species: reproductive efficiency and vulnerability

Some trees and bushes are of great utility for the defense of the ground, particularly in environments that are degraded or subject to erosive processes of various kind. Many of these species, however, show scarce reproductive efficiency, or scarce production of seed and, therefore, they have limited potentiality to conquer new territories. The study on the junipers, realized by the Siena University, analyzes the limited reproductive efficiency of the spontaneous junipers in Italy and advances proposals for overcoming such a lack.