Mattia Napoletano

Urban and industrial activities have lasting effects on Earth ecosystems, impairing their functionality. Technosols offer a sustainable solution for restoring degraded urban and industrial ecosystems. In a 30-day microcosm experiment, a mixture of six pioneer plant species was sown in three substrates: a sewage sludge-based Technosol (GF), a zeolite-enriched Technosol (GZ), and a commercial potting mix control (GC). The plant population dynamics, final performance, and substrate biochemical properties were monitored. A strong environmental filter allowed only two species (Bromus inermis Leyss. and Lolium perenne L.) to establish. Technosols exerted a demographic bottleneck, delaying emergence and reducing the total biomass relative to the control. Zeolites in the GZ Technosol mitigated this delay, accelerating early establishment due to their microporous structure and high cation exchange capacity. However, GZ caused the greatest reduction in individual biomass and functional plant performance index, corresponding to a microbial shift toward oxidative activity at the expense of hydrolytic nutrient mineralization. These results show that sewage sludge Technosols can initiate functional ecological succession. While zeolites positively affect germination, their microbial interaction suggests a temporary decoupling between the establishment speed and final productivity. Integrated monitoring of demographic and biochemical dynamics is therefore essential to optimize Technosol-based environmental restoration.

Urban ecosystems are structurally and functionally distinct from their natural counterparts, with anthropogenic management potentially altering fundamental ecological processes such as seasonal community dynamics and impairing their sustainability. However, the mechanisms through which management filters plant diversity across seasons remain poorly understood. This study tested the hypothesis that management acts as an abiotic filter, dampening seasonal community variations and increasing biotic homogenization in urban green spaces. In this respect, through an intensive, multi-seasonal case study comparing two Mediterranean urban green spaces under contrasting management regimes, we analysed plant communities across 120 plots over four seasons. Results reveal a contingency cascade under management: while the species composition remains relatively stable (+26% variability, p < 0.001), the demographic success becomes more contingent (+41%, p < 0.001), and the ecological dominance becomes highly stochastic (+90%, p < 0.001). This hierarchy demonstrates that management primarily randomizes which species achieve dominance, in terms of biomass and cover, from a pool of disturbance-tolerant generalists. A 260% increase in alien and cosmopolitan species and persistent niche pre-emption dominance–diversity patterns also indicate biotic homogenization driven by management filters (mowing, trampling, irrigation, and fertilization) that favors species resistant to mechanical stresses and induces a breakdown of deterministic community assembly. These processes create spatially and temporally variable assemblages of functionally similar species, explaining both high structural variability and persistent functional redundancy. Conversely, seasonally structured, niche-based assemblies with clear dominance–diversity progressions are observed in the unmanaged area. Overall, findings demonstrate that an intensive management homogenizes urban plant communities by overriding natural seasonal filters and increasing stochasticity. The study provides a mechanistic basis for sustainable urban green space management, indicating that reduced intervention can help preserve the seasonal dynamics crucial for sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

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