This report is dedicated to "non-experts" to understand in a few pages the assumptions, objectives and results of the SelpiBioLife Project.

This publication describes the objectives and the silvicultural treatments proposed by the Project SelPiBioLife for black pine plantations of the Italian Apennines.

The proposed silvicultural treatment is a thinning method that aims at optimizing the stand characteristics. In particular, the thinning enhances the overall mechanical stability (protective function), the tree growth rate (productive function) and the structural differentiation (biodiversity function).

The infographic is a visual dissemination technique used to represent a specific content with images and pictures and a reduced amount of words and sentences. In order to explain the main features of the "selective thinning" proposed by the SelPiBio LIFE project for the artificial black pine plantations, an infographic is here proposed.

In Italy, the diffusion of black pine plantations is mainly linked to the pre-existing local orographic and social conditions. The main goal of the SelPiBioLife project (LIFE13 BIO/IT/000282) is to demonstrate the positive outcomes of the selective thinning scheme under the economic and ecological point of view, in comparison to the more classical approach of thinning from below. With this treatment, the attention is focused just on 100 candidate trees per hectare which must grow free from competition of surrounding trees. Two study areas were selected and submitted to thinning trials in 2015 with this thinning system, in the Monte Amiata and in the Pratomagno districts. Each of them shows a similar ecological profile but different history and future perspectives.

Mushroom community in artificial Pinus nigra forest in Amiata mount (Tuscany, Italy) was described. 3220 fruit bodies belonging to 106 different species were found during five surveys from autumn 2014 to spring 2015. The biodiversity indices and the dominance–diversity curves indicate a discrete fungal diversity with the dominance of few species. Edible mushrooms such as Hydnum repandum, Lactarius deliciosus, L. sanguifluus, Suillus granulatus S. luteus and truffles (Tuber aestivum, T. borchii and T. macrosporum) were found in the study area. These fungi are traditionally harvested and are an important complementary economical source for local population.