Applications in Alpine Landscapes

Abstract

The first case study is the environmental assessment for the opening of a quarry in a conservation area (SCI) on the Pre-Alps of Trento. We proved that the EIS studies presented together with the project of opening quarry “Talpinal” were necessary but insufficient in light of a more advanced ecology, systemic and integrative. The results show a diagnostic evaluation of decidedly pathologic level for the future ecotope, therefore unacceptable for a SCI zone.

The second case study is a synthesis of the study on the municipality of Tesero (Fiemme Valley) deriving from the strategic environmental assessment (SEA). After the bionomic analysis as reported in previous chapters, a landscape diagnosis was done on the three LU of Tesero. During last century the change of the landscape type is evident even at municipality scale. The carrying capacity seems to become the most important problem in the near future. The forecast of the planning actions has lost the opportunity to start a rehabilitative course.

The third case study is a research on Alpine Spruce forests in the landscape. This preliminary study concerns 38 forest ecotopes in Trentino, South Tirol, Land Tirol, Lombardy, and Engadin, applying the LaBiSV methodology. The first results seem very interesting. A research like this on spruce forests is confirming the poor and fragile basis of the concept of “potential vegetation”. Measuring the CBSt levels in function of the relative dominance of a typical association per each survey, we can see that a low “purity” of spruce formations does not correspond to a low CBSt. On the other hand, mixed spruce forests are not composed randomly. The presence of a clear gradient is evident as the role of vegetation belts with the altitude.