Caratterizzazione floristico-vegetazionale delle zone di degrado geofisico in Provincia di Pisa ai fini del loro recupero ambientale. Il caso della ex cava C.E.I. e del territorio contermine(Comune di Vecchiano)

Lo studio condotto ha riguardato l’area della ex cava C.E.I. e le zone a destinazione agro-silvo-pastorale immediatamente circostanti ad essa sui Monti d’Oltre Serchio, a sud-ovest della frazione di Filettole, nel comune di Vecchiano (PI). Il sito estrattivo dismesso è classificato dal Piano Strutturale del Comune di Vecchiano come zona di degrado geofisico (art. 9 lettera e del D.P.G.R. n. 3/R del 2007) e, pertanto, è area da riqualificare e valorizzare. Al fine di un intervento di recupero ambientale, attraverso un approccio geobotanico, si è condotta un’analisi dettagliata delle principali componenti biotiche e abiotiche sia dell’area direttamente interessata dall’attività estrattiva, sia di quelle adiacenti, caratterizzate da un differente uso del suolo. In particolare, mediante un’approfondita ricerca bibliografica, si è fornito l’inquadramento geografico, geologico, geomorfologico, climatologico e pedologico dell’area di studio. Esaminando le carte e gli studi a corredo degli strumenti urbanistici del Comune di Vecchiano, del Piano di Bacino stralcio assetto idrogeologico del fiume Serchio e del Piano Territoriale di Coordinamento della Provincia di Pisa, si è fatta una valutazione del grado di pericolosità (geomorfologica, idrogeologica, idraulica, sismica) del sito. L’indagine si è, poi, concentrata sul contesto floristico-vegetazionale. Attraverso conoscenze pregresse e una serie di rilevamenti sul campo, si è ottenuto un elenco floristico delle specie presenti. Ciò ha permesso di individuare gli ecotipi locali e le entità soggette a tutela in base alle Direttive Habitat e alle leggi regionali in materia di protezione ambientale, nonché di operare una scelta delle specie eventualmente utilizzabili negli interventi di recupero. Dopo di che, attraverso l’analisi di foto aeree e dei rilevamenti fitosociologici, si sono individuate le diverse tipologie vegetazionali esistenti nell’area di studio, che sono state riportate su una base cartografica, realizzando così la carta della vegetazione reale. Ciò, insieme all’interpretazione delle successioni vegetazionali, ha permesso di prevedere l’evoluzione del paesaggio e, quindi, di impostare il progetto di recupero ambientale della cava abbandonata

Floristic and vegetational characterization of degraded areas in the province of Pisa: the case of a dismissed quarry and the neighboring territory (Municipality of Vecchiano)

The natural restoration of abandoned mining areas is one of the most complex environmental challenges due to the multiplicity of issues involved. In general, the spontaneous dynamics of renaturation in the quarry areas are very slow and altered because of limiting environmental conditions. So, recovery actions should promote ecological processes interrupted by mining and then the acceleration of the natural dynamics. Presently, in the province of Pisa several abandoned quarries have not undergone the necessary environmental recovery and, for this reason, they are classified as "areas of geophysical degradation". These include the former quarry C.E.I. dismissed in 1992 and located on the Monti d’Oltre Serchio in the municipality of Vecchiano (PI). The present work was focused on the flora and vegetation of this area. The study area, including the quarry (2.9 ha), the remaining sides of the Poggio dei Cavoli and the adjacent ridge of "Sassi Grossi", is characterized by limestone formations of the non metamorphic Tuscan Falda. It is characterized by a rather hard carsism, with almost no soil and high pH in the quarry area, while it is rich in oxides and lacking humus in the outer portions. Inside the cave, however, the scarcity of vegetation cover and the strong albedo, due to the light-colored rock, cause a different microclimate, characterized by dryness and higher temperature. The flora consists of more than 200 vascular species, of which about 50 are restricted to the quarry and 85 to adjacent areas. Particularly important is the number of floristic emergences, including rare orchids and ferns, which induced some scientists to propose the inclusion of the study area within the Regional Park of Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli. This makes the site interesting from an environmental perspective and therefore, worthy of further valorisation and protection. The analysis of aerial photographs and surveys conducted in the field has allowed the identification of the main types of vegetation (Fig. 1). In the territory outside the extraction site, the Mediterranean Macchia (high, medium and low) with evergreen sclerophyllous (Quercion ilicis) in catenal contact with the Garrigue (Rosmarinetalia officinalis and Thero-Brachypodietalia), and the mixed forest with dominant oak and transitional pruneto (referable to the alliance Quercion pubescentis- petraeae Br. Bl. 1931), can be found. The quarry area is, instead, dominated by a pioneer vegetation that is hygrophile on the plain of the quarry, and lithophile on the front. This latter, at least in part, has species in common with the surrounding garrigues. This is interpreted as the initial stage of the series of vegetation that should lead to the reconstitution of the original forest cover, represented by the actual vegetation of the adjacent areas. The widespread presence of species such as Rubus ulmifolius, Clematis vitalba and Dittrichia viscosa (L.) Greuter, and of invasive exotic species, such as Cortaderia selloana, Robinia pseudoacacia, Buddleja davidii and Ailanthus altissima, reveal that, without proper action, it is difficult to imagine a fast around the quarry

Digital Modernism Heritage Lexicon

The book investigates the theme of Modernism (1920-1960 and its epigones) as an integral part of tangible and intangible cultural heritage which contains the result of a whole range of disciplines whose aim is to identify, document and preserve the memory of the past and the value of the future. Including several chapters, it contains research results relating to cultural heritage, more specifically Modernism, and current digital technologies. This makes it possible to record and evaluate the changes that both undergo: the first one, from a material point of view, the second one from the research point of view, which integrates the traditional approach with an innovative one. The purpose of the publication is to show the most recent studies on the modernist lexicon 100 years after its birth, moving through different fields of cultural heritage: from different forms of art to architecture, from design to engineering, from literature to history, representation and restoration. The book appeals to scholars and professionals who are involved in the process of understanding, reading and comprehension the transformation that the places have undergone within the period under examination. It will certainly foster the international exchange of knowledge that characterized Modernism