Objective
Located about 80 km south of Rome, the Pian della Faggeta, a plain surrounded by beech woods and hemmed in by the peaks of the Monti Lepini, is a splendid example of upland pasture. Although 70% of the site is covered by Apennine beech forests with Taxus and Ilex, a priority habitat under Directive 92/43/EEC, and also includes calcareous substrates (Festuco Brometalia) with important orchid sites, it has not yet been placed under protection, and this total absence of restrictions has obviously had dire consequences for it. Livestock grazing, conducted without any form of planning, has damaged the vegetation. The survival of some species present in the many springs dotting the site, such as the amphibian Salamandrina tergiditata, listed on Annex II of the Habitats Directive, has been jeopardized by works to clean these springs and plans to restructure them completely. Not a single study has yet been carried out on the impact the stockraising could have on the site's hydrogeology.
Besides the Province of Rome, the municipality of Carpineto Romano, which owns part of the Pian della Faggeta, is taking part in the LIFE project, which will undertake an interconnected package of measures to safeguard the site. Ten hectares of land will be purchased in a zone adjoining the municipal lands which is largely made up of priority habitats. This acquisition will allow measures to regulate grazing to be applied and possible illicit construction to be prevented. The springs will be mapped and the status of their aquatic ecosystems assessed. A study of maximum permissible stocking densities will be carried out. On the basis of the data gathered, management plans will be elaborated for the pastures as well as for the springs. These plans will be submitted to the municipality of Carpineto Romano, which is to carry them out. Finally, a cooperative of local young people, which will be involved in the principal phases of project implementation, is to carry out an awareness-raising campaign among local inhabitants addressing the biological importance of the site and promoting livestock farming compatible with its ecology.
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
00197 Roma
Italy