Within the Monti Reatini, a mountain system resting within the central-western Appenines, lies a valuable grassland habitat spanning between 650 and 1500 metres above the sea level.
These areas consist of semi-natural dry and semi-dry grasslands, which are secondary grasslands formed over the centuries by balanced natural and anthropic processes. Due to the abandonment of the traditional agro-pastoral practices which once contributed to their formation, these grasslands are now in danger of disappearing, as are also the wonderful flowering orchids, some of which are rare, that they host.
Classified as vulnerable in the European Red List of Habitats, compiled by the European Environment Agency, semi-natural arid and semi-arid grasslands are included among the priority natural habitats of Community interest. That is, those needing the highest level of protection.
Yet, in devising an efficient protection strategy for semi-natural grasslands, the foremost challenge to tackle is the awareness of their current conservation status. Thus, it is in this direction that in the framework of Life Grace project, researchers from the Department of Environmental Biology of the Sapienza – University of Rome have moved.
Combining satellite data from the European Union’s Copernicus programme satellite constellation, cartographic data and the results of field surveys researchers successfully delineated the distribution of semi-natural grasslands in Lazio. This work resulted in the first cartographic map, on a scale of 1 to 25,000, which identifies semi-natural grasslands in three Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in Lazio, solving a long-standing problem of the Natura 2000 Network system in this region. “We were aware that action needed to be taken in certain areas of Lazio, but the precise locations of the grasslands requiring protection remained unknown”, remarked Luca Malatesta, an ecologist from Sapienza – University of Rome, during the Seminars on grassland habitats organized by the Life Grace project. With the advent of the new map, researchers now possess a vital tool for strategizing the conservation of these ecosystems.
The cartographic depiction of grasslands selected for conservation identifies the three target habitats of the Life Grace project – semi-natural dry grassland formations (habitat 6210*), steppe paths of grasses and annual plants (habitat 6220) and Nardus grassland formations (habitat 6230*). These habitats are situated within three SPAs in Lazio: the Monti Ausoni Aurunci in lower Lazio, the Monti della Tolfa north of Rome, and the Monti Reatini in the central Apennines. Analysis of the data indicates that the grassland in the Monti Reatini appears to be facing the most severe challenges.
By studying the ‘Fonte di Cocoione’ area near Rivodutri in the province of Rieti, researchers have observed that, in this area of the Monti Reatini, the grassland is becoming progressively fragmented into smaller, isolated patches. These patches are separated by uncontrolled growth of shrubs.
Indeed, as observed elsewhere in the country, the abandonment of traditional agricultural and pastoral practices is leading to the advancement of forests in the Monti Reatini region. This unchecked growth of forests initiates with shrub species like juniper (Juniperus communis), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Spanish broom (Spartium junceum), and field rose (Rosa arvensis), then progressing to include the typical trees indicative of mature forest ecosystems. Consequently, without proper management, forests expand and reclaim once-maintained areas. Malatesta warned, “Without intervention, this trajectory will inevitably result in the disappearance of grasslands.”
The results obtained by researchers from the Sapienza – University of Rome show how approximately 40% of the secondary grasslands in the Monti Reatini region have vanished since the mid-1950s due to this process. Furthermore, due to the advancement of shrubs and the proliferation of weeds, more than 20% of the remaining grasslands are subject to degradation. In the past, such degradation was prevented thanks to traditional agricultural and pastoral practices. For instance, during the 1960s, the Rivodutri area, where researchers identified pilot sites to plan secondary grassland protection, was under cultivation. Later, the area was managed as pasture, fostering the development of flourishing secondary grasslands.
However, the gradual abandonment of pastoral practices, mainly driven by changes in food production systems and the absence of water sources, has gradually transformed the landscape of the mountainside landscape overlooking Rivodutri, where shrubs have long been advancing. Thus, the secondary grasslands of the Monti Reatini face the threat of disappearance and, with them, several precious species they host, such as the green-winged orchid (Anacamptis morio), the bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) and the pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis).
Beyond that, failure to manage grasslands, and the consequent spread of forests, represents a danger to the growing forests themselves in our country as well. Indeed, several studies demonstrate that active land management, involving agro-pastoral practices, mitigates the impact of forest fires by more than 50% compared to unmanaged areas.
Therefore, the conservation of the secondary grasslands of the Monti Reatini, as well as of the Apennine mountains in general, centres around participatory management, which involves authorities, researchers and shepherds, leading to a sustainable use of the land through extensive grazing.
Practices such as rotational grazing with mobile fences, the maintenance of access roads to pastures and fountains, and the development of water transport infrastructures are the actions proposed by technicians and researchers of the Life Grace project to promote the resumption of extensive grazing. This traditional practice helps control the evolutionary vegetation dynamics, limits the spread of invasive species, and contributes to maintaining the ecosystem services associated with grassland habitats.
This is the intervention plan devised by researchers to safeguard struggling secondary grasslands. This can only be achieved by facilitating the operations of agro-pastoral consortia through management contracts. These agreements between farmers and authorities can overcome the current licence system for grassland use, develop continuous pasture management and set up intervention guidelines aimed at habitat conservation.
In pursuing this initiative, researchers from the Life Grace project are supported by the administrations of the areas where the habitats to be protected are located. For instance, In Rivodutri, where researchers have developed an intervention plan to be replicated elsewhere, the municipal administration has started a process to hinder the advancement of shrubs on the grasslands. “We are working to improve the grazing lands, while also trying to increase the available area for the animals, which is essential for their well-being. However, in order to guarantee the long-term success of these interventions and ensure the survival of the grasslands, other actions are required, such as the restoration of fountains and access roads to the pastures, and a management plan that is continuous and lasting over time,” remarks Michele Paniconi, Mayor of Rivodutri, during a meeting in mid-November between Life Grace project researchers and the municipal administration.
LIFE GRACE (19/03/2024)