THE “FOCE BEVANO” SITE (RAVENNA, ITALY): DUNE RESTORATION AND MONITORING

Currently, the majority of sandy coastal areas in Italy and throughout Europe are in a notably critical state, but at the same time increasingly greater efforts are being made for the conservation and/or reconstruction of the natural environments associated with these areas. In the case of the restoration or creation ex-novo of dune systems, especially if combined with beach nourishment, the realization in a relatively brief time of a significant plant cover able to perform the functions of interception, accumulation and fixation of sand sediments, is a key element in the successful outcome of the intervention. The present paper reports the results of one year monitoring of the plant cover and sand accumulation in a dune system of artificial origin, situated in the neighbourhood of the mouth of the river Bevano on the coast of Emilia-Romagna in north-east Italy. The plant cover achieved through the planting of Agropyron junceum (L.) Beauv. and Ammophila littoralis (Beauv.) Rothm. appears to be well integrated within the environment of the dunes in formation, both regarding its capacity of self-maintenance and growth, and its ability to intercept and accumulate sand. The plant cover development and the maintenance of its functions over time is however strongly conditioned by meteo-marine events and by the alternation between unfavourable periods (late autumn and winter losses) and favourable (expansion in the spring-summer period). The achievement of a balance between destructive and constructive events depends in a determinant manner on physical factors such as the morphology of the site, the distribution of the heights with respect to the level of the sea, and the depth of the beach. The assessment of these aspects during the planning of dune reconstruction cannot therefore be ignored when considering the global success of the project.