Natura 2000

Natura 2000 is a network of habitats, the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world, managed under the same regulatory framework. Although the main aim of the network is to protect the habitat, it also considers the economic, social and cultural needs of the people involved. Moreover, Natura 2000 is recognised for its provision of several ecosystem services and it has, therefore, put management plans in place for these areas. This paper assessed residents' preferences for provisioning, regulating and supporting ecosystem services provided by the Region of Umbria network. The Willingness To Pay for improving such ecosystems services is also estimated and used to evaluate the overall benefit provided by the management of the network in two hypothetical scenarios. The average benefit per hectare per year for achieving the less demanding scenario is €75, whereas an additional €64 is required for the more challenging policy scenario. The estimated benefit is greater than the current expenditure for the regional management of the Natura 2000 network.

The study deals with issues related to the impact of Natura 2000 sites on local development of rural communes in Poland. The purpose of the study is an attempt at comparing the level of social-economic development of rural communes in which Natura 2000 sites are located within their borders against other communes where there are no such sites, based on an analysis of selected indices. The selected indices of social-economic development were analysed in 424 rural communes in six Polish provinces. The study uses statistical data from the Central Statistical Office from the years 2000-2013. The analysis indicates that rural areas with Natura 2000 network sites do not differ from other units of local government as far as the level of social-economic development is concerned and in some cases show even better results. In the 'Natura' communes – compared to units where there are no such sites – the level of total income is higher, along with the commune's own income, and there is a higher level of investment expenditure. The conducted analysis allows for the statement that the presence of Natura 2000 sites does not hinder economic development of communes and only modifies the manner of preparation and implementation of an investment. It does not constitute a barrier to human activity on the condition that any such activity complies with the principles of sustainable development. This testifies to the higher economic activity of inhabitants in comparison to other units.

Between 2000 and 2013 a number of 1389 individuals belonging to Tipuloi­ dea and Ptychopteridae were collected in Cluj-­Napoca and its surround­ ings. Seven species are new to the Romanian fauna. Additionally, many species considered rare to the country's fauna were collected as well. The surprisingly high numbers of 114 species identified from here were un­ expected but explainable by the mosaic pattern of habitats from almost natural to extremely modified under anthropogenic pressure. The present faunistic survey highlights the importance of maintaining natural habitats like Făgetul Clujului – Valea Morii Natura 2000 sites even in the vicinity of a such important metropolis like Cluj­Napoca, in Romania.

Question

Can very high-resolution colour orthophotography and digital surface models (DSMs) from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) be effectively used for assessment of habitat extent and condition in fine-scale disturbance-dependent mosaics?
Location

Serra de Arga mountain range, a Natura 2000 protected site in the NW region of Portugal where drastic changes in pastoral activities have occurred over recent decades.
Methods

An UAV platform was used to collect very high-resolution (6 cm) images and to produce a DSM (10 cm). From these data, several features were extracted related to colour, band ratios, as well as texture features calculated from colour imagery and surface elevation. Based on a systematic sampling design, field data were collected for both training and validation of a supervised classifier. Extracted features and ground truth training data were combined to calibrate a pixel-based Random forest classifier, with the purpose of devising a habitat map for the entire study area. Map validation was performed to assess classification accuracy, and feature importance metrics were calculated.

Results

Validation results revealed good mean overall accuracy (0.89), with some performance decrease in situations of high interspersion of habitat types. The priority habitat type 6230* (Nardus grasslands), defining the vegetation matrix of the test site, obtained 0.96 and 0.91, considering, respectively, producer and user accuracy. In turn, priority habitat type 4020* (Atlantic wet heathlands) recorded 0.68 and 0.77. The obtained habitat map allowed measurement of the extent, description of the spatial arrangement and provided an indication of the conservation condition of target habitat types. Test results regarding the discrimination ability of different features highlighted the importance of surface elevation textures derived from the DSM, followed by band ratios textures and other more complex texture features calculated from colour imagery.

Conclusions

Overall, the developed methodology showed promising results for assessing the extent and condition of habitats of high conservation priority in fine-scale, dynamic vegetation mosaics. Future advances in the use of UAV platforms may play an important role in monitoring protected sites and fulfil legal reporting obligations of EU member states, while reducing the costs associated with intensive in-field assessments.

This paper describes the land mollusc fauna of four “Natura 2000”  sites in the Emilia-Romagna region, northern Italy. The study sites are located along an altitudinal transect and host different forest types. Study sites include a coastal site (Pineta di Classe), a lowland site (Ripristini di Bentivoglio), an area between the river Reno and the nearby hills (Destra Reno), and a montane site on the watershed with Toscana  (Lago Brasimone). Fifty-eight species were found, approximately 11% of the Italian land mollusc fauna and 48% of the estimated fauna of Emilia-Romagna. The fauna has a strong continental affinity, with some Mediterranean elements more common in the coastal site. Among the species of conservation interest there is Vertigo angustior found as several empty shells at Pineta di Classe and at Destra Reno. We confirm the presence of the alien species Bulgarica denticulata in the pine woodlands near Ravenna (Pineta di Classe) but we hypothesize that its settlement could be a more recent event than suggested in the literature to date: no records of species referable to this taxon could be found in the 18th century literature on the molluscs of Ravenna and its nearby pine woodlands, suggesting that the arrival of this alien species in Italy could be dated between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century.

Gli insetti impollinatori e, in particolare, api e farfalle, sono di fondamentale importanza per il servizio ecosi-stemico dell'impollinazione, essenziale per la produtti-vità agricola, la conservazione della biodiversità delle piante spontanee e la produzione di miele. Più dell'80% delle colture agricole e della flora spontanea dipende dall'impollinazione entomofila. Il valore economico del servizio di impollinazione è stimato essere di 153,9 mi-liardi di euro nel mondo e 1,5 miliardi in Italia. Negli ultimi decenni si è assistito a un forte declino di questi insetti in tutto il mondo, dovuto a diverse cause che provocano la diminuzione delle specie e degli indivi-dui, tra cui l'utilizzo di prodotti fitosanitari in agricoltura. LE MISURE DELL'EUROPA PER CONTRASTARE IL DECLINO DEGLI IMPOLLINATORI Per contrastare il declino che si sta registrando a li-vello internazionale, l'Unione Europea (UE), nel 2018 ha adottato la Pollinator Initiative, che ha posto l'uti-lizzo di prodotti fitosanitari, fra le principali minacce per gli impollinatori (Britain et al., 2010; FAO, 2014; Bellucci et al., 2019; Botias et al., 2019). Inoltre, già dal 2009, l'UE ha emanato la Direttiva 2009/128/ CE che istituisce un quadro per l'azione comunitaria per la riduzione dei rischi e degli impatti sulla salute umana, sull'ambiente e sulla biodiversità, derivanti dall'impiego di prodotti fitosanitari, che in Italia vie-ne attuato attraverso il Piano d'Azione Nazionale per l'uso sostenibile dei prodotti fitosanitari (PAN). IL PROGETTO FINANZIATO DAL MINISTERO DELL'AMBIENTE Il Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare (MATTM) dal 2015 ha finanziato un pro-getto, tuttora in corso, che terminerà a luglio 2020, coordinato da ISPRA e svolto in collaborazione con ARPA Piemonte, Università di Torino (Dipartimen-ti DBIOS e DISAFA), Università di Roma Tor Verga-ta (Dip. DIBIOS), finalizzato alla sperimentazione dell'efficacia delle misure del Piano d'Azione Nazionale sull'uso sostenibile dei prodotti fitosanitari1 per la tutela della biodiversità nelle aree protette e nei Siti Natura 2000. Le Misure, descritte nelle Linee guida per l'attuazione del PAN2, che sono state considerate per tale sperimentazione sono le n. 13 e n.

Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas of the European
Union and it is legally binding based on the Birds and Habitats Directives
adopted by the EU Member States in 1979 and 1992, respectively. The
purpose of this network is to ensure that the long-term survival of European biodiversity and especially of Europe’s most valuable and endangered species and their habitats is secured. Forests have a relatively large area among the Natura 2000 areas implemented in the EU countries. Natura 2000 sites also cover large areas in countries having high forestry assets. Turkey comprises biogeographical regions with climatic and geographical properties varying over short distances. This privileges Turkey in harbouring high numbers of plants
and animal species and having high endemism rates. The purpose of this study is to determine the variation and characteristics of Turkish forest habitats along the scope of the Natura 2000 framework. To this end, two forested areas, Kavaklı and Eğriova, located in the western Black Sea region of Turkey and different in their woody species composition, have been selected. Firstly, the boundaries of forest types have been reviewed. Twenty-four vegetation types have been determined by carrying out previously unavailable studies on vegetation. The map of forest habitat types has been obtained by superposing the forest management types with the vegetation types. As a result, eleven
habitat types have been determined, of which only seven were previously
attributed to Turkey. Montane Abiesforests of the Black Sea region, generated by Uludağ fir (Abies nordmanniana subsp. bornmuelleriana) and Euxine oriental beech forests (Fagus orientalis) are the most widely distributed forest types. They are followed by oak broadleaved mixed forests of euxine and subeuxine character. The Black Sea climate study sites are generally rich in plants of euxine and subeuxine distribution. As studies on Turkish forest habitats to be included in the Habitat Directives are very limited, our approach required expertise during the assignment process of vegetation types to habitat types. Moreover, the assessment was hampered for lack of a common nomenclatural basis in vegetation classification for Turkish forest habitats in the respective
biogeographical zones.

The Habitats Directive celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2012. The influence of the Directive now extends
across 27 Member States, compared to just 12 when it was first adopted in May 1992. The sites now cover
more than 17% of the land surface of the Member States. However, in spite of their deep roots in human
history, reviewed here, and their long-time justification on the basis of intrinsic value, protected areas
must face the economic challenges of the modern era. There is a need for policy that can guide decisionmaking
in relation to their continued designation, protection and management, including the ecosystem
services that they deliver and taking into account the needs of the local communities who live and work
in and around them. Growing pressures include their potential exploitation for economic and commercial
benefit and the continued threats from competition over land use and climate change.

The study aimed to determine the distribution, numbers, and forms of human activity on the banks and in the riverbed of the middle part of the Vistula River. This section of the river is the most valuable for nature and is located between Puławy and the mouth of the Pilica River (km 373-548 of the navigation route). Censuses were conducted in May-June 2014 and 2015, the breeding season of the key species of the riverbed avifauna. The presence and different forms of human activity were recorded, including fishing, camping, water tourism, hiking, motorized tourism, and grazing animals. The frequent presence of people on the Vistula River was much greater in June than in May. In both months, the most popular form of spending time by humans in the riverbed was fishing. While in areas less valuable for birds, fishing strongly dominated, on parts of the river with key breeding habitats for birds, more aggressive forms of recreation, camping and motorized tourism (quads, motorcycles, off-road vehicles), were reported as often or even more frequently. The increasing popularity of these forms of recreation is a very serious threat to the fauna. They not only disturb the breeding birds but also physically destroy breeding habitats and nests with eggs and increase the mortality of chicks of gulls, terns, and other waders.

The UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BRs) comprise core conservation areas supported by a buffer and transition zone of sustainable development. This zoning can help manage urbanisation around conservation areas. Although it is UNESCO policy to measure the number of BRs that have interactions with urban areas, there has been no systematic assessment of urban biospheres since 2008. This research addresses this deficit by measuring the extent of urbanisation of all designated BRs within the European Union (EU). Using the Copernicus Urban Atlas, the proximity of BRs to Functional Urban Areas (FUA) was determined. The results show that 46% (76/167) of BRs are situated within FUAs, including 11% (18/167) entirely within an FUA. The majority (64%) of EU-28 countries have BRs within FUAs. Urban influences on EU-28 BRs are extensive, as 90% are found within 50 km of an FUA. However, integration with urban areas may be lacking as 14% of EU BRs were adjacent to an FUA. Urban pressures are acute for 11% of EU BRs which had multiple FUAs within a 50 km radius. Therefore, urbanisation of BRs is a widespread challenge and recommendations are provided for BRs to function as an information sharing network and develop a new urban strategy.

The European Union (EU) ensures the conservation of biodiversity through the Natura
2000 Network, which establishes the classification and selection of protected areas at European level.
Unfortunately, member countries cannot make the best zoning decisions for biodiversity conservation
because there are no clear and uniform parameters to designate Natura 2000 sites. Due to this,
it is convenient to evaluate the importance of the criteria for biodiversity conservation through a
general assessment, which could establish relevant criteria that can be analysed through geostatistical
methods combined in multicriteria analysis. This paper aims to consider biodiversity importance
values taking into account land use, so that it is possible to develop a zoning proposal which verifies
or corrects the suitability of the designated areas for the Natura 2000 Network in Castilla y León,
Andalucía and Madrid (Spain). The choice of these regions allows us to compare areas with a
high variability of population density, making possible to compare the potential protected areas
with respect to the population living in each area. This assessment has been performed using basic
and easily adaptable criteria of biodiversity conservation, so it could be applied in other European
territories. In this way, clear and uniform parameters for zoning will be used, being possible to
detect the best protected areas. One of the most important purposes of the Natura 2000 Network is
to increase connectivity between territories; our work proposes new areas that could be linked to
currently protected territories, to favour the achievement of this purpose of the Natura 2000 Network.

Introduzione Il Museo di Storia Naturale di Ferrara è attivo nell'ambito del monitoraggio della mortalità stradale degli animali (Vertebrati) dal 2016, anno in cui ha avviato il progetto Delta Road Kill, un progetto di scienza partecipata che raccoglie segnalazioni, attraverso fotografie, degli investimenti stradali di animali (de-finiti Road kills) sul territorio circostante il tratto terminale del fiume Po, nelle province di Ferrara, Rovigo e Ravenna (www. inaturalist.org/projects/delta-road-kill-animali-investiti-sulle-strade-del-delta-del-po). Nell'ambito di questo progetto, le segnalazioni raccolte con l'aiuto dei cittadini attraverso la piat-taforma iNaturalist (www.inaturalist.org) si uniscono al moni-toraggio periodico effettuato dal personale del Museo su alcune strade particolarmente significative per collocazione geografica, intensità di traffico e valore naturalistico degli ambienti circo-stanti, con l'obiettivo ultimo di identificare le aree più a rischio e le specie maggiormente coinvolte, per pianificare adeguate misure di mitigazione. A partire dagli anni Novanta, numerosi studi hanno verificato come le attività antropiche legate alla costruzione e al successivo funzionamento delle infrastrutture di trasporto alterino la fun-zionalità degli ecosistemi, causando inquinamento e frammen-tazione o perdita di habitat, con conseguenti danni diretti alla fauna selvatica (Diamondback, 1990; González-Gallina et al., 2013; Fabrizio, 2013). Nasce così la Road Ecology (For-man et al., 2003; Coffin, 2007), una branca dell'Ecologia del Paesaggio che studia gli impatti delle infrastrutture viarie sulla biodiversità e l'ambiente circostante. Bike Night è un progetto che comprende sei eventi cicloturi-stici notturni non competitivi, organizzati annualmente dalla società ferrarese Witoor s.r.l, società che opera sul territorio europeo con lo scopo di promuovere le principali piste cicla-bili e la mobilità sostenibile, nel rispetto del paesaggio e della sicurezza stradale. Di questo progetto fa parte la "Bike Night Ferrara-Mare" (ht-tps://witoor.com/bike-night/bike-night-ferrara-mare) che si è svolta nella notte tra il 16 e 17 Giugno 2018, con partenza pre-vista alle ore 20 presso il Parco Massari di Ferrara. All'evento hanno partecipato circa 1200 ciclisti di tutte le età, alla guida Riassunto "Bike Night" è un ampio progetto che comprende eventi cicloturistici, organizzati annualmente dalla società ferrarese Witoor s.r.l. Di questo progetto fa parte Bike Night Ferrara-Mare, che si è svolta nella notte tra il 16 e 17 Giugno 2018. L'evento ha riscosso la nostra attenzione poiché il percorso si è sviluppato lungo la "Destra Po", una ciclabile che corre adiacente al sito SIC-ZPS "Fiume Po da Stellata a Mesola e cavo napoleonico". Il Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Ferrara ha effettuato un monitoraggio della mortalità stradale dei Vertebrati. Dall'analisi dei dati raccolti non è emersa alcuna differenza significativa tra le due giornate di rilevamento. Gli investimenti osservati sono per lo più riconducibili ad impatti con veicoli a motore nelle due deviazioni del percorso su strada provinciale. Bike Night dunque, almeno secondo le modalità organizzative seguite quest'anno e in rapporto alle condizioni meteorologiche, può essere considerato a tutti gli effetti un evento sostenibile. Parole chiave: Mortalità della fauna selvatica, Natura 2000, Evento cicloturistico.
Abstract Monitoring of the possible effects on wildlife after the cyclotouristic event "Bike Night Ferrara-Mare" "Bike Night" is a wide project consisting of cyclo-touristic events planned by the society Witoor s.r.l. The project includes the event called "Bike Night Ferrara-Mare" that was held during the night between 16th and 17th June 2018. The itinerary caught our attention since it extended along the "Destra Po", a cycle path running on the border of the site Natura 2000 "Fiume Po da Stellata a Mesola e Cavo napoleonico". The Museum decided to monitor the possible road mortality of animals. From the data analysis, we found no significant differences between the two monitoring days. The road kills observed can be attributed to vehicle impacts on the provincial road, in corrispondence of the two deviations from the bicycle lane. On the balance, Bike Night could be considered a sustainable event according to the planning method used this year and to the weather conditions.