Description
The basin is an intermoraine depression with a 'U' shape (the residual pond now occupies the most depressed part of the western arm).
In spite of its 'intact' appearance, the small basin of Laghestel di Piné has been the focus of various human activities for centuries, as documented by the scholar Father F. Ghetta. In 1613, the lake and surrounding territory was sold to the Prince-Bishop of Trento Cardinal Madruzzo by the community of Piné, who, however, reserved the right to mow the meadows, graze and water cattle.
The documents also record various attempts at land reclamation, carried out in later times - almost up to the present day - through the digging of ditches and canals; a modest peat extraction activity is also documented around 1870.
After World War II, the meadows and crops in the basin were abandoned and the natural vegetation gradually took over again.
The vegetation of Laghestel di Pinè was the subject of an in-depth study by F. Pedrotti and C. Chemini, published in 1981 in the scientific journal "Studi Trentini di Scienze Naturali" and including a detailed thematic map.
This study clearly shows the great botanical interest of the biotope: there are 129 species, some of which are very rare, and 9 hygrophilous plant associations, all of which are of considerable value (from reed thickets to various types of sedges, from wet meadows to hygrophilous woods).
It is also worth mentioning, by way of curiosity, a macroscopic phenomenon of a 'botanical' nature that has contributed to making the Laghestel famous: since 1975, in fact, the summer reddening of its waters by the unicellular alga Euglena sanguinea has occurred. It is not exactly a marvellous red, nor is it a rarity, since reddening by Euglena sanguinea is well known here and there in the Alps, but it is nevertheless an uncommon and valuable phenomenon both from a naturalistic and a landscape point of view (in this regard, it should be remembered that the much more evident reddening of the famous Lake Tovel was caused by an entirely different organism, the Glenodinium sanguineum).
The great variety of environments present in the Biotope (woods, meadows, wetlands, etc.) is also reflected in the fauna, which is particularly rich. By way of example, suffice it to say that the Laghestel di Pinè is a breeding ground for no less than 7 species of amphibians, more than half of the entire amphibian fauna of the province.