Description
All the actions within the Life NatConnect2030 project are a development of the actions defined in the provincial PAF.
In particular, an initial study was launched on the areas of intervention for the protection of bats (bats) and monitoring of the crayfish.
With regard to bats, two intervention sites of high provincial importance for their reproduction have already been identified:
The Mezzolombardo air-raid shelter
This is a system of tunnels dug by man as an air-raid shelter in 1944 to escape bombing.
For years the shelter has played an important ecological role, especially in the summer, for the reproduction of two species of bats:
- the greater horseshoe bat(Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)
- the lesser horseshoe(Rhinolophus hipposideros)
It is also probably used as a wintering and refuge site by other bat species.
Photo of the air raid shelter taken from www.ilmulo.it
However, the site, which has been monitored for years, has shown a worrying decline in the number of individuals surveyed, due to the disturbance caused by cave-goers and the abandonment of waste in the cave. It was therefore decided, in agreement with the municipal administration of Mezzolombardo and the cultural heritage superintendency, to clean the site of rubbish and to close the entrances by planting gates with suitable characteristics for the passage of animals. With these actions, the ecological importance of the cave for this area of the Adige Valley is expected to be restored within a few years.
The High Fort of Mattarello
This large fortification on the outskirts of town is a particularly suitable place for bats, both due to the characteristics of the building and its location between cultivated areas and woodland. Three species have been found here:
- the greater horseshoe(Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)
- the lesser horseshoe(Rhinolophus hipposideros)
- the Greater Vespertilio(Myotis myotis)
This refuge is also important, especially for the summer breeding season.
The high fort of Mattarello in a photo at www.trentinograndeguerra.it
Here too, the problems that can be encountered are disturbance from unwanted access and vandalism. What will be done, therefore, is to restore the fences and the gate already present in the perimeter area, as well as to clean up the invasive vegetation outside the fort. Over the next few years, constant monitoring will be carried out on the species and the size of the populations to check their conservation status.
See the other activities planned in Trentino within the NatConnect2030 project
