Biodiversity and protected areas

The survey on the perceived value of UNESCO awards aims to go beyond a reading centred on individual sites or awards, adopting a systemic perspective. The objective is to understand how the different designations are perceived by the different publics (whether as separate entities or as components of a unified system), and to what extent they contribute in an integrated manner to the enhancement of the natural, cultural and social heritage of the provincial territory.

A research team led by MUSE - Trento Science Museum has identified a new location in Val di Sella (Valsugana) for the Aurora salamander (Salamandra atra aurorae), an important discovery for the ecology and conservation of this small endemic amphibian, one of the rarest and most threatened in Italy.

Experts surveyed a brood in Val di Rabbi, in the Stelvio National Park. One of the young took its first flight on 16 July.
Extinct in the Alps in the 1930s, the bearded vulture was the subject of a reintroduction project in the Alpine arc in the 1990s - 2000s, which the Stelvio National Park also joined with the release of young bearded vultures from zoos. Twenty years ago, in a nest in the Braulio Valley, Stelvio was born, the first wild bearded vulture to be born in Italy and the second ever in the European Alps.

Mowing of peat bogs to promote biodiversity and maintain open water, restoration of natural conditions of watercourses, monitoring of crayfish populations, conservation of breeding or wintering sites for bats, fight against alien species.
These are the activities planned in Trentino in the period 2024-2032 within the European LIFE NatConnect2030 project.

The first major rehabilitation of peat bogs and wetlands at the 'Taio di Nomi' provincial nature reserve has been completed.
Wetlands are environments of considerable importance for biodiversity, but their state of conservation is not always favourable, especially in the valley bottom areas that have to fight against land use, often occupied by industrial areas, infrastructure and cultivation.
It is therefore essential to ensure the survival of the last existing patches of this type of environment.

Among all the activities planned in Trentino in the LIFE NatConnect2030 project, actions are already underway to improve the conservation status of the crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) population and its habitat.
This is an autochthonous crustacean that lives in the watercourses and lakes of Trentino and plays a very important role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem in which it lives.

We have begun an initial study on the protection areas for bats, of which some species are particularly protected (they fall under Annex II of the Habitats Directive).
Two very important breeding sites have been identified, the Mezzolombardo anti-aircraft shelter and the Forte Alto di Mattarello, where actions are planned to limit the disturbance caused by unwanted access, as well as cleaning and restoration of fences and gates.