LIFE projects
Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics

The project intends to contrast the regression of aquatic angiosperm meadows in the transition environments of the Po Delta, in the Mar Menor in Spain and in the Amvrakikos Lagoon in Greece, using the methodologies and experience acquired within the Life SeResto project. The objectives are:

1. Restore Habitat 1150* in 6 coastal lagoons by transplanting aquatic plants and restoring optimal circulation in one of these lagoons; 
2. Contribute to achieving good environmental status by demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed actions;
3. Quantify the value of ecosystem services provided by the presence of aquatic angiosperm;
4. To train future users and managers of these sites for their optimal management and for the transfer of the experience acquired to other similar sites.

The expected results will be obtained through manual transplants of small sods or individual rhizomes, then trusting in the plant colonization that occurs by dispersion of the seeds. In the presence of suitable conditions patches of plants that flow into structured meadows will form, thus triggering the ecological processes that take place in these environments. 
The partnership, coordinated by the University of Ferrara, is vast and articulated and includes the Ca' Foscari University Venice, the Management Body for Parks and Biodiversity-Po Delta, the Delta Ecology Applied Institute srl, the Management Body for Parks and Biodiversity-Po Delta, the Comunidad Autonóma de la Región de Murcia (ES), the Asociación Empresarial Centro Tecnológico de la Energía y del Medio Ambiente de la Región de Murcia (ES), the Universidad de Murcia (ES), the Amvrakikos gulf-Lefkada Management Agency (GR) and the Hellenic Center for Marine Research (Gr).

A new environmental crisis threatens both natural ecosystems and human food security. This is the “pollinator crisis”: insects by transporting pollen allow 80% of plants to reproduce.
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) estimates that over 40% of pollinating insects, mainly bees and butterflies, are at risk of extinction due to environmental degradation and the disappearance of their most important habitat: the flowering meadow.
The LIFE PollinAction - LIFE19 NAT / IT / 000848 project aims to provide solutions to this problem, through an innovative approach. The project will create 'green' infrastructures inspired and supported by nature. These are sustainable works and for the benefit of the resilience of the territories involved, including 6 municipalities that made their areas available, 11 farms, 2 beekeepers in Spain, 6 areas of extensive agriculture in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the Mestre Passante highway.
The partnership, coordinated by Ca' Foscari, is extensive, articulated and includes the Veneto Region, the Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Venetian Motorway Concessions - CAV spa, the EcorNaturaSì spa group, Albatros srl, the Municipality of Caldogno (VI ), the SELC Cooperative, Veneto Agriculture, and the Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria in Spain.