Tagliamento River area as an habitat complex

of special faunal interest and value

International Alpine Workshop - Tagliamento 2012

Norbert Grosser

From alpine region to the Adriatic sea-a change of zoogeographical elements and ecosystem types in short distances

as a basis of high biodiversity

Sources of faunistical interest are:Checklist of the Italian fauna on-lineData sheets of areas of european FFH-guidelineInvestigations of specialists of different animal groupsInvestigations of students in former Tagliamento projects From Italy, Switzerland and Germany

Further reasons for high biodiversity are :river diversity in: corridor width, flow velocity,water temperature, different depth, substrate texture, bank habit, habitats of river and sourroundings

Some regions are therefore protected areas.

Alpine and continental region: Natura 2000 sites

Comelico - Bosco della Digola - Brentoni - Tudaio andVal Talagona - Gruppo Monte Cridola - Monte Duranno = Dolomiti del Cadore e del Comelico (SPA) – upper catchment area(Lago Minisini e Rivoli Bianchi) –neighbouringValle del Medio Tagliamento andGreto del Tagliamento: - medium course -LIFE Project MAGREDI GRASSLANDS – Restoration of Dry grasslands (Magredi) in four Sites of Community Importance of Friuli Lowland LIFE10 NAT/IT/000243Bosco di Golena del Torreano – under courseFoce del Tagliamento – estuary

Smaller protected areas: Lago Cornino

But it´s only a part of endangered habitats in Tagliamento area

Data situation (very incomplete):Vertebrates:amphibians 17 species (35 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)birds 188 species (428 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)fishes 42 species (52 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)lampreys 2 species (2 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)mammals 40 species (97 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)reptiles 16 species (48 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)

Data situationalderflies 1 species (4 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)arachnids 20 species (3573 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)bees, wasps and relates 3 species (5869 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)beetles 1335 species (9181 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)bugs 8 species (1072 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)butterflies and moths 512 species (4322 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)caddisflies 19 species (276 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)crustaceans 4 species (586 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)dragonflies 39 species (83 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)earwigs 2 species ( 18 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)flatworms 1 species (112 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)flies and midges 26 species (5945 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)lacewings 3 species (122 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)locusts and crickets 79 species (211 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)mayflies 32 species (72 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)praying mantises 1 species (7 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)roaches 1 species (16 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)snails and mussels 38 species (524 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)stoneflies 15 species (119 species and subspecies in Northern Italy)

In the last 5-6 years we collected informations and data of 2444 animal speciesin the course of Tagliamento and ist sourroundings.

The whole faunal region of Northern Italy consists (Fauna-Italia online) of32774 species and subspecies of animals in the taxa we have investigated.Some thousands more are existing in in this high diverse region.

Our investigations are only a view in the window of biodiversity.

But we want to contribute to understanding the connections between different habitatscales in the landscape and the existence of animal populations.

Bed load barriers disconnect habitats of water insects, fishes, crustaceans and flatworms.

Better are undisturbed inflows.

Narrowing river bed by beton wallswe destroy river bank habitats and block migrations for example ofamphibians between breeding and food habitats.

Bufo viridis – a typical inhabitant of Tagliamento flood plain

The plans to construct big retention waterbasins in this part of the coursechanges not only th whole flowing behaviour of the river –it destroys a lot of habitats and leads to loss of biodiversity

From: STUDIO PRELIMINARE PERL’INDIVIDUAZIONE DI ALTERNATIVEALLE CASSE DI ESPANSIONE PREVISTENEL MEDIO CORSO DEL FIUMETAGLIAMENTOVOLUME I Aspetti idraulici, socio-economici e ambientaliWWF Italia 2004

New plans concerning road construction influence the habitats along the river

Off road activities destroy a lot of microhabitas.They have influence to animal groups as mantids, grasshoppers, earwigs and tiger beetles.The ponds, the cars drive through are habitats of dragonfly larvae.

Use uf pesticides in flood plain agricultural areas-especially poplar plantationsand maize fields

Neophytes change the existenceconditions of phytophagous insectsand lead to remarkable loss of species richness

Natural river dynamics createsimportant habitat structures –for example cover structuresbetween tree rootes

In sludge areas you can find mikrohabitats, so called galleries of Xya variegata (a small cricket like insect) existing for a short time of the year

Convex river banks show us the dynamics of river morphology,elute big soil amounts and built up breeding placesfor bee eaters, digging theirholes in the fresh wall.

Temporary flood plain pools are habitats for Bombina variegata and Hyla italica, sometimes hunting Natrix tesselata (all are protected by European FFH-guideline)

From our knowledgethe Tagliamento areahas a big variety of speciesprotected by the FFH-directiveand the European bird directive.

111 bird species are listed from the area (annex I and II).

19 mammals, 8 reptiles, 11 amphibians, 14 fishes, 2 lampreys, 2 snails and 17 arthropodsfrom Tagliamento are listedas protected by FFH-directive (annex II,IV,V).

We have to save their habitats for the future.

Ardea purpureaCaprimulgus europaeus

Egretta garzettaGyps fulvus

Examples ofprotected birds in the area.

Coenonympha oedippus Hyles hippophaes

Lopinga achine

Some protected species (FFH-directive)we met at our fieldwork in the last years.

Lets have a common look to the richness of our nature and recognize the dangerous impacts to save biodiversity.

The classical floodplain species Apatura ilia gets back some minerals from an excursion participant- thank´s for all.