Palo Laziale

The habitats and wildlife of Palo Laziale (e.g. Hermann’s tortoise, European pond turtle, etc.) face several threats, including climate change, inappropriate forest and water management and shrub encroachment. In particular, an increasing exposition to soil aridity and extreme drought events have induced a dramatic case of forest dieback in Palo Laziale. The first signs of forest degradation were observed in 1995, and have unceasingly progressed until 2003. In that year, a tremendous summer heatwave caused the death of about 40% of the adult trees. Then, a concurrent pathogenic attack of the fungus B. mediterranea did the rest. Thus, in 2015, about 80% of the initial forest canopy was lost. The site owners entrusted ecologists from Sapienza University of Rome to identify the primary causes of the forest dieback. A set of restoration ecology solutions were designed from that multidisciplinary study and started to be implemented with the approval of project LIFE PRIMED.