Bioblitz 2017 Monte Labro.

The threat to the survival of many species, caused by emerging ecological crises, has favored the development of a new environmental awareness. In recent decades, especially in the most industrialized nations, an increasing participation of citizens in the collection of scientific data has also been recorded. The active involvement of society in different aspects of science has been defined by the sociologist Alan Irwin as “Citizen Science”. Although environmental Citizen Science brings together the largest number of projects, the fields of application of this new way of doing science are innumerable. BioBlitz is one of the best-known examples of citizen science activities, aimed at monitoring the biodiversity of an area. The Maremma Natural History Museum, as part of its activities, regularly organizes BioBlitz on an annual basis, starting from 2013. During BioBlitz 2017 in the SPZ and SCZ “Monte Labbro and Alta Valle dellAlbegna” data were collected attesting the presence of 403 different taxonomic entities, of which 367 identified at the species level and 5 at the subspecies level. Six alien and 2 endemic species were identified. In terms of environmental legislation, 38 protected species and 7 endangered species were detected in the area. The most relevant aspect that emerges from the collected data is the consistent number of protected species. This confirms the environmental value of the area and the need for management and conservation plans for the entire site

Bioblitz 2018 Parco Regionale della Maremma.

In recent decades, many natural history museums in Europe have integrated their traditional functions with new ways of interacting with visitors and local communities. In particular, the need to adapt their mission according to the changes in modern society has led them to develop initiatives aiming at an active involvement of the public in scientific research. This is one of the inspiring principles of Citizen Science. BioBlitz are among the most popular activities dedicated to biodiversity in this field. In line with the inspiring principles of this cultural revolution, since 2012 the Maremma Natural History Museum organized public participation initiatives for the collection of biodiversity data. We hereby report the main results of the BioBlitz 2018 organized by the Maremma Natural History Museum in the Talamone area, located in the southern portion of the Uccellina Hills. Four hundred and ninety eight taxa were sampled and identified, 447 of which at the level of species and 10 at the level of subspecies; the remaining refer to higher taxonomic levels. 31 protected species and 10 endangered species were found in the area; moreover, 6 alien species and one endemic species were detected. The main feature that distinguished BioBlitz 2018 to others conducted in previous years was the large number of participants. The data collected increased the scientific knowledge of the southern portion of the Maremma Regional Park, less known than other areas of the same protected area

Bioblitz 2016 Lago dell’Accesa

The Maremma Natural History Museum is active in the field of Citizen Science at the Tuscan, national and international level. Among the founding bodies of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA), it has promoted meetings for a national Citizen Science strategy in Italy, actively participated in the drafting of national guidelines on the subject and developed Citizen Science projects in Tuscany and other regions nearby. BioBlitzes are one of the best-known activities in the field of environmental Citizen Science. In May 2016, the Museum organized its fourth BioBlitz at the Accesa Lake Special Protection Area. On this occasion, data collected attested the presence of 784 different taxonomic entities, 678 of which were identified at the species level and 18 at the subspecies level. Nineteen alien species and two endemic species have been identified. Thirty-nine species protected by national or international laws and 13 endangered species have been detected. The area has been confirmed to be an important biodiversity hotspot; future utilization plans must be developed with due consideration for the fragility of the habitats close to the lake from the conservation point of view

Bioblitz 2015 Torrente Trasubbie

This paper reports the results of the BioBlitz organized by the Maremma Natural History Museum in May 2015 within the “Torrente Trasubbie” Site of Regional Importance. This activity is part of the public involvement events for the collection of scientific data that the Museum organizes on a regular basis. During BioBlitz 2015, data collected attested the presence of 652 different taxonomic entities, 562 of which were identified at the species level and 32 at the subspecies level. The remaining were identified at higher taxonomic levels. Thirteen alien and 4 endemic species were identified. Fifty three species protected by international or national laws and 17 endangered species were detected in the area. SIR Trasubbie is an extremely interesting area from a naturalistic point of view, but extremely vulnerable for its high dynamism linked to the torrential regime of the homonymous stream and susceptible to changes in land use in the surrounding areas. The data collected confirm the high importance of this portion of territory at the level of both habitat and individual species. The data collected in collaboration with members of the public assume an even greater value, as an activity carried out by the local community

Bioblitz 2013-2014 Oasi di San Felice

The growing interest in emerging environmental crisis has increased the level of public attention and the willingness to take part in participatory science projects, commonly defined with the term “Citizen Science”. This phenomenon can be recorded globally in many national contexts, with a prevalence in anglophone and more industrialized countries. In the biodiversity sector, the growing demand for public involvement has been declined in many different ways, with solutions aimed at providing cognitive and participatory tools. Among these, one of the best known is the BioBlitz: a 24-hour event held in a specific place with the aim of listing as many living species as possible. This work presents the data collected during the first two BioBlitzes organized by the Maremma Natural History Museum in 2013 and 2014. Both were made in the area of the San Felice Oasis, near the terminal part of the San Leopoldo ditch. During the BioBlitz, data collected attested the presence of 616 different taxonomic entities, of which 507 were identified at the level of species and 22 at the level of subspecies. The rest were identified at higher taxonomic levels. Eleven alien species, one endemic species, 33 species protected by national and international laws and / or directives and 9 species at risk of extinction were identified

Politiche di sviluppo rurale e paesaggio

L’agricoltura è la prima delle arti, nasce da un progetto, dalla modificazione cosciente di un contesto, utilizzando conoscenze tramandate e accumulate nel tempo. L’agricoltura contemporanea, figlia della ‘rivoluzione verde’, del fordismo e della sua crisi, ha voltato le spalle a questo sapere che era in grado di produrre non solo alimenti, ma anche tutela ambientale e qualità estetica. I testi raccolti in questo volume intendono alimentare riflessioni e pratiche nei vari settori della pianificazione e progettazione del territorio e del paesaggio – da quello universitario a quello politico, tecnico, professionale e amministrativo – che portino il mondo dell’agricoltura a riconquistare un ruolo centrale nel disegnare nuove relazioni fra abitanti e territorio. In questi scritti, il paesaggio agrario rappresenta un’opportunità per produrre un contesto in cui sia piacevole vivere, con un approccio lontano dalla deriva estetizzante di un malinteso immaginario ‘pittoresco’, ma attento piuttosto ad un’estetica di tipo contestuale, che nasce dentro e dal mondo rurale

I territori della neoruralità. Un repertorio georeferenziato per la Provincia di Lucca

The paper illustrates the elaborations carried out within the PTC of the Province of Lucca in the identification and description of the innovative practices of multifunctional agriculture in the province. The authors intend to illustrate the spatialization and systematization of a series of experiences (companies that produce and market the traditional agricultural products, places of social farming and short supply systems for the use of rural areas) whose the data is stored in geographical archives difficult to use in the process of spatial planning. The elaboration is a very important cognitive phase within the plan for the activation of new alliances between city and countryside

Exploring the provision of ecosystem services through rural landscape management: a development of conceptual framework

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) provides bases for comprehensive understanding of Services provided by ecosystems, linking ecosystems and human well-being. As rural landscape is considered provider of multifunction services and is affected by a wide range of land uses several ecosystems are involved in developing an operative definition of landscape. Thus a common and comprehensive definition of landscape function, services provides, benefits and value are not enough developed. In fact, the concept of landscape function or services has been used as synonymous to ecosystem services Literature has highlighted that alternative land uses/rural area managements affect the ecosystem services provision, due to the trade-off, synergies and disservices in the provision of these services. The paper aims at exploring the linkages between ecosystem services and regarding rural landscape. To support this comprehensive assessment of the linkages between ecosystem services and landscape an empirical analysis to understand trade-off and synergises in ecosystem services provision by landscape are applied in Tuscany region. Results will contribute to provide empirical evidences and knowledge about the implementation of mechanism aimed to align provision of ecosystem services by rural landscape towards current and future needs

Green metamorphoses: agriculture, food, ecology. Proceedings of the LV Conference of SIDEA Studies

Smallholder agriculture is an important part of the socio-economic, environmental, ecological and cultural landscape in all countries. The diversity of small farms and the contexts in which they operate influences their contribution to food systems and food and nutrition security outcomes. This paper focuses on how small farms balance food self-provisioning and economic integration, shaping their relationship with the food system and the territory. The analysis of self-provisioning is based on the observation of the farm-household as a unique entity, in which decisions on production and consumption are interrelated, aiming both at business performance and household’s welfare. The analysis of economic integration adapts Polanyi’s modes of integration: market, reciprocity and redistribution. The conceptual framework obtained, by integrating self-provisioning and economic integration, is used to organize data collected from farmers and other key local stakeholders, through interviews, focus groups and field visits, in the province of Lucca (Tuscany). The results highlight determinants and strategies regarding the destination of small farms products, in their struggle to survive and develop. Policy recommendations to support small farms in balancing self-provision and economic integration, enhancing their performances and autonomy as well as farming households’ welfare, are discussed