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Urbanisation in the world
Urbanization process is a domain of developing countries. One of the results of the extremely high densities of fast-growing populations is "wild development", leading to such negative social and ecological effects as: [...]
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Combined effects of urbanization, industrialization, and population growth greatly modify landscapes and thus the continuous circulation of water within catchments and the Earth's hydrosphere - the hydrological cycle [...]
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Urban Aquatic Habitats
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Urban Aquatic Habitats Management
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Ecohydrology for Urban Aquatic Habitats
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Case Studies

INTEGRATING ECOLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL ISSUES INTO URBAN PLANNING IN THE ADIGE RIVER FLUVIAL CORRIDOR
ITALY

Case Study Leader: Maria Giovanna BRAIONI
Department of Biology, Padova University,
Via U.Bassi 58/B,
35121 Padova, Italy

About 48% of the population in the Adige Basin (1,637,500 inhabitants) is concentrated in highly urbanised areas: Merano - Lana, Bolzano - Laives-Appiano-Caldaro, Trento - Lavis, Rovereto - Mori, Bussolengo-Pescantina-Verona-S.Martino B. Albergo cities, and other little towns situated along the river. The basin with continental climate in the upper sections, sub-littoral in other parts, contains the Nature 2000 sites with rich, endangered biota. River canalisation, hydropower production, irrigation, pollution and excavations in the riverbed and riparian areas resulted in aquatic habitats simplification and threatened biodiversity. The objective of this Case Study is to balance the above uses, while improving landscape quality and bio-assimilation capacity. Major Actions: integrate ecological and hydrological issues into urban planning by a procedural/action abacus as a tool for management actions.

Quality, degradation and risk assessment of Sub-section 9 in the Adige corridor (Braioni, 2001).

Background

The Adige River Basin (11,954 sq km) is located in the North - East of Italy, in the Alto Adige, Trentino, and Veneto Regions. According to the Water Frame Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC) classification, the Adige River Basin corresponds to the Ecoregion 4 (Alps) in the northern portion of its mountainous basin and the Ecoregion 3 (Italy, Corsica, and Malta) in its foothill and plains sections. The altitude typology is "high" above 800 metre, "middle-altitude" between 200-800 metres, and "lowland" below 200 metres (Braioni et al., 2002). The geological composition varies from siliceous in the uplands to calcareous in lower sections. The length of the river is 409 km, and it varies in flow, width, depth, form, slope, shape of the riverbed (natural, embanked, channel, elevated) characteristics and valley shape, mean substratum composition, and adjacent land uses (Braioni et al., 2002). The model of the integrated management and planning of the Adige River Fluvial Corridor (ARFC) System was tested in 11 sub-sections of the Basin.

Key issues in aquatic habitat management

About 48% of the population in the Adige Basin (1.637,500 inhabitants) is concentrated in highly urbanised areas around the cities located along the Adige River fluvial corridor. The resident population increases by 500,000 people in winter and summer due to tourism in urban and rural settlements (Autorita Bacino Adige, 2006). Several infrastructure elements such as motorways, railways, hydroelectric and irrigation channels are located along the fluvial corridor. The river basin and its hydrological regime are affected by all kinds of hydroelectric, irrigation, industrial, agricultural and recreational, sanitation and water supply uses, with the last one being particularly frequent in the plains (Turri & Ruffo, 1992). The analysis of macrobenthos, focusing on a single fauna group (Plecoptera, Ephemeroptera, Tricoptera), fish, interstitial hyporheic fauna, plankton, as well as interstitial sediment granulometry and hydrochemical data gathered during the last 30 years showed continuous degradation of the water quality, and aquatic and riparian habitats in many river sections (Braioni, 1994, Braioni, 2001).

Wastewater treatment plants of each municipality along the Adige course can support the water quality of the river and its biota, in principle. However many wastewater treatment plants along the river, which is regulated with respect to the flow for hydro-electric and irrigation uses and canalised with respect to the bed and banks, and excavated, are not compatible with the needs of drinking water supply in the plains, where the natural self-purifying capacity is reduced and sediments are contaminated by the conveyance of polluted material from upstream and from tributaries (Braioni & Ruffo, 1986; Duzzin, 1986; Pavoni et al., 1987). Fragmented jurisdiction institutions and agencies in charge of controlling, planning, managing and servicing did reduce some environmental damages, but were not able to safeguard the resources comprehensively.

Objectives of the Case Study

Classification and assessments of Water Bodies in the Adige River system

New concepts of environmental sustainability considering also the broadest historical, cultural and wealth context, have re-evaluated the relevance of river and riparian areas in planning. They become substantial elements of reference, essential for the recognisability, readability and importance of urban landscapes, fundamental for the ecological stabilisation of the industrialised countries, and a backbone of the global ecological networks.

This is confirmed by the Italian regulations, the European Directives, the Recommendations of the European Landscape Convention and the Italian Urban Codes which unify all Italian legislations concerning the landscape (D.L., 1989; D.Lgs, 1999; 2004; Directive 2000/60/EC, Paour & Hitier, 1998). The criteria and environmental parameters thus taken into account by different disciplines become decisive in the management and planning of the territory. Italian rules prescribe periodic monitoring to be made by regional and provincial environmental agencies. These agencies, at the same time as staff of Laboratories of the Agrarian Institute of S. Michele, the Natural Science Museum of Trento and the Biological Laboratory of Laives, have also been involved in the ecological monitoring at structural and functional levels, in coordination with the researchers from the Padova, Bologna and Venice universities (Braioni, 2001).

Environmental Planning approach

The approach used in this case study is based on environmental planning that can be defined as an "analytical design process", by which the public subject intends to govern a specific geographical space selecting all the possible variables which constitute the eco-sphere and represent best the complexity of the environmental organism. As a matter of fact, the purpose of the environmental planning approach consists in improving the global quality of the environment through developing a better balance between anthropogenic impacts and natural resources. Thus, it is a step forward and an improvement of the sector planning considering economic, social, and ecohydrological (prevalence of the biological, chemical, ecological and physical variables) issues, landscape variables (prevalence of emotional and perceptive variables), and urban planning (prevalence of territorial organisation variables).

In the "Best Practices in River Basin Planning, Guidance on the planning Process" (CIS WFD, 2003), 10 different types of integration issues were identified. The proposed method is used to integrate, in the planning process, the ecological and biological quality of the river, ecological-naturalistic-environmental landscape quality of the riparian areas, and the fluvial corridor land uses. In this model, the analyses produced by different disciplines are inter-related both in the phase of the data collection and in the final evaluation, thus determining trans-disciplinary cognitive processes and a continuous comparison among different models and analytical methods. This is also an integral part of the Recommendation 40 in the Draft European Landscape Convention (e.g., Paour & Hitier 1998).

Stakeholders

The research addressing integrated management and planning of the properties of the Adige River Fluvial Corridor System was financed by the National Basin Authority of the Adige River in support of the Adige Basin Plan. Local studies are carried out with funding from the Veneto Region, BZ and TN Provinces. They are coordinated, integrated and complementary to those managed by the NBA of the Adige River. The Biology Department (University of Padova) collaborated with the LASA Department (University of Padova), the Evolutionary Biology Department (Bologna University), DAEST-IUAV, the Biological Laboratory (Laives, BZ), IASMA (TN), the Natural Sciences Museum (TN), and the Environmental Protection Agencies of the BZ, TN, VR, PD, RO, VE Provinces.

See References
For more details, results, concussions and recommendations of this case study, see the publication: Wagner, I. , Marshalek, J. and Breil, P. (eds).  2007. Aquatic Habitats in Sustainable Urban Water Management: Science, Policy and Practice. Taylor and Francis/Balkema: Leiden.