(ANSA) - ROME, DECEMBER 27 - Terna has concluded the explanting and replanting activities of approximately 53,000 cuttings of Posidonia oceanica for their repositioning in the Gulf of Follonica, an operation which involved an area of over 1,650 square meters and which is preparatory to the laying of the marine cable in the spring which will connect the island of Elba (Portoferraio) to the mainland, to Piombino, in the province of Livorno.
Posidonia oceanica, explains the company operating the electricity transmission networks, "is a typical aquatic plant of the Mediterranean Sea that plays a strategic role for the ecosystem, so much so that it has been defined as a 'priority habitat' by the European Union. Its meadows , in fact, host many species of fish and molluscs and produce large quantities of oxygen (up to 20 liters per square meter per day) thanks to the high photosynthetic capacity of the leaves.Furthermore, they protect the coasts from erosion by consolidating the seabed, retention of fine sediment and the accumulation of piles of dead leaves on the emerged part of the beaches".
The activities were carried out by Terna in collaboration with Econ, which performed the transplant under the supervision of the National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences (Conisma).
The latter oversaw the coordination and environmental monitoring activities, using methods already successfully tested in the context of the "Life Seposso" project (Supporting environmental governance for the Posidonia oceanica sustainable transplanting operations).
Once the transplant has been completed, "a second phase is now opening which consists of a ten-year conservation and environmental monitoring plan which will make it possible to follow not only the trend over time of the number of bundles of Posidonia oceanica in the transplanted areas, but also the growth and the state of health of plants".
The new power line "for which the group led by Stefano Donnarumma has planned investments of 90 million euros, will have a total length of about 37 kilometres: this intervention - concludes Terna - will allow the connection lines between the national electricity system and the Elba island".
(HANDLE).
