Project Overview
The length of the Tiber River is 405 km. Almost 90% of the Tiber River Basin is covered by the regions of Umbria and Lazio. More than 4 million people living in the basin of which 80% in the Province of Rome. | The basin is mainly characterized by small farms and a leading sector in the Tiber valley is hydropower generation plants concentrated in the Nera River basin. | Trasimeno Lake is a shallow lake which could host rare species but it is also a well-known touristic area. Since 2006, the lake is part of the international "Living Lakes".
Ecosystem Services
Provisioning
- Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources.
Regulating
- Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.
- Waste-water treatment: Ecosystems such as wetlands filter both human and animal waste and act as a natural buffer to the surrounding environment. Through the biological activity of microorganisms in the soil, most waste is broken down. Thereby pathogens (disease causing microbes) are eliminated, and the level of nutrients and pollution is reduced.
Habitat / Supporting
- Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services". These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.
- Habitats for species: Habitats provide everything that an individual plant or animal needs to survive: food; water; and shelter. Each ecosystem provides different habitats that can be essential for a species’ lifecycle. Migratory species including birds, fish, mammals and insects all depend upon different ecosystems during their movements.
Cultural
- Cultural Services corresponds nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.
- Recreation and mental and physical health: Walking and playing sports in green space is not only a good form of physical exercise but also lets people relax. The role that green space plays in maintaining mental and physical health is increasingly being recognized, despite difficulties of measurement.
Major Issues
Poor water quality due to irrational land
Poor water quality due to irrational land management.
Severe droughts due to irrational water use
Severe droughts due to irrational water use and possible climate change scenarios.
Impact of drought on microbial processes in
Impact of drought on microbial processes in sediments and on carbon cycling.
EH Engineering Solutions
Integrated Lake Basin Management
Integrated Lake Basin Management
Rehabilitation of natural flows by monitoring the
Rehabilitation of natural flows by monitoring the water withdrawals
Project Activities
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Modelling the Decision Support System.
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Integrated Lake Basin Management.
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Development of a set of water resources evaluation and management WEB-GIS Tools (WRME project).
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Trasimeno Lake Regional Park education proposals.
Expected Outcomes
Preservation measures to minimize the periodic hydrological crisis of the Trasimeno lake