Restoration Of A Mediterranean Drained Peatland: A Case Study In The Massaciuccoli Lake Basin (Tuscany, Italy).

Lake Massaciuccoli with the nearby palustrine areas is one of the most important marshy areas in Tuscany (Italy). Large part of its basin, characterized by a Mediterranean climate, is a typical artificially drained coastal floodplain impacted by excess nutrient loading from agricultural activities and other sources (wastewater treatment plants, soil organic matter mineralisation), causing eutrophication to the lake system. Due to the complex hydrological setting (artificial drainage) of the area and to the high soil organic matter content problems such as phosphorus leaching and subsidence are exasperated. A project started in 2012 has identified a solution in rewetting part of the cultivated land, with the aim of decreasing the nutrients transfer from soil to surface waters. In our pilot experimental field (15 ha), three different management systems with an increasing anthropogenic intervention will be tested: natural (restored) wetland, constructed wetland and vegetation filters. The hydrological cycle, surface- and ground-water quality, peat oxidation rate, methane-cycling microbial communities activity, CH4 and CO2 soil emissions, plant nutrient removal, biomass production and energy efficiency will be monitored in order to assess the most effective and sustainable management system.