Large scale phyto-treatment for ecosystem Restoration: the San Niccolò experiment

Since 1930, a large part of the Massaciuccoli Lake coastal marshy area (Tuscany, Italy) has been drained for agricultural purposes by means of a complex network of artificial drains and pumping stations. In the drained areas, peat soils, with values of organic matter up to 50% in some cases, are largely present (Pistocchi et al. 2012). Conventional agriculture (80%) characterises land use. As a consequence of land use, several environmental concerns arose in the last 50 years, mostly related to: I. the eutrophication status of the lake caused by nutrient enrichment (N, P) in surface- and ground-water (Rossetto et al. 2010a) then pumped into the large water body. Indeed, from the 1970s, the lake, from an initial oligotrophic status, progressively converted to an eutrophic/hypereutrophic status; II. the subsidence (2-3 m in 70 years) of the lake bordering areas due to soil compaction and increased mineralization, which left the lake perched above the drained area, now 0 to 4 m below the mean sea level (Rossetto et al. 2010b). Setting-up a phyto-treatment system was identified as a solution to improve water quality and to decrease soil organic matter mineralisation, with the final aim of restoring the ecological functions and providing a way to maintain sustainable agriculture