Seven years after the devastating Vaia storm, which profoundly shook the Alpine territories in October 2018, the fight for the rebirth of the forests continues unabated. With winds reaching 200 km/h, Vaia felled over 14 million trees, destroying 42,000 hectares of forests across Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. But nature is gradually recovering thanks to the forest regeneration process that is ongoing, supported by interventions to contain the emergence of the bark beetle, a parasite that further threatens the health of plants.
In Veneto, in the municipality of Enego – the most affected by Vaia – the recovery works have led to the restoration of 31 of the over 1000 hectares devastated, thanks to the commitment of citizens, institutions and companies. And precisely on the occasion of the seventh anniversary, a new reforestation project launched by Etifor and WOWnature aims to add 30 hectares of forest in the Marcesina Plain, laying the foundations for a more resistant and diversified forest, ready to face future challenges.
Diversify to make nature more resilient
The reforestation project, already started thanks to the first adoption of 3000 trees by Alì Supermercati, involves the planting of beeches, larches and silver firs, with the integration of other native species such as mountain ash, mountain ash, willow and birch, suitable for the harsh climate and altitude characteristics of Marcesina. The arrangement of the plants will follow an irregular pattern, with plant nuclei distributed at densities of approximately 1,500/1,600 per hectare. This approach favors a natural structure of the forest, improving the stability of the ecosystem.
The diversification of plant species, so desired by the writer Mario Rigoni Stern, is fundamental to guarantee the resilience of new forests. In the past, in fact, a large part of the forests was made up of spruce trees, vulnerable to strong winds and bark beetle attacks due to their shallow roots.
In the municipality with the largest surface area affected by Vaia, Enego, a town on the edge of the Asiago plateau in Veneto, 31 of the almost thousand hectares destroyed have been restored through interventions involving citizens, local communities, institutions and companies. On the occasion of the anniversary, the spin-off of the University of Padua Etifor in collaboration with WOWnature launches a reforestation project which aims to cover a further 30 hectares in the Marcesina plain for the next 5 years by building forests that are more resilient and diversified in species composition, resistant to climatic events and the bark beetle epidemic.
The tragedy of the Vaia storm taught us to rally together – citizens, institutions and companies – around the affected territories, joining forces with the aim of restoring the woods of the Plateau, making the ecosystems more resilient. These interventions will inevitably also modify the appearance of the landscape, but unlike that October 2018, in which man underwent the modification of the landscape in a passive way, today the change comes through collective and conscious action. There is clearly still a lot of work to be done in Enego, as in the other affected areas, but it must be remembered that effective planting interventions require time, care and resources. In this sense, the constant and intense participation of public and private entities after seven years of Vaia is extremely encouraging” explains Alex Pra, coordinator of the Etifor Forestry Programme.
The rebirth of the Enego woods
One of the areas most affected by Vaia was the Piana di Marcesina, in the Altopiano dei Sette Comuni. Much of this vast plain, known as the “Finland of Italy” due to its harsh climate, is located in the municipality of Enego, but also involves the Venetian municipalities of Foza, Gallio and Asiago and the Trentino municipality of Grigno. And Enego itself recorded the greatest damage.
In the period immediately following the Vaia storm, after the restoration of forest roads and natural renewal, the area found itself facing the phytosanitary emergency caused by the bark beetle, an insect that proliferated in such a way as to attack living plants, going from a normal presence to an epidemic. To contain the problem, extraordinary interventions have been initiated to cut down the compromised plants and continue monitoring.
At the same time, forest regeneration activity began through various projects in collaboration with institutions and private individuals on a total of 22.5 hectares, to which another 8.5 were added near Baita Lisser where the WOWnature team planted 12,000 trees. Along the lines of previous projects, which saw the public and private sectors collaborate for the rebirth of the natural heritage, even for the one launched on the occasion of the seventh anniversary, the adoption of trees is open to anyone who intends to contribute and participate in their planting through the website specialized in reforestation projects wownature.eu.
Storm Vaia hit our territory hard, erasing in just a few hours forests that for almost a century had protected and characterized the plateau and the Marcesina plain. – underlines Marco Frison, Mayor of Enego. – Today, thanks to public contributions and the joint commitment of private individuals and the Municipality, we are carrying out replanting projects that not only aim to recreate the lost landscape, but to rebuild a stronger and more diversified ecosystem ready for the challenges of the future. Every tree planted represents an investment in the future of our environment and our community. Bringing life back to the woods devastated by Vaia means giving new hope and contributing to an ecological balance. The mountain that is reborn is the sign of our resilience and our ability to look forward, with respect for nature and responsibility towards future generations.
