Problem with mowing marsh grasses in the Fucecchio Marshes area
Arci Caccia Pistoia has written to the Tuscany Region requesting the intervention of the Departments of the Environment and Agriculture regarding the problem of cleaning up the land occupied by marsh grasses within the crater of the Padule di Fucecchio. The ban on cutting cinnamon with noisy vehicles and the obligation to remove the cut material seem aimed more at preventing its execution than at real protection of the area’s fauna. The maintenance of roads and open areas must be considered a priority, to avoid the damage that abandonment brings to a unique area of its kind, which has prospered for centuries with very specific management: that which involved the summer cutting of cinnamon and the maintenance of open spaces with great environmental benefits due to the diversification of habitats and the increase in the ecotonal index. We would like to point out that the removal of the herbaceous and shrubby material is technically very difficult to carry out: machines suitable for cutting marsh cinnamon are difficult to find on site, and the normal mowing bars used for normal haymaking, considering the uneven and irregular terrain, in addition that the presence of hidden wood or other solid residues brought by floods cannot be used for obvious reasons; Furthermore, the removal of the cut material is difficult to achieve, as it is not possible to use normal trailed pick-up balers, which are too small in size and have the same problems mentioned above; round balers, on the other hand, certainly have the problem of excessive weight (tractor – operating machine) which in marshy ground, even if superficially dry, risks causing the entire machinery to sink, not to mention the bale loaders or “balancers”. We are aware that the removal of materials is a better solution, but it remains practically impossible in a very particular area such as the Fucecchio Marshes which is certainly not the Po Valley. Finally, we would like to remind you that the regulation approved by the Regional Council with Resolution no. 53 of 2020, concerning the management of natural reserves and related contiguous areas, art. 16 paragraph 3 requires the Regional Council to approve “… Regional Authority provides for the approval of a Regulation for the management and conservation of marsh vegetation in nature reserves and adjacent areas.“We strongly underline that the maintenance of the current regulation, which provides for mandatory mowing and removal, in a few years will lead to the complete abandonment of the marshes, which will become an immense reed thicket, with increased siltation, poor environmental diversification for the numerous species of birds which instead prefer alternating reed thickets and open environments. A regulation therefore either to be reviewed or corrected, as foreseen, through the Regulations mentioned above. We expect a rapid and incisive response, given the tight deadlines (cleaning of the open spaces begins in August).
Arci Caccia Pistoia
