Dune di Forte dei Marmi WWF Oasis
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This oasis is in the Province of Lucca, in the municipality of Forte dei Marmi. In this portion of the territory, which covers some 8 acres, there is what’s left of the ancient natural landscape of Versilia. The WWF was thus entrusted to preserve and protect a quite unique natural environment.
The first recovery actions, undertaken by the WWF section of Massa Carrara, date back to the early 90s. The painstaking work started by banning access to jeeps, horses, hang gliders and swimmers; then, fences, walkways, wooden palisades, and the local flora were properly and thoroughly restored.
Such isolation of some areas has allowed the dune vegetation to dramatically proliferate. The flora today consists of fragments of pine forest and Mediterranean scrub, including Juniperus oxycedrus (cade juniper), Rhamnus alaternus (Mediterranean buckthorn), Phillyrea (evergreen shrubs), Arbutus unedo (strawberry tree), Quercus ilex (holm oak), Spartium junceum (Spanish broom), and Cistus monspeliensis (Montpellier cistus or rock rose).
Among the endemic plants, there are psammophilous species (typical of sandy environments) including Solidago Costialis (goldenrod) and Centaurea aplolepa subciliata (beach cornflower) – many of which grow successfully after being planted in the botanical garden inside the Oasis.
The local fauna features many species, including cirl buntings, greenfinches, goldfinches, finches, Eurasian blackcaps, and Sardinian warblers; there are also rare wintering seabirds such as red-necked grebes, common scoters, great crested grebes, Mediterranean gulls, and sandwich terns.
Due to the great wealth of biodiversity and the peculiar landscape, in addition to the WWF protection, this Oasis has been recently inserted in the Regional System of Protected Areas and classified as an “ANPIL” (“Protected Natural Area of Local Interest”).
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Contatti
Forte dei Marmi(LU)
0585 241768
dune_forte@yahoo.it