Restoration Objective:
Overall, the objective of the present investigation is assessing the transplanting success of the macroalgal population of G. barbata in a historically polluted industrial site, combining active and passive restoration. More specifically, we tested the null hypothesis that using cages to control the grazing pressure, the transplanted G.barbata do not grow over time and that the associated meio- and macrofaunal assemblages (considered here as a proxy of biodiversity) did not change in terms of abundance, richness of taxa and taxonomic composition.
Site Selection Criteria:
The study area is the Site of National Interest (SNI) of Falconara Marittima (43°38’54’’N 13°21°35’’E), established under Law No. 179 of July 31, 2002, by Decree of the Minister of Environment and Territorial Protection of February 26th, 2003 (Corinaldesi et al., 2022; Figure 1). The SNI covers a marine-coastal area of about 1’200 ha and a territory of about 108 ha; it includes industrial settlements with high environmental impact, such as the API Raffineria S.p.A. and the disused area of the industrial plant “ex Montedison”, which produced phosphatic fertilizers from pyrite and phosphorite. Although the SNI is included in the Area with High Risk of Environmental Crisis Falconara and Lower Esino Valley (AERCA) (ARPAM, https://www.arpa.marche.it/siti-di-interesse-nazionale), the anthropogenic impact is no longer detectable in the marine area and the marine sediment could be classified as “meso-eutrophic” (Pusceddu et al., 2009), a common condition in many areas of the Adriatic Sea (Bianchelli et al., 2016a; Bianchelli et al., 2018). However, in the terrestrial environment, soil and groundwater show contaminant levels above the thresholds (Legambiente, 2021). In the coastal area facing the SNI, there are 11 breakwater barriers, extending from the “ex Montedison” industrial plant to the mouth of the Esino River.
