{"title":"IT07-Lagoons of Po River Delta - Italy","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"b3ba9409-4953-446b-9890-5b977c4c1cb3"},"type":"site","created":"2012-12-25T18:58:25+01:00","changed":"2023-11-16T16:46:30+01:00","attributes":{"affiliation":{"networks":[{"network":{"name":"EuroMAB","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"ea4aa6ab-115f-4801-b59f-fcb90b918371"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":false},{"network":{"name":"ILTER","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"1aa7ccb2-a14b-43d6-90ac-5e0a6bc1d65b"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true},{"network":{"name":"LTER Europe","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"4742ffca-65ac-4aae-815f-83738500a1fc"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true},{"network":{"name":"LTER Italia (Italy)","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"7fef6b73-e5cb-4cd2-b438-ed32eb1504b3"}},"siteCode":"LTER_EU_IT_007","verified":true}],"projects":[{"label":"Natura 2000","uri":"https:\/\/natura2000.eea.europa.eu\/"}]},"contact":{"siteManager":[{"type":"person","name":"Michele Mistri","email":"michele.mistri@unife.it","orcid":null}],"operatingOrganisation":null,"metadataProvider":[{"type":"person","name":"Michele Mistri","email":"michele.mistri@unife.it","orcid":null}],"fundingAgency":null,"siteUrl":[{"title":null,"value":"http:\/\/www.lteritalia.it\/sitip\/07.pdf"}]},"general":{"abstract":"IT07-001-M (Sacca di Goro), IT07-002-M (Valli di Comacchio)\r\nThe Sacca di Goro is a shallow-water embayment of the Po River Delta approximately triangular in shape with a surface area of 26 Km2, an average depth of 1.5 m, and it is connected to the sea by two mouths about 0.9 Km wide each. The lagoon is characterized by a clear zonation with the low energy eastern area separated from two higher energy zones, the western area influenced by freshwater inflow from the Po di Volano and the central area influenced by the sea The eastern zone is very shallow (maximum depth 1 m) and accounts for one half of the total surface area and one quarter of the water volume. The lagoon is surrounded by embankments. The main freshwater inputs are the Po di Volano River, the Canal Bianco and Giralda, which have approximately the same discharge rates. Freshwater inlets are also located along the Po di Goro River and are regulated by sluices. There are no direct estimates of the freshwater input from the Po di Goro, which is usually assumed to be equivalent to that of the Po di Volano. The freshwater system is mostly located in a subsident area and is regulated by a system of pumping stations (scooping plants). The fresh water or hydraulic residence time oscillates monthly between 2.5 and 122 days with a mean value of 24.5 days, whereas the water exchange time ranges from 2 to 4 days. The tidal amplitude is ca 80 cm. The bottom of the lagoon is flat and the sediment is alluvial mud with high clay and silt content in the northern and central zones. Sand is more abundant near the southern shoreline, whilst sandy mud occurs in the eastern area.\r\n\r\nThe Valli di Comacchio are a large (115 km2) complex of shallow-water (with depth ranging from 0.5-1.5 m) brackish lagoons located in the southernmost part of the Po River deltaic area (Figure 1). The Valli are, nowadays, constituted by three main basins, i.e. Valle Magnavacca, Valle Fossa di Porto and Valle Campo. This semi-enclosed lagoonal complex is almost completely surrounded by earthen dikes, and separated by the sea by the highly anthropogenically impacted, 2.5 km-wide Spina spit. The Valli are connected with the Adriatic Sea by three marine channels, Portocanale, Logonovo and Gobbino, but since the latter is impounded, major water exchange with the sea occurs only through the firsts two channels. The former receives also nutrient-enriched continental water from Valle Fattibello. Water exchange with the sea is both tidal and man-regulated. Moreover, from February to May, large amounts of freshwater are conveyed through the Reno river through two dams in the southermost parts of Valle Magnavacca and Valle Fossa di Porto. Due to the shallowness of the basins and their limited water renewal, salinity (annual range: 24-38 psu) is mostly influenced by meteorological events, such as evaporation and occasional heavy rainstorms. The bottoms of the Valli are typically muddy, but sparsely vegetated meadows of the seagrass Ruppia cirrhosa occur in the southern parts of the Valli Magnavacca and Fossa di Porto. These meadows are the remnants of the larger macrophytic coverage that characterized the bottom of the Valli in the early 1970s\r\n","citation":null,"relatedIdentifiers":null,"status":{"label":"Operational","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/elter_cl\/10772"},"yearEstablished":2008,"yearClosed":null,"relatedSites":[{"typeOfRelationship":{"label":"contains","uri":"null"},"listOfSites":[{"type":"site","title":"Sacca di Goro - Italy","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"b7869194-b220-473a-b035-feeadfa21aba"},"changed":"2025-01-07T11:14:56+0100"},{"type":"site","title":"Valli di Comacchio - Italy","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"70e1bc05-a03d-40fc-993d-0c61e524b177"},"changed":"2025-01-07T11:14:56+0100"}]}],"siteName":"IT07-Lagoons of Po River Delta","shortName":"IT07","siteType":"Stationary land-based site","protectionLevel":null,"landUse":null,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/deims.org\/sites\/default\/files\/photos\/it07-lagoons-po-river-delta-italy_781.jpg","alt":"aerial photo of the valli di Comacchio"},{"url":"https:\/\/deims.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2023-11\/20210506_113717.jpg","alt":"View of the Sacca di Goro"},{"url":"https:\/\/deims.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2023-11\/20210518_104014.jpg","alt":"View of the Valli di Comacchio"},{"url":"https:\/\/deims.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2023-11\/DSCN0949.JPG","alt":"Fishing structures in the Valli di Comacchio"},{"url":"https:\/\/deims.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2023-11\/IMG-20211215-WA0024.jpg","alt":"view of the Sacca di Goro"}]},"environmentalCharacteristics":{"airTemperature":{"yearlyAverage":15,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"\u00b0C","referencePeriod":null},"precipitation":{"yearlyAverage":690.9,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"mm","referencePeriod":null},"biogeographicalRegion":"continental","biome":"marine","ecosystemType":[{"label":"Coastal","uri":null},{"label":"Marine","uri":null}],"eunisHabitat":[{"label":"Coastal habitats (B)","uri":null},{"label":"Marine habitats (A)","uri":null}],"landforms":null,"geoBonBiome":["Coastal"],"geology":"Lagoons formed by the Po river","hydrology":"Microtidal and non-tidal lagoons","soils":"Mainly sily-clay and sandy","vegetation":"Marshes are peopled by a number of plant species having underwater roots and sometimes even underwater - or just emerging - leaves. These plants are called hydrophytes, that is, \u00b4water plants\u00b4. Among them, the Frogbit, the Willow grass, several types of Long-stalked Pondweed and Buttercups, the White Water-Lily. Other species, called helophytes, have underwater roots but emerging stems and leaves. Among them, some common species such as the Common reed and the Broadleaf Cattail, but also some localised ones, such as the Lesser Water-plantain, the Branched Bur-reed and the Arrowhead. Water bodies\u00b4 banks species live on the edge of wetlands and wet meadows, since they need to be flooded for some time but can not live with their roots underwater all the year round. The most common species, such as the Purple Loosestrife, the Marshmallow, the Comfrey and the Hemp agrimony, can be found even along countryside ditches. Some other species live only on the edge of marshlands and the main canals, such as the Flowering Rush and the Yellow Iris. The area also houses some rare and localised species, such as the Euphorbia palustris and the Summer Snowflake"},"geographic":{"boundaries":"MULTIPOLYGON (((12.186186 44.660294, 12.152252 44.651559, 12.107553 44.652485, 12.100067 44.619799, 12.098694 44.603668, 12.10556 44.576774, 12.1138 44.575796, 12.124786 44.566013, 12.133713 44.569926, 12.139893 44.552803, 12.152289 44.549122, 12.176285 44.551824, 12.203751 44.558185, 12.21611 44.571883, 12.21199 44.577752, 12.22229 44.579708, 12.229156 44.576774, 12.239456 44.57873, 12.249436 44.58145, 12.22641 44.59389, 12.243576 44.600735, 12.23259 44.626152, 12.227097 44.647162, 12.219543 44.669141, 12.186186 44.660294)), ((12.284176 44.817957, 12.274475 44.81862, 12.265892 44.815941, 12.263489 44.818133, 12.267609 44.823734, 12.275162 44.830309, 12.283745 44.836152, 12.292541 44.841841, 12.309494 44.841751, 12.312241 44.843455, 12.317734 44.842238, 12.317047 44.837613, 12.333527 44.828604, 12.333527 44.824708, 12.337303 44.82276, 12.339706 44.817403, 12.349663 44.816428, 12.363396 44.808635, 12.377833 44.799793, 12.392271 44.79095, 12.383652 44.785247, 12.373695 44.784272, 12.362022 44.784759, 12.350006 44.785734, 12.34108 44.785734, 12.33181 44.787196, 12.318922 44.790464, 12.299194 44.805712, 12.284176 44.817957)))","coordinates":"POINT (12.1919 44.4836)","country":["Italy"],"elevation":{"avg":0,"min":0,"max":0,"unit":"msl"},"size":{"value":126000,"unit":"ha"},"relatedLocations":null},"focusDesignScale":{"experiments":{"design":"partly experimentation","scale":"micro sites"},"observations":{"design":"mainly observation","scale":"sub-catchment within catchment"},"observedProperties":[{"label":"biological parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20940"},{"label":"chemical parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/10333"},{"label":"ecosystem parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20939"},{"label":"water parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20945"}]},"infrastructure":{"accessibleAllYear":true,"accessType":"boat","allPartsAccessible":true,"maintenanceInterval":null,"permanentPowerSupply":false,"operation":{"permanent":false,"notes":null,"siteVisitInterval":30},"notes":null,"collection":[{"label":"Structured file","uri":null}],"data":{"policy":{"url":null,"rights":["Co-authorship on publications resulting from use of the dataset"],"notes":null}}},"relatedResources":null,"projectRelated":{"lter":{"lterSiteClassification":"Regular Site"}}}}