D.T2.2.6 Environmental Assessment Report Tržič 3.66 Mb
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Project number: 639 Project acronym: trAILs Project title: Alpine Industrial Landscapes Transformation DELIVERABLE D.T2.2.6 environmental context assessment report TUM Work package: T2 T2 – Assess AILs: assessment procedure (pilot-based) Activity: A.T2.2 A.T.2.1: Assessment framework Technical University of Munich, Chair of Restoration Ecology Organization: Kerstin Bär, Prof. Dr. Johannes Kollmann Deliverable date: 07.08.2020 Version: 1st draft Dissemination level: Project partners for review Dissemination target: WP T2 This project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg Alpine Space programme CONTENT 1 FOREWORD..................................................................................................................................... 3 2 ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMINOLOGY ........................................................................................ 5 3 PART 1: RESULTS OF THE AIL ASSESSMENT ................................................................................ 6 3.1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 6 3.2 RESULTS OF THE ASSESSMENT – POTENTIALS AND PROBLEMS ................................................................................... 8 Current type and intensity of use ................................................................................................................................. 8 Vegetation structure .......................................................................................................................................................... 9 Plant diversity ....................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Invasive alien plants ....................................................................................................................................................... 10 Soil conditions ................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Observed animals at the brownfield site and quality of their habitats ................................................... 13 Nature-protection areas, habitat types and occurring species in Tržič and its surroundings........ 15 Environmental threats: soil contamination, erosion and flooding............................................................. 16 Summary and planning recommendations .......................................................................................................... 18 4 PART 2: PERFORMANCE OF THE AIL ASSESSMENT .................................................................. 19 4.1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................. 19 The ecological importance of brownfields ............................................................................................................ 19 Motivation for the environmental assessment .................................................................................................... 20 Methods of the environmental assessment .......................................................................................................... 20 Challenges of the environmental assessment ..................................................................................................... 21 4.2 ANALYSIS ELEMENTS REVIEW ................................................................................................................................... 23 4.3 PERFORMANCE CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 27 5 PART 3: FEEDBACK OF THE REGIONAL PARTNER ..................................................................... 28 6 APPENDIX ..................................................................................................................................... 29 6.1 APPENDIX A – GENERAL INFORMATION .................................................................................................................... 29 6.2 APPENDIX B – ASSESSMENT TRŽIČ – BPT AND PEKO ............................................................................................. 31 6.3 APPENDIX C – ASSESSMENT TRŽIČ - SURROUNDINGS ............................................................................................ 54 7 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 61 Page | 2 1 FOREWORD The assessment report has two parts: Part 1 is a document providing essential knowledge of a specific AIL pilot site, while Part 2 is a reflection on the performance of the assessment methods in this pilot site. With the ‘learn-by-doing’ approach on four different pilot sites, the project partners have identified and gradually specified key elements of individual assessments that work for AILs. Assessment reports are part of activity WP T2, i.e. co-assessment of AILs actual conditions in a set of five thematic assessment reports, with five deliverables for each pilot area: • D.T2.2.2 – Existing policies on local/regional level assessment report • D.T2.2.3 – Spatial and landscape assessment report • D.T2.2.4 – Socio-demographic assessment report • D.T2.2.5 – Economic context assessment report • D.T2.2.6 – Environmental context assessment report Together with mini reports – D.T2.2.1, the assessment reports form an input for the workshops of WP T3 (Fig. 1). The template of the assessment report is structured to facilitate two main parts of the co- assessment of AILs: Part 1 – Assessment of AILs which constitutes main findings of the AILs actual conditions, results of the assessments, conclusions and recommendations. Its purpose is to be used for the activities within WP T3 (dossier) – workshops with relevant stakeholders. Part 2 – Performance of the assessment that investigates how its parts performed on a given AIL site. It is conducted through a reflection questionnaire for the research partners and regional partners of that AIL. Its purpose is to evaluate the analyses used in the assessment process and to monitor variability of the assessments throughout the AIL pilot sites. Page | 3 Fig. 1: Scheme of the WPT2 Assessment Framework with the general structure of the assessment reports, their input source (WP T1 and site visits) and output purpose (workshops). Page | 4 2 ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMINOLOGY Alien plant = Plant taxa that occurs in a given area outside its region of origin due to intentional or accidental introduction as a result of human activity (Richardson et al. 2000). Habitat type = A unit in an ecosystem that is defined by a unique vegetation structure and comprises an environment for certain species and communities. Ecosystem function = Energy, matter and information fluxes linking ecosystem compartments (Meyer et al. 2015). Ecosystem service = Functions and products of an ecosystem that directly or indirectly benefit humans; often ecosystem functions are considered a service when they can be attributed an economical value (Meyer et al. 2015). Indicator species = One or more taxa selected based on high sensitivity to a particular environment attribute, and then assessed to make inference about that attribute (Siddig et al. 2016). Invasive plant = Naturalized plant species that sustains viable populations over several generations without human intervention and produces reproductive offspring in very large numbers providing the species with the potential to spread over large areas (Richardson et al. 2000). Succession = Process of change observed in an ecological community in relation to species structure and assemblage with time after disturbance (Connell & Slatyer 1977). Page | 5 3 PART 1: RESULTS OF THE AIL ASSESSMENT 3.1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY Brownfields can be ecologically valuable, since they often host a mosaic of numerous habitats within a small area, and thus support a high diversity of plant and animal species. However, they might be polluted due to former use and are often colonized by invasive alien species, that are negatively affecting human health, economy and biodiversity. Brownfields in the Alpine region could be an enrichment of the local biodiversity, but also threaten the largely intact and often rare Alpine ecosystems. Therefore, an ecological assessment of former brownfield sites is a prerequisite when aiming at their transformation. We assessed habitat units on and near the former cotton spinning and weaving mill BPT and former shoe factory Peko in Tržič, Slovenia, based on aerial photographs and verified them in the field. The site was mostly sealed or built-up, and consisted of 8–9 different habitats; only about 8% of the site was vegetated. These areas have considerable potential as habitats for plants and animals, but are currently mown and disturbed very frequently. Nevertheless, 96 plant species, ten butterfly species and one reptile species were identified on the two sites. The unmanaged areas with trees and shrubs, and the less frequently mown green spaces at the west end of the BPT site show the highest diversity in plant species and attract butterflies. Three of the identified animal species are rare and/or legally protected, and therefore have to