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Didattica e biospeleologia
Full text linkIl Centro Educazione Ambientale di Cairo Montenotte
(CEA Cairo M.tte) è inserito nella rete del Sistema Regionale di
Educazione Ambientale sviluppato dalla Regione Liguria per
promuovere i processi di Sviluppo Sostenibile e realizzare
interventi educativi volti a modificare i comportamenti di
cittadini, scuole, imprese, enti locali, anche attraverso la
creazione di sinergie tra tutti i soggetti interessati.
Tra i vari progetti attivi presso il CEA Cairo M.tte, nel 2017
l’autore ha proposto, per le scuole di ogni ordine e grado, un
percorso dedicato alle grotte: “Il mondo nascosto”, svolto in
collaborazione con l’associazione Biologia Sotterranea
Piemonte – Gruppo di Ricerca (BSPGR), con la sezione di
biospeleologia del Laboratorio Carsologico Sotterraneo della
Grotta di Bossea, ora Struttura Operativa Bossea C.A.I. (S.O.
Bossea), e con i gestori della Grotta di Bossea.
In questo progetto, dopo una parte introduttiva legata alla
formazione delle grotte e degli speleotemi, e al rapporto storico
tra uomo e grotte, vengono trattati diversi argomenti legati alla
vita sotterranea. Grazie alla biospeleologia, è possibile parlare
di cambiamenti climatici, di biodiversità, di habitat, di
normative comunitarie, di tutela e conservazione, di
responsabilità civile ed ambientale e di sviluppo sostenibile.
Scopo del progetto è quello di fornire ai giovani maggiore
consapevolezza su alcune tematiche ambientali e le basi per
poter sviluppare una crescita sostenibile, passando attraverso
l’esplorazione di un mondo estremo ma fragile, un habitat
unico, ostile ma incredibilmente ricco di vita, ancora tutto da
scoprire: le grotte
The invisible problem of microplastics and microfibres in karst systems and aquifers: a multidisciplinary approach
Full text linkL'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen
Fauna ipogea del sistema sotterraneo di Bossea e recenti ricerche: aggiornamento al 2019
Full text linkThe Bossea Cave opens in the Corsaglia Valley, in the Ligurian Alps (Frabosa Soprana, Cuneo, Piedmont, northwestern Italy); first touristic cave in Italy. During last 130 year many experts of underground fauna visited the cavity with the aim to describe and list its faunal population. In the last quarter of the XXth century, an underground laboratory has been built in the cave and the studies on the fauna increased but only in the last 12 years, with a new knowledge of the subterranean environment, the list of underground fauna increased to more than the double of the species known in 1991. In this work are provided an ultimate list of the species found in the Bossea underground system and a summary of the recent researches carried out by the operators of the biospeleology section of the “StrutturaOperativaBossea”
COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity to monitor the naturalness of show caves
Full text linkThe CO2 air concentration variations in show caves can be linked to natural and/or anthropogenic factors. The CO2 increase, linked to climate change or anthropogenic impact, can alter the rock-atmosphere interface and damaging speleothems and ecosystems, therefore, knowing the natural dynamics in the underground environment is fundamental.
Today, before the opening of new tourist caves, a year monitoring of the main environmental parameters is recommended. Instead, the show caves opened in the past hardly have previous data relative to the natural environmental parameter variations.
Thanks to the closure of the caves for Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, it was possible to make assessments in the absence of tourists, highlighting the natural CO2 air concentration variations. To understand the environmental parameters dynamics in three NW Italian show caves, a continuous monitoring of the main parameters (temperature, air circulation, CO2, etc.) was carried out for a year. To monitor the CO2 air concentration, VAISALA systems with INDIGO 520 sensors were installed in different cave areas, with two GMP 252 probes (maximum error 2%) each. The data was continuously recorded with intervals of 10 minutes.
From the reopening after the COVID-19 restrictions, daily variations of CO2 air concentrations related to the tourist flow were observed in Toirano caves, Liguria, with an increase of even 1000 ppm. In Borgio Verezzi cave, Liguria, during the winter and spring closure period due to restrictions from COVID-19, CO2 values between 500 and 650 ppm were measured. Since the reopening of the cave, marked decrease of CO2 of about 1000 ppm in the weeks and of about 2000 ppm in the weekends were monitored; these decreases seem to be linked to the opening of the main door, resulting in significant air exchange and reduction of the concentration of the CO2 air concentration. In Bossea cave, Piedmont, during the closing period, natural variations of CO2 air concentration between 750 and 1000 ppm were recorded in winter and spring. In the summer, a further increase, partly natural and partly linked to the anthropic impact was recorded. The anthropogenic increase occurred of about 50 ppm in the week and doubled during weekends and holidays
Esiste una fauna delle grotte glaciali?
No full textDuring a recent exploration inside ice-caves of "Belvedere Glacier" (Macugnaga, Monte Rosa) and "La
Rossa Glacier" (Oevero Valley) we had the confirmation that the fauna found in such cavities is the characteristic one of the near-snow zones. But in rock-caves containig ice the situation in very different: the "Boma d'la Giace" of Chabaudey (Aosta Valley) is the habitat of cryophilic arachnids like lschyropsalis dentipalpis Canestrini, 1872.The cave "Patarasa" (SW Piedmont) is the locus typicus of the cryophilic Oiplopoda Crossosoma mauriesi Strasser, 1970. In the "Buca del Ghiaccio della Cavai/aria" (NW Piedmont) has been found another population of Ischyropsalis dentipalpis Canestrini, 1872 and a new species of Leiodidae Leptodirinae: Archeoboldoria sturanii Casale & Giachino, 2010. lce-caves of the southern Piedmont are important sites far the hibemation of bats species. The "global warming" is threatening this subterranean habitats and their inhabitants
Explorations in the dark continent: Did microplastics and microfibres get here before us?
Full text linkMicroplastic and microfibre pollution is a global concern, however, karst areas remain understudied. Because of
their properties, these anthropogenic microparticles are particularly hazardous, and easily transportable,
reaching also remote areas. The underground world, called also dark continent, is a treasure of information, and
remained the last frontier of terrestrial exploration: many parts of the underground world have not yet been
accessed. In the hypogeal environments, pollution is closely linked to the connections between surface and
subterranean habitats, the hydrodynamics of the aquifer, geology, and local environmental conditions. This
study aims to investigate, for the first time, the presence of microplastics and microfibres in unexplored caves,
revealing how human activity could indirectly impact even the uncontaminated environments of the dark
continent. Together with speleologists, we collected and investigated sediment samples from unexplored caves of
the Abruzzo Region, Italy. Examined anthropogenic microparticles were counted and characterized by composition, size, shape, fluorescence, and colour, via microscopy and spectroscopy. Microplastic concentrations
resulted low or absent, moreover, natural and regenerated microfibres ones were higher. Fibre-shape was the
most common. Most of the microparticles were clear and fluorescent under UV light. Pollution sources in this
area likely include atmospheric deposition, nearby human activities, roads, and garbage. These results highlight
anthropogenic microparticle pollution exists in unexplored karst caves, which could impact subterranean habitats, species, and water resources. Given the link between surface and underground karst environments, more
monitoring and protection are needed. This work encourages speleologists to collect samples during explorations too, as these rarely studied environments offer crucial insights into karst systems, potential threats, and conservation needs. Future long-term studies will clarify pollutant sources, transport, and effects on ecosystems
Microplastic pollution in show cave sediments
Full text linkMicroplastic (MP) (plastics < 5mm) are a global issue, which has been widely found in marine and terrestrial environments, contaminating also remote areas, being them extremely mobile. However, MP pollution in underground environment, such as caves and karst aquifers, is still largely unknown. MPs can be ingested by hypogean animals and endanger the fragile ecosystems of the caves. Geologic features are the primary attraction of the show caves, and MPs can irreversibly damage speleothems deposited on them: they can directly damage speleothems, being incorporated into the cave formation growth, sometimes coloring them, or indirectly, by providing nutrients for acid-producing organisms that can dissolve limestone. Moreover, MPs can pollute karst aquifers which are open systems, even susceptible to contamination by surface pollutants. Therefore, the areas above the caves must also be monitored.
To improve the current knowledge of MP pollution, the sediments of three different show caves in Italy (Bossea, Borgio Verezzi and Toirano caves) were sampled and investigated. A new detection technique, based on the optimization of investigation tests used on different kind of sediments was used (Balestra & Bellopede, 2022). MPs were extracted from sediments via density separation and subjected to organic matter removal. Filters were observed with and without UV light under a microscope, exploiting the MPs fluorescence given by the fluorescent whitening agents additives, before and after organic matter removal. MPs were characterized with visual identification and described using the standardized size and colour sorting system (SCS) (Crawford & Quinn, 2016). In Bossea cave, an average of 4390 items/kg dry weight was calculated for the touristic zone and 1600 items/kg dry weight for the speleological/research section of the cave. Fibre (84.9%) was the most abundant shape, suggesting that synthetic clothes of visitors are the main source of MPs pollution in cave. Most MPs were smaller than 1 mm, accounting for 85.4%, of which 58.4% were shorter than 0.5 mm. The highest MP abundance was fluorescent under UV light (87.7%); however, 12.3% of the MPs observed on filters were not fluorescent. Most fluorescent fibres were transparent (84%), whereas blue (46.1%) and black (22.4%) fibres were more common for the non-fluorescent ones. Borgio Verezzi and Toirano caves sediment samples will be used to test an automated counting software designed by a team work of Politecnico di Torino.
Our results highlight the presence of MPs in show caves, and we provide a valid non-invasive and non-expensive analytical technique for the preparation and isolation of MPs from cave sediments, giving useful information for evaluating the environmental risks posed by MPs in caves
Fauna ipogea del Monregalese
No full textIl “Monregalese”, piccola regione storico-geografica del Piemonte meridionale, è una delle più ricche di cavità sotterranee. La zona è delimitata a Nord dalla pianura e dalle colline delle Langhe tra Mondovì e Carrù; a Est, partendo da Castelnuovo di Ceva, e a Sud, incontra il confine con la Liguria, fino a toccare a Sud-Ovest la località di Ponte di Nava e il confine con la Francia; il limite Ovest è rappresentato dal corso del Pesio. L’area comprende dunque le Valli Tanaro, Casotto, Corsaglia, Ellero e Maudagna. Dopo le note faunistiche comparse in Martinotti (1968), in G.S.P. (1970) e in Bologna & Vigna Taglianti (1985), gli autori stilano un elenco delle grotte “monregalesi” per le quali sono stati pubblicati dati faunistici, dopo averle esplorate e riesaminate. Vengono inoltre inseriti dati relativi a cavità sotterranee conosciute ma mai descritte precedentemente dal punto di vista faunistico ed altre di recente scoperta, nuovi siti di presenza per specie conosciute e nuove specie scoperte. Per ogni grotta viene riportata la prima citazione di ciascuna specie con i riferimenti della pubblicazione originale; i dati storici vengono integrati con quelli derivanti dalle ricerche condotte dagli autori. Considerazioni conclusive di carattere biogeografico e una ricca iconografia originale integrano il lavoro che vorrebbe essere un contributo alla conoscenza del popolamento faunistico delle cavità sotterranee della zona, seguito da integrazioni e aggiornamenti successivi
Note sulle specie ipogee del genere Eukoenenia in Piemonte: distribuzione, habitat, comportamento (Arachnida, Palpigradi: Eukoeneniidae)
No full textPalpigradi are an order of Arachnida including species characterized by millimetric size and provided with a flagellum at apex of the opistosoma.
A few species are known, most of them recently discovered; the hypogean ones so far described are markedly adapted to the subterranean environment. They have been considered very rare until a few years ago, due to their tiny size and habitat which makes their sampling and study
difficult. In this paper, we reported a synthesis of the distribution known so far of the genus Eukoenenia in Piedmont and adjacent areas (Northwestern Alps, Italy), with records of new localities and some preliminary notes on their habitat and behaviour observed in nature on many specimens
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