C2 Restoration and naturalistic management of heathlands invaded by shrubs

The action envisages implementing measures to restore the ecological functionality of some 80 hectares of heathlands characterized by natural invasion of shrubs processes resulting from the abandonment of traditional management practices.

The interventions include the cutting of the shrub and arboreal vegetation to encourage the renewal of the heath, and therefore increase the coverage of Erica scoparia and other more heliophilous species typical of the hilly heathlands.

Unlike what is foreseen in the C1 action, the lands affected by the interventions will not be started up to a “productive” type of management but, according to a timeline identified in the “Management and Procurement Plan of the heather for producing brooms” envisaged in the Action A2, will be affected from one-off extraordinary maintenance interventions that will be incorporated into the planning in the next Forest Management Plan of the “Pratomagno Valdarno”.

The interventions will be carried out both on publicly owned land managed directly by the Pratomagno Union of Municipalities and on private land that have joined the project.