Using Forest Compensation Funds to Reverse Biodiversity Loss: A Case Study of Turin–Lyon High-Speed Railway Line

Abstract

Megaprojects radically change the landscape due to their large-scale and high investments. Forests are often one of the most affected habitats, as they are frequently included in megaproject construction sites. These habitats support rich animal communities that the new settlement may threaten. Among all species present in any construction site, those listed in the Habitats Directive (92/43/CEE) deserve particular attention as they are protected throughout Europe. Here, we present a case study related to the expansion of an industrial site, part of the megaproject Turin–Lyon high-speed railway, where forest compensations were used to reverse biodiversity loss. The site expansion scheduled for 2020 included mature forests and clearings that used to host a butterfly species and at least 15 bat species protected by the Habitats Directive and other taxa of conservation concern. Forest compensations are usually used to finance tree plantations and forest improvements. In this case study, for the first time, we used them to maintain local biodiversity, which otherwise would have been severely compromised by the site expansion. Indeed, our approach has made it possible to allocate forest compensation funding to restore or improve habitats to favor biodiversity. This approach may be exported to other megaprojects to support local biodiversity.

Macro-moth (Lepidoptera) Diversity of a Newly Shaped Ecological Corridor and the Surrounding Forest Area in the Western Italian Alps

“…The study area is characterized by natural and semi-natural forests dominated by abandoned traditional chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller, 1768) orchards, together with a widespread occurrence of oaks (Quercus L.) and cherry trees (Prunus avium Linnaeus, 1753). In spring 2020, in order to reverse biodiversity loss due to the expansion of an industrial site part of the Turin-Lyon high-speed railway megaproject [40], this continuous forest habitat has been interrupted by the creation of a 500 m ecological corridor. The corridor (overall 10 ha) is made up of a sequence of ten stepping-stones clearings, where all trees were cut down, leaving in place all the woody material as deadwood.…”

“…In this work, we investigated moth diversity in a forest area of the Western Italian Alps, where intense management activities were carried out in recent years in order to improve habitat quality for several open-habitat species, including the protected butterfly Zerynthia polyxena (Annex IV, EU Habitats Directive 92/43/CEE), through the realization of an ecological corridor made of stepping-stones clearings [40]. These conservation actions provide the opportunity to study the community of nocturnal Lepidoptera in both the previously existing habitat (woodland) and the newly formed one (clearings).…”

In-between Environmental Sustainability and Economic Viability: An Analysis of the State, Regulations, and Future of Italian Forestry Sector

“…The Law restates the concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM, see Article 3), internationally introduced in Helsinki by the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (1993). In particular, it takes up and enhances the concept of the "active management" of forest heritage, defined throughout the Decree as a synonym of Sustainable Forest Management [172]. This definition could be taken for granted, not only from a scientific point of view, but also from an educational point of view.…”