After the practical part of the course, the transplant of reeds and phanerogams started!

Due to the state of emergency in response to the coronavirus crisis, both the practical parts of the course for operators involved in the transplant of reeds and phanerogams (the theoretical part was held in July 2019), and the transplants themselves, planned within the Life Lagoon Refresh project, have been delayed.

The field training was completed in May 2020 while in June-July 2020, the transplanting activities finally began. The company in charge of the project transplanted the first 350 clumps of reeds. The fishermen/hunters involved in the project carried out further transplants of 200 clumps in November 2020, for a total amount of 550 clumps of reeds.

Considering the initial flow rate of fresh water (300 l/s), reedbed transplantations have concentrated along the salt marshes edges near the point of fresh water supply and directly affected by this.

The practical course for hunters and fishermen for phanerogam transplants ended in October 2020 and transplants were held in October and November 2020. Two-hundred and seventy three clumps were transplanted, 202 of Z. marina and 71 of Z. noltei, in addition to 550 rhizomes of Z. marina.

The transplants will continue also in the next vegetative season in order to allow a rapid development of the reeds and to accelerate the recolonization of the area by the aquatic plants. The project foresees a simultaneous progressive increase of the fresh water flow up to 1000 l/s. This will produce a larger area with salinity suitable for reed transplant.