The Egadi Islands are the largest of Posidonia oceanic and extensive Mediterranean.
As stated in the Marine Protected Area site Aegadian, “it is an area with very high valence from a naturalistic point of view: the AMP includes the prairie of Posidonia oceanica largest and best preserved of the Mediterranean (circa 7.700 ha). Posidonia, internationally protected habitat, It is considered the lung Mediterranean and it plays a crucial role in the marine ecosystem balance: in addition to producing oxygen and absorb CO2, It helps to mitigate coastal erosion through the formation of the banquette, structures produced by the stranding of dead leaves because of storms; Furthermore, It hosts the youth of hundreds of species of organisms, constituting a real submarine asylum nest.”
In fact, this PLANT MARINA (is not in fact a seaweed as it is often identified by the layman) It has a vital role for the environment as well 100 thousand years !
A complete plant Posidonia which clearly notice leaves, rhizomes and roots
mistreated, treated as waste, often smelly, some swimmers who do not know the preciousness, exchange for the alga to be deleted, the coves and beaches where you build up so-called banquette are often avoided because mistaken for untreated areas by public authorities and nearby accommodation.
Nothing could be more wrong.
Banquette beached at Punta Sottile Favignana
Tourists, the citizens, The users of bathing areas should know that the valuable presence of Posidonia is synonymous with being in front of the sea, In fact, this plant oxygenates the marine waters making them “lives”. The “grasslands” Posidonia become Forests for creatures that live thanks to his presence, nursery for small fish, great hideaway to grow safely and with such presence of biodiversity generated by the food that only this fabulous plant can create in its habitat.
In the images below a Posidonia present at Cala Rotonda Favignana.
The plant Posidonia is an endemic species of the Mediterranean Sea. Although he lives in the water it is not a seaweed, but to a real plant with roots, rhizomes, flowers, fruits (calls sea olives) stem and leaves. His presence in our waters is crucial, because it produces large amounts of oxygen essential for the life of seaweed, sponges and fish. Such grasslands act as authentic jungles miniature, create a habitat where the vast majority of species find the ideal place to live and act as a real natural purifier.
Once flowering, their remains out of the water they are able to create barriers that extend parallel to the coast and act maintaining the balance, protecting it from erosion since amortize and reduce the waves. At the same time, allow the deposit of sand finer forming beaches and dunes, then purifying the waters since they retain the sediment.
Posidonia fibers aggregated ball from scientifically egagropili calls wave
According to some studies the Posidonia meadows absorb about 25 million tons of carbon, equivalent to 90 million tons of CO2, the same as a large tropical forest. Also the grasslands of the Balearic Islands were declared, in 1999, World Heritage Site in addition to being the species defined as priority habitat by Directive 92/43 / EC, therefore a priority place of rare environmental importance.
The most serious threat to Posidonia are the networks for trawling and anchors that tear the substrate making it impossible to play the same and the enlargement of the prairie.
In both cases with PMA Egadi arrangements they have been made with the fishermen and vessels for which they were positioned of antistrascico bollards for illegal fishing and of cutlery for anchoring buoys, said mooring fields, in the busiest Aegadian coves. The first case is achieved in recent years a drastic reduction of illegal fishing and an almost total protection of the grasslands along the coast.
In addition, the AMP is sponsoring project initiatives on Posidonia, we highlight MedoniaLab, a project during construction (n.d.r. July 2017) starring the Posidonia beached that once collection cleaned from residues of plastic or other materials, and dried is placed inside special pockets in an environmentally friendly material and used for bathing purposes. Once the season is returned to the place of collection.
Finally the company RioMare supports an important project aimed at the protection of the entire marine ecosystem of this unique area, Posidonia also in addition to the Caretta Caretta and the Monk Seal.
L’Protected sea area Egadi Islands consequently it is the cradle of this marine plant, along with the Balearic Islands in Spain, where in Formentera was established in Dels Freus Marine Reserve of Ibiza and Formentera.
Posidonia beached on the coast of Valencia (Spain)
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