Col de la Roa Weather Station

The Center has a weather station (Col de la Roa, 1100 m a.s.l., 46° 26' 52", 12° 12' 59"), with data recorded since 1996.

  Col de la Roa

Near the CSAA, there is an extensive hill of landslide origin. On April 21, 1814, an enormous mass of several million cubic meters of gravel broke off from Mount Antelao and destroyed everything in its path down to the valley, including the villages of Taulen and Marceana. Within a few decades, this landslide deposit began to be colonized by Scots pine seedlings, the only species in the area capable of surviving in poor, draining soils. Today, a primary forest with trees over 150 years old entirely occupies the bed of the ancient landslide. Research and teaching activities are conducted at this site to study the mechanisms of acclimatization and adaptation to survive under chronic water stress conditions.

  Monitoring of Eco-physiological Parameters

Near the upper forest limit, in the picturesque setting of the Cinque Torri (Municipality of Cortina d'Ampezzo), there is a monitoring station, active since 2000. It measures climatic parameters (air temperature and humidity, soil moisture, and precipitation) and physiological parameters on target plants of the present species (larch, Swiss pine, and spruce). Dendrometers are installed on the trunks of the target plants to measure trunk diameter variation, and Granier sensors measure the water transport rate in the wood. These parameters are used to study the growth dynamics of these species and their acclimatization and growth capacities in response to climate change.

For further reading:

• Deslauriers A, Rossi S, Anfodillo T (2007) Dendrometer and intra-annual tree growth: what kind of information can be inferred? Dendrochronologia 25: 113-124. DOI: 10.1016/j.dendro.2007.05.003.
• Carraro V, Anfodillo T, Rossi S (2001) Visita ai siti sperimentali stazioni di col de la Roa e Cinque Torri. Atti del 38° Corso di Cultura in Ecologia, 197.

  Area infested by the spruce bark beetle at Pian de Loa

In the Pian de Loa area, near Cortina d'Ampezzo (BL), a monitoring station has been installed with meteorological sensors and sap flow sensors in Norway spruce trees. These trees have been attacked by the spruce bark beetle, and the purpose of the station is to study how the attack of this bark beetle affects the physiology of the host plants.

  Permanent Monitoring Areas of Forest Dynamics

Several permanent monitoring areas, ranging from 1 to 4 hectares, have been established in various types of forests in the prealpine and dolomitic regions (Cansiglio, Croda da Lago, Latemar). In these areas, all tree individuals have been mapped, and their biometric data (diameter, height, crown dimensions) have been collected. Every 5-10 years, the same census is repeated to monitor the evolution of both individual plants and the entire stand over time. This monitoring has been ongoing for over 20 years and in the Croda da Lago area for over 30 years.

  Debris Flow Monitoring

To study the phenomenology of debris flows, several monitoring stations have been installed in the Boite Valley since 2010: Dimai (2010-2017), Cancia (since 2015), Pomagagnon (2013-2017), Punta Nera (2017-2019), Rio Gere (since 2020). Based on the analysis of collected data, new warning systems and defense works are developed.