REVEGETATION OF SKI SLOPES ON A CALCAREOUS SCREE IN AN AREA OF ITALIAN ALPS.

Revegetation of ski slopes is an important practice useful to reduce soil erosion, to lengthen duration of snow cover and to refit the ski slope in the landscape with minimal environmental impact. Mixtures of forage species are traditionally used in a very wide context of situations, differing for altitude and pedoclimatic conditions. The aim of the work was to show some results obtained in a ski resort of Italian Eastern Alps (Sappada, Veneto) where ski slopes occur on a calcareous scree of dolomite origin. In this peculiar and extreme environment some different species (grasses, legumes and other families) and some mixtures (differing in floristic richness, types of used species and cost) were tested. Data collection concerned soil coverage, height of canopies, botanical composition and evolution of vegetal composition in a four year. Results showed the possibility of obtaining efficient soil coverage with studied vegetal material (always increasing in the studied period and over 80% for each mixtures at the fourth year) and the different behaviour of tested species in speed of establishment, canopy height, duration and possibility of being strongly competitive against colonisation by native species. Obtained data have used afterwards for creating new mixtures appropriate for this particular environment.