Grasslands Oases Wonder and Emergency

The documentary promotes the awareness and the safeguard of biodiversity of the flora and fauna of the species-rich grasslands in the Italian region Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Species-rich grasslands are herbaceous formation not ploughed nor harrowed that are maintained exclusively through mowing or grazing. They present a large variety of herbaceous species vegetation, some of which indigenous and with high naturalistic value, like orchids.

Preserving these species-rich grasslands is crucial for many reasons: naturalistic, agronomic, ethnographic and cultural memory, landscape’s aesthetic appeal, soil conservation capability and organic build up.
Despite existing regional preservation laws, the risk of losing this valuable natural asset is still high: ploughing and excessive fertilization, careless landscape design of infrastructures and urbanisation, and artificial reforestation or abandonment are the main reasons.

Once one of these oases is lost, its restoration becomes extremely challenging: it requires significant resources and can take many years or even decades, provided there is still a pristine ecosystem that can be used for the expansion.

The aim of this docu-film is to raise awareness and stimulate citizen and collective actions to safeguard this precious landscape currently at risk and extremely jeopardized.

To capture the beauty and the uniqueness nature of the species-rich grasslandshis this work is the result of hundreds of hours of footage at all scales, from close-up shots of the tiny features of plants and insect using macro lenses, to breathtaking panoramic views captured by drones.

The content, purely scientific, focuses on the generation and various types of grasslands, their botanical management, flora and fauna, the significance of species-rich grasslands, and the required protection measures and actions for their safeguard and preservation