DOLOMITES - Annexes 2-8 - Provincia di Udine

NOMINATION OF THE DOLOMITES FOR INSCRIPTION ON THE WORLD NATURAL HERITAGE LIST UNESCO
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Brachypodium, the tufted hair grass or Deschampsia caespitosa, several species of Festuca, etc.) while
others seem to be in evident decline.
Botanical exploration
The Dolomite region includes well-defined geographic, historic, and cultural areas and thus, it is impossible
to summarize the fundamental steps that led the pioneers of botany to discover such a high
number of species in relation to its surface area. Every valley or locality has its own history and there
is a rich bibliography in addition to herbariums and substantial collections of dried plants stored at
several major museums (Trento, Rovereto, Bassano del Grappa, Udine, Padova). As far back as 1500,
P.A. Mattioli provided the world with vital information on plants he discovered, but only later in the
centuries, starting in 1700, did G.A. Scopoli and his contemporaries make strides in methodical exploration
campaigns and the great Linneo developed the first wellorganized classification system (i.e.
the binomial nomenclature that has survived today), making comparison possible. The 19th century
was characterized by intensive exploration and the rise to prominence of several scholars, many of
whom corresponded with each other on their discoveries. An important role was played by German
authors (remember that a large part of the Tyrol included a large part of the Dolomites). We’ve listed
only a few here from a long list, who were fortunate enough to leave a mark or were distinguished by
the importance of their works: Ambrosi, Kerner, Hofmann, Huter, Koch, Sendtner, Reichenbach,
Moretti, Hausmann, Leybold, Sardagna and, above all, Facchini, who more than others explored a
substantial portion of this territory. These scholars were frequently doctors, pharmacists, priests and
mountain climbers. For most of the territory considered here, the main reference is represented by
the 9 books of the extraordinary work of Dalla Torre and Sarnthein, published between 1900 and
1913. It is an unsurpassed work which also gathers together all the previously published information
in a single volume. For the areas located farther east, outside the region investigated in this work,
we have to settle for less complete contributions. This includes the Gortani (1905-1906) pioneers of
Friuli - Venezia Giulia. There is for this region a catalogue with a distribution atlas (Poldini, 1991)
which is still the only one of its kind in Italy, at least regionally. Locally, on the other hand, there is
no lack of recent and quite extensive contributions which involve essentially the protected areas. A
very detailed catalogue (Festi & Prosser, 2000) explores the flora of the Parco naturale di Paneveggio
- Pale di San Martino. Argenti & Lasen (2001) have published a checklist of the vascular flora
of the Parco Nazionale Dolomiti Bellunesi which later, in 2004, was extended to the entire Provincia
di Belluno. We cannot ignore the herborizations of Pampanini in Cadore (with a beautiful book
published posthumously, in 1958, and which includes the information of Rinaldo Zardini for the
Ampezzo basin) or the exceptional guidebook (well-known to many students) on the Trentino flora,
published by Dalla Fior, an important figure also for palynological studies. Additional information
on the distribution of plants in the Dolomites can also be found in the various national flora, but
usually, the geographic indications are not sufficiently defined. More recent publications include the
comprehensive work by Erika and Sandro Pignatti, authors of many articles who intend to produce
a general monograph of the flora and plant life in the Dolomites. Exemplary, and still in the process
of preparation and updating, is the work of floral cartography which, in the Provincia Autonoma
di Trento, revolves around the Civic Museum of Rovereto. In the Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano,
the initiative of a detailed flora census is led by Austrian scholars, in conjunction with Thomas Wilhalm
of the local City Museum. For the district of Belluno, there are various contributions for the
lower part of the province and around the national park (work mainly by Argenti and Lasen), while
still scarce is information for the Agordino area and for the Dolomites of the left bank of the Piave
river. The same two authors have published the aforementioned provincial checklist (2004) with a
primary objective of identifying the red-listed species. It is also worth mentioning how the research
into the flora, even in a territory which for centuries has been known and frequented by visitors, has
produced very interesting results also in recent times, such as discoveries of new species. This is true,