Despite its inhospitable appearance and lack of any ... - Udine Cultura

Ecology
DIANA MARIA PAOLA GALASSI
Although Stygobiology - the science
that studies groundwater biology -
dates back to the 18th century, it was
only in 1994 that the ecological
importance of this environment was
finally acknowledged and exhaustively
described in the monograph
Groundwater Ecology (see select
bibliography). No matter how surprised
we may be to learn that findings in
groundwater ecology are recent, our
surprise turns to shock on hearing
that, although groundwater protection
and management are of paramount
importance for human survival, current
legislation does not take into account
the ecology of this particular
Bottom of an old well for drinking-water
environment.
This is probably due to the unique characteristics of groundwater: invisible to
most, not perceived as part of the territory, a totally dark world populated
almost exclusively by tiny creatures. The biodiversity of this environment is
truly “hidden”, as the subtitle of this volume suggests. This is perhaps the
reason, albeit not a justifiable one, why man, in both law and culture, has
always considered the exploitation of groundwater as more important than its
ecology. It is a narrow-minded view, as we realise when reading the previous
chapter on the complexity, diversity and scientific importance of stygofauna.
It therefore comes as no surprise that, while there are only a few books to
describe the geological and speleological aspects of these habitats, almost
none has yet been published in Italy on underground ecology. This chapter is
an attempt at overcoming the anthropocentric view of groundwater, at
illustrating how the ecosystem works, and analysing the ecological factors
that regulate the structure of groundwater communities and biodiversity.
Waterfall produced by the karstic spring of Col del Sole (Friuli Venezia Giulia)
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