Biodotti

The Biodotti project focuses on improving micro-habitats and enhancing biodiversity at the bases of Terna towers located in agricultural areas between protected “Natura 2000” sites in Italy. The development of natural habitats at the base of 19 power lines will ideally become ecological stepping stones for the movement of wildlife between protected areas.

 

Highlights

• Development of natural habitats at the base of 19 Terna towers in Lombardy, Lazio and Sicily
• Helps local wildlife (including pollinators) to find shelter, food, rest and move safely between fragmented habitats in Italy
• One of the main goals is to implement and share guidelines for the scale-up of the Biodotti pilot project according to the principles of landscape ecology and environmental protection

 

About the practice

The Biodotti project focuses on using the bases of power line towers as a place for wildlife to find shelter, food and rest between protected areas and on improving the ecological value of the buffer zones. Without any interference with the agricultural activities of the landowners, Terna planted indigenous plants, installed nest boxes for birds, bat boxes, and bug hotels and implemented other measures to protect local wildlife. They will maintain and monitor these areas for at least 3 years.

An assessment of the ecological status of the neo-ecosystems used the Incremental Ecological Index (IEI), a synthetic index developed by Terna (included RGI’s Good Practice of the Year Award 2021), was completed. Terna hopes to apply the Biodotti approach to all new overhead powerlines which meet the necessary conditions.