Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time on all fronts. Rising temperatures and extreme weather phenomena have driven a trend in garden design and consumer demand to increasingly require plants that are resistant to high temperatures and long periods of drought. In addition, finding solutions that save water, energy and nutrients are crucial for sustainability in agriculture. Traditionally, agriculture has responded to such needs with exotic species, but these have often proved to be invasive and thus an additional problem. In this framework, within our flora, psammophilous plants are the perfect candidates due to their specific morpho-physiological adaptations to the harsh environmental conditions in which they grow: insolation, lack of water and nutrients, high salinity, mechanical action of the wind, inconsistent substrate. During the PSR PSAMMbeach project, about twenty species of the indigenous psammophilous flora were selected for their aesthetic value. Ligurian (Italy) propagation material was collected and a zero-impact floricultural production was experimented. The promotion of these plants was made to land managers, parks and an educational campaign was carried out at some primary schools. The resulting plants were used in the decoration of bathing establishments, city flowerbeds and public and private gardens with low management impact.
The use of psammophilous flora in the Mediterranean low-impact gardens
BONIFAZIO C.;VARALDO L.;TRIPI S.;MINUTO L.
2023-01-01
Abstract
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time on all fronts. Rising temperatures and extreme weather phenomena have driven a trend in garden design and consumer demand to increasingly require plants that are resistant to high temperatures and long periods of drought. In addition, finding solutions that save water, energy and nutrients are crucial for sustainability in agriculture. Traditionally, agriculture has responded to such needs with exotic species, but these have often proved to be invasive and thus an additional problem. In this framework, within our flora, psammophilous plants are the perfect candidates due to their specific morpho-physiological adaptations to the harsh environmental conditions in which they grow: insolation, lack of water and nutrients, high salinity, mechanical action of the wind, inconsistent substrate. During the PSR PSAMMbeach project, about twenty species of the indigenous psammophilous flora were selected for their aesthetic value. Ligurian (Italy) propagation material was collected and a zero-impact floricultural production was experimented. The promotion of these plants was made to land managers, parks and an educational campaign was carried out at some primary schools. The resulting plants were used in the decoration of bathing establishments, city flowerbeds and public and private gardens with low management impact.
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