La inferenza biologica nella valutazione del grado di protezione naturale di sorgenti carsiche captate

Abstract

En This research focused on an interdisciplinary approach to determine the isolation degree of karstic springs used for drinking purposes by integrating chemical and physical criteria, as well as and ecological ones which may act as indicators of infiltration vulnerability. The survey was carried out on three basal karstic springs in Central Apennine (Abruzzo, Central Italy). In particular, the main topic of the work was to assess the informative power of the biological inference as to the evaluation of the infiltration vulnerability of karstic aquifers. A taxocenotic analysis through copepod assemblages (Crustacea: Copepoda) was used instead of a biocenotic one to evaluate ratios among the different ecological categories (stygobionts, stygophiles, stygoxenes) which supply more accurate information on the isolation degree of the aquifer system. The stigoxene copepods were used as markers of the presence, density and dimension of the preferential paths of fast infiltration representing the karstic aquifers main risk, which, otherwise, would not be stated only through chemical, physical and microbiological criteria.