Abstract
Marble has been extracted from the Carrara quarries (Apuan Alps, Italy) for over two millennia. This cultural landscape is characterised by singular landforms called ravaneti, causing environmental problems due to debris flow, thus imperilling human settlements and natural heritage. Geomorphological and vegetation analyses have highlighted that in a decade, vegetation cover greatly increased, indicating potential for passive restoration of dump deposits. The assessment of plant assemblages indicates a decrease in plant richness and endemics, and an increase in wood and alien species. The conservation of historical ravaneti landscape requires weighted restoration actions to reduce geomorphological hazards and preserve native biodiversity.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Author contribution
The study was conducted with contributions from all authors that authored or reviewed drafts of the paper and approved the final version. CB, LA, RG, and MCS conceived the work. RG and MCS coordinated the manuscript writing. RG designed and performed plant sampling in 2005 and analysed all the plant data. AE and FP performed plant sampling in 2019. CB, LA and MCS conducted geomorphological and remote sensing analyses.