Sustainable Soil Management in Ski Areas: Threats and Challenges
1
Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
2
NATRISK, Interdepartmental Research Centre on Natural Risks in Mountain and Hilly Environments, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
3
National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture, Research Unit Mountain Ecosystems, University Grenoble Alpes, 2 rue de la Papeterie, F-38402 St-Martin-d’Hères, France
4
Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale—ARPA Piemonte, via Pio VII 9, 10135 Torino, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2017, 9(11), 2150; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112150
Received: 29 September 2017 / Revised: 14 November 2017 / Accepted: 16 November 2017 / Published: 22 November 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Tourism in Mountain Regions)
The skiing industry often represent the main contribution to mountain regions’ economy, by providing several economic benefits and the improvement of services and infrastructure. Ski resorts also play a crucial role as an impacting factor, causing severe changes on Alpine landscape and ecosystems. In particular ski runs construction and operation have considerable impacts on alpine soils, influencing their chemical and physical properties which affecting the establishment and development of plant communities. The work provides a description of the changes in soil properties and the related effects on vegetation. It aims furthermore to investigate the recent best practices applied for a successful soil restoration after ski runs construction, which may contribute to a sustainable use of mountain soils and ecosystems. Based on the current regulatory framework, this review gives a global overview on how, in Europe and specifically in Italy, the sustainable use of soils is considered during the construction and management of ski runs. As the framework is still lacking of specific rules regarding soil protection and management on ski runs, the present work wishes to provide recommendations in order to fill this gap, favoring the effective application of best practices for soil protection during ski run construction and maintenance.
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Keywords:
soil erosion; artificial snow; soil restoration; ecosystem services
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MDPI and ACS Style
Pintaldi, E.; Hudek, C.; Stanchi, S.; Spiegelberger, T.; Rivella, E.; Freppaz, M. Sustainable Soil Management in Ski Areas: Threats and Challenges. Sustainability 2017, 9, 2150. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112150
AMA Style
Pintaldi E, Hudek C, Stanchi S, Spiegelberger T, Rivella E, Freppaz M. Sustainable Soil Management in Ski Areas: Threats and Challenges. Sustainability. 2017; 9(11):2150. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112150
Chicago/Turabian StylePintaldi, Emanuele, Csilla Hudek, Silvia Stanchi, Thomas Spiegelberger, Enrico Rivella, and Michele Freppaz. 2017. "Sustainable Soil Management in Ski Areas: Threats and Challenges" Sustainability 9, no. 11: 2150. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112150
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