MONITORAGGIO DEI PARAMETRI FISICI DELLE GROTTE COSTIERE DELLA SARDEGNA: L'ESEMPIO DELLA GROTTA VERDE E DEL BUE MARINO

Climate study of hypogeal natural environments has great importance for biological and geological reasons; the study acquires more significance for caves that are, or are becoming, touristic destinations. It is clear that to allow the presence of the visitors in the caves, some works are needed for reception facilities and security. These works, however, modify the physical and chemical conditions of the atmosphere and of the waters of cave, inducing alterations both on its morphology and on biological systems present in it. In the case of caves, it generally appears delicate balance between the protection of environmental goods and tourism activities. For this aim, the authorities responsible for management of environmental goods should regard that anthropic attendance must respect the resilience of the cave considered. In this work we have taken into account two Sardinian coastal caves: Grotta Verde (North-West coast), and Grotta del Bue Marino (Central-East coast). The study, conducted by the CNR-IBIMET in collaboration with DIPNET - University of Sassari, wants to promote evaluation of the cave biodiversity, biological and morphological conservation of caves and sustainable economic valorization of these natural resources, which can play a central role to promote tourism in karst areas. The evaluations of these studies allow to establish the resilience of analyzed karst environment and to adapt to this the tourist load. In this context, IBIMET task is the qualitative and quantitative definition of physical-atmospheric parameters inside the caves, in the presence and in the absence of anthropogenic attendance. In the case of Grotta Verde, the comparison is carried out between the values of the environmental parameters recorded during the tourist season and the winter season. For Grotta del Bue Marino since it is not possible the access during winter, the comparison is made between simultaneously recorded values of the parameters, within the cave and out of it, during the tourist season.