27 April 2017

The staff from the Department of Environmental Biology, with the support of the State Nature Reserve "Islands of Ventotene and S. Stefano" and Nemo srl, and the help of Elena Schiano di Colella and Annarita Matrone, started eradicating Carpobrotus plants (Hottentot Fig) from Ventotene islands on Easter week. So far, hand removal took place in the archaeological site of Punta Eolo, in the semi-natural area of Punta dell’Arco, and in the gardens of the Torre Comunale site. In particular, at Punta Eolo Carpobrotus individuals have been almost totally removed, except for a small population growing directly on the archaeological ruins (which will be treated locally with herbicides) and for the coastal cliff populations, which require staff specialised in climbing. At Punta dell’Arco, only one of the three existing populations was removed at this stage, since the others are difficult to reach and on steep slopes. At the Torre Comunale, we eliminated most of the populations, and those remaining will be removed during a future activities of environmental education with local students.
Totally, we produced about 200 large plastic bags of eradicated material, which correspond to an extent of at least 300 square meters.