Previous grazing experience on high alpine pastures may help cows to optimise feed selection and minimise impairments in milk production. Eight inexperienced and eight experienced Aosta Red Pied cows ...were compared (primiparous:multiparous = 1:1). Measurements were performed when cows grazed sites at 600, 1800 and 2100 m a.s.l. The statistical model included experience, parity and site as fixed effects. The longest ingestion time was recorded for primiparous inexperienced cows at 1800 m a.s.l. Milk yield remained unaffected by experience, but the main milking time was shorter in inexperienced cows in the lowlands. Milk of inexperienced cows had a higher urea content than experienced cows. Somatic cell score remained unaffected by experience, but inexperienced cows had more incidences of clinical mastitis on alpine pastures. Compared with experienced cows, proportions of the fatty acids ΣC16:1 and ΣC17:1 in milk fat of inexperienced cows were higher and proportions of C18:1 t9 and C18:1 t6-8 lower. Overall, alpine grazing had substantial effects on milk yield and composition coinciding with results from previous studies. There were interactions between experience and site in milking characteristics and milk composition, and for the latter also between experience and parity. In conclusion, experience had effects on several of the variables tested, effects which were sometimes exhibited already on lowland pasture. Still, the effects of experience were much lower than those of the transhumance system.
Highlights
The advantages of previous site-specific and age experience of cows were studied on alpine pasture.
Lack of experience had mostly minor effects on economically relevant traits.
Experience helped to maintain udder health in this alpine environment.
The study is developed through scientific cooperation between the University of Milano-Bicocca and the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPA) of the Valle d’Aosta Region. Its aim is to ...produce a decision-support tool to help the Public Administration’manage groundwater and public water supply. The study area is the plain of Aosta, between the cities of Aymavilles and Brissogne; in this area groundwater represents the main source of public water supply. The valley is oriented east-west, along the Baltea for a length of 13.1 km and a width of 4.6 km. The textural and hydrogeological properties of the deposits are strictly connected to glacial deposition and to the subsequent sedimentary processes which took place in glacial, lacustrine and fluvial systems. The study is based on available well information in the Aosta plain - including water wells (133) and piezometers (121) - which have been coded and stored in the well database TANGRAM,. The database facilitates interpretation of the well data, and it allows three-dimensional mapping of subsurface hydrogeological characteristics through database codification and ordinary kriging interpolation. The study is designed to achieve two objectives. The first is to provide the Aosta Public Authorities with a well database in order to simplify groundwater management. The second is to provide Public Authorities with a groundwater flow model of the local aquifer. The model integrates surface and subsurface flows in order to fully account for all important stresses, both natural and anthropogenic, on the groundwater system. It provides a tool for testing hypotheses (such as the impact of new wells) and thereby allows science-based management of the aquifer resource.
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the impact of global warming and climate change on skiing by assessing the costs that ski resorts would have to bear to address the lack of snow. In this way, new ...development models can be hypothesized for the regional economy in the Aosta Valley, territory located in the West Alps, whose economy is largely based on winter tourism.
Design/methodology/approach
Starting with a literature review regarding global warming and its effects on the Alps, a methodology of analysis has been implemented to assess the relative weaknesses of ski resorts. Additional costs in adaptation strategies have been considered in the light of a major choice ski resorts must face: investing or not. For this analysis, four scenarios of global warming have been taken into consideration.
Findings
The lack of snow due to a rise in temperatures will have a big impact on regional ski resorts and will seriously threaten the economy of small lateral valleys. In this scenario, it is important to think about reorganizing the regional ski supply by focusing on stations with better economic results and those strategically well located. In this way, we can safeguard winter tourism in the region and preserve skiing by concentrating costs only in those resorts that are also able to bear new cost adaptation strategies.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is its estimation of the future impact of a rise in the average temperature in regional ski resorts. This impact is assessed in relation to concerns about the reduction of the skiing area and the new costs that ski companies will need to bear. The paper also proposes a new model for the reorganization of the ski supply in the Aosta Valley.
La confraternita della Porta Sant’Orso di Aosta è qui studiata a partire dalla documentazione contenuta nel cartolario quattrocentesco conservato nell’archivio della collegiata di Sant’Orso. Seppure ...con evidenti limiti, esso fornisce un interessante punto di osservazione per la ricostruzione delle vicende di un ente confraternale poco noto, relativamente al periodo compreso tra la fine del secolo XII e la metà del XIV. Dedicata allo Spirito Santo, questa confraternita appare profondamente radicata nel tessuto urbano e sociale dell’omonimo borgo: il legame con i burgenses e con le istituzioni locali contribuì a renderla uno dei principali attori socio-politici del terziere.
Detailed analysis of Digital Terrain Models (DTMs), digital imagery, and a discussion of their various applications and derived geothematic products are presented for study areas in two different ...geological and geomorphological contexts of North West (NW) of Italy. In both cases it has been proposed an integrated approach for geomorphological analysis that put in evidence many advantages of using these new geomatics tools.
In the first context, digital geomorphological mapping of high altitude areas of the Aosta Valley (Gran Paradiso and Gran San Bernardo) have been carried out by using photogrammetry and remote sensing on airborne laser scanner data (LiDAR derived DTM) and orthophotos. Suitable results have been obtained for areas of difficult accessibility, with reduced costs and work time compared to traditional field techniques.
In the second geomorphological context, high-resolution images of the present topography of the high Piedmont plain (Turin, Asti and Cuneo Provinces) have been used to perform GIS mapping and analysis. Evidences of Quaternary modifications in the hydrographic network have been enhanced, suggesting new geomorphological elements for the reconstruction of the recent geodynamic history of the area.
This study was designed to evaluate the effects of two feeding methods on milk yield, composition and fatty acid (FA) profile obtained from dual‐purpose cattle. Twenty‐four Aosta Red Pied cows beyond ...peak of lactation were assigned to two groups and fed hay and concentrates in the proportions 0.69 and 0.31 on a dry matter basis for 10 weeks. Concentrates were offered separately from forages 6 times a day (separate ration, SR) or as a total mixed ration (TMR). The feeding method did not significantly influence dry matter intake (16.8 vs. 16.9 kg/head/day for SR‐ and TMR‐fed cows, respectively), milk yield (17.4 vs. 17.5 kg/head/day), milk fat, protein and lactose contents (36.4 vs. 35.2, 33.5 vs. 32.8, and 47.3 vs. 47.4 g/kg) and yields (607.9 vs. 613.4, 567.4 vs. 572.7 and 805.5 vs. 829.7 g/head/day). The overall milk FA profile was very similar between groups. Milk concentrations of FA used as indirect markers of rumen function (C18:2 t10c12, odd‐ and branched‐chain FA) and the extent of ruminal biohydrogenation were comparable (P > 0.05) between SR‐ and TMR‐fed cows, suggesting that ruminal pH did not vary considerably as a consequence of the feeding strategy applied.
We modeled the distribution of the South African alien Senecio inaequidens DC. in the Aosta Valley, Western Italian Alps, using data extracted from the Regional floristic database and from an ...intensive field survey carried out in years 2009–2010. The aims of the work were (1) to evaluate whether the species is in the introduction, colonization, or establishment stage of invasion, (2) to detect the environmental factors that drive the invasion process, and (3) to highlight the potential range of distribution of the alien species. The modeling framework was a stepwise generalized linear model (GLM), using gridded presence/absence data and environmental predictors such as topography, climate, land use, and anthropogenic and natural disturbances. GLM were fit both with and without an additional independent variable to take into account current dispersal limitations. S. inaequidens displayed a very fast spread in the Aosta Valley in the years 1990–2010. The species was positively associated with roads and rivers, southern slopes, and negatively with elevation. However, it was found at an elevation of 1600 m, showing the ability to reach higher elevations than those observed for other invasive alien species, and confirming to be pre-adapted to mountain conditions. The difference between the species distribution models, with and without dispersal constraints, suggested that the availability of seed sources still limits the potential distribution of the species, rather than the environmental variables, and that the realized regional niche differs to a great extent from the equilibrium niche. When limitations to the seed source cease (i.e., in the establishment stage), the species will likely invade large areas that are currently characterized by pastures and grasslands with native species of high agricultural importance. The invasion of S. inaequidens should therefore be considered a serious threat, due to its potential to invade mountain regions, and in particular to colonize habitats used for grazing and forage, thus leading to a high risk for cattle and human health. We discuss the relevance of the results both concerning communication with the public and to support local eradication and control activities. The inclusion of S. inaequidens in the “black list” of the regional law for the conservation of alpine flora (L.R. 45/2009) will help to transfer the information and support invasion control, in particular at medium elevations.
A structural study along the Orco Valley, which represents a geological section through the Alpine belt (western Italy), is reported. A Lower Tectonic Element, composed of units with eclogite facies ...relics (Gran Paradiso and Zermatt–Saas-like Unit) and an Upper Tectonic Element, made of greenschist facies units (Combin-like Unit and Gneiss Minuti Complex of the Sesia–Lanzo Zone) have been distinguished. These two elements show a different main Alpine tectono-metamorphic event (D
1) and are separated by a mylonitic contact (D
2) developed under greenschist facies conditions (Orco Shear Zone). This regional scale shear zone was responsible for the exhumation of the deeper eclogitic units, and has been inferred as the continuation of the Combin Fault south of the Aosta Valley. From D
3 onward, the same tectono-metamorphic evolution was recorded in all units. The following extensional crenulation cleavage (D
4) occurs mostly along a NNE–SSW deformation zone about 1
km thick at the base of the Upper Tectonic Element which leads to a further exhumation of the Lower Tectonic Element.
This article is meant to present unpublished gems found out in the Vale of Aosta. Out of the 6 specimens here presented, 5 were recovered in the excavations of the Augusta Praetoria insulae and in ...the vicinity of the Roman city: from a domus in insula 51, a cornalian with palm and poppy (nº 1) dating to the Ist century A.D.; from the forum thermae a cornalian with the head of Jupiter- Ammon (nº 2) dating to the Ist century B.C.-Ist c. A.D; from the suburban villa in the Regione Consolata, a glass gem with a horse and a pillar (nº 3) dating to the Ist c. B.C.-Ist c. A.D.; from a late Tene settlement, near the villa, a cornalian with a cornucopia (nº 4), dating to the II-I c. B.C.; from the piscina limaria in the Bibian Regione, a cornalian with a racing dog (nº 5), from the IIIrd c. A.D. Lastly, from the Petit Saint Bernard, from the eastern mansio of the shrine, a Ist c. A.D nicolo with the figure of a hero or warrior wielding a spear.
PDF
