San Daniele biotope

San Daniele is a LIFE Natura site, belonging to the “Natural eutrophic lakes with Magnopotamion or Hydrocharition-type vegetation” habitat type; it owes its name to a nearby hill and is a typical example of highly valuable wetland. It is situated in an area, also known as Lago Verde di Torreglia (Torreglia Green Lake), which is partly used for recreational fishing, and consists of some man-made ponds which used to be part of a system of basins, where clay was once dug for brick production. The ponds have different depths and some of them are flooded throughout the year, whereas others partially dry out in the summer. They belong to a system to collect water, connected with two canals: Rio Calcina and Scolo Rialto.

In the whole area between Torreglia, Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme, water tends to stagnate along field borders, filling many ditches even during the summer; it thus creates living conditions for many water-loving plant species, some of which are becoming rare (Cardamine pratensis, Oenanthe fistulosa, Euphorbia palustris) or seriously threatened in the entire Po Plain (Ludwigia palustris, Taraxacum palustre).

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