Page 4 - EAI-4_2015_83-90

Research & development
FIGURE 1 Flow diagram of management options for seagrass
wrack (POSIDuNE, 2014). The dashed lines represents on dedicated web pages [11] [12] [13] in order to detect
the potential solutions that have been implemented
during GERIN
Such options are described in Circular no. 08123 issued
by the Italian Ministry of the Environment on 17th March,
2006 that, for all the cases, constrains local authorities
and municipalities to define the legal procedure for
displacement of the vegetal beached biomasses in
relation to specific cases [10].
From a technical point of view, many licences have been
produced in the last 20 years concerning the use of
new technologies for Posidonia oceanica conservation,
management or transplanting on the sea floor. By using
FIGURE 2 Main patents on conservation, transplanting and reuse of Posidonia oceanica FIGURE 3 4VKPÄLK-PN\YL[VWHUK
84 EAI Energia, Ambiente e Innovazione 4/2015
the keyword P. oceanica, a patent review was carried out
and analyse 45 products deposited between 1944 and
2013. Twenty-one of these patents are dated back to the
last two decades (between 1993 and 2013; Figure 2).
The most significant details of some patents deposited
to date are briefly reported as follow.
In 1998, Dounas proposed an integrated planting
system through the use of metal pipes on sandy seabed
[14] (EP - 897 034 B1; Figure 3).
Meinesz et al. in 1993, through the company’s Dragon-
Sub Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands,Spain),applied
a national patent (ES 2069504) that describes a detailed
procedure to repopulate the seabed of seagrass by
using individual metal supports to fix single plants on
the sandy bottom (Figure 4). This paper [15] presents
many similarities with the European patent presented
by the same author through the University of Nice in
1992 and published in 1994 (FR 2695536 B1).
Vicente and Torres, Oficina Técnica de Edificacio of
the Ciutata Vella (Valencia, Spain), in 2006 deposited
a national patent (ES 2259524) on a mooring system
for light boats, that is aimed at the preservation of the
meadow in order to avoid damage to the biocenosis
on the seabed (especially when colonized by seagrass
Posidonia oceanica in particular) by using a system of
lifting chains and ropes sealed on the sea floor [16]
(Figure 5).
Figure 3 (down) from license
EP–897034 B1