Since it was established, the Julian Prealps Park has always strived to sustain and further research of the naturalistic, historical, cultural and ethnographic kind, promoting collaboration with other entities and institutions. The main research activities being conducted currently or having just been completed are indicated below:

• Monitoring of the chamois and ibex:

  Chamois Photo by Fulvio Genero

  Tabs are kept on these two ungulates all over the Park, through constant monitoring as well as periodic censuses involving experts, forest wardens, environmental watch representatives and hunters (Project coordinated by: Fulvio Genero, Marco Favalli)

• Reintroduction of the ibex in the Mount Canin area:

  Release of the ibexes Photo by Marco Di Lenardo (Park archives)

  Following the positive outcome of the experiment conducted during the late 1980s on Mount Plauris, the Park is helping to form a colony of ibexes on Mount Canin, through a series of reintroductions. The aim of releasing the animals in 2002, 2003 and 2004 is to create a point of contact between the populations in the Montasio area, on Mount Plauris and in the Triglav Park (Project coordinated by: Fulvio Genero)

• Monitoring of large carnivores:

  Lynx photographed using infrared camera University of Udine Università degli Studi di Udine

  Over the last few years, the Park has been one of the preferred entry points from Slovenia by the bear and the lynx. The need to verify the number and characteristics of these animals has led to a special agreement being drawn up with the University of Udine to constantly monitor the movements of these species in the protected area (Project coordinated by: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Udine)

• Monitoring of health: The Park must keep a close watch on the condition of its fauna, both in terms of its “wild” animals and the interaction between these and the “domestic” animals. To this aim, this task has been assigned to veterinaries who work closely with the management authority, the game reserves bordering the protected area, the Regional authority and the Istituto Zooprofilattico (Zooprophylactic Institute) (Project coordinated by: Giuseppe Cappello, Alberto Pischiutti)
  
  
• Drafting of an atlas on nesting birds:

  Greek Partridge Photo by Luciano Gaudenzio

  After several years of field research, it has been possible to identify the bird species nesting in the protected area and to draw up, with the help of a Land Information System, the relative maps. This work will be published shortly in the Park’s scientific series (Project coordinated by: Fulvio Genero, Michel Zuliani)

• Aquatic Bioindicators:

  Stonefly Photo by Wolfram Graf

  The Park’s waters are home to an inestimable wealth of biodiversity, whose fauna component, with the exception of the fish fauna, has been analysed and catalogued. This work, published in the Park’s scientific series, has, among other things, led to the identification of new species for the Park and for Italy (Coordinator: Fabio Stoch).

• Monitoring of invertebrate bioindicators in pastures and beech forests:

  Rosalia Longicorn (Rosalia alpina) Photo by Giuliano Mainardis

  This is an ecological-faunal contribution towards gaining a better understanding of the Park’s invertebrates. Its aim is to obtain a comparative evaluation of the faunal complexity of various zones within the protected area, to identify the faunal and biogeographical characteristics and to further knowledge with the purpose of producing an atlas of the fauna in the Julian Alps and Prealps (Coordinator: Friulian Museum of Natural History, Municipality of Udine).

• Ecology of the sheep tick (Ixodes ricinus L: Over the last few years, much of the alpine and prealpine territory in Friuli Venezia Giulia has seen an increase in infections linked to the presence of the sheep tick (Ixodes ricinus L.). For this reason, it is necessary to study in depth the aspects associated with the ecology of this species and particularly the ways in which it spreads and how it can be controlled (Coordinator: Department of Biology applied to Plant Protection, University of Udine).

• List of Flora:

  Julian poppy Photo by Marco Di Lenardo (Park archives)

  Following four years of research, a list has been compiled of over 1,200 species and subspecies found in the protected area. Of these, more than 40 are endemic species. Furthermore, an integrated database has been set up, which can be updated with new information. Moreover, a phytogeographical atlas has been published in the Park’s scientific series (Coordinator: Department of Biology, University of Trieste).

• Study of macrolichens and bryophytes:

  Moss (Fissidens sp.) Friulian Museum of Natural History

  The aims of this study were to compile a list of lichens and to produce a cartographic representation of the species recorded, dedicating particular attention to the macrolichens which were best suited to being used for education and popularisation (Coordinator: Friulian Museum of Natural History, Municipality of Udine).