The Piave Nuovo is characterized by a straight river bed in its first stretch (the area of S. Donà-Eraclea), and then, between Eraclea and Cortellazzo, by a river bed with bends of small deep. The river, on its final part, floods the countryside during the big swellings, which invade the river bed and the flood plains shelves.
In low water conditions, instead, the Piave flows quietly, with emerald green colored water, that laps against the thick hedges on the bank's scarps.
The fluvial invironment downstream of S. Donà di Piave is separeted from the surrounding countryside by strong riverbanks, which are passed through by roads and delimited by thin cultivated flood plain's quays . On the river bank the fluvial tree-lined hedge grows beyond the maize or vineyard zone, as said before, composed more by false acacia, but locally also by white willow, white poplar, rare alder, black willow, common dogwood and amorpha.

The wild life connected to the river is concentrated in this area: on the willows's branches, half submerged in the water, is possible to admire, in spring and summer, the black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) fish hunting.
The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) fastly flies really close to the surface of the water and the elegant magpies (Pica pica) build their nests on the top of big poplars. Thus, even on its artificial stretch, the River developed a rich and lively environment of undeniable aesthetic value.

Text and photos: curtesy of the publishing, from the book 'Escursioni LAGUNA NORD VENEZIA', written by Michele Zanetti, for Itinerari Fuoriporta, Casa Editrice CIERRE Edizioni, Via Ciro Ferrari 5, 37060 - Caselle di Sommacampagna (VR)
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