Apennine deciduous montane forest

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Mixed forest (Abies alba and Fagus sylvatica) in Cimone Mountain, northern Apennine MonteCimone1.jpg
Mixed forest (Abies alba and Fagus sylvatica) in Cimone Mountain, northern Apennine
Ecoregion PA0401 Ecoregion PA0401.png
Ecoregion PA0401

The Apennine deciduous montane forests, a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, are an ecoregion in the mountain ranges of Italian peninsula including the Apennine Mountains. The development of these forests is ensured by the high rainfall Apennines (from 1000 mm in southern Apennine to 2500 mm in northern Apennine), combined with a temperate-cool climate. Because of climate change, the presence of Silver Fir (Abies alba), although still widespread, is dramatically reduced in favour of the beech.

Biome Distinct biological communities that have formed in response to a shared physical climate

A biome is a community of plants and animals that have common characteristics for the environment they exist in. They can be found over a range of continents. Biomes are distinct biological communities that have formed in response to a shared physical climate. Biome is a broader term than habitat; any biome can comprise a variety of habitats.

Ecoregion Ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion

An ecoregion is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than an ecozone. All three of these are either less or greater than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species. The biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. In theory, biodiversity or conservation ecoregions are relatively large areas of land or water where the probability of encountering different species and communities at any given point remains relatively constant, within an acceptable range of variation.

Apennine Mountains Mountain range stretching 1000 km from the north to the south of Italy along its east coast, traversing the entire peninsula, and forming the backbone of the country

The Apennines or Apennine Mountains are a mountain range consisting of parallel smaller chains extending c. 1,200 km (750 mi) along the length of peninsular Italy. In the northwest they join with the Ligurian Alps at Altare. In the southwest they end at Reggio di Calabria, the coastal city at the tip of the peninsula. Since 2000 the Environment Ministry of Italy, following the recommendations of the Apennines Park of Europe Project, has been defining the Apennines System to include the mountains of north Sicily, for a total distance of 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The system forms an arc enclosing the east side of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas.

Contents

Description

Vegetation zones

The ecoregion has two major vegetation zones:

1. Extensive forests

<i>Fagus sylvatica</i> species of plant

Fagus sylvatica, the European beech or common beech, is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae.

<i>Abies alba</i> species of plant

Abies alba, the European silver fir or silver fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees north to Normandy, east to the Alps and the Carpathians, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and south to Italy, Bulgaria, Albania and northern Greece; it is also commonly grown on Christmas tree plantations in the North East region of North America spanning New England in the USA to the Maritime provinces of Canada.

<i>Pinus nigra</i> species of plant

Pinus nigra, the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across southern Mediterranean Europe from Spain to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey on Corsica and Cyprus as well as Crimea and in the high mountains of the Maghreb in North Africa.

With presence of deciduous Quercus ssp. and sporadic Fraxinus ssp., Acer ssp., Tilia ssp., Populus ssp., Castanea sativa, Carpinus ssp., Ostrya ssp., Ulmus ssp., Betula ssp., Sorbus ssp., Salix ssp., Prunus ssp., Taxus baccata, Malus sylvestris, Pyrus and other Central-European broadleaved and coniferous species.

<i>Fraxinus</i> genus of plants

Fraxinus, English name ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The genus is widespread across much of Europe, Asia, and North America.

<i>Tilia</i> genus of plants

Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. In the British Isles, they are commonly called lime trees, or lime bushes, although they are not closely related to the tree that produces the lime fruit. Other names include linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. The genus occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but the greatest species diversity is found in Asia. Under the Cronquist classification system, this genus was placed in the family Tiliaceae, but genetic research summarised by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group has resulted in the incorporation of this genus, and of most of the previous family, into the Malvaceae.

<i>Populus</i>

Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar, aspen, and cottonwood.

2. Mountain summit meadows and cushion scrubs, with the predominant species:

<i>Sorbus chamaemespilus</i> species of plant

Sorbus chamaemespilus, the false medlar or dwarf whitebeam, is a species of Sorbus native to the mountains of central and southern Europe, from the Pyrenees east through the Alps to the Carpathians and the Balkans, growing at altitudes of up to 2500 m.

<i>Arctostaphylos uva-ursi</i> one of several related bearberry species

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi is a plant species of the genus Arctostaphylos (manzanita). Its common names include kinnikinnick and pinemat manzanita, and it is one of several related species referred to as bearberry.

<i>Vaccinium vitis-idaea</i> species of plant

Vaccinium vitis-idaea is a short evergreen shrub in the heath family that bears edible fruit, native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America. Lingonberries are picked in the wild and used to accompany a variety of dishes in Northern Baltoscandia and Russia. Commercial cultivation is undertaken in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and in many other regions of the world.

Endemic species

There are a high number of endemic species increasing at higher elevations and representing between 10 and 20% of the total flora.

Monti della Laga mountain

Monti della Laga is a mountain range in the central Apennines of Italy. Their ruggedness and inaccessibility makes them one of the lesser known areas of the Italian peninsula.

Alpine species include

See also

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