Danubian and Balkan mixed forests | |
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![]() Forests on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast | |
![]() Location of the Balkan mixed forests (in purple) | |
Ecology | |
Realm | Palearctic |
Biome | Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests |
Borders | List
|
Geography | |
Area | 224,344 km2 (86,620 sq mi) |
Countries | |
Conservation | |
Conservation status | critical/endangered |
Protected | 27,536 km2 (12%) [1] |
The Balkan mixed forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of southeastern Europe according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency. It belongs in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome and the Palearctic realm.
The Balkan mixed forests cover much of the valleys, plains and mountain slopes of the eastern Balkans, mainly Bulgaria, on different altitude, except higher parts of the Rila-Rhodope and Balkan, Mountains, where they are substituted by the Rodope montane mixed forests. It extends from approximately the Drina valley to the coasts of the Black, Marmara and Aegean Seas and occupy 224,400 km2 (86,600 sq. mi) in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Romania, Greece, Kosovo and Turkey. The ecoregion is surrounded by the Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests (in Turkey, Georgia and Bulgaria), Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests (in Greece), Pindus Mountains mixed forests (in Greece, North Macedonia and Albania), Dinaric Mountains mixed forests (in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina), Pannonian mixed forests (in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Romania), Carpathian montane conifer forests, Central European mixed forests (both in Romania), as well as the East European forest steppe and Pontic steppe (both situated in Romania and Bulgaria).
The climate of the ecoregion is mostly of Köppen's humid subtropical (Cfa) to humid warm summer continental (Dfb) type, with wet winters. Some areas of relatively high rainfall have been considered a temperate rainforest relict.
Several species of deciduous oaks (most prominently Quercus frainetto Ten., as well as Q. cerris L., Q. pubescens Willd. and others) dominate most of the ecoregion's forests, interspersed higher up mountainsides (above 800–1200 m) mostly with European beech and such conifers as Black pine, Scots pine, Bosnian pine, Macedonian pine, silver fir and Norway spruce. The highest peaks support alpine tundra vegetation.
Phytogeographically, the ecoregion is shared between parts of the Central European, Illyrian and Euxinian provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Holarctic Kingdom (according to Armen Takhtajan's delineation).
Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula or a region in Turkey, constituting most of its contemporary territory. Geographically, the Anatolian region is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Turkish Straits to the north-west, and the Black Sea to the north. The eastern and southeastern boundary is either the southeastern and eastern borders of Turkey, or an imprecise line from the Gulf of Iskenderun to the Black Sea. Topographically, the Sea of Marmara connects the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea through the Bosporus strait and the Dardanelles strait, and separates Anatolia from Thrace in the Balkan peninsula of Southeastern Europe.
The Balkans, corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria. The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south, the Turkish straits in the east, and the Black Sea in the northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is variously defined. The highest point of the Balkans is Musala, 2,925 metres (9,596 ft), in the Rila mountain range, Bulgaria.
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Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, southern France, Spain, Turkey, and Vatican City.
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin, also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea, is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and warm to hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation. It was a very important part of Mediterranean civilizations.
The European-Mediterranean montane mixed forests is a composite ecoregion of southern Europe and North Africa, designated by the World Wildlife Fund as one of their Global 200 ecoregions, a list of priority ecoregions for conservation.
The Caucasus-Anatolian-Hyrcanian temperate forests is a composite ecoregion of southern Europe and West Asia, designated by the World Wildlife Fund as one of their Global 200 ecoregions, a list of priority ecoregions for conservation.
The Pindus Mountains mixed forests constitute a terrestrial ecoregion of Europe according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency. It belongs to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, and is in the Palearctic realm.
The Illyrian deciduous forests is a terrestrial ecoregion in southern Europe, which extends along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It belongs to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, and is in the Palearctic realm.
The Dinaric Mountains mixed forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome in Southeastern Europe, according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency. It also is in the Palearctic realm.
The wildlife of Turkey is abundant and diverse. Turkey is a large country with many geographic and climatic regions and a great diversity of plants and animals, each suited to its own particular habitat. About 1,500 species of vertebrates and 19,000 species of invertebrates have been recorded in the country. Some of the world's staple crops were first cultivated in this area and many of their wild relatives are still found here. The country acts as a crossroads for many birds during migration, connecting Europe, Asia, and the Near East.
The Rodope montane mixed forests is a terrestrial ecoregion of Europe defined by the WWF. It belongs in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome and the Palearctic realm.
The Central Anatolian deciduous forests, also known as the Central Anatolian woodlands and steppe, is a Palearctic ecoregion of the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome. It is located in Central Anatolia, Asian Turkey.
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The Pannonian mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in Europe. It covers an area of 307,720 km2 in all of Hungary, most of Slovakia, about half of Croatia and Slovenia, around a third of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Serbia, and minor parts of Austria, Czech Republic, and Ukraine.
The Carpathian montane conifer forests, also known as Carpathian montane forests, is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in the Carpathian Mountains of the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine.