Pindus Mountains mixed forests

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Pindus Mountains mixed forests
Olympus forest 3.jpg
Forest on Mount Olympus
Ecoregion PA1217.svg
Map of ecoregion PA1217
Ecology
Biome Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Borders
Bird species229 [1]
Mammal species68 [1]
Geography
Area39,500 km2 (15,300 mi2)
Countries
Conservation
Habitat loss36.395% [1]
Protected4.32% [1]

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.

Contents

The Pindus Mountains mixed forests are situated in the montane parts of the southern Balkans in the wide elevational range above 300–500 m. They cover Taygetus on the Peloponnesus in the south, occur in the mountain ranges of Central Greece, Western Macedonia and Epirus (including the Pindus), eastern Albania and the southwestern part of North Macedonia, extend to the Drin River valley in the north and occupy 39,500 km2 (15,300 sq. mi) in the three countries.

The ecoregion is landlocked and surrounded by the Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests (in Greece), Illyrian deciduous forests (in Greece and Albania), Dinaric Mountains mixed forests (in Albania to the north of the Drin) and Balkan mixed forests (in Kosovo, North Macedonia and Greece).

The climate of the ecoregion is mostly of Köppen's Mediterranean type with hot summers (Csa).

Flora

Due to the wide elevational range of this ecoregion the highest elevations (above 1,000-1,400 m) are covered with coniferous forests, with a mixed broadleaf zone occurring lower. The coniferous forests are dominated by Pinus nigra subsp. nigra var. pallasiana, Pinus heldreichii , Pinus peuce , Greek fir (Abies cephalonica), A. alba and A. × borisii-regis , with deciduous European beech in the north. Juniperus foetidissima occurs widely near the tree line. The dominant species on the lower elevations are remarkably diverse, including Aesculus hippocastanum (in more damp places) and various deciduous oaks ( Quercus frainetto , Q. pubescens , Q. cerris , Q. trojana , Q. petraea ). Evergreen oaks, mainly Q. calliprinos , Q. ilex , and other Mediterranean sclerophyll shrubland species are abundant on dry and rocky south-facing slopes.

Near-endemic and endemic species include Greek fir, Natalie's ramonda (Ramonda nathaliae), and Ramonda heldreichii . [2] Carpinus austrobalcanica , a species of hornbeam first described in 2024, is endemic to the Pindus Mountains.

The western Balkan Peninsula contains the most extensive areas of ultramafic rocks in Europe, mostly in a belt stretching from western Bosnia through southern and western Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Albania to northern Greece, with the largest areas in the Pindus mountains. Ultramafic soils, which are rich in magnesium, nickel, and other metals, are inhospitable to many plants, and are often home to distinctive plant communities which include species endemic to ultramafic outcrops. Stevanović et al. (2003) found that 335 Balkan endemic plant taxa (species and subspecies) grow on ultramafic substrates, of which 123 are obligate endemics which grow only on ultramafic soils. Greek endemic species found in ultramafic grasslands include Bornmuellera tymphaea , Centaurea lacerata , and Noccaea tymphaea . [3]

Phytogeographically, the ecoregion is shared between the East Mediterranean province of the Mediterranean Region and the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region within the Holarctic Kingdom (Armen Takhtajan's delineation).

In recent years, stress from prolonged drought and higher temperatures have made Greek fir trees vulnerable to predation by wood-boring beetles of subfamily Scolytinae, which disrupt the trees' ability to transport water and nutrients from roots to branches and can kill trees. Greek fir die-offs have been reported in the Peloponnesos, Ionian Islands, and the mountains of the Greek mainland. [4] [5]

Fauna

Native large mammals include the brown bear (Ursus arctos), gray wolf (Canis lupus), golden jackal (Canis aureus), and Balkan lynx (Lynx lynx balcanicus). The Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanicus) inhabits the high mountains of Albania with smaller populations in the Pindus of northern Greece. [2]

National parks

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hoekstra, J. M.; Molnar, J. L.; Jennings, M.; Revenga, C.; Spalding, M. D.; Boucher, T. M.; Robertson, J. C.; Heibel, T. J.; Ellison, K. (2010). Molnar, J. L. (ed.). The Atlas of Global Conservation: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Make a Difference . University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-26256-0.
  2. 1 2 "Pindus Mountains Mixed Forests". One Earth. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  3. ↑ Filis, E., Kyrkas, D., Mantzos, N., Dimitrakopoulos, P. G., Fotiadis, G., & Konstantinou, M. (2024). Grassland flora of ultramafic areas in Northern Pindus (Greece). Ecological Research, 39(4), 531–542. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1703.12469
  4. ↑ Turner, Vania (24 July 2025). "Greek fir forests dying as heat peaks and snow cover wanes". Reuters. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  5. ↑ Patachako, Tam (19 December 2025). "They survived wildfires. But something else is killing Greece's iconic fir forests". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2026.

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