Abruzzo NP, Italy Photograph by Pedro Regato/ WWF MedPO   Palaearctic Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   6,200 square miles (16,100 square kilometers) -- about the size of Hawaii Critical/Endangered

· Animals of the Apennines
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
More Photos

Animals of the Apennines

Running north to south like a bony spine, Italy’s Apennine Mountains create safe havens for numerous species. At the highest reaches, montane forests are still fairly well preserved because their altitude shelters them from clearing and overuse. They shield such rare gems as the lady’s slipper, an orchid found in only two locations in the central mountains, and the Marsican brown bear, which is seldom seen.

Special Features

This ecoregion encompasses only the northern and middle sections of the Apennine range, which includes Mount Corno, the highest peak at 9,554 feet (2,912 m). The climate is warmed by the Mediterranean Sea, but snowfalls are frequent. Vegetation here consists of beech forest mixed with tall European fir trees, which can grow up to 150 feet (45 m) in height. Beneath the trees, geranium shrubs with purple flowers grow. At the highest elevations, low shrubby bilberries, relatives of blueberries, grow alongside alpine St. John’s wort, a plant with small yellow flowers. In the southern portion, small whispering pine shrubs with long, stiff needles grow in abundance, mixed with evergreen juniper shrubs. Patches of alpine grasslands also grow at high altitudes.

	Abruzzi National Park has proven to be a valuable shelter for this ecoregion’s wildlife. For example, only 70 to 100 Marsican brown bears remain, with most residing inside park boundaries. Roe deer were reintroduced to the park from the Alps in the 1970s when the remaining local population was determined to be not viable.

Wild Side

Rare wildlife includes several montane Italian subspecies, including the goatlike Abruzzi chamois (a subspecies of the southern chamois), which is a graceful plant-eater that lives in small groups. The Marsican brown bear is a subspecies of brown bear that is well-adapted to these montane forests, as is the Apennine wolf. Other animals found in the Apennines include roe deer, wild boars, wildcats, red foxes, martens, western polecats, crested porcupines, badgers, and weasels. Birds of prey include huge golden eagles, northern goshawks, sparrowhawks, black-shouldered kites, kestrels, and peregrine falcons. Rarely seen Lilford or white-backed woodpeckers are dependent on decayed and fallen deciduous trees and are therefore threatened by commercial forestry. In fields and ditches you might find common rat snakes or rare meadow vipers, the latter of which feed mainly on insects. Italian wall lizards and green lizards are also abundant here.

Cause for Concern

In Italy, only about 20 percent of the farmable land is level, so even mountain slopes and pastures are used for grazing and farming. Tourist traffic can be heavy, and visitors over-collect orchids. But large-scale logging has mostly stopped in these forests, and several national parks have been formed to preserve habitat.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.