Soufli Forest Game Refuge, Greece Photograph by © WWF-Canon/Michel GUNTHER   Eastern Europe: Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   86,600 square miles (224,400 square kilometers) -- about twice the size of Louisiana Critical/Endangered

· Ice-locked Islands
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Ice-locked Islands

This mainly mountainous ecoregion was formed 100 million to 50 million years ago. During the glacial periods of the Pleistocene Epoch, the Balkan Mountains served as islands in a sea of ice for animals and plants of this ecoregion.

Special Features

Plant ecologists have a lot to study here in the Balkan Mountains. The region’s isolation during the glacial periods, plus its transition from high, cold mountain environment to dry, hot Mediterranean climate, have created communities that support more than 3,000 species of plants. One-third of these plants is endemic. The highest peaks support alpine and arctic-alpine plants. Below this zone, the valleys and sheltered slopes support forests of beech and hornbeam. Open areas include heaths and grasslands. At lower elevations, oaks replace the beech and hornbeam, while oriental beech and cherry-laurel dominate the shadier slopes. Limestone cliffs support yet another vegetation community, including a number of endemic plants. Shrubby violets and mustard plants also occur here. Moisture-loving plants that can withstand cold winters live in the north, while plants that can withstand drier, hotter conditions dominate the south.

	The Balkan Mountains are among the highest range of mountains in Europe; only the Alps and Pyrenees are higher.

Wild Side

Wildlife ecologists would also find much to study in this ecoregion because the same conditions that created the wide variety of plant life have also supported a diversity of animals. Brown bears inhabit the more inaccessible areas of the Balkans, and wildcats prefer oak, beech, and mixed forest with clearings. Animals characteristic of colder, mountainous climates--such as lynx and roe deer, are abundant in the ecoregion. Alpine chamois and wolves appear where there is less snow, usually below 8,000 feet (2,400 m). Animals more common to Mediterranean ecoregions, such as wild boars, red foxes, rodents, hares, and pine martens, live in the southern part of this region. Endangered animals include the meadow viper and long-nosed viper as well as the European curlew. Black storks, booted eagles, golden eagles, and long-legged buzzards also call this cold forest home.

Cause for Concern

Overgrazing of livestock has already damaged large tracts of grassland in this ecoregion, and other agricultural uses are expanding. Several protected areas in Bulgaria have been established as national parks, but they face twin threats: possible fragmentation and increased tourism. A water diversion project on the River Mesta also threatens the region.

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