Eastern Alps, Italy Photograph by Pedro Regato/ WWF MedPO   Southern Europe: The Alps of northern Italy, southern France, Switzerland, and Slovenia Temperate Coniferous Forests   57,700 square miles (149,500 square kilometers) -- about the size of Georgia Vulnerable

· The High and Mighty
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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The High and Mighty

While most people recognize the Alps as a popular destination for skiers and hikers, the coniferous and mixed forests of these breathtaking mountains also make up one of the hottest spots for biodiversity in Europe. In areas hidden from ski slopes and resorts, a thriving natural world exists. About 4,500 species of vascular plants, 800 species of mosses, 300 liverwort species, 2,500 species of lichens, and more than 5,000 species of fungi are found here. What’s more, there are about 21 species of amphibians, 15 species of reptiles, hundreds of bird species, and about 80 species of mammals in the Alps Conifer and Mixed Forests ecoregion, including many large herbivores such as the chamois. And there are twenty times as many invertebrates as there are vertebrates in this ecoregion.

Special Features

Geologically speaking, the Alps are a rather young mountain system, with a step-like appearance that reflects the way that they were carved out by glaciers many thousands of years ago. The climate here is mainly cold and temperate, with slight local variations such as in the Mediterranean areas. The Alps are a "transition area" between Central and Mediterranean Europe, meaning that many of the plants and animals from both these regions converge here.

	The chamois is a small goat-like species that spends its summers on the high cliffs and peaks and its winters in the lower alpine valleys.

Wild Side

Throughout the ecoregion, scientists have classified about 200 distinct habitat types, including mountain forests of beech, fir, spruce, and pine; alpine grasslands with rivers; and deep valleys of oak trees that serve as important migration corridors for birds. High in the Alps, the trees are blanketed with an abundance of mosses, lichens, and fungi. Snuggled in a warm winter den, a brown bear mother might nurse her cubs. In the spring, they will emerge from their nursery to start looking for food, including berries and other fruits. Lynxes are well adapted to the colder and snowy parts of the mountains. They have thick fur, and their large paws work like snowshoes to help keep them from sinking in the deep snow.

Cause for Concern

Although some pristine areas of natural habitat remain in the Alps Conifer and Mixed Forests ecoregion, these areas are highly fragmented, which makes it difficult for large carnivores to survive. Throughout this ecoregion, the human influence on nature is pervasive. More than 11 million people live in this part of the world. The mountains here are popular tourist destinations and are also the site of power plants, industry, and agriculture, all of which contribute to air and water pollution.

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