The Apennine deciduous montane forests are a

temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These f ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

in the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The development of these forests is ensured by the high rainfall in the Apennines (from 1000 mm in the southern mountains to 2500 mm in the north), combined with a temperate-cool climate. Because of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, the presence of silver fir (''

Abies alba ''Abies alba'', the European silver fir or silver fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees north to Normandy, east to the Alps and the Carpathians, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and sou ...

''), although still widespread, has been dramatically reduced in favour of

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

Flora

The ecoregion has two major vegetation zones, montane forests and mountain meadows. The beech forests are characterized by

European beech ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though more ...

''Fagus sylvatica''. Beech often grows with deciduous oaks (''Quercus'' spp.)

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since h ...

s (''

Acer pseudoplatanus ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', known as the sycamore in the British Isles and as the sycamore maple in the United States, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved tree, t ...

'', ''Acer opalus'' ssp. ''obtusatum'', and '' A. lobelii''), ''

Sorbus aria ''Sorbus aria'' (syn. ''Aria nivea''), the whitebeam or common whitebeam, is a deciduous tree, the type species of the subgenus ''Sorbus'' subg. ''Aria'' of the genus ''Sorbus''. It is native to most of Europe as well as North Africa (Algeria, Mo ...

, S. aucuparia, S. torminalis,

Ulmus glabra ''Ulmus glabra'' Hudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches i ...

Tilia platyphyllos ''Tilia platyphyllos'', the large-leaved lime or large-leaved linden, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Malvaceae (Tiliaceae). It is a deciduous tree, native plant, native to much of Europe, including locally in sout ...

Populus tremula ''Populus tremula'' (commonly called aspen, common aspen, Eurasian aspen, European aspen, or quaking aspen) is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of Europe and Asia, from Iceland and the British IslesJames KilkellIrish native ...

Ilex aquifolium ''Ilex aquifolium'', the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asi ...

'', and the evergreen conifer

yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

(''Taxus baccata'')."Italian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests". ''Encyclopedia of Earth''. Accessed 13 September 2020

/ref>Sillo, Roberta & Sanctis, Michele & Bruno, Franco & Attorre, Fabio. (2012). Vegetation and landscape of the Simbruini mountains (Central Apennines). Plant Sociology. 49. 3-64. 10.7338/pls2012491S1/01. There are also mixed stands of beech and Abies alba, silver fir (''Abies alba''), along with relict stands of Italian black pine (''Pinus nigra'' var. ''italica'') and relict stands of ''

Picea abies ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very close ...

'' and ''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and or ...

'' in the northern Apennines. The mountain summits are covered with alpine meadows and woody cushion shrublands. Cushion shrubs include alpine juniper (''Juniperus communis'' subsp. ''nana''), '' Sorbus chamaemespilus,

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' is a plant species of the genus ''Arctostaphylos'' widely distributed across circumboreal regions of the subarctic Northern Hemisphere. Kinnikinnick ( First Nations for "smoking mixture") is a common name in Canada ...

Vaccinium vitis-idaea ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...

'', and relict ''

Pinus mugo ''Pinus mugo'', known as bog pine, creeping pine, dwarf mountain pine, mugo pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, or Swiss mountain pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and S ...

'' on

Maiella The Maiella (or Majella) is a massif in the Central Apennines, in Abruzzo, central Italy. Geography The mountain is located at the boundary between the provinces of Chieti, Pescara and L'Aquila. The highest peak is Monte Amaro at 2,793&n ...

mountain. Alpine meadow plants include '' Gentiana dinarica, Gentiana nivalis,

Androsace alpina ''Androsace alpina'', or Alpine rock-jasmine, is an alpine plant, endemic to the Alps. Distribution In the wild, ''Androsace alpina'' grows on silicaceous substrates, particularly granite, and is one of the few plants in the Alps to grow above ...

Polygala chamaebuxus ''Polygaloides chamaebuxus'', synonym ''Polygala chamaebuxus'', the shrubby milkwort, is an ornamental plant in the family Polygalaceae. Its flowers are solitary or in pairs in the leaf axils. The inner two sepals, the wings, are upright and whi ...

Saxifraga oppositifolia ''Saxifraga oppositifolia'', the purple saxifrage or purple mountain saxifrage, is a species of plant that is very common in the high Arctic and also some high mountainous areas further south, including northern Britain, the Alps and the Rocky ...

, Ranunculus seguieri'', and ''

Carlina acaulis ''Carlina acaulis'', the stemless carline thistle, dwarf carline thistle, or silver thistle, is a perennial dicotyledonous flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to alpine regions of central and southern Europe. The specific name ''ac ...

''. The ecoregion has a high number of plant species – The Abruzzo Mountains have 1,200 species,

Gran Sasso Gran Sasso d'Italia (; ) is a massif in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. Its highest peak, Corno Grande (2,912 metres), is the highest mountain in the Apennines, and the second-highest mountain in Italy outside the Alps. The mountain lies ...

and

Monti della Laga Monti della Laga is a mountain range in the central Apennines of Italy. Their ruggedness and inaccessibility makes them one of the lesser known areas of the Italian peninsula. Geography The mountains run for a length of about between the Italia ...

have 1,500 species, and the Maiella Mountains have 1,800 species.

Endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

represent between 10 and 20% of the total number of species, increasing at higher elevations. Endemic species include '' Androsace mathildae, Ranunculus magellensis, Aquilegia magellensis'', and '' Soldanella minima samnitica''.

Fauna

The endangered

Marsican brown bear The Marsican brown bear (''Ursus arctos arctos'', formerly ''Ursus arctos marsicanus''), also known as the "Apennine brown bear", and in Italian, is a critically endangered population or subspecies of the Eurasian brown bear, with a range res ...

(''Ursus arctos arctos'') is endemic to the ecoregion, surviving in the

Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (Italian: ''Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise'') is an Italian national park established in 1923. The majority of the park is located in the Abruzzo region, with smaller parts in Lazio and Molise. ...

and neighboring reserves. Other native mammals include the

Italian wolf The Italian wolf (''Canis lupus italicus'' or ''Canis lupus lupus''), also known as the Apennine wolf, is a subspecies of the grey wolf native to the Italian Peninsula. It inhabits the Apennine Mountains and the Western Alps, though it is und ...

(''Canis lupus italicus''),

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

(''Capreolus capreolus''), the Apennine endemic Abruzzo chamois (''Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata''), forest cat (''Felis silvestris''),

pine marten The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...

(''Martes martes''),

beech marten The beech marten (''Martes foina''), also known as the stone marten, house marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is li ...

(''Martes foina''), and

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...

(''Lutra lutra''). The ecoregion is home to several endemic and limited-range amphibians, including the northern spectacled salamander, (''Salamandrina perspicillata'') Italian newt (''Lissotriton italicus'',

Italian stream frog The Italian stream frog (''Rana italica''), also called the Italian frog, is a species of frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, l ...

(''Rana italica''), and Italian fire salamander (''Salamandra salamandra'' ssp. ''gigliolii'').

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found that 7,403 km², or 46%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. About 55% of the unprotected area is still forested. Protected areas include

Monte Cimone Monte Cimone is the highest mountain in the northern Apennines, of Italy. Geography The mountain has an elevation of 2,165 m and is also the highest point in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It encompasses the ''comuni'' of Fiumalbo ...

Appennino Tosco-Emiliano National Park Appennino Tosco-Emiliano National Park is a state-held natural preserve in Northern and central Italy, located in the heart of an area noted for natural features and for the local quality products and handicrafts. It was founded in 2001, and is inc ...

Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna National Park The Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna is a national park in Italy. Created in 1993, it covers an area of about , on the two sides of the Apennine watershed between Romagna and Tuscany, and is divided between th ...

Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a natural park located mostly in Abruzzo, Italy. It was established in 1991, it has an area of , and it is mainly spread out across the province of Teramo, L'Aquila, Pescara, with small areas ...

Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Park Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (Italian: ''Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise'') is an Italian national park established in 1923. The majority of the park is located in the Abruzzo region, with smaller parts in Lazio and Molise. It ...

Sirente-Velino Regional Park The Sirente-Velino Regional Park (Italian: ''Parco regionale naturale del Sirente Velino'') is a regional park in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, central Italy. It is centered on the Monte Velino and Monte Sirente massifs, including also the ...

, and Matese Regional Park.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apennine deciduous montane forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Ecoregions of Italy Apennine Mountains * Montane forests Ecoregions of Europe Palearctic ecoregions