Save the Bear - 2003/2007

Sirente Velino Natural Park

FLORA AND FAUNA
The Park territory is interested by the presence of seventeen Common Interest Sites (C.I.S) and by a Special Protection Zone (S.P.Z.), which coincides with the Park confines and therefore it occupies some areas considered interesting by the European Union and recognized as internationally important.

The Sirente Velino Park belongs to the Mediterranean biogeographic region, but has got very continental origins. In the inside there are numerous types of different natural habitat, some of which are included into the Appendix of the European Union Law 92/43. The presence of these different habitat make the Park an important reserve of biodiversity with a uncommon natural richness. The territory is included between 600 m.l.s.m of the Aterno Valley and the almost 2500 metres of the Velino Mountain. The strong altitude grade and its exhibition favours the presence of the different environmental realities, it creates a vast natural ambient. In fact, it goes from the repariale environment of the medium Aterno Valley through the karstic pastures plan, from the forest sides (according to the typical schemes of the calcareous mountains vegetation) through the gravelly inundation cones. Besides, the particularly rigid climate favours the permanence of snow until spring, favouring the condition for vegetal species and animals usually present on higher levels.

The flora is rich of endemic species, rare, interesting or protected from regional and national laws. Among the glacial wrecks we can find the rare Alium lineare, the Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, the Aster alpinus, the Linaria alpine, the Silene acaulis and some saxifrages, between the endemism, there is the Geum heterocarpum, which lives only through the Canal Grassland on the northern side of the Sirente crest; instead the endemics of the Abruzzo Apennine are the Potentilla apennina, the Centaurea ceratophylla, the Valeriana aliunica, the Adonis distorta, and the Ranunculus magellensis, between the rare species there are the Nigritella widderi, the Daphne mezereum, the Fritillaria tenella, the Viola eugeniae, the Ptilotricum cyclocarpum and the Gentiana lutea. Significant is also the presence of medical plants like Atropa belladonna, Viscum album, Borago officinalis, Satureja Montana, Digitalis ferruginea and the Convallaria majalis. It is also important the abundance of fruit-bearing, between which we can remember the Rubus idaeus, Fragaria Vesca, Rosa canina, Pyrus spp., Malus spp., Sorbus spp., Amelanchier ovalis, Cotoneaster nebrodensis, Prunus avium, Ribes rubrum, Ribes alpinum and the Ribes uva –crispa. Between the trees there is the presence of some nucleus relicts of Betula pendula, Ilex aquifolium and Taxus baccata. The mostly extended woods are the one of Fagus sylvatica, with many other species of trees through the medium altitudes, the beech-woods, sporadic on Velino Mountain, are instead present on Pezza Planes; a wide and continuous wood its extended through twelve km from Anatella, near Rovere, to Gagliano Aterno. There are also oak-plantetion mixed essentially to Quercus cerris, Acer spp., Corylus Avellana, Salix spp., Ostrya carpinifolia, Populus tremula, these woods can also be characterized by significant dimensions as the one of the right versant of Aterno Valley. Magnificant centuries-old trees can be found anywhere into the Park, beech into Anatella and to Capo Pezza, oaks into Aterno Valley, and into Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta. It must be noted the intense human activity, that, principally into the past, has changed and has intervened on natural environment, either in negative either in positive way.

The entire area presents this following vegetal composition: about 25% of decidual woods, 25% of steppes, 10% of humid prairies and mesophyte, 10% of heaths, scrubs fingange and garighe, 7% of agricultural ground, 5% of alpine and subalpine prairies, and less numerous of water corps internal stagnant and current, cereal extensive cultivation, evergreen woods, rocky habitats and forest monoculture systems.

Fauna is also as rich, besides being the Park an important connecting linkage zone between many national parks and natural reserves and the faunal reservoirs of the Abruzzo National Park. The territory offers vast areas of vertebratelogic interest with a significant extension and continuity. Through the last years there have been an increment of signs of presence of big carnivorous such as: Ursus arctos, Canis lupus and Felys sylvestris indicators of the nature grade of the area. Some other important presences are, among the Mammalia: Hystrix cristata, Martes martes, Sus scrofa, Capreolus capreolus, Cervus elaphus (reintroduced), Lepus europaeus; among the Aves: Aquila chrystaeus, Falco biarmicus, Accipiter nisus, Falco tinnunculus, Buteo buteo, Accipiter gentiles, Bufo bufo, Otus scops, Asio otus, Dendrocopus major, D. minor, D. medius, Picus viridis, Montifringilla nivalis, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax; Gyps fulvus, and the Corvus corax are the result of two reintroduction projects of the Oriented Natural Reserve of the Velino Mountain; the presence of humid and temporary or persistent puddles allow the presence of migratory birds such as: Ciconia ciconia, Grus grus, Ardea cinerea, Ardea purpurea, and some anatidi (Anas spp., Aythya fulugula); among the Anphibia and Reptilia it is worthy to be noted the presence of Salamandra salamandra, Triturus cristatus, Triturus vulgaris, Bombina variegata, Rana esculenta, and of the rare and endemic Vipera ursinii.

The entomological importance of the Sirente Velino Park is well known by the specialists for its numerous presence of rare species relict and endemic ,which live in altitude, and testify the good level of health of the natural environment; the Park area is also “Patria tipica” for many entomological species, patria tipica is the zone where the specie has been described for the first time; well known by the entomologist are the works of Leoni and D’Amore Fracassi who have effectuated their research on the Sirente Mountain at the beginning of the century. The entomological species mostly representatives are: Parnasius Apollo, Decticus aprutianus, Otiorhynchus sirentensis, Otiorhynchus leonii, Orobitis cyaneus, Tropiphorus imperialis, Chiloneus lonai, Carabus cavernosus and the Rhadinopsylla escantha.

Into the Sirente Velino Park, nearby the natural “punctiform” values, endemism, glacial relicts, rare species inscribed into the regional, national and international “Red List”, species into their area limits, we can find the wonderful rocky environment of the Aielli Celano Gorges or notorious altitude prairies of the Sirente Velino, into the undoubted complex value, given by the continuity of their extension, such as beech-wood and mixed oaks.