Environments

Majella National Park has its most important feature in the extraordinary hilliness of territory, actually more than 55% is located at altitudes higher than 2000 meters. Its inner space encloses wide lands, shows the characteristic features of a Wilderness Area, the most unique and valuable part of national biodiversity heritage.
On the basis of current body of knowledge, the Park hosts more than 78% of mammal species (except for Cetaceans) existing in Abruzzo, and more than 45% of the Italian ones. Considering the lack of data about some numerous groups such as insectivorous and chiropterans, we can also consider this faunistic factor as a downright hot spot for biodiversity preservation.

The 2114 vegetal species classified in the Park territory are distributed in more than 50 different habitats, and placed in the various altitudinal zones. The peculiarity of the habitat is embodied mainly by the considerable number of endemism, more than 142 vegetal species, in great measure gathered in the culmination zones. At floristic level, the Park is the most southern branch of the European Alpine Area and an authentic crossroad of genetic flows, with classes of high ecological and phytogeographic recognition: with more than 2.000 floristic species the Park hosts the 65% of Abruzzi flora, the 37% of the Italian ones and the 22% of European species. The high-altitude habitats also contain species with a remarkable faunistic value, among which the Apennine Chamois and the “Orsini” Viper, overriding species in conformity with the Directive HABITAT/92/43/CEE.

Under the culmination zones there is the twisted shrubs belt such as the “Mugo” Pine which represents the most widespread vegetal formation in the Apennines. Between 1800 and 800 meters grow beech groves mixed with lawns and pastures. These are the ideal habitats for the wild ungulates and predators such as the bear and the wolf, and these also are overriding species in conformity with the Directive mentioned above.

Besides the natural environments, the Park also contains a discreet surface occupied with farm zones uncared since long time and under slow natural evolution towards more complex ecosystems (shrubs, arboreal pastures, recent formation of woods, etc).

Other examples of human signs are the reforestation of pine forests, pastures and mowing lawns. In this case the human activities managed from age to age significantly contributed to the spreading of certain species and to the preservation of biodiversity. Keeping alive agricultural practices, outcome of strong interaction between Man and Nature, such as extensive breeding or traditional farming activities, could be an extraordinary tool for the environmental conservation; on the other hand the reforestation of pastures, even if natural, could bring about a drastic decrease of certain species, both plants and animals.