Thanks to the mountain backbone formed by the Alps and the Apennines and to its latitudinal extent, Italy is characterised by a great variety of microclimates, subject to Mediterranean climatic influences in the central-southern areas and to continental European influences in the northern area.
The presence of microclimates has favoured the formation of very delicate ecological systems, each characterised by its own distinctive features.
In Italy, in fact, you can find almost all the species of central-northern Europe, but also those of the Iberian, North African, Balkan and Western Asian flora.
This great wealth of species should also be read in the light of the last glaciations and the related migrations, of animals and... plants. Through pollen and seeds carried by animals, by the wind and by water, plant species too were able to escape the glaciations.
Indeed, when the ranges of plant species are described in the scientific literature, reference is often made to post-glacial events. During the glaciations, in fact, species found refuge by moving further south. As the ice retreated, the species moved north again. However, many of them stopped in the refuge areas, because they had adapted to the new soil and climate conditions or because they had been left isolated.
To represent the different types of woodland, there are various classifications in the scientific literature that aim to frame, in broad terms, plant species and the environments in which they live.
Among these we will use a fairly simple and commonly used one, which is divided into vegetation belts and based on altitude criteria.
The following are recognised:
- the nival belt;
- the alpine belt;
- the subalpine belt;
- the montane belt;
- the basal belt;
- the Mediterranean belt;
The nival belt and the alpine belt are both above the forest, that is, they lie at altitudes higher than those of tree vegetation.
Sources:
Bernetti G., 1995, Selvicoltura Speciale, Utet – Torino
Pignatti S., 1998, I Boschi d'Italia, Utet – Torino