Photo of Smartino. Forests in Italy are more and more dense and grow from year to year : according to the report of the State Forestry Corps, forests cover about 30% of the national territory . An impressive number, constantly growing. But this development is to be understood positively
. If you think about the number of trees, currently around 20 billion, yes; Unfortunately, however , all this is not the result of targeted policies, but mainly of the abandonment of territories . And this fact makes us think.
Let’s see the ranking of the 10 largest forests in Italy.
10 Location: Bosco di Scorace, Sicily – 750 hectares
Source: wikipedia.
- Flora: stone pine, maritime pine, aleppo pine, cypress, eucalyptus, cork oak, elm.
- Fauna: buzzard, kestrel, great tit, robin, hoopoe, rabbit, hare, porcupine, viper.
Forest of Sicily, to be exact in the province of Trapani, between Monte Abbattello and Buseto Palizzolo . The wood develops between 400 and 600 meters above sea level. The panorama that can be admired from the top towards the Egadi Islands and the Sicani Mountains is splendid .
9 Location: Bosco della Mesola Nature Reserve, Emilia Romagna – 836 hectares
Photo by Marco Walker.
- Flora: holm oak, tamarisk, stone pine, willow, poplar, oak.
- Fauna: fallow deer, Mesola deer, badger, skunk, hedgehog, vole.
This forest is the largest in the entire province of Ferrara. The terrain presents an irregular course, a sign that once there were dunes . In ancient times the wood was surrounded by marshes , while the current conformation foresees reconstructed marshy environments.
8 Location: Castel Fusano pine forest, Lazio – 916 hectares
Source: wikimedia commons.
- Flora: holm oaks, domestic pines, strawberry trees, mastic trees, tree heather.
- Fauna: foxes, weasels, foxes, hedgehogs, hedgehogs, moles.
The Pineta di Castel Fusano is the largest green area in Rome , and is located near the mouth of the Tiber . Located on the side of the Lido di Ostia , in ancient times this area was crossed by the connections between Rome and the sea.
7 Location: Mercadante Forest, Puglia – 1,300 hectares
- Flora: Aleppo pine, maritime pine, cypress, downy oak.
- Fauna: owl, long-eared owl, royal barn owl, crow, lesser kestrel, kestrel, buzzard.
Developed in the territory of Cassano delle Murge and Altamura , this forest is artificial : many trees were planted on eroded and bare ground, in defense of the surrounding villages, following several episodes of flooding. Inside, the Nature Path and the Health Path have been set up.
6 Location: Foresta del Teso, Tuscany – 1,915 hectares
Source: wikipedia.
- Flora: beech, chestnut, fir
- Fauna: red deer, fallow deer, roe deer, wild boar, mouflon, buzzard, badger, porcupine.
Extended between Pracchia and San Marcello Pistoiese, the Teso Forest extends up to 1723 meters above sea level . Crossed by the Maresca stream, and used as a hunting reserve .
5 Location: Marganai Forest, Sardinia – 3,650 hectares
- Flora: stone pine, Aleppo pine, radiata pine, holm oak, cork oak, downy oak.
- Fauna: wild boar, wild cat, peregrine falcon, Sardinian deer.
And here we are in Sardinia, one of the richest regions in forests. The Marganai forest is located in the province of Carbonia-Iglesias and offers a truly fascinating scenery , with spectacular views. Within the forest there are numerous seasonal streams . The forest is an important destination for both tourists and scholars: there is also a botanical garden.
4 Location: Bosco Archiforo, Calabria – 4,914 hectares
Photo by Bruno Francesco Pileggi.
- Flora: chestnut, larch pine, common alder, Neapolitan alder, silver fir, beech.
- Fauna: wolf, porcupine, marten, skunk, dormouse, dormouse, wild cat, stone marten.
The Archiforo forest is located within the Serre Regional Natural Park , in the Serra San Bruno area (Vibo Valentia). Inside, the 1.3 km long Archiforo Path was inaugurated in 2013, which runs through the places where the scarpellini extracted granite .
SEE ALSO : THE MOST IMPORTANT NATIONAL PARKS IN ITALY
3 Location: State forest of Monte Limbara, Sardinia – 5,525 hectares
Photo by Gianni Careddu.
- Flora: cork, heather, rockrose, mastic, phillyrea, aspen, maritime pine.
- Fauna: golden eagle, buzzard, kestrel, sparrow hawk, peregrine falcon, goshawk.
The massif of Monte Limbara and its 1,362 meters above sea level . and the particular beauty one of the most important reliefs of Sardinia, and is located in the southern area of ​​Gallura . Divided between Monte Limbara Sud and Monte Limbara Nord , this is the second largest forest in Sardinia .
2 Location: Cansiglio Forest, Veneto-Friuli – 7,000 hectares
Photo by Giacomo.Bozzato.
Photo by AnnaEsse5.
Photo of Smartino.
Photo by Bionik23.
- Flora: beech, silver fir, spruce, juniper
- Fauna: roe deer, red deer, fallow deer, marten, badger, weasel, fox, and occasionally lynx and brown bear
It is a huge natural lung consisting of 7000 hectares of beech, white and red fir forests between the Veneto regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is a site of community interest as well as a special protection area, and it is no coincidence that the cuts of timber are extremely limited and controlled.
1 Location: Sulcis Park, Sardinia – 68.868 hectares
Photo by Niki.L.
- Flora: leccio, sughera, corbezzole, fillirea, erica.
- Fauna: Sardinian deer, fallow deer, wild boar, hedgehog, wild rabbit, Sardinian hare.
The primacy in the ranking belongs to the Sulcis Park, an immense green expanse in the province of Cagliari and an area protected by the Forestry Authority of Sardinia and the WWF . Of very ancient origin, it has an extremely varied morphology and is the result of a long series of processes of tectonics and orogenesis .
