Rodope montane mixed forests

Rodope montane mixed forests

Forests near Smolyan in the Rhodope Mountains, southern Bulgaria
Ecology
Biome Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Geography
Area 31,600 km2 (12,200 sq mi)
Countries Bulgaria, Greece, Republic of Macedonia and Serbia

The Rodope montane mixed forests constitute a terrestrial ecoregion of Europe defined by the WWF. It belongs in the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Biome and the Palearctic ecozone. There are three national parks in the ecoregion, all of them situated in Bulgaria: Central Balkan National Park, Pirin National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site, and Rila National Park.

Distribution

The Rodope montane mixed forests cover the higher parts of the Balkan Mountains, the Rhodope Mountains, Rila, Pirin, Vitosha, Sredna Gora, Ograzhden and Maleshevo, situated almost entirely in Bulgaria, as well as in some adjacent areas in Greece, the Republic of Macedonia and Serbia. They span an area of 31,600 km² and are replaced at lower altitudes by the Balkan mixed forests.

Flora

The number of species of vascular plants in the ecoregion are estimated at 3,000. The lower areas are covered with mixed deciduous woods, most prominently with European beech, Oriental hornbeam, European hornbeam and several oak species. The higher zones are dominated by coniferous forests Scots pine, Bosnian pine, Macedonian pine, Bulgarian fir, Silver fir, Norway spruce, etc. The highest altitudes support shrubs, heath and Alpine tundra.

Fauna

The Rodope montane mixed forests are sanctuary to a number of endangered mammal species, such as Brown bears, Gray wolfs, European pine martens, European otters, Wildcats and Chamois. More common large mammals include Roe deer, Wild boars and foxes.

Most of the European birds of prey can be found in the region, including the rare Eastern imperial eagle, Cinereous vulture and Griffon vulture.

External links


Apennine deciduous montane forests Italy
Atlantic mixed forests Denmark, France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands
Azores temperate mixed forests Portugal
Balkan mixed forests Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Turkey
Baltic mixed forests Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland
Cantabrian mixed forests Spain, Portugal
Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests Iran, Azerbaijan
Caucasus mixed forests Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey
Celtic broadleaf forests United Kingdom, Ireland
Central Anatolian deciduous forests Turkey
Central China loess plateau mixed forests China
Central European mixed forests Austria, Germany, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Belarus, Czech Republic
Central Korean deciduous forests North Korea, South Korea
Changbai Mountains mixed forests China, North Korea
Changjiang Plain evergreen forests China
Crimean Submediterranean forest complex Russia, Ukraine
Daba Mountains evergreen forests China
Dinaric Mountains mixed forests Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia
East European forest steppe Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Ukraine
Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests Turkey
English Lowlands beech forests United Kingdom
Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests Bulgaria, Georgia, Turkey
Hokkaido deciduous forests Japan
Huang He Plain mixed forests China
Madeira evergreen forests Portugal
Manchurian mixed forests China, North Korea, Russia, South Korea
Nihonkai evergreen forests Japan
Nihonkai montane deciduous forests Japan
North Atlantic moist mixed forests Ireland, United Kingdom
Northeast China Plain deciduous forests China
Pannonian mixed forests Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Croatia
Po Basin mixed forests Italy
Pyrenees conifer and mixed forests France, Spain, Andorra
Qin Ling Mountains deciduous forests China
Rodope montane mixed forests Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia
Sarmatic mixed forests Russia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus
Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests China
South Sakhalin-Kurile mixed forests Russia
Southern Korea evergreen forests South Korea
Taiheiyo evergreen forests Japan
Taiheiyo montane deciduous forests Japan
Tarim Basin deciduous forests and steppe China
Ussuri broadleaf and mixed forests Russia
West Siberian broadleaf and mixed forests Russia
Western European broadleaf forests Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Czech Republic
Zagros Mountains forest steppe Iran, Arabian Peninsula