Description
The original vegetation of the area, consisting mainly of a pine forest (Erico-Pinetum sylvestris), has been replaced by apple cultivation, which occupies almost all of the land susceptible to cultivation.
Due to its intrinsic characteristics, the gorge - with the exception of the widest and most easily accessible areas - has retained stretches of original vegetation of great naturalistic value. Among the species of the mesophyll consortia, the mountain elm (Ulmus glabra) stands out, forming a grove of high ecological value, while the undergrowth is enriched by rare species such as Festuca gigantea.
Rare species in the absolute sense include the wetland grass Poa palustris and Asplenium lepidum and Asplenium seelosi, ferns of the rocky and dripping hollows, the Ranuncolacea Thalictrumfoetidum and Carex remota, a Cyperacea that was once much more widespread.
The richness of the environments that make up the gorge is in itself evidence of the high value of the biotope: from the stream bed, invaded by Epilobium spp. and Thypha sp., one moves on to the mesophyll wood.
The closed and inaccessible gorge environment, the vegetation of the rocky hollows and the dripping environments are contrasted by the species of the sunny rocky areas far from the wet bottom.
Such environmental and floristic variety is matched by an equally important fauna presence: the eagle owl (Bubo bubo), dipper (Cinclus cinclus), kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) and reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) are only a few examples of rare species in the biotope.
Studies
- ichthyofauna monitoring
- management plan