Description
It is a valley modelled by recent glacialism, which presents naturalistic aspects of great importance.
It is managed by the provincial Agenzia delle Foreste Demaniali, which takes care of the planning, programming and execution of interventions.
The state property, which was created in the early 1900s through expropriation for military purposes, today has a total surface area of 782 hectares, with a clear prevalence of pasture and meadow-grazing environments and a wooded surface area of approximately 230 hectares, partially derived from reforestation carried out in the pre- and post-war period (Great War).
The particular geographic location and the spectacular nature of many environments determine an important tourist, recreational and sporting value of the area, which is flanked by production and protection functions. This vocation is taken into account in silvicultural management, aimed at improving the structure and stability of the stands, with targeted choices for the most frequented areas.
The flora is particularly rich and includes various rare entities with localised distribution. The fauna is equally varied, including animals typical of medium and high mountain environments and some species of small invertebrates of relevant scientific interest.
In the Viote Plain there is also an interesting peat bog that preserves rare botanical varieties as well as floristic and preglacial endemisms of invertebrate fauna.
In the 16th century, the territory of the present Reserve, like the entire Bondone mountain (then called Monte Vason) belonged to the Prince-Bishop of Trento, who reserved the exclusive right to hunt. Later, as thanks to the Bondone community for contributing to the construction of Trento Cathedral and the supply of firewood, the Bishop proceeded to subdivide the mountain, giving it in stages to the communities of Sopramonte, Sardagna, Garniga, Cavedine, Baselga di Bondone and Vigolo Baselga.
In the 19th century, the Viote basin was transformed into mowable pastures and meadows and cattle breeding began. Later, the area became a strategic Austrian base and saw the construction of the typical stone barracks that can still be admired today.
The Integral Nature Reserve occupies the valley of glacial origin that from the Viote plain reaches the Three Peaks: Doss d'Abramo (2,140 m), Cornetto (2,176 m) and Cima Verde (2,102 m). The basin is made up of a substratum of sedimentary rocks (calcareous marls and marly schists) from the Eocene period covered by abundant moraine deposits of glacial origin. Higher up, on the Tre Cime, white and red limestones from the Jurassic and clayey limestones from the Cretaceous, rich in fossils, prevail. Three watercourses flow through the protected area: the Rio Val Magna, which descends into the valley and is called Roggia di Garniga, the Roggia di Sopramonte and the Roggia dei Molini, which flow into the Torrente Vela.
The forest area is represented by irregular and even-aged spruce forests, mostly artificial. In recent years, thanks to a naturalistic type of forest management, which has supplanted the outdated monoculture type, the spruce forests are slowly converting into more structured and mixed stands with the presence of larch, silver fir and stone pine. In Val Magna and at Pozze, there are natural spruce and larch forests with some silver fir, beech and rowan, interrupted here and there by meadow clearings. In the upper part of the Reserve, mugo thickets with a few scattered specimens of larch take over.
The most characteristic aspect of the Reserve's vegetation cover is undoubtedly the herbaceous flora: precious endemisms such as the Common Bonarota (Paederota bonarota), the Argentine Geranium (Geranium argenteum) and the Rock Raponzolo (Physoplexis comosa) can be found, along with other important species such as Paeonia officinalis, Anemone alpina, Anemone montana and many others.
The highest part of the Reserve is occasionally frequented by roe deer, which, however, prefer the Viote basin where they find food in abundance; the presence of chamois has been reported among the rocks of the Tre Cime.
Bird species include the capercaillie, black grouse, imperial crow, alpine chough and golden eagle.
Also worth mentioning is the presence of the "Viote del Monte Bondone Alpine Botanical Garden", a scientific, didactic and informative structure managed by the MUSE-Museo delle Scienze of Trento.
