Name: Italian Central Alps
Surface (ha): 813,500.000
Main land uses and ownership status of the project area:
The Italian Central Alps core area extends over the Alpine and Pre-alpine ranges of Regione Lombardia and includes part of the western territories of Bolzano and Trento provinces.
The large network of protected areas that makes connection from western to eastern Alps. Since half of the core area is covered by forest, forestry takes an important part of the land-use, besides agriculture, tourism and sports.
The agricultural use is characterised mainly by livestock-farming. The main land use in the project area is forest (47%), alpine pastures (18%), rocks and boulders (13%) and shrubs (8%). Settlements are mostly located at the bottom of the valley and at the border of the area. Most of the other forests are owned by municipalities and less than 1 % by Regions and/or Provinces.
Natural features of the area:
The large number of mountain peaks that are present in the Italian Central Alps core area and the varied geographical distribution of the mountainside – valley systems produce a climatic situation difficult to describe. In general the climate of the Central Alps is influenced by the interaction of three climate systems: Alpine, Continental and Western Atlantic.These interactions, combined with the complex mountain terrain, contribute to highly diverse climate conditions resulting in also a high variability in the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation.
Part of the project area has a status of National park. Stelvio National Park is situated in the Rhaetian Alps it was established in 1935 and is, according to the management objectives, categorized as a protected landscape (IUCN V), but in the whole park hunting is forbidden.
The geologic and tectonic situation of the project core area is strongly characterised by the alpine orogeny: the main part of the National park is largely formed of metamorphic rocks, but the higher peaks and their surrounding are formed of sedimentary rocks, especially limestone and dolomite.
The flora of the entire core area is a diverse mixture of various floral elements, as Alpine, Insubrian and Sub-Mediterranean floral elements are interwoven.
Ungulates are quite abundant especially in the eastern part of the project area and represent an important trophic level for the prey – wolf system.
Around 15.000 red deer, more than 20.000 chamois, around 2000 ibex and an
adequate, still not quantified number of roe deer are present in the core area.
The Wolf
Dispersing wolf presence has been documented in the project area starting from 2001 when a young dispersal male was determined in Val Chiavenna – Bregaglia (subsequently killed in Switzerland) and a second one in Orobie Alps. His presence was confirmed until 2004 with subsequent disappearances. At present a young male has been detected and monitored in the north-eastern part of the project area.
The closer reproductive pack is presumably far not more than about 90 km from the northern border of the area
