| Pindus Mountains mixed forests | |
|---|---|
 Forest onMount Olympus | |
 Map of ecoregion PA1217 | |
| Ecology | |
| Biome | Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub |
| Borders | |
| Bird species | 229[1] |
| Mammal species | 68[1] |
| Geography | |
| Area | 39,500 km2 (15,300 mi2) |
| Countries | |
| Conservation | |
| Habitat loss | 36.395%[1] |
| Protected | 4.32%[1] |
ThePindus Mountains mixed forests constitute a terrestrialecoregion ofEurope according to both theWWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by theEuropean Environment Agency. It belongs to theMediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrubbiome, and is in thePalearctic realm.
ThePindus Mountains mixed forests are situated in themontane parts of the southernBalkans in the wide elevational range above 300–500 m. They coverTaygetus on thePeloponnesus in the south, occur in the mountain ranges ofCentral Greece,Western Macedonia andEpirus (including thePindus), easternAlbania and the southwestern part ofNorth Macedonia, extend to theDrin River valley in the north and occupy 39,500 km2 (15,300 sq. mi) in the three countries.
The ecoregion is landlocked and surrounded by theAegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests (in Greece),Illyrian deciduous forests (in Greece and Albania),Dinaric Mountains mixed forests (in Albania to the north of the Drin) andBalkan mixed forests (inKosovo, North Macedonia and Greece).
The climate of the ecoregion is mostly ofKöppen'sMediterranean type with hot summers (Csa).
Due to the wide elevational range of this ecoregion the highest elevations (above 1,000-1,400 m) are covered with coniferous forests, with a mixed broadleaf zone occurring lower. The coniferous forests are dominated byPinus nigra subsp.nigra var.pallasiana,Pinus heldreichii,Pinus peuce,Greek fir (Abies cephalonica),A. alba andA. × borisii-regis, with deciduousEuropean beech in the north.Juniperus foetidissima occurs widely near thetree line. The dominant species on the lower elevations are remarkably diverse, includingAesculus hippocastanum (in more damp places) and various deciduous oaks (Quercus frainetto,Q. pubescens,Q. cerris,Q. trojana,Q. petraea). Evergreen oaks, mainlyQ. calliprinos,Q. ilex, and other Mediterraneansclerophyll shrubland species are abundant on dry and rocky south-facing slopes.
Near-endemic and endemic species include Greek fir,Natalie's ramonda (Ramonda nathaliae), andRamonda heldreichii.[2]Carpinus austrobalcanica, a species ofhornbeam first described in 2024, is endemic to the Pindus Mountains.
The western Balkan Peninsula contains the most extensive areas ofultramafic rocks in Europe, mostly in a belt stretching from western Bosnia through southern and western Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Albania to northern Greece, with the largest areas in the Pindus mountains. Ultramafic soils, which are rich in magnesium, nickel, and other metals, are inhospitable to many plants, and are often home to distinctive plant communities which include species endemic to ultramafic outcrops. Stevanovićet al. (2003) found that 335 Balkan endemic plant taxa (species and subspecies) grow on ultramafic substrates, of which 123 are obligate endemics which grow only on ultramafic soils. Greek endemic species found in ultramafic grasslands includeBornmuellera tymphaea,Centaurea lacerata, andNoccaea tymphaea.[3]
Phytogeographically, the ecoregion is shared between the East Mediterranean province of theMediterranean Region and the Illyrian province of theCircumboreal Region within theHolarctic Kingdom (Armen Takhtajan's delineation).
In recent years, stress from prolonged drought and higher temperatures have made Greek fir trees vulnerable to predation by wood-boring beetles of subfamilyScolytinae, which disrupt the trees' ability to transport water and nutrients from roots to branches and can kill trees. Greek fir die-offs have been reported in the Peloponnesos, Ionian Islands, and the mountains of the Greek mainland.[4][5]
Native large mammals include thebrown bear (Ursus arctos),gray wolf (Canis lupus),golden jackal (Canis aureus), andBalkan lynx (Lynx lynx balcanicus). TheBalkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanicus) inhabits the high mountains of Albania with smaller populations in the Pindus of northern Greece.[2]
Media related toPindus Mountains mixed forests at Wikimedia Commons