Grasslands cover about 6.2% of Italian territory, and about 3.6% are mapped as open grasslands in APAT (2005). Dry grasslands are present, to different extents, in all the Italian regions, showing a very wide typological variety. They occur mainly along the Alpine and the Apenninic range, and on the islands (the map above). This wide and uneven distribution is related to the differences in the substrata. Dry grasslands mostly develop on limestone and dolomitic rocks, where the surface water flow is lacking due to karstic processes. Nevertheless, there are several dry grasslands developing on sandstone, gypsum, clay, marls, and, in the Alps, on granitic and metamorphic rocks.
Dry grasslands habitat types in Italy.
GIGANTE, Daniela
2010
Abstract
Grasslands cover about 6.2% of Italian territory, and about 3.6% are mapped as open grasslands in APAT (2005). Dry grasslands are present, to different extents, in all the Italian regions, showing a very wide typological variety. They occur mainly along the Alpine and the Apenninic range, and on the islands (the map above). This wide and uneven distribution is related to the differences in the substrata. Dry grasslands mostly develop on limestone and dolomitic rocks, where the surface water flow is lacking due to karstic processes. Nevertheless, there are several dry grasslands developing on sandstone, gypsum, clay, marls, and, in the Alps, on granitic and metamorphic rocks.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
