| |
Wildlife has a vital need to freely move about, in order to forage, drink, breed, and migrate to more welcoming environments when necessary. Albeit on a different time scale, plant communities move as well, retreating or spreading in order to adapt to ever-changing environmental conditions. 
Given the need of wildlife to move about and the dynamics of plant communities, the ecological corridor between the Ticino River Park and the Campo dei Fiori Park can be thought of as a bridge linking the Alps and the Po Plain. To the south, the Ticino River valley still supports natural habitats of very high conservation value, with pristine river ecosystems and broad natural (mainly oak and hornbeam forests) or semi-natural (farmland) buffers along the course of the river. Overall, this is the most extensive and best-preserved natural area in the entire Po Plain, and the only natural corridor between the Pre-Alps and the Po River, and the Apennines to the south. After a re-introduction project, the Ticino valley once again hosts the River Otter (Lutra lutra), one of Italy’s rarest and most threatened mammals.
The moraine hills of Varese are located between the Ticino River and Campo dei Fiori mountain range, to the east of Lake Maggiore.  Here, relict moorland, pine groves, and deciduous forests (including those of Arsago Seprio and Somma Lombardo, which host a wealth of reptile and amphibian species) are dotted with various wetlands. In particular, the Brabbia Marsh, Lake Varese, Lake Biandronno, and Lake Comabbio make up a complex of wetland sites of great importance for marsh vegetation and avifauna; these sites are under the highest European and international protection. Wetlands harbour numerous species of European conservation concern, including the Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca), along with amphibian species endemic to the Po Plain, such as the local subspecies of the Common Spadefoot Toad (Pelobates fuscus insubricus) and the Italian Agile Frog (Rana latastei).
The Italian subspecies of the freshwater crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes italicus occurs in the torrents whose headwaters are in the Campo dei Fiori massif. This mountain range’s typical habitats include beach forests and ‘prati magri’, meadows growing on limestone soils and used as forage for livestock until a few decades ago. These meadows host important populations of dragonflies, butterflies, grasshoppers, and rare orchids. Caves (which host colonies of numerous bat species) and chestnut groves add to the habitats of this protected area, which serves as a link between the plain and the Alps.
Google map
|
• Given the need of wildlife to move about and the dynamics of plant communities, the ecological corridor between the Ticino River Park and the Campo dei Fiori Park can be thought of as a bridge linking the Alps and the Po Plain. |
