Flora and fauna
The area of the Montasio Group includes an Alpine sector of great naturalistic interest with high biodiversity
The climatic, biogeographical and environmental conditions take on a particular interest causing a consequent diversity in the species. The structure of the mountains (orientation and high differences in height) and the steep territory determine very diversified environmental conditions with a consequent high diversity in the floristic and faunal components.
The landscape has also been strongly affected in its evolution by the presence of man, who with the past actions of deforestation, mowing and grazing of livestock, has contributed to considerably lowering the natural limit of the arboreal vegetation and to maintain a high incidence of open surfaces to the detriment of the forest. This factor, in addition to determining a lowering in the altitudinal bands frequented by various species, favors the presence of transition environments that contribute to the maintenance of a high biodiversity. The consequence of all this is the presence of complex and differentiated plant and animal species, enriched by species present at the limit of their distribution area.
From the bottom of the valley, extensive woods of fir and beech give way, rising in altitude to the larch and then to the high-altitude meadows and cliffs; among the floristic species, the presence of the Rhododendron, the Zois Campanula, the Julian Poppy and the Edelweiss are relevant.
Among the ungulates the consistency of the Ibex is significant with more than 600 specimens but also of the chamois and the deer; among the large carnivores more and more frequent in recent years in the Montasio area as well as in all the Julian Alps is the presence of the brown bear and the lynx, often specimens in direct contact with the populations present in neighbouring Slovenia.
Among the mammals there are also the Alpine hare, the Marten, the Skunk, the Marmot, while among the numerous birds that find their ideal nesting habitats in these areas such as the capercaillie and the black grouse, it is not difficult to see in the sky the majestic flight of the golden eagle.
Due to its complexity and importance in conservation terms, the Montasio area is included within the Special Conservation Area (SAC) Jôf di Montasio and Jôf Fuart and in the Special Protection Area (SPA) Julian Alps, falling within the scope of European protection network known as Natura 2000.
