Flora and fauna of South Tyrol

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The flora and fauna of South Tyrol are very diverse, ranging from plants and animals that live in the sub-Mediterranean climate to those that live in the high mountains .

fauna

Up to 1995 around 14,700 animal species were recorded in South Tyrol, of which 7,585 species belonged to the two orders of beetles and butterflies and only 494 species to the vertebrates . There are also 875 fossil animal species. It is estimated that the effective number of native animal species is at least 32,000. Thus, with 14,700 animal species, only around half of all native animal species would be discovered.

The oldest fossil found in South Tyrol comes from worms that lived around 290 million years ago. Megalodont clams found in the main dolomite are around 215 million years old.

Around 41% of all domestic animal species are endangered, but only 71 species or groups of animals are fully protected in addition to the current hunting and fishing regulations.

Animal group assumed number in South Tyrol ( status: 1995/96 ) known number in South Tyrol ( as of 1995/96 )
Protozoa 1,500 175
Flatworms 1,000 19th
Tube worms 1,500 147
Molluscs 250 202
Arthropods 150 47
Tardigrade + tongue worms 70 30th
Arachnids 2,500 1,080
Crustaceans 250 104
Millipede 180 130
Urine insects 350 150
Mayan + stone flies + dragonflies 200 132
Scrape 16 11
Lice-like 450 33
Fringed winged 200 20th
Schnabelkerfe 2000 964
Beetle 5,250 4,475
Reticulated winged 110 75
Caddis flies 200 83
Butterflies 3,500 3.110
Two-winged 5,600 1,606
Fleas 50 26th
Hymenoptera 6,000 1,480
Vertebrates 500 494
Rest 40 11

History of zoological research in South Tyrol

In the last 150 years, numerous natural scientists have contributed to the research of the local animal world and thus recorded certain animal groups more precisely. Vertebrates, mollusks, beetles and butterflies in particular have been relatively well researched. There are major research deficits in the so-called lower animals and certain groups of insects, as the above species numbers show.

The most important zoologists of the 19th and 20th centuries in South Tyrol include: a .:

G. Marcuzzi (1956, 1961) tried for the first time in his " Fauna delle Dolomiti " to provide a comprehensive faunistic of the entire Dolomite area . In this, however, some animal groups were missing or were inadequately treated, so on 23 pages there are 298 two-winged species listed without family breakdown. Marcuzzi estimates around 7,000 animal species in the Dolomites. In 1995, Klaus Hellrigl published a faunistic entitled “ Die Tierwelt Südtirols ” from the Naturmuseum Südtirol , in which around 14,700 animal species were listed.

Spider fauna

The spider fauna of South Tyrol is little known. The overview by Koch (1876) and Kulczynski (1887) is still an essential source of information. For South Tyrol there is a special animal geographic problem of the advance of southern elements along the Adige and Eisack valleys. According to Fliri (1975), the Brixen area is in the most continental area of ​​the entire Alpine region of Tyrol, the favorable climate is also proven by the occurrence of thermophilic arthropods: Euscorpius italicus , Mantis religiosa , Catajapyx aquilonaris . In a study in the Brixen area in 1988, 164 species from 23 families were collected using barber traps. Nine species among the harvestmen.

flora

Due to the diversity of its geomorphological and climatic conditions, South Tyrol is home to an extremely diverse flora . There are habitats for both xerophilic and hygrophilic plants, warmth-loving plants as well as those adapted to high alpine or even nival conditions. Around 2,500 species of fern and flowering plants have been recorded in South Tyrol ; thus the country - on only 0.07% of the total area of ​​the continent - is home to almost a fifth of the known flora of Europe . The current flora of the area is the result of a sequence of extinction and repopulation phases after the Würm glacial period . The greatest biodiversity can be found in the Adige Valley between Merano and the Salurner Klause and in the lower Eisack Valley; the mountain flora with the highest diversity emerges in the Schlern-Rosengarten area in the western Dolomites.

The local flora has been considered relatively well researched since the work of Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre and Ludwig von Sarnthein at the beginning of the 20th century. The systematic grid mapping initiated in the 1970s and coordinated by the South Tyrol Museum of Nature since 1998 led to a further significant boost in knowledge: the catalog of vascular plants in South Tyrol published in 2006 was able to fall back on around 300,000 individual observations and record around 70 additional native species. 84 species, genera or families are protected by state law. In addition, numerous botanical objects have been classified as natural monuments by the state of South Tyrol , including the centuries- old Url larch trees and the Versoaln vine in Prissian .

literature

  • Klaus Hellrigl: The animal world of South Tyrol . Naturmuseum Südtirol: Bozen 1996. ISBN 88-70 14-922-6
  • Otto Huber / Bruno Wallnöfer / Thomas Wilhalm: The botany in South Tyrol . Edition Raetia: Bozen 2012. ISBN 978-88-7283-428-2

Web links

Commons : Flora of South Tyrol  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Animals of South Tyrol  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Klaus Hellrigl: The animal world of South Tyrol . Naturmuseum Südtirol, Bozen 1996, ISBN 88-70 14-922-6
  2. ^ Province of Bozen, Fauna , Nature, Landscape and Spatial Development Department
  3. ↑ Noflatscher Maria Theresia: A contribution to the spider fauna of South Tyrol: Epigean spiders at Xerotherm and cultural sites near Albeins Ber. nat.-med Verein Innsbruck, B. 75 pp. 147-170, Innsbruck
  4. ↑ Otto Huber, Bruno Wallnöfer, Thomas Wilhalm: The botany in South Tyrol and adjacent areas in the 20th century: a bibliographical review . Edition Raetia, Bozen 2012, ISBN 978-88-7283-428-2 , p. 12
  5. ↑ Otto Huber, Bruno Wallnöfer, Thomas Wilhalm: The botany in South Tyrol and adjacent areas in the 20th century: a bibliographical review . Edition Raetia, Bozen 2012, ISBN 978-88-7283-428-2 , p. 58
  6. ↑ Otto Huber, Bruno Wallnöfer, Thomas Wilhalm: The botany in South Tyrol and adjacent areas in the 20th century: a bibliographical review . Edition Raetia, Bozen 2012, ISBN 978-88-7283-428-2 , p. 92
  7. ↑ Otto Huber, Bruno Wallnöfer, Thomas Wilhalm: The botany in South Tyrol and adjacent areas in the 20th century: a bibliographical review . Edition Raetia, Bozen 2012, ISBN 978-88-7283-428-2 , pp. 15-16
  8. ↑ Otto Huber, Bruno Wallnöfer, Thomas Wilhalm: The botany in South Tyrol and adjacent areas in the 20th century: a bibliographical review . Edition Raetia, Bozen 2012, ISBN 978-88-7283-428-2 , pp. 86-96
  9. ↑ Flora. Nature, Landscape and Spatial Development Department of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano - South Tyrol, accessed on January 17, 2015 .
  10. ↑ Natural monuments of South Tyrol. Nature, Landscape and Spatial Development Department of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano - South Tyrol, accessed on January 16, 2015 .