The Nature Reserve of Ghirardi is a nature reserve located in the

Province of Parma The Province of Parma ( it, Provincia di Parma) is a province in the Emilia–Romagna region of Italy. Its largest town and capital is the city of Parma. It is made up of 47 ''comuni''. It has an area of and a total population of around 450,000 ...

, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It was established in 2010.

History

Until the sixties of the last century, an extension of of the area around Case Ghirardi was occupied by a game preserve, the property of Marchini-Camia. When the 1979 Hunting Law allowed the creation of a faunal oasis and it became a protected zone of the faune, supervised the Province of Parma. The Galasso Law 431/85 added to the protection of the faune also the one of the landscape which was then confirmed by the 1993 Piano Territoriale Paesistico Regionale which made it a natural protected zone ex.art.25. In 1996, it began to be part of the Oasis System and of the Reservation of the Italian WWF World Wide Fund for Nature. In 2006, a part of the territory was integrated in Rete Natura 2000 in Emilia Romagna and it became General Regional Reserve on 21 December 2010.

Territory

The nature reserve of Ghirardi is located in the southwestern part of the Province of Parma (Emilia-Romagna Italy, between the towns of

Albareto Albareto (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Parma. Albareto borders the following municipalities: Borgo Val di Taro, ...

and of Borgo Val di Taro. The area dates back to the Jurassic period. During sedimentation there were frequent tectonic upheavals, for which the area is characterized by folds and faults (among which, the most noticeable is situated along the river Rizzone). The formations that we can find in the oasis are: - Palombini clays; - Ranzano sandstones; -marls of the mount Piano. The Reserve covers an area of of wooded hills, hay fields and uncultivated open lands. The woods occupy half of the surface, with turkey oak woods,

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

groves, and pine plantations. The annual average temperature of the area, varies between . The climate is characterized by dry summers and heavy rainfall in the month of November.

Flora

The vegetation is mainly composed of trees but it also comprehends a percentage of flowers as '' Lilium bulbiferum'', squill,

gentians ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their most ...

, crocus, dogtooth violet, and rose hips. Moreover, it is possible to see some rare species such as orchids (over 30 species are present). In the Reserve there are different kinds of wood: from turkey copses and abandoned chestnut woods to parts of more rare woodlands like oak woods with sessile oaks, turkey oaks and english oaks. Because of the extremely varied morphology there are many species of vegetation: linden and

, typical of the cold climates, and Mediterranean plants such as tree heath, service tree, whitebeam, '' Pyrus pyraster'', hawthorn, sea buckthorn, laburnum and blackthorn. Even undergrowth plants can appear on this territory, including ''

Malus florentina ''Malus florentina'' is a species of apple known by the common names Florentine crabapple and hawthorn-leaf crabapple. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula and Italy, and it is grown elsewhere as an ornamental tree. Description The tree is deci ...

'', '' Sorbus torminalis'', medlar, hazelnuts and white alder. In the groves there are downy oak, hornbeam, sessile oak, english oak,

European hornbeam ''Carpinus betulus'', the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family (botany), family Betulaceae, native species, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It require ...

, Italian alder, wild cherry, hawthorn, privets and cornel, along with the rare ''

''. In the reserve there are numerous small rivers along which

dogwoods ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...

aspens Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, ...

black poplar ''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus ''Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref> ...

and willows grow. The areas used for agricultural purposes that can be found in the reserve contain some downy oaks which are over one hundred years old. Recently{{when, date=April 2017, in the most northern part of the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

, a colony of Scots pine has grown spontaneously. Another woodland habitat is occupied by the

Italian maple ''Acer opalus'', the Italian maple, is a species of maple native to the hills and mountains of southern and western Europe, from Italy to Spain and north to southern Germany, and also in northwest Africa in Morocco and Algeria. Flora Europaea''Ac ...

, linden with heart-shaped leaves and oaks, while some zones are full of small-leaved lime,

and '' Ostrya carpinifolia''.

Fauna

This nature reserve hosts many species of birds and mammals, this thanks to its variegated landscape, which is composed of fields, meadows, hedgerows, shrublands and woods. In this area bird of prey (like short-toed snake eagle,

northern goshawk The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...

, and hobby)live undisturbed; there are also fallow deer, roe deer and wild boar. The presence of these species helped to reintegrate the wolf. There is a particular interest in the study of bats, with '' Rhinolophus hipposideros'', invertebrates and

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s including the Italian crested newt, and some fishes like trout, and ''

Telestes muticellus ''Telestes muticellus'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. Commonly known as vairone, it is found in France, Italy, and Switzerland. Its natural habitats are river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, us ...

'' are studied.

References

External links

*http://www.oasighirardi.org *http://www.ermesambiente.it/parchi/ Nature reserves in Italy