Abies nebrodensis
Sicilian fir | |
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Abies nebrodensis | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Pinales |
Family: | Pinaceae |
Genus: | Abies |
Species: | A. nebrodensis
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Binomial name | |
Abies nebrodensis (Lojac.) Mattei
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Natural range |
Abies nebrodensis, the Sicilian fir, is a fir native to the Madonie mountains in northern Sicily.
Taxonomy
It is closely related to silver fir, Abies alba, which replaces it in the Apennine Mountains of Italy and elsewhere further north in Europe; some botanists treat Sicilian fir as a variety of silver fir, as Abies alba var. nebrodensis. Needle morphology and Genetic studies showed ancient relationships of Abies nebrodensis with southern Italy Abies alba, Abies cephalonica and Abies numidica.
Description
It is a medium-size
The
Distribution
Despite its scientific name, the species is of Mt. Scalone in the Madonie Mountains in the north-central part of Sicily.[2]
Ecology
It occurs at altitudes of 1400–1,600 metres.[1] It is limited to the steep, dry slopes.
Conservation
As a result of deforestation, it is now extremely rare, with only 27 mature trees and a few seedlings are surviving in situ; replanting programmes are meeting with limited success due to heavy grazing pressure by livestock belonging to local farmers. Anyway, assisted migration programmes are being carried out by the University of Palermo as well as by the CREA Research Centre for Forestry and Wood of Arezzo in order to preserve the gene pool from the effect of the climatic belt shift. It has been classified as '
References
- ^ . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Abies nebrodensis. - distribution map, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN)
- ^ "Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora". Eur-Lex. Retrieved 22 September 2020.