Mediterranean montane Pinus sylvestris-Pinus nigra woodland

Pinus nigra has been widely planted through the Mediterranean, but it remains the natural dominant tree species that forms forests in more drought-prone situations, at scattered localities through the mountains of Spain, Corsica, southern Italy, and at higher elevations further south where altitude moderates the effects of the Mediterranean climate. P. sylvestris can be co-dominant in the canopy, except in the far south and on the Mediterranean islands.

Vicariant forms of the black and Scots pines are recognised in different localities. In Spain, for example, P. nigra ssp. salzmannii forms stands with so-called P. sylvestris ssp. nevadensis, and P. sylvestris var. iberica. On Corsica, P. nigra ssp. laricio is a pioneer species occupying open ground or clear-felled areas within the zone of beech and fir, but it also dominates on rocky, south-facing slopes, which are too dry for beech and fir to compete black pine. In such sites, black pine can attain a magnificent height in closed canopy, with shorter Betula pendula and Ilex aquifolium individuals in the understory, and a field layer with Avenella flexuosa, Brachypodium pinnatum, Sanicula europaea, Galium rotundifolium, Veronica officinalis and endemic species such as Helleborus lividus, Crocus corsicus, Carlina macrocephala, Galium corsicum and Stachys corsica. More open stands can have a denser understory of Synonym of Juniperus communis subsp. Nana, Genista lobelii and Berberis aetnensis.

Indicators of quality:

·     Maintenance of natural woodland structure and distinctive

·     Absence of signs of exploitation by logging and grazing which leads to to the increase of grasses cover

·     No fragmentation of cover by quarrying or gravel extraction.

·    Structural diversity/ complexity with (semi)natural age structure or the existence of different vegetation layers

·    Presence of old trees and a variety of dead wood (lying or standing) and of the associated flora, fauna and fungi

Synthesis of Red List assessment

Confidence in the assessment

Pressures and threats