Zona Speciale di Conservazione Prati di Monte

Site's importance

The Valda lake hosts a large number of very rare plant species on the Alps, representing the glacial relicts: among the most precious ones there are the Rannoch-rush (Scheuchzeria palustris), the Rhynchospora alba, the insectivore plant Drosera (Drosera longifolia), the Lepidotis inondata, Carex pauciflora and the small cranberry (Vaccinium microcarpum). The peat bog also represents a precious habitat for several water insects species and, among invertebrates, for amphibians such as the alpine newt (Triturus alpestris), the common frog (Rana temporaria) and the common toad (Bufo bufo). The territory around the peat bog - characterized by glades, isolated trees and young trees - still hosts the rare wood grouse (Tetrao urogallus).

The habitats represented within the biotope are:

• Active raised bogs: acid peat bogs, mainly fed by rain, with the water level usually higher than the surrounding phreatic zone, with a perennial vegetation dominated by multicolored pillows of peat moss which allow the growth of the peat bog. This habitat is considered as a priority one;
• Bog woodland: conifer and borad-leaved forests on damp or wet substratum, dominated by Betula pubescens, Frangula alnus, Pinus sylvestris, e Picea abies, Vaccinium spp., Sphagnum spp., Carex spp. This habitat is considered as a priority one;
• Depressions on peat substrates (Rhynchosporion): extremely stable pioneering communities of wet and open peat or, sometimes, sand, with Rhyncospora alba, R fusca, Drosera intermedia, D. rotundifolia, Lycopodiella inondata. This habitat is not  considered as a priority one.
• Molinia meadows on calcareous, peaty or clayey-silt-laden soils (Eu-Molinion): on wet, lacking in nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) soils. This habitat is not  considered as a priority one;
• Species-rich Nardus grassland, on siliceous substrates in mountain areas. This habitat is considered as a priority one;
• Acidophilous woods (Vaccinio-Picetea): alpine and subalpine spruce forests.

The biotope Prati di Monte has been recently subject to environmental works to enhance the peat bog called Valda Lake. Such works, realized within the PSR, made it possible to reopen part of the water expanses which ran dry over the years after the realization of drainage canals.