Riserva Naturale Orientata Monte Carcaci

Riserva Naturale Orientata Monte Carcaci

Mt. Carcaci consists of calcareous rocks which formed in the long period between the Triassic to the Miocene of the Quaternary period: they are different kinds of limestone and marl, but also clayey soils which settled during the geological and climatic events characterizing the Mediterranean. Of course, these features influence and shape the vegetable landscape, consisting of a series of significant environments: wetlands, woodlands or natural woods, grasslands, shrub formations, and rocky environments.

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Flora

The undergrowth is very rich and houses a great quantity of species typical of the Sicilian woods, small trees and shrubs growing together with the the Wild Pear, the Hawthorn, the Manna Ash (which is a species of ash tree), the Wild Asparagus, the Butcher's Broom, and the Spurge Laurel, an evergreen shrub with fragile leaves similar to those of the laurel. Its fruits, if open, smell like pepper and, although they are toxic for man, they are edible for birds.

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Fauna

Savi's Pine Vole

A micromammal reminding the hamster: it has a 10 cm long rounded body, short paws and tail, a head with very small ears. It prefers living in open plains, even if they are not covered with a lot of vegetation, cultivated fields and gardens. It likes digging long and very complex galleries sheltered by huge stones or big tree roots, with different entrances. It needs a very soft and deep soil, easy to dig out.

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