Biology
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The Sicilian fir is an evergreen, and it therefore retains its leaves all year round. Both male and female cones appear on the same tree; once the seeds within the female cone are ripe, the cones disintegrate, leaving the seeds to drop to the forest floor (3).
Conservation
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The Sicilian fir has been the subject of a concerted conservation programme to protect this rare and unique local species. The remaining wild trees occur within a Regional Park; grazing and visitor numbers in the valley are carefully controlled, and the trees are monitored and fenced off (4). In addition, an ex-situ conservation programme has been established and has produced around 110,000 trees that are available for replanting. To date, replanting efforts have met with little success but scientists at the University of Palermo are investigating this species' optimum ecological conditions in an effort to rectify this (4). The rare Sicilian fir is a flagship species for the wealth of endemic flora found on this island (4).
Description
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This tall evergreen tree is known only from a single location. It has the characteristic fir tree shape, with a tall straight trunk and a broad, conical crown (2). In mature trees the bark is rough and scaly (2). The blunt, rounded leaves are located in whorls, in contrast to other firs in the region (4). Female cones are upright and cylindrical, and they turn brown when mature (2).
Habitat
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Found on rocky, calcareous soil (2) between 1,400 and 1,650 metres above sea level (4). It is thought that mixed forests of Sicilian fir together with the beech Fagus sylvatica (2), and Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) were once more widespread at lower altitudes in these mountains (4).
Range
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Endemic to the island of Sicily, in the Mediterranean (1). This fir was once widespread in the Madonie Mountains but is today restricted to around 100 hectares in and around the Madonna degli Angeli Valley (4). Believed to be extinct at the turn of the 20th Century, the species was rediscovered in 1957 but only around 30 mature individuals persist in the wild today (4).
Status
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Classified as Critically Endangered (CR - D) on the IUCN Red List 2002 (1).
Threats
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The Sicilian fir was already severely reduced by the beginning of the 19th Century as a result of extensive logging for timber and firewood (4). This species appears to be facing competition from the beech Fagus sylvatica, which may be more adaptable to climatic changes. A reduction in deep soil following deforestation could also have played a part in the decline of the Sicilian fir (2). The small numbers of firs remaining are now at an inherent risk from any chance event, and fire poses a particular danger.
Abies nebrodensis
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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.
Description
It is a medium-size evergreen coniferous tree growing to 15–25 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m.[1]
The leaves are needle-like, flattened, 1.5–2.5 cm long and 2 mm wide by 0.5 mm thick, glossy dark green above, and with two greenish-white bands of stomata below. The tip of the leaf is blunt with a notched tip, but sometimes with a pointed tip, particularly on shoots high on older trees. The cones are 10–16 cm long and 4 cm broad, with about 150 scales, each scale with an exserted bract and two winged seeds; they disintegrate when mature to release the seeds.
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 25 mature trees surviving; replanting programmes are meeting with limited success due to heavy grazing pressure by livestock belonging to local farmers. It has been classified as 'critically endangered' in the IUCN Red List in 2017.[1] In the European Union it has been designated as a 'priority species' under Annex II of the Habitats Directive, which means areas in which it occurs can be declared Special Areas of Conservation, if these areas belong to one of the number of habitats listed in Annex I of the directive.[3]
References
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Abies nebrodensis: Brief Summary
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Abies nebrodensis, the Sicilian fir, is a fir native to the Madonie mountains in northern Sicily.
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