Читать книгу The Peaks of the Balkans Trail. Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo онлайн

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Plants

The Balkan peninsula constitutes one of the richest plant areas in Europe, with an estimated 7000 or more species of plants – a figure which includes numerous endemics and, because the region was not under permanent ice caps during the glacial periods of the Quaternary era, a number of Tertiary relics (species that were more widely distributed during the Tertiary Period).

Around 2000 species of plant have been recorded in Prokletije National Park in Montenegro, of which some 225 species are endemic. At least 1650 plant species were recorded in Theth National Park in Albania, 85 of which are rare or threatened, and four endemic; and over 1500 plant species in the area of Prokletije located in Kosovo.

Orchid beside the path from Çeremi to Dobërdol (Stage 3); bellflower (Campanula) near the Zavoj pass, Montenegro (Stage 7)

Along the lower sections of the Peaks of the Balkans Trail, coniferous, mixed and broadleaved forests dominate: Aleppo pine, Norwegian spruce, beech, mountain maple, white oak and to a lesser extent the regionally endemic Macedonian pine and Bosnian pine. At higher altitudes these are replaced by Alpine vegetation including mountain pine and juniper. Rich sub-alpine pastures and grasslands or areas of scrub extend above the tree line, giving way to bare rock and scree.