Contrada Avalanghe (ITA060015)
Site type: SAC - Special Conservation Area
Code: ITA060015 - Hectares: 2339
Description:
The site falls entirely within the municipalities of Centuripe (province of Enna) and Paternò (province of Catania). The soils are clayey on a clayey substrate. These are
degrade in badlands over large parts of the area. The climate of the area is arid thermo-Mediterranean according to the terminology of Rivas Martinez. It corresponds to a
slope sloping down from the eastern borders of the town of Centuripe to the right bank of the Simeto River. On the slope rise hilly summits of which the most
elevated is Poggio Cipollazzo. The part with the most advanced and undisturbed formations of the site is the southern one embracing the road to Catenanuova.
clayey of the site are furrowed by depressions channeling seasonal torrential rainwater covering the area for about 2% of the surface. To the
bottom of these depressions are clusters of brackish-humid soils dominated by Tamarix africana Poir., Festuca arundinacea Schreber subsp. fenas
(Lag.) Arcang., Suaeda vera JF Gmelin in L., Juncus sp. pl. and Hordeum marinum Hudson. Agricultural lands are made up of citrus and olive groves.
4.2Quality and importance
Typically calanchivo environment with plant formations of Lygeo-Stipetea.The dominant association here is Lygeo-Eryngietum dichotomi Gentile & Di Benedetto
1961. This habitat is of great importance for the territories with a prevalent evaporitic substrate of Messinian origin. On them the process of reconstitution of the soils
after disappearance by eluviation it is extremely prolonged. The maintenance of the grassy rinds is a basic measure in the strategy of safeguarding the grass
production capacity of areas that tend to be badlands. The study of Lygeo-Stipetea formations can also be useful for area management
stripped and the triggering of processes towards the reconstitution of the soils. The Lygeo-Stipetea formations in optimal physiognomic conditions are of great value
In the open valleys there are also formations of the Pegano-Salsoletea characterized by the endemic Salsola agrigentina Guss., Atriplex
halimus L., Salsola oppositifolia Desf., Capparis spinosa L. subsp. spinosa (Syn.Capparis ovata), etc. Here on small areas sometimes Salsola Agrigento Guss. with
species from the same habitat and from the same ecology leads to the formation of Salsoletum agrigentinae Brullo, Guglielmo & Pavone 1985 (see Documentation).
Often these aspects are intermingled in mosaic with those relating to the Lygeo-Stipetea. In the valley bottoms along the seasonal waterways a low wood is formed
gallery with Tamarix africana Poir., Festuca arundinacea Schreber subsp. fenas (Lag.) Arcang., Suaeda vera JF Gmelin in L., Juncus sp. pl. and Hordeum
marinum Hudson, etc. (see Brullo & Spampinato 1990). These groves, which cannot be classified phytosociologically, often present as transgressive species of gods
Pegano-Salsoletea.The area, with its gullies, is home to a rich and diversified invertebrate fauna that is well differentiated from that of forest environments. It
it includes both species of wide ecological value linked to open environments, and faunal elements whose origin can be traced back to the warm-xeric climatic phases that characterized the end of the Tertiary sector. Among the latter there are numerous Sicilian endemics, sometimes rare and / or stenotopes and stenoeci. The presence is significant
of the Occhione, a relatively rare species mainly linked to agroecosystems. The proximity of the site to the Ponte Barca area means that it is used
also as a foraging area for numerous species of both sedentary and migratory avifauna.
Source: Ministry of the Environment Natura 2000 form
Ministerial data: Natura 2000 form
Card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero
Photo: web
Information contributions: Ignazio Caloggero, Region of Sicily
