To walk in December, we must be able to grasp the few sunny days!
can be expected that in recent months gray nature is dead, or at least dormant, but he knows how to look everywhere are thousands of little precious angles of life.
Even a most casual observer, however, leaps to the eye the contrast of green conifer stands in the long sad shade of gray and brown in the winter months. The more present in the Isonzo and Carso Trieste is probably the Austrian black pine.
This tree can reach heights up to thirty meters, the bark is scaly and greyish-brown, the leaves are needle-like, four inches long and clustered in twos.
The black pine is monoecious, meaning that both male and female flowers on the same plant. The flowers can be seen in the late spring and summer. The flower is a male catkin (inflorescence cluster) cone issuing a yellow pollen that is dispersed by the wind, if there unfortunately falls a black shirt on a yellow stain that they can be easily seen!
The female flower is a cone instead, once the fertilized egg is what will become the cones, ie the cone.
For mature cones employ as many as one year. That photo above is a cone of the first year, while the following year, when the seeds inside are ready, the cone opening and letting it dry out.
Like all conifers the whole plant is rich in resin, which is primarily used to close any open wounds, but also do not freeze during the winter cold.
Karst in past centuries was primarily an oak forest, as a result of heavy withdrawals by humans, mainly for the supply of timber, was virtually cleared. During
nineteenth century, the Austrian administration (at the time of our lands were under the Empire Austoungarico) thought it was necessary to reforest the Carso to prevent landslides and erosion caused by run-off, aided by ground limestone and karst phenomena connected.
The naturalist Trieste Bartholomew Biasoletto various experiments conducted to determine which tree species were the most fit for purpose, it needed a pioneer species, which attecchisse well in karst terrain difficult, and which spreads by itself does not require excessive care and attention.
Finally, he was chosen the Austrian black pines were planted and the test areas, the botanical garden then present at Chiadino and later in the park surrounding the Castle of Miramare, and both the brakes are still visible and in good health.
Now many areas are populated by black pine, in the photo below you can see a pine forest near Mount Cosic.
The black pine is an endemic species and it might seem that his great spread is negative for biodiversity, limiting the number of plant species in areas it occupies. However, climate protection and soil stabilization features that allows the pine over the decades the growth of many other species trees such as ash and hornbeam, and its branches and its fruits provides room and board to a wide array of birds, insects and mammals.
