Liechtenstein

Europa

357

Documented species

Parks and reserves

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Liechtenstein is divided between the Rhine floodplain, to the west, and the foothills of the Rhaetian Alps, which exceed 2,500 metres in the east. That drop concentrated into a few kilometres produces a complete sequence of alpine environments: mixed and beech woods at the base, pine and spruce in the middle belt, and pasture and rock above the treeline, where chamois, marmots, red deer, roe deer and golden eagles live. The Alpine ibex has reappeared from the neighbouring Swiss colonies. On the Rhine plain survives the Ruggeller Riet, one of the last valley-bottom wetlands of the upper Rhine, saved from agricultural drainage and today a nature reserve with a community of marsh birds and of butterflies tied to the wet meadows. The forests of Liechtenstein cover close to forty per cent of the country and also serve to protect against avalanches.

The nature of Liechtenstein

National animal: No recognised official national animal

Did you know?

The Ruggeller Riet is covered every May in Siberian irises, which flower in their thousands and turn the wetland blue. That wet meadow is also home to highly specialised butterflies whose caterpillars depend on a single food plant and, in some cases, on ants that adopt them into their nests, a relationship that only works if the mowing of the meadow is delayed until the end of summer.

Biodiversity profile

Europa Occidental/Central (microestado alpino, sin litoral)El Pflanzenschutzgebiet (area de proteccion de plantas) es una de las principales figuras formales de proteccion del pais, integrada en la red de areas protegidas alpinas transfronterizas

Climate

•Clima alpino y de montaña, con variacion segun altitud desde el valle del Rin hasta las cumbres

Main biomes

•Bosque de coniferas y mixto alpino
•Praderas de alta montaña
•Bosque de ribera en el valle del Rin
•Alta montaña alpina
•Bosque de hayas
•Bosque de coníferas subalpino
•Prado húmedo de fondo de valle
•Llanura aluvial del Rin
•Pastizal de altitud

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•No aplica (pais sin litoral, enteramente alpino)

Flagship wildlife

•Cabra montes de los Alpes
•Marmota alpina
•Especies forestales tipicas de los Alpes centrales
•Rebeco
•Íbice alpino
•Ciervo rojo
•Corzo
•Águila real
•Urogallo
•Lirón gris
•Salamandra alpina
•Martín pescador

Notable endemic species

•Liechtenstein esta enteramente contenido dentro del perimetro alpino, compartiendo el endemismo floristico regional de la cordillera (hasta 400 especies vegetales endemicas de los Alpes en su conjunto)

Notable threatened species

•Especies alpinas vulnerables al desplazamiento altitudinal por cambio climatico, como en el resto de la cordillera

Notable protected areas

•Pflanzenschutzgebiet (area protegida de plantas alpinas)
•Reserva Natural del Ruggeller Riet
•Zona alpina de Malbun
•Reserva de Gampriner Seelein
•Valle de Saminatal
•Macizo del Naafkopf

Main conservation threats

•Cambio climatico sobre ecosistemas alpinos de un territorio enteramente montañoso
•Reducido tamaño del pais, que limita la conectividad ecologica interna sin cooperacion transfronteriza

Notable natural phenomena

•Liechtenstein es el unico pais del mundo, junto con quiza algun otro microestado, enteramente contenido dentro del perimetro de una sola cordillera (los Alpes)

Conservation

Conservation focuses on the last wet meadows of the Rhine valley, which depend on late mowing, and on the management of the protection forest against avalanches, which requires keeping the balance between ungulates and forest regeneration.

Where and when to watch wildlife

The Ruggeller Riet in May for the iris bloom and the marsh birds. The Malbun area between June and September for marmots, chamois and golden eagle. The eastern forests in autumn for the rut.

Sources: One Earth - Alps Conifer and Mixed Forests | Grokipedia - Alpine states

Mountain Grassland