Wild Cherry



Although this is a relatively young plant, the wild cherry (photo) of the Valle del Balbano represents the renewed integration of an important element of nutritional biodiversity given that a wide range of animals feed on cherries, including mammals such as the fox (Vulpes vulpes), the wolf (Canis lupus), the wild boar (Sus scropha), as well as birds including the Turdidae such as the Common Blackbird (Turdus merula), the Corvidae, for example the Carrion Crow, several Passeriformes such as the Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandaria) and the Common Magpie (Pica pica), etc..
The animals do not cause much damage to the plant and mammals in particular tend only to eat the fallen fruit.
Therefore the wild cherry, like the majority of fruit bearing trees, is an important seasonal source of nourishment and plays a significant part in attracting the local fauna of the Tecchie wood.
The wild cherry tree is also present along other parts of the path, especially in the limestone area with spontaneous specimens either scattered or in groups.
The Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium) is also widespread, and its presence is conspicuous in the spring due to its numerous white flower clusters which stand out in the middle of a wood or meadows.
It is estimated that in Europe, only in the last quarter of the century, following the widespread use of intensive type agricultural practices, the variety and quantity of species present in the countryside has been considerably impoverished.
To avoid this certain measures should be undertaken to defend the biodiversity of the wood such as protecting large stretches of natural ecosystems alongside agricultural systems which contain the wild ancestral specimens of significant agrarian species. Furthermore such measures should ensure the protection and use of rare or threatened cultivars and/or wild ancestral species.
The planting out of wild cherries in Pian Balbano di Sopra is an in situ conservation established in an area of traditional agricultural practices and lying near a protected area (Bosco di Tecchie).
This gives the planting system a special value due to a binding regime which guarantees the continuous use of the soil as well as the use of a management of the agro-system in co-development with the biodiversity existent within it.