Renaturalisation of the Mediterranean pinewoods planted along the Adriatic coastline of central Albania and southeran Apulia

The pine stands planted in the 19th century using Aleppo Pine and Stone Pine along the Adriatic coastline of what is now the Divjaka National Park in central Albania have long been subject to renaturalisation. Communities of winter-dormant deciduous broadleaf species have formed, including some tree species, with others of evergreen sclerophyllous species, generally made up of shrubs. The study looked first into the geomorphological and climatic features of the area, and then into the compositional and structural aspects of the plant communities present, these also being considered in terms of their dynamics. This study was the necessary premise for defining forestry policies to promote the further development of the processes outlined in this work. The results obtained were compared with those from another research project on stands made up of the same species planted in the 1950s along the coasts on the other side of the Adriatic, in southern Apulia. Despite initial forestry policies which were not always appropriate, these stands, too, have undergone renaturalisation processes, leading to the formation (still in its initial stages) of communities of sclerophyllous evergreen species, including tree species, and winter-dormant deciduous species, mainly shrubs. The study concludes with reflections on the differences found between the renaturalisation processes in the pinewoods of the two areas.