Lake Lozon Nature Reserve

A concentration of natural processes in a very rich habitat

On a glacial terrace that includes a pond, in a xeric climate (from the Greek xeros, meaning dry), the site has the appearance of a vast shelf, depressed in the centre; the glacial action has created a basin with a moraine-rocky barrage. The surrounding soils are glacial deposits in silty-sandy matrix and, in the lake, a peat deposit is under way , due to the decomposition of the aquatic vegetation. In terms of vegetation and floristic wealth, it is the richest and most interesting humid environment in the Valle d'Aosta: there are approximately 100 typical species, some of which rare or unique in the Alps, such as the

bog sedge, the fibrous tussock sedge, the broad-leaved pondweed, the spectacular bog bean and some fine insectivorous plants, the round-leaved sundew and the greater bladderwort. In the surrounding humid environment, you may recognise various species of orchids (Dactylorhiza and Epipactis). There are several marshy environments and the majority of the basin is covered with a thick blanket of peat that acidifies the water, in a contrast with the calcareous water from the basin that leads to extraordinary diversifications of plant associations. The zooplankton population is very rich indeed, with

over 30 species reported and many invertebrates, such as dragonfly larvae and may flies, caddisflies and butterflies and moths. The amphibians include the red frog and the common toad. The nature reserve (municipality of Verrayes), set up in 1993 and run by the Protected areas service of the Agriculture and natural resources Councillorship, can be reached by following directions to Colle S. Pantaleone (a village of Lozon).