The park is a significant natural landscape comprising outstanding representation of connected ecosystems whose extent and intactness provides for a contrasting and rich biodiversity including naturally and culturally significant species. The park is a large and continuous natural environment that comprises several landscape types, each with marked natural and cultural values.
The reed beds occur along stream and river margins, where the flow is slower but are found most extensively on the lakes. They are of an exceptional value in terms of ecology. The country's sections of the lakes, covered by reed beds, are approximately about 500 ha in surface. They have great conservation value as they provide a good breeding and roosting site for a variety birds and other species.
The fresh water lakes of Great and Small Prespa within the park can be divided into several distinct zones of biological communities associated to the physical structure of the lakes. The pelagic zone covers the deep, mainly naturally, non-vegetated parts of the lakes, where emergent plants cannot grow. The littoral zone is the near shore area covering the vegetated parts comprising both terrestrial and emergent, tree or shrub, vegetation. The riverine zone encompasses some of the largest and most diverse stream and channel systems in the region, including extensive wetlands, floodplains and mangroves that support vast numbers of water birds and other aquatic and marine species.
The forest areas contribute a rich set of very different plant and animal species, to those otherwise found in the park, including threatened and endemic significant species. They differ in the predominant species of trees and other vegetation, and they also change with geological base, aspect and altitude. At a very coarse level, the forests can be considered as falling into several zones. The oak is one of the most common species of tree in the park, which in size and density represent a special feature in the park. This zone is overgrown with sessile, downy, Italian and austrian oak, while macedonian oak dominates on the dry and rocky slopes. As we climb from the hills to the mountainous areas, the oak forests change into beech spreading in the slopes of Mali i Thatë. This zone is predominantly abundant in european beech together with sycamore maple and turkish hazel. The extensive mixed forests zone of beech and fir are composed primarily of silver fir, bulgarian fir, european beech and balkan beech in the northeastern mountain areas.
Areas of grassland with alpine and sub-alpine meadows and pastures dominate much of the crests and eastern slopes of Mali i Thatë and provide an important habitat for the diverse wildlife that lives in abundance here. Although alpine tundra conditions also prevail, with grasses and small plants with a high level of endemism.
Wildlife
The landscapes of the park have evolved, together with the floral and faunal resources, as part of the evolution of the Prespa Lake Basin some million years ago. The availability of water, influenced by the configuration of the terrain, has a great impact on the biodiversity of this region. The diversity of habitats in the park provides many different resources for several threatened and endangered species as well as species currently maintaining the conservation status of least concern.
In view of biogeography, the park falls within the pindus mountains mixed forests terrestrial ecoregion of the Palearctic mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. The vegetation is mostly of Continental-Eurasian character with Mediterranean influences. The flora is represented by 1130 species of plants and 174 species of fungus distributed throughout the park's territory, while 60 species of plants are classified as rare and endangered.
Due to the density of vegetation that makes some areas rather inaccessible to people, much of the preserved forests, bushes and grasses have remained relatively undisturbed by human intervention that in turn offers important shelter for animals. There are at least 60 mammal species known to occur in the park. It is one of the last areas in Europe, in which a great number of brown bears and gray wolves appears. The balkan lynx has never been observed, but it is generally considered that the park serves as an important ecological corridor, by reason of its contiguity to the Shebenik-Jabllanicë National Park. The red fox is relatively common and can be spotted quite frequently during winter in the park.
Classified as an Important Bird Area, however, birds are without question the park's most numerous class of animal with more than 270 species. Approximately 132 of the bird species utilising the park can be classified as breeding species and the remaining species are either resident or non-breeding visitors to the park. The white and dalmatian pelican, which is one of the largest bird species in the world, spend the summer season in the lakes of the park associated with the undisturbed wetlands, freshwater marshes and permanent streams.
Despite the unique geomorphology and the specific climate of the park, there are more than 25 species of bats to live in park's caverns. The cave of Treni is home to the largest and most important population of the long-fingered bat in Europe. The park is home to 23 species of reptiles and 11 species of amphibia including the european pond turtle, hermann's tortoise, spur-thighed tortoise, fire salamander, marsh frog and agile frog.
