The value of this habitat as concerns fauna is closely linked to the presence of species of nesting birds inhabiting the secondary grasslands and shrub lands. This is probably the only site in Tuscany where the hawfinch (Coccotharaustes coccotharaustes) is present as a nesting bird, increasingly so in recent years. Also important is the presence of numerous species of chiropters, linked to the karst sites in particular, and large populations of amphibians inhabiting the system of wells and drinking troughs.
However, in comparing the censuses of the ’90s with more recent ones, disturbing data on fauna have emerged for many other species.
This is especially true of nesting birds such as the Harrier (Circaetus gallicus), the Spectacled Warbler (Sylvia Conspicillata), which has not been sighted since the ‘90s, the Orphean Warbler (Sylvia Hortensis), present up to the ’90s, and the Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza Hortulana), presumably extinct although very common up to the ’80s.
Research conducted in 2003 has led to the hypothesis of extinction for the Yellow-bellied Toad (Bombina Pachypus), particularly noticeable in the streams and ponds of the Apennines and the Casentine Forest.
Lastly, even the prized Lepidoptera (Euplagia) have been amply reduced in number, as have numerous species of chiropters such as the barbastelle, the Mediterranean horseshoe bat and the long-eared bat.