Editing Ticino (section)

===Climate===
{{multiple image
 | total_width = 360
 | image1 = Olivenkultur am Luganersee bei Gandria.jpg
 | alt1 = Gandria
 | image2 = Auf der Isole di Brissago.jpg
 | alt2 = Brissago Islands
 | footer = Olive trees at [[Gandria]] (Lake Lugano) and palm trees on the [[Brissago Islands]] (Lake Maggiore)
}}

The climate of Ticino is mostly influenced by the Mediterranean Sea, the Alps protecting it from north European weather.<ref>{{cite book |author=Lucy J. Sheppard |date=2013 |title=Forest Growth Responses to the Pollution Climate of the 21st Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yPvPBgAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]] |page=<!--No page number, see quote--> |isbn=9789401715782|quote=The Ticino region situated to the south of the Swiss Alps generally experiences a [[Mediterranean climate]], with hot but relatively moist summer seasons. The Alps form an arc around the plain of the Po valley, acting as a barrier against central European weather}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=P. Lionello |date=2006 |title=Mediterranean Climate Variability |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JD8CqjuA4SAC |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |page=346 |isbn=9780080460796|quote=The heaviest rain events take place when the cyclone path is in such a position that it produces the local convergence of moist Mediterranean air. In the Western Mediterranean, this feeding flow is southerly for northern Italy and Ticino}}</ref> As a consequence, the plains experience warm and moist summers, and mild winters. This climate is noticeably warmer and wetter than [[Climate of Switzerland|the rest of Switzerland]]'s. In German-speaking Switzerland, Ticino is nicknamed ''Sonnenstube'' (sun porch), owing to the more than 2,300 [[sunshine hours]] the canton receives every year, compared to 1,700 for Zurich.<ref name="SteinerKarnusian2014">{{cite book|author1=Jürg Steiner|author2=Manuschak Karnusian|author3=Omar Gisler|title=MARCO POLO Reiseführer Tessin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rn00AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|date=28 March 2014|publisher=Mair Dumont Marco Polo|isbn=978-3-8297-7172-6|page=23}}</ref> The canton can experience particularly heavy storms and rainfalls in summer. It is the region of Switzerland with the highest level of lightning discharge.<ref>{{cite news |date=7 August 2009 |title=Luganese fulminato, bersaglio prediletto di Zeus |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/ita/scienza-tecnica/luganese-fulminato--bersaglio-prediletto-di-zeus/410516 |work=[[Swissinfo]] |access-date=2 March 2022 |quote=I dati raccolti da MeteoSvizzera sono impressionanti: nel 2008 in un raggio di trenta chilometri attorno a Lugano, sono stati registrati più di 13 mila fulmini, mentre in località analoghe come quota a nord delle Alpi, ne sono stati registrati fra 3 mila e 6 mila.|trans-quote=The data collected by MeteoSwiss are impressive: in 2008 in a radius of thirty kilometres around Lugano, more than 13,000 lightning strikes were recorded, while in locations north of the Alps with a similar elevation, between 3,000 and 6,000 were recorded.}}</ref> Conversely, the canton can experience severe droughts in both summer and winter, making it the region most affected by forest fires in the country.<ref>{{cite book |author=M. Masellis |date=2012 |title=The Management of Burns and Fire Disasters: Perspectives 2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qzPwCAAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]] |page=520 |isbn=9789400903616|quote=The Ticino is the canton most affected by forest fires in all Switzerland. Its geographical position at the southern foot of the Alps determines a climate that is extremely favourable to the development and spread of forest fires.}}</ref>

The climate of Ticino is highly diverse as elevations range from Lake Maggiore, affected by [[subtropical climate]], to the high Alps, affected by [[Alpine climate|subarctic and tundra climate]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ticino.ch/en/itineraries/details/Isole-di-Brissago-Bosco-Gurin/138317.html | title=Isole di Brissago - Bosco Gurin | publisher=Agenzia turistica ticinese SA | accessdate=14 March 2022 |quote=The Trekking dei fiori, a new 5-day experience within the local nature and culture, spans the entire region of the Locarnese National Park Project, going from a subtropical climate to the alpine climate.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlvwDwAAQBAJ | title=Landscapes and Landforms of Switzerland | publisher=Springer Nature | author=Reynard, Emmanuel | year=2020 | pages=325 | isbn=9783030432034 |quote=For its geographical location and its particular morphological configurations, the Upper Ticino is located between the harsh Alpine climate and the more temperate Mediterranean climate.}}</ref> Therefore, similarly to the rest of Switzerland, many different types of ecosystems are found in the region. In the lower areas, deciduous forests are omnipresent, while at high elevations they tend to be replaced by coniferous forests, except in the Sottoceneri ([[Lugano Prealps]]), where they are almost absent. The treeline is located at around 2,000 metres in the Sopraceneri and 1,600 metres in the Sottoceneri.<ref>{{cite thesis |type=PhD |author=Christiane M. A. De Micheli Schulthess |date=2001 |title=Aspects of Roman Pottery in Canton Ticino (Switzerland) |publisher=[[University of Nottingham]] |url=http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14275/1/364441_Vol1.pdf |quote=In the alpine region (Sopraceneri) the upper limit of the forests reaches 1900-2000m asl. This limit reaches 1600m asl in the subalpine region (Sottoceneri), characterized by the almost exclusive presence of hardwood forests.}}</ref> The [[Basòdino]], Ticino's second-highest mountain, is covered by the [[Basòdino Glacier|largest glacier of the canton]]. In winter, skiing is popular in the highest locations, notably in [[Airolo]] and [[Bosco/Gurin]]. In the lower regions, especially around Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano, vineyards, olive trees<ref>{{cite news |last=Irene |first=Solari |date=16 October 2021 |title=Alla scoperta dell'olio ticinese: "Un patrimonio di cui dovremmo essere fieri" |url=https://www.cdt.ch/ticino/alla-scoperta-dell-olio-ticinese-un-patrimonio-di-cui-dovremmo-essere-fieri-EA4750215 |work=[[Corriere del Ticino]] |access-date=20 February 2022 |quote=Il mese scorso l’olio d’oliva ticinese è stato inserito nel patrimonio culinario svizzero, annoverato tra i prodotti d’eccellenza del nostro Paese. |trans-quote=Last month, Ticino olive oil was included in the Swiss culinary heritage, counted among the products of excellence of our country. |archive-date=15 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415103751/https://www.cdt.ch/ticino/alla-scoperta-dell-olio-ticinese-un-patrimonio-di-cui-dovremmo-essere-fieri-EA4750215 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and other fruits common to southern Europe are grown.<ref>{{cite book |author=James Redfern |date=1971 |title=A Lexical Study of Raeto-Romance and Contiguous Italian Dialect Areas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m5RsDwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Mouton Publishers]] |page=38 |isbn= 9783110824841|quote=The canton of the Ticino marks the geographic descent from high Alps to plain and is, therefore, a land of climatic as well as linguistic transition, where heat and abundant moisture favour almonds, figs, and all the fruits common to southern Europe, except the olive.}}</ref> Several types of cold hardy [[palm trees]] and other subtropical species may be grown here, and although none are native, their presence in the ecosystem is increasing.<ref>[https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/palm-trees-go-wild-in-ticino/1887788 Palm trees go wild in Ticino], [[Swissinfo]], February 15, 2001 ("Palm trees and other exotic species have become so common in the forests of Switzerland's southern canton of Ticino they must now be considered as "native".")</ref> Numerous gardens, especially near the lakes, such as the [[Brissago Islands]] and the [[Scherrer Park]], are renowned for their exotic plants.