Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature.[1] The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near colder seas. Winters are typically mild to cool in low-lying locations but can be cold in inland and higher locations. All these ecoregions are highly distinctive, collectively harboring 10% of the Earth's plant species.[2]
Distribution
The Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome mostly occurs in, but not limited to, the Mediterranean climate zones, in the mid-latitudes:[1]
- the Mediterranean Basin
- the Chilean Matorral
- the Baja California Peninsula
- the Western Cape of South Africa
- the southwest and southern Australia.
The biome is not limited to the Mediterranean climate zone. It can also be present in other climate zones (which typically border the Mediterranean climate zone), such as the drier regions of the
Vegetation
Vegetation types range from forests to woodlands, savannas, shrublands, and grasslands; "mosaic habitat" landscapes are common, where differing vegetation types are interleaved with one another in complex patterns created by variations in soil, topography, exposure to wind and sun, and fire history. Much of the woody vegetation in Mediterranean-climate regions is sclerophyll, which means 'hard-leaved' in Greek. Sclerophyllous vegetation generally has small, dark leaves covered with a waxy outer layer to retain moisture in the dry summer months.
Phytogeographers consider the fynbos (South Africa) as a separate floral kingdom because 68% of the 8,600 vascular plant species crowded into its 90,000 square kilometers (35,000 sq mi) are endemic and highly distinctive at several taxonomic levels.[1][3] This is equivalent to about 40% of the plant species of the United States and Canada combined, found within an area the size of the state of Maine. The fynbos and Southwest Australia shrublands have flora that are significantly more diverse than the other ecoregions, although any Mediterranean shrubland is still rich in species and endemics relative to other non-forest ecoregions.[1][3]
Biome plant groups
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Major plant communities in this biome include:
- riparian areas, where they receive more summer water. Coniferous forests also occur, especially around the Mediterranean. Pine and deciduous oak forest are widespread across California. Pinus halepensis, lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus), kermes oak (Quercus coccifera) and Chamaeropsare found across Spanish Mediterranean forest.
- Woodland: Oak woodlands are characteristic of the Mediterranean Basin and in California. Pine woodlands are also present in the Mediterranean Basin. California additionally has walnut woodlands.
- montado, is a good example of a mediterranean savanna.
- macchia or gariga in Italy, phrygana in Greece, tomillares in Spain, fynbos, renosterveld, Succulent Karoo, and strandveld in South Africa, kwongan in Southwest Australia and batha in Israel. Northern coastal scrub and coastal sage scrub, also known as soft chaparral, occur near the California coast. In some places shrublands are of the mature vegetation type, and in other places are the result of degradation of former forest or woodland by logging or overgrazing, or disturbance by major fires.
Fire as a medium of change
Fire, both natural and human-caused, has played a large role in shaping the ecology of Mediterranean ecoregions.[4] The hot, dry summers make much of the region prone to fires, and lightning-caused fires occur with some frequency. Many of the plants are pyrophytes, or fire-loving, adapted or even depending on fire for reproduction, recycling of nutrients, and the removal of dead or senescent vegetation. In both the Australian and Californian Mediterranean-climate eco-regions, native peoples used fire extensively to clear brush and trees, making way for the grasses and herbaceous vegetation that supported game animals and useful plants.
The plant communities in these areas adapted to the frequent human-caused fires, and pyrophyte species grew more common and more fire-loving, while plants that were poorly adapted to fire retreated. After European colonization of these regions, fires were suppressed, which has caused some
Though adapted to infrequent fires, chaparral plant communities can be eliminated by frequent fires. A high frequency of fire (less than ten years) will result in the loss of obligate seeding shrub species such as Manzanita spp. This high frequency disallows seeder plants to reach their reproductive size before the next fire and the community shifts to a sprouter-dominance. If high frequency fires continue over time, obligate resprouting shrub species can also be eliminated by exhausting their energy reserves below-ground. Today, frequent accidental ignitions can convert chaparral from a native shrubland to non-native annual grassland and drastically reduce species diversity, especially under drought brought about by climate change.[6][7]
On 25 July 2023, devastating wildfires were burning in at least nine countries across the Mediterranean, including Croatia, Italy, and Portugal, with thousands of firefighters in Europe and North Africa working to contain flames stoked by high temperatures, dry conditions, and strong winds. The wildfires led to casualties, evacuations of thousands of people, and widespread destruction of homes and forests.[8]
Degradation
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Mediterranean ecoregions are some of the most endangered and vulnerable on the planet. Many have suffered tremendous degradation and habitat loss through logging, overgrazing, conversion to agriculture, urbanization, fire suppression, and introduction of exotic and invasive species. The ecoregions around the Mediterranean basin and in California have been particularly affected by degradation due to human activity, suffering extensive loss of forests and soil erosion, and many native plants and animals have become extinct or endangered.
See also
- Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests
- Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia (CTFC)
- Food and Agriculture Organization (Silva mediterranea workgroup)
References
- ^ a b c d This article incorporates text available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license. World Wide Fund for Nature. "Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub Ecoregions". Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ^ Cody, M.L. (1986). "Diversity, rarity, and conservation in Mediterranean-climate regions". In Soulé, M.E. (ed.). Conservation biology. Massachusetts, US. pp. 122–152.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ S2CID 23314811.
- S2CID 15011913.
- (PDF) from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- PMID 17708216.
- S2CID 19688559.
- ^ Sullivan, Helen; Tondo, Lorenzo (26 July 2023). "'Like a blowtorch': Mediterranean on fire as blazes spread across nine countries". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
External links
- Media related to Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub at Wikimedia Commons