Mediterranean forests

Mediterranean forests occur in Mediterranean-type climates characterized by mild and wet winters and dry summers. Being part of the Mediterranean-type biome, they are found in Europe, California, and northwest Mexico, and a few small areas in Australia, Chile, and South Africa. In western North America, they are called chaparral. In Spain, the most common name is matorral. Farther east in the Mediterranean Basin, they are referred to as garrigue. Meanwhile, in South Africa, they are recognized as fynbos, while Australians refer to at least one form of it as mallee. Mediterranean forests are classified into three main types: sclerophyllous forests, broadleaved forests, and coniferous forests. These are shelters for plant types from various origins that have attained extraordinary levels of both diversity and endemism, composing 20 percent of the Earth’s plant species.

The fynbos alone features 8,600 different plants, of which nearly 70 percent are endemic. The Mediterranean Basin harbors about 25,000 species of vascular plants, of which 50 percent are endemic to the region. In the arid Australian southwest, around 2,500 vascular plant species exist that are found nowhere else in the world. In the California Floristic Province, there are nearly 3,500 species of vascular plants, and more than 61 percent are found nowhere else in the world. The worldwide coverage of these forests is nearly 1.5 percent of the total wooded area. Mediterranean forests include a diversity of formations, with different levels of woody vegetation and open areas. They are also highly diverse in terms of the growth form, morphology, physiology, and phenology of the dominant trees in each region. These forests are dominated mainly by drought-resistant, hard-leaved scrub of low-growing woody plants. They consist of populations of broadleaved and evergreen sclerophyllous species, such as the oak and mixed sclerophyll forests distributed in California and the Mediterranean region, eucalyptus growing in southwest Australia, and the nothofagus populations resident in central Chile. The latter enjoy moist conditions during summertime, as they are often residents of the riparian areas.

More than two-thirds of these forest populations are concentrated in the Mediterranean region, and coniferous forests occur especially around the Mediterranean Basin; the rest are scattered over the other continents. Many of the Mediterranean forests’ trees have thick, tough bark that is resistant to fire. Trees and shrubs are typically evergreen, rich in essential oils with small and tough leaves, which conserve both water and nutrients. During winter and early spring, when rainfall is more abundant, annual plants are common. The highly diverse plants and animals show several adaptations to drought. To avoid drought and fire, most herbaceous plants grow during the cool, moist season and then die back in summer. As Mediterranean ecosystems are subject to periodic fires, many plants produce seeds that will only germinate after fire, while other plants with fire-resistant roots can quickly resprout because of nutrient reserves in their roots.

Throughout history, high population densities coupled with a long history of human occupation have left eternal prints on these forests, and they have had substantial influence on the structure of the landscapes in Mediterranean forests. Anthropogenic factors, including forest clearance for timber and fuelwood, as well as agriculture and setting fires to control woody species and encourage grass, harvesting brush for fuel, and grazing and browsing by domestic livestock, induced changes in the vegetation communities. These factors have left imprints on the vegetation cover with maquis, which is a sort of dense shrub formation including wild olive, myrtle, laurel, and juniper; and garrigue, comprised of aromatic low shrub formations such as lavender, myrtle, rosemary, cistus, marjoram, and thyme, and a mix of occasional higher shrubs. It is difficult to define whether these formations are original Mediterranean vegetation or just degraded remnants of better forest types.

Initiatives for the protection of Mediterranean forests and their diversity have been launched. Mediterranean forests are either protected under the forestry law or declared to be nature reserves. Protected areas in these regions are often small reserves or recreational parks. Because of the high diversity and endemism of the flora, these may be of great importance for biodiversity conservation. In South Africa, Table Mountain National Park (formerly the Cape Peninsula National Park) includes about 25,000 hectares and protects a flora of about 2,285 plant species, including roughly 161 endemic taxa.

Mediterranean Region

The Mediterranean Basin, or the “Old World,” lies around the Mediterranean Sea, stretching over an area of around 772,204 square miles (2 million square kilometers). It is embraced by the Lebanese shores in the east, the European folded mountains in the north, and the African Sahara deserts in the south. The largest among the five Mediterranean regions, it is considered a biodiversity hotspot, harboring a considerable share of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity with high total and local species richness and a high spatial heterogeneity. The forests are highly diverse in their architecture, appearance, and woody plant species composition: there were approximately 210 species of trees in the region in 2022, of which 31 were endemic. This biodiversity shows high resilience to disturbance, which has been related to their evolutionary history.

Mediterranean forests and maquis cover about 10 percent of the country’s total land. Around 60 percent of the forest area is concentrated in five northern countries: Greece, Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal. The prevalence of forests in the north is due largely to natural conditions that allow faster and better growth. However, fewer forests are in the southern and eastern countries, where it is hot and dry. In the South, forests are in only three countries: Turkey, Morocco, and Algeria. Mediterranean forests are still more abundant in the Mediterranean mountains than in the foothills and lowlands. They are sheltered by a surprising number of conifers, including pines, junipers, cypress, cedars, firs, and the Barbary thuja.

The old-growth forests at higher elevations in much of the area probably combine conifers and broadleaved species in intricate mixtures with many species. Oak forests dominate in the lowlands of the basin, but as one goes toward the peaks, chestnut, fir, pine, and juniper take over. In this region, pure forest stands of pines or evergreen oaks are not the result of natural occurrence and dynamics but instead reflect human interventions throughout history.

In the southern countries, evergreen oak and conifers such as Aleppo pine, Calabrian pine, thuya, and junipers are resident tree species occupying nine million hectares. Half of these forests are found in Morocco, and most of the rest are in Algeria and Tunisia, where wild olive, carob, and argan are more prevalent compared with other countries. Sclerophyllous oak is the most important Mediterranean forest type from the economic and environmental viewpoints; it is located mainly in the central and western Mediterranean. Trees and bush forms of kermes oak are mostly widespread; the former form replaces holm oak between southern Greece and the eastern countries progressively. Holm oak is replaced by cork oak in the oceanic sites of the eastern Mediterranean, where morphological and climate conditions tend to be mesophilic, whereas it is replaced by pine forests in Italy, Spain, Greece, and Lebanon, and in some mountain sites of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. Mediterranean cypress is sometimes found at high elevations.

Hilly oak forests grow in typically submesophilic zones toward the eastern Mediterranean. These become mixed with deciduous oaks, such as zee, afares, Lebanese tauzin, hornbeam, ash, and, occasionally, beech. Beech and deciduous oaks are mostly found in Spain, Italy, and Turkey, whereas in the mountainous sites of Spain, Italy, and France, beech prevails. Mediterranean junipers prevalent in the western part of the region are replaced by thuya and junipers in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Turkey. Toward the east, juniper can reach the same altitude as the relic cedar and fir forests. The diversity in birds is very high in the Mediterranean region. Sixteen species of birds have evolved in the Mediterranean forest, including laurel pigeon, Corsican nuthatch, somber tit, spotless starling, and Syrian woodpecker.

Mediterranean forests are recognized for their multipurpose aspects. They are acknowledged for their provisioning services, which are not only restricted to wood forest products and nonwood forest products (NWFPs) but also integrate regulating, supporting, and cultural services. NWFPs are not referred to as only for subsistence, but they also contribute to national economies. They include cork, charcoal, game, honey, fruits, and mushrooms. Notable regulating services are the protection of watersheds and agricultural soils, as well as conservation and purification of water. As in many other parts of the world, the extraordinary rich “megafauna” of the Mediterranean Basin was reduced through the combined effects of a changing climate and of the various types of pressure induced by prehistoric humans. Throughout history, major anthropogenic factors have left prints not only on the forests’ composition but also on the landscapes. During the nineteenth century, the overuse of timber for the shipbuilding industry and war needs strongly affected the surface area of these forests. The invasions and occupation during the Middle Ages led to forest clearing for agriculture, especially on steep mountainous slopes. Grazing, especially by goats, played an important role in the areas with a dominant pastoral economy in the southern and eastern countries and Spain. Human-made forest fires have always invaded the vegetation cover in the past in the entire area. Urban development and economic growth, accompanied by the abandonment of farmlands and the rural depopulation in the northern part of the Mediterranean Basin have had a positive impact on the expansion of forest areas as well as on the development and progression of stands of conifers.

However, in the southern Mediterranean, forest areas have gone through a noticeable shrinking. Due to the constant changes in environmental conditions, the equilibrium of ecosystems has been extremely altered and has threatened the biodiversity of these Mediterranean forests over the past decades. Many ecological factors, like climate change, fire, soil disturbance, and the combination of grazing and human land, use have contributed to shaping the Mediterranean landscape and have modified diversity at all levels of organization. Resource depletion caused by overgrazing activities and long-lasting human land use has led to the loss of genetic diversity. Extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers in the large agricultural areas has polluted the surrounding ecosystems, and the increasing water demands have caused drainage of natural wetlands to provide both water and land resources.

Climate change was predicted to continue to affect the Mediterranean Basin. According to the United Nations in 2021, the Mediterranean region was warming 20 percent faster than the global average. Warmer temperatures may cause species extinction in some regions. The tree taxa in the Mediterranean forests found with high intraspecific biodiversity were threatened. In southern Europe, 60–80 percent of tree taxa may be extinct by 2050, compared to 20–40 percent of those in northern areas.

Projected extinction rate in hot spots might reach 39–42 percent of flora and fauna richness. Moreover, invasion phenomena have taken place in the altered landscape; many disturbed habitats harbor introduced alien species, which affect ecosystems’ composition by competing with native species, leading to both ecological and economic damages. Therefore, conservation strategies should not only aim to anticipate climatic changes by protecting species located in northern latitudes but also protect the most ancient and genetically highly divergent populations of the Mediterranean forests. From the 1970s and 1980s, hundreds of protected areas were established, covering approximately 8 percent of the land area.

Matorral

Located in central Chile, the matorral stretches over 57,336 square miles (148,500 square kilometers). It is bounded in the north by the Atacama Desert and in the south by the Valdivian forests, while embraced in the east by the Andes and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. It presents a climatic and physiognomic resemblance to Californian ecosystems. These forests are relatively isolated and therefore contain many endemic species such as the Chilean wine palm. It is home to several plant communities. The Chilean matorral is a shrubland plant community containing typical plants like cacti. It is an open area not only due to fire frequency but also due to urban sprawl, coupled with growth in population. The region is subject to an increased number of fires per year, leading to some changes in the use of land. Thus, the ecoregion is threatened by conversion for agriculture and pasture. Also, the introductions of exotic species threaten many local and endemic plants, birds, and mammals.

California Chaparral

The California chaparral has been home to various types of plant communities, such as evergreen sclerophyll forests and woodlands and evergreen scrubs. Rainfall is only 10–20 inches (25–50 centimeters), and soils are rocky, shallow, and infertile. Low rainfall allows dry litter to accumulate without decomposition, and dead shrubs persist upright as dry sticks. Much of California chaparral is dominated by 3–9 feet- (1–3 meters-) tall short shrubs. At high altitude, manzanita. Buckthorn, and scrub oak occur. In the north, sagebrush and bitterbrush occur; the eastern, drier climates and higher elevations result in pinyon-juniper woodland instead of chaparral shrubland.

The vegetation is a savanna of pinyon pine, small, slow-growing trees with short needles, and juniper trees that may have the stature of larger shrubs. In Arizona and Mexico, oaks may be important. Fires occur in an area every 30 to 40 years, frequently causing great damage to Californians. Winter rains cause flooding, erosion, and mudslides after a fire because no vegetation remains to hold soil in place. Although the shrubs and trees are fire-adapted and resprout quickly, the main growth is by annual and perennial herbs. These are present before the fire as seeds, bulbs, rhizomes, or other protected structures, and after the burn, they grow vigorously, free of shading by charred shrubs; minerals released from the ash also enrich the soil. A few years after the fire, larger shrubs dominate again, and herbs are suppressed, perhaps by allelopathy or by recovery of the herbivore population.

Some unique plant communities, like southern California’s coastal sage scrub, have been nearly eradicated by agriculture and urbanization. The region has been heavily affected by grazing, logging, dams and water diversions, and intensive agriculture and urbanization, as well as competition by numerous introduced or exotic plant and animal species. Anthropogenic activities in this region have altered natural habitats and animal species richness. This has caused some species to go extinct. Disturbances like vegetation clearing, human-caused fires, refuse dumping, and land conversion have caused habitat fragmentation, which exists only in small, isolated patches. Subsequently, the wildlife species that depend on these areas are becoming rare, threatened, or endangered.

Fynbos

Situated on the southern tip of Africa, the Western Cape is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It stretches over an area of 49,985 square miles (129,462 square kilometers) and has a topographical and a wide climatic diversity with many distinct micro- and macroclimates. This has resulted in the complex diversity of habitat types, flora, and fauna of the region. It is home to many indigenous and endangered species. In the Western Cape, expansions of vegetation are limited by the supply of water as well as suitable soils. Agricultural activities account for nearly 55 percent of all water consumption in the Western Cape. Grazing activities occur in the succulent Karoo regions of the western part. These regions are extensively used and are home to many exported species. Vegetation formations comprise marsh rose, king protea, pincushion protea, belladonna lily, heathers, and many other plants. Among the bird species found are the Cape sugarbird, orange-breasted sunbird, and Cape francolin.

Mallee

Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot in Western Australia. Limited by the Indian Ocean, the coastal area has a wet winter, dry summer Mediterranean climate, and is one of five such regions in the world. The region covers 137,729 square miles (356,717 square kilometers), originally heavily forested. The vegetation in the region is mainly woody, including forests and woodlands, scrubland, and heathland. Vegetation formations comprise tree species such as Mallee, black paperback and wrinkled hakea, and other plant species such as morning flag, desert baeckea, and silvery phebalium. These are home to bird species such as firetail, skylark, little raven, Gilbert’s whistler, and the endemic red-lored whistler.

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