Mediterranean forest by paqelena

MEDITERRANEAN FOREST

LOCATION• The Mediterranean forests, can be found around the world. It occurs in the world's five Mediterranean climate zones, on the west coast of continents in the mid-latitudes.

CLIMATE

• Hot, dry summers, contrast with much milder, wetter

winters.

• Absence of precipitation which is concentrated in very

short periods of time, ususally in autumn and winter.

• Bushfires are a common occurrence, due to the high

frequency of thunderstorm; 1 % of Mediterranean

forest is lost every year as a result of fires.

FLORA

Holm oak

Cork tree

Conifers and angiosperms are well adapted to the contrasts of climate. Holm Oaks and Cork trees are the undisputed protagonists of the landscape of much of the Iberian Peninsula.

Cork tree

An impressive diversity of flora and fauna exists in this habitat

• Conifers have successfully colonized most difficult substrates, creating magnificent forests.

Plants from these forests suffer during the summer a drought, for what they display the most original strategies to survive. The most important of these is the development of sclerophillous leaves (hard and thick)

FAUNA Among the species most representatives we have:

Iberian wolf (Canis lupus)Iberian lynx (Lynx pardina)

Deer (Cervus elaphus) Woodpecker

Spanish Imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca adalberti)

Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Toad (Alytes obstetricans) Chameleon(Chamaeleo chamaeleon)