Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub

Distribution

It also appears in bordering climate zones such as drier parts of oceanic and humid subtropical climates and lusher areas of semi-arid zones. Non-Mediterranean regions with this vegetation include the Nile River Valley in Egypt, parts of the Eastern Cape in South Africa, southeastern Australia, southeastern Azerbaijan, southeastern Turkey, far northern Iraq, the Mazandaran Province in Iran, Central Italy, parts of the Balkans, Southern Crimea in Ukraine, and Northern and Western Jordan.

Vegetation

Vegetation types range from forests to woodlands, savannas, shrublands, and grasslands, with mosaic habitats common due to variations in soil, topography, wind, sun, and fire history. Much woody vegetation is sclerophyll, meaning 'hard-leaved' in Greek, with small, dark leaves and a waxy outer layer to retain moisture during dry summers.

Biome plant groups

Major plant communities include forests, woodlands, savannas, grasslands, and shrublands. Mediterranean forests are generally broadleaf, such as oak and mixed sclerophyll forests in California and the Mediterranean, Eucalyptus forests in Southwest Australia, and Nothofagus forests in central Chile, often found in riparian areas. Coniferous forests also occur, especially around the Mediterranean, with pine and deciduous oak widespread across California.

Oak woodlands are characteristic of the Mediterranean Basin and California, with pine woodlands also present. The California Central Valley grasslands are the largest Mediterranean grassland ecoregion, mostly converted to agriculture, with remaining woodlands of oak, walnut, and pine. The cork oak savanna in Portugal, called montado, exemplifies a Mediterranean savanna. Shrublands are dense thickets of evergreen sclerophyll shrubs and small trees, common near seacoasts and adapted to wind and salt air.

They are known as chaparral in California and southern Portugal, matorral in Chile and southern Spain, garrigue or maquis in France, 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 occur near the California coast. Shrublands may be mature vegetation or result from degradation of forest or woodland by logging, overgrazing, or major fires.

Fire as a medium of change

Fire, whether sparked by lightning or set by people, has long been a major force in Mediterranean landscapes. The region's hot, dry summers create conditions where blazes are common, and many plants have evolved as pyrophytes, meaning they rely on fire to reproduce, recycle nutrients, and clear away old growth. In the Mediterranean-climate zones of Australia and California, Indigenous peoples regularly burned brush and trees to encourage grasses and other plants that attracted game and provided useful materials.

Over time, plant communities adapted to these frequent human-set fires, favoring more fire-dependent species while less tolerant ones declined. After European colonization, fire suppression became common, leading to a dangerous buildup of fuel. When fires do occur now, they tend to be far more destructive, and some species that need fire to reproduce are struggling. In Europe, shrublands were also shaped by burning linked to seasonal herding of sheep and goats.

Chaparral, though fire-adapted, can be wiped out by fires that come too often. If blazes strike less than ten years apart, obligate seeding shrubs like manzanita cannot reach reproductive age, and the community shifts to resprouting species. Continued frequent fires can deplete the underground energy reserves of resprouting shrubs, eventually eliminating them as well. Today, repeated accidental ignitions can turn native chaparral into non-native annual grassland, sharply reducing biodiversity, especially when drought from climate change adds extra stress.

On July 25, 2023, severe wildfires were burning across at least nine Mediterranean countries, including Croatia, Italy, and Portugal, with thousands of firefighters in Europe and North Africa battling flames driven by high heat, dry air, and strong winds. The fires caused deaths, forced evacuations, and destroyed many homes and forests.