THE MEDITERRANEAN WOODLAND AND SHRUB LAND

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A FEW FUN FACTS…

Because this type of biome is found all over the world, it has many names. For example, in North America it is called chaparral. In Spain, the common name is matoral, and in Australia they refer to this biome as mallee.

In Europe and North Africa, this biome is home to the cork oak, which is where we get our cork from.

A FEW FUN FACTS…

Another natural symbol of the Mediterranean is the olive tree. It has been used and cultivated since 3,000 BC.

The Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub is one of only five shrub lands of its kind, which together support 20% of the plant species on Earth.

GEOGRAPHY

Found on every continent except on Antarctica, and are typically found along the Mediterranean and North America.

The majority of this biome is found north of the subtropical deserts in the Northern Hemisphere, and south of them in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Mediterranean woodlands and forests occupy 357,900 sq kilometers.

GEOGRAPHY (CONTINUED)

The largest cluster of this biome is in the Mediterranean basin, however, areas also exist in South America, the western coast of South Africa, California, and the southwestern tip of Australia.

CLIMATE

The climate is cool and moist during the fall, winter, and spring, and in the summer it is hot and dry.

The frost varies from one region to another, but it is a danger in the biome.

The combination of dry summers and dense vegetation, rich in essential oils, creates ideal conditions for frequent and intense fires.

CLIMAT

E MAP

The red area indicates the rainfall in the Mediterranean Shrub lands. It typically gets just over 100mm of rain per year but can get as low as 20mm. Average temperatures range from below 0 to about 20 C

SOILS

The soils are generally low to moderate fertility and are considered fragile. South Africa has exceptionally low fertility.

Fire coupled with overgrazing has stripped the soils from some Mediterranean landscapes, whereas in other places, under careful stewardship, have kept their reliability for thousands of years.

WILD

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Wild fire in California

BIOLOGY (PLANTS)

A large variety of plants grow here, and they cover the costal plains, and highland regions. More than 25,000 species of plants dwell here and more than half are endemic- a natural to or characteristic of a specific place

Plants adapted to this biome tend to be less than a meter tall, shrub like, and are similar to desert plants in that they are able to survive hot dry summers.

Some species have high concentrations of flammable materials, so many species are fire resistant, either by underground roots or thick heavy bark.

BIOLOGY (ANIMALS)

Most of the animals in this biome are small and nocturnal. Large animals wouldn’t be able to survive the heat

Reptile diversity is high here, and some regions are home to large mammals including the endangered Barbary Leopard.

HUMAN INFLUENCES

The largest threat to the biome is development.

Many people are urbanizing this area because of its convenient location next to the coast.

There is a lack of worker capacity, knowledge, and resources to help implement necessary protection programs. There are several national parks in these areas, however, funding is low

ENDANGERED SPECIES

• Unfortunately the Mediterranean Woodland and Shrubland also referred to as the Chaparral is home to several endangered species of animals such as , Barbary Leopard, California Condor,

Endangered due to poaching, lead poisoning, and habitat loss.

They are scavengers and feed off of dead carcasses.

As of the early 2000’s there were 22 Condor left in the wild.

As of 2012 the California Condor is considered of the worlds rarest bird species.

CALIFORNIA CONDOR(GYMNOGYPS)

Lynx are found in many different regions for example Spain.

They eat small animals such as rabbits, fox, and small deer.

In the 1950s the rabbit population was wiped out by disease causing their numbers to drop. Since then they have adapted to hunt other animals for food numbers are still low, only 1000 left in the world.

LYNX(LYNX LYNX)

Commonly know as the leopard. It is one of seven subspecies of Leopard.

The Barbary Leopard is found through Africa and the Atlas Mountains to the middle and far east Asia north toward Siberia.

Their global population is unknown, but it has decreased and been fragmented throughout many parts of Africa and the middle east. Their estimated population is around 5000.

Their biggest threats are poaching, and human expansion into there habitats. Many Leopard are killed by humans who feel threatened by there presence or whose livestock have been killed by the Leopards.

BARBARY LEOPARD(PANTHERA PARDUS PANTHERA)

Native to only 6 islands in the Channel Islands and also in California.

The Island Fox is one of the top preys to the Golden Eagle.

The Island Fox is very prone to diseases and parasites which can rapidly kill populations of the fox.

Destruction of the habitats have hurt the food supplies to the Island Fox population.

They feed on fruit, insects, birds, eggs, crabs, lizards, and very small mammals.

There are about 700 Island Fox left in the wild.

ISLAND FOX(UROCYON LITTORALIS)

The Balearic Shearwater lives mainly off of the Mediterranean Sea, it breeds on the island coastal cliffs of the Balearic Island.

The Shearwater feeds on fish and mollusks.

One of the main reasons this species is in danger is due to water pollution.

The Shearwater makes its nests in burrows which it visits only at night to keep from being eaten by other large animals and birds.

There are around 1200 Balearic Shearwaters left as of 2012.

BALEARIC SHEARWATER(PUFFINUS MAURETANICUS)

REFERENCES

http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/shrub.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/text/impact/impact.chaparral.html

http://www.conabio.gob.mx/institucion/cooperacion_internacional/TallerNDF/Links-Documentos/Casos%20de%20Estudio/Mammals/WG5%20CS4.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balearic_Shearwater

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx

THE END