Geography of the Languedoc: Areas of Special Interest
Ecosystems of the Languedoc Roussillon.
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub are part of a
temperate ecosystem, related to the Mediterranean
Climate, characterised by hot, dry summers and mild and
rainy winters. Nearly all of the rainfall occurs in the winter
and spring rainy season.
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub eco-regions occur
not only around the Mediterranean
Sea, but also in the world's other Mediterranean
Climate zones - on the west coast of continents in the
mid-latitudes: California, Central Chile, Southwest Australia,
and the Cape Province of South Africa)
These regions are some of the most endangered on earth, and
have suffered degradation and habitat loss through logging,
overgrazing, conversion to agriculture, urbanization, and
the introduction of alien species. Eco-regions around the
Mediterranean basin have been particularly affected by degradation
attributable to human activity, suffering extensive loss of
forests and soil erosion, and many native plants and animals
have already become extinct or are endangered. The Camargue
is a spectacular example of problems caused by human abuse.
Vegetation types can range from forests to woodlands, savannas,
shrublands, and grasslands; "mosaic" landscapes
are common, where differing vegetation types neighbour one
another in complex patterns created by variations in soil,
topography, exposure to wind and sun, and fire history. The
five main Mediterranean
Climate regions of the world occupy less than 5% of the
earth's surface but are home to about 50,000 known vascular
plant species - almost 20% of the world total. They have exceptionally
high numbers of rare and locally endemic plants. Much of the
woody vegetation in mediterranean-climate regions is sclerophyll
(hard-leaved). Sclerophyll vegetation generally has small,
dark leaves covered with a waxy outer layer to retain moisture
in the dry summer months.
Major plant communities include:
- Forest: Mediterranean forests are generally composed
of broadleaf evergreen trees, such as green oak Coniferous
forests also occur, as do mixed forests.
- Woodland: Oak woodlands are characteristic of the
Mediterranean Basin along with pine woodlands.
- Shrubland: Shrublands are dense thickets of evergreen
sclerophyll shrubs and small trees, called maquis.
- Scrubland: Scrublands are most common near the
seacoast, and are often adapted to wind and salt air off
the sea. Low, soft-leaved scrublands around the Mediterranean
Sea are known as garrigue in the Languedoc (gariga in
Italy, phrygana in Greece, tomillares in Spain)
Fire, both natural and human-caused, has played a large part
in shaping the ecology of Mediterranean eco-regions. Hot,
dry summers make much of the region prone to fires, and lightning
frequently causes fires in the summer. Many of the plants
are pyrophytes (fire-loving), adapted or even depending on
fire for reproduction, recycling of nutrients, and the removal
of dead or dying vegetation. European shrublands have been
shaped by fire deliberately started by humans, historically
associated with the transhumance (herding of sheep and goats,
and moving them to high pastures in the summer, back to the
lowlands in winter)
Areas of particular interest:
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