Blogs posted from this ecoregion:
- TBD (Date)
Wikipedia states that the ecoregion “is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. The ecoregion extends along the Mediterranean coastal region of northeastern Spain, including the coastal Valencian and Catalonian regions and the Balearic Islands, the coastal Languedoc and Provence regions of southeastern France and parts of the Ligurian Alps in Italy. It includes coastal plains, hills, and mountains.”
Adjacent ecoregions, include, beginning in the north and proceeding clockwise, xxx to the north in southern France, xx to the northeast in southeast France and southwest Italy, xx to the east toward Monaco and Italy, xx to the southwest in Spain, and xx to the west toward Andorra.
Description of the Ecoregion
For its plant communities, summarizing the Wikipedia entry, they are varied, and include forests, woodlands, shrublands, and grasslands.
Broadleaf forests are principally of oaks, including evergreen holm oak (Quercus ilex) and cork oak (Quercus suber), and deciduous oaks – Quercus pubescens in southern france, and Quercus faginea in mainland Spain, together with Quercus canariensis and Quercus pyrenaica in northern Catalonia’s coastal mountains.
Mixed forests of oaks and stone pine (Pinus pinea) grow on rocky silicaceous coastal mountain slopes. Forests of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) grow on sandstone-derived soils in some coastal mountains. Mixed forests of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) and holly oak (Quercus coccifera) are found on soils derived from limestone and marl.
High shrublands, known as maquis or mattoral, are common. They are composed of low trees and woody shrubs, with an understory of herbs and grasses. Dominant maquis/matorral trees are wild olive (Olea europaea) and carob (Ceratonia siliqua).
Low shrubland, known as garrigue, grows on dry rocky slopes, often near the seacoast. Garrigue is characterized by low aromatic and medicinal shrubs, along with herbs and grasses. Maquis of stone pines and the shrubs Juniperus phoenicea, Pistacia lentiscus, Myrtus communis and Chamaerops humilis grow on stabilized coastal dunes.
The ecoregion has wetlands, particularly in the Rhone and Ebro deltas. Freshwater and semi-saline wetlands are characterized by Agropyron spp., Puccinellia spp., and Juncus maritimus.
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Birds of the Ecoregion
The avifauna of the ecoregion is TBD.
Resources for the Ecoregion Birder
The following resources have caught my attention and would be of value to the birder traveling to this ecoregion:
- TBD
DJG: xx spp. (October 15, 2023)