What is the vegetation of the Mediterranean scrub?

Among the many ecosystems that enrich our planet, the Mediterranean bushwith its typical strong and resistant vegetation, certainly represents one of the most fascinating and suggestive biomes. It is certainly one of the most widespread in our country, and more generally, one of the most present ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin. In reality, however, the “scrub” also extends to many other areas of the world.

But what will they be? prevalent plant species of the Mediterranean scrub?

This biome is mostly characterized by a dense presence of evergreen plantslow or high growth, mostly composed of shrub and tree species. However, it is an extremely varied ecosystem, so inside it you could admire both large plant species and small, bushy shrubs.

How does the Mediterranean scrub arise?

Essentially, the Mediterranean scrub stands today where once there were green woods and lush forests. These ecosystems have in fact been almost completely wiped out by the human activitiesespecially from agriculture and livestock breeding. In their place, today they are intertwined thick tangles of plants with an arboreal, shrubby and bushy shape, mostly sclerofille (evergreens with tough, hard and resistant leaves) that characterise the vegetation of the Mediterranean scrub.

Like other ecosystems, such as the tropical forest and the boreal forest, or the hottest and driest areas of the planet, such as the savannah or the desert, the Mediterranean scrub also represents one of the best known and primary terrestrial biomes, a cradle of biodiversity with unique features of its kind.

But if you’re wondering where is the Mediterranean scrub locatedas we have seen in the dedicated study, this particular biome is mostly spread in the areas of the Mediterranean basin (this is where the name “Mediterranean scrub” comes from).

In addition to the Mediterranean basin, however, other geographical areas also present the same characteristics, such as some areas of California, Australia, Chile and South Africa.

The climate of the Mediterranean scrub

The biome develops mainly in areas with hot-arid climateWinters are generally mild or moderately rainy, while Summers are scorching hot and mostly dry.

What is the typical vegetation of the Mediterranean scrub?

Returning to the typical vegetation of the Mediterranean scrubthis is characterized by a thousand different species. The “macchia” is an environment in which tree species mix with shrubs and bushesin a sort of small treasure of terrestrial biodiversity.

The typical species of this biome are united by their proverbial wind resistance coastal. These are mostly low-growing plants, with strong trunks and stems and resistant leaves. Going into more detail, we can distinguish three different types of Mediterranean scrub, namely high scrub, low scrub and scrub in the strict sense.

High stain

At the high Mediterranean scrub they mostly belong trees and semi-arboreal specieswhose height usually exceeds 4 meters.

The high scrub is considered a transitional area between the Mediterranean scrub and the forest, and mostly sees the development of species such as holm oaks, strawberry treeslentisk, the cork oak and the juniperbut also climbing plants and lianas, which make this environment even denser and more impenetrable.

Strictly speaking, stain

From a floristic point of view, this category mostly includes plants and trees less than 2.5 or 3 meters tall. This is an environment where the scrub is stable and mature.

In this biome, trees and plants such as thewild olive tree and the juniper, the strawberry tree and the heather.

Low stain

Finally, the low staincharacterized mostly by shrubby and bushy specieswith plants that do not exceed 1-2 meters in height.

More often than not, the low spot actually represents a transition stage towards the garriguean involutionary stage that describes an arid environment, characterized precisely by shrubs and bushes, a consequence of the deterioration process of the scrub due to soil erosion, deforestation, excessive grazing by livestock, fires and other human activities harmful to the environment. In this biome, mostly shrubby plantssuch as mastic, broom, heather, rosemary, strawberry tree and myrtle.

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