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Ecosystem

Mediterranean Basin

Temperate Forest and Shrubland

The Mediterranean Basin ecosystem surrounds the Mediterranean Sea across southern Europe, North Africa and the Levant, and is the ecosystem that gave the Mediterranean climate type its name: hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, a pattern shared by only a handful of regions worldwide, including California's chaparral, central Chile, South Africa's Cape Fynbos and parts of southwestern Australia. It is recognized as one of the world's great biodiversity hotspots, holding tens of thousands of plant species, a large share of them found nowhere else, adapted to survive the long summer drought through hardened, often aromatic leaves, deep root systems and, in many cases, tolerance of periodic fire. Its characteristic vegetation, shaped by many thousands of years of grazing, cultivation and burning alongside the natural climate, ranges from evergreen sclerophyll forest to the dense shrubland known locally as maquis and the more open, low scrub called garrigue. Few regions on Earth have been so continuously shaped by human settlement and agriculture for so long, and the basin's wild landscapes today sit in close, often blurred proximity with olive groves, vineyards and grazing land that have themselves become part of the region's ecological character.

Facts
Area (sq km)
2,085,292 1
Mediterranean Basin
Filter Results30 entries
Connections

Demonstrates

The climate of the Mediterranean Basin is defined by long, reliably dry summers, a seasonal drought pattern distinct from the wet winters of the region.

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

Hosts

Aleppo Pine, Species
Source Wikidata: Aleppo Pine
Additional Source Mediterranean Basin (Wikipedia)Article text
Amphipod, Species
Source Amphipoda (Wikipedia)
Source Ricinus (Wikipedia)
Source Cedrus libani, Wikipedia
Cedrus Libani, Species
Source Cedrus libani, Wikipedia
Century Plant, Species
Source Agave americana (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Lunularia
Cretan Brake, Species
Source Wikipedia: Pteris cretica
Death Cap, Species
Source Amanita phalloides (Wikipedia)
Source Eryngium maritimum (Wikipedia)
Source Pea (Wikipedia)
Source Gladiolus communis (Wikipedia)
Source Glebionis segetum (Wikipedia)
House Sparrow, Species
Source Wikipedia: House Sparrow
Source Huntsman spider, Wikipedia
Source Italian Cypress (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Pleurotus eryngii
Source Laurus nobilis (Wikipedia)
Source Lavandula angustifolia (Wikipedia)
Marjoram, Species
Source Marjoram (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Aleppo Pine
Additional Source Mediterranean Basin (Wikipedia)Article text
Pea, Species
Source Pea (Wikipedia)
Source Potentilla recta (Wikipedia)
Source Rhamphospermum arvense (Wikipedia)
Source Ruta graveolens (Wikipedia)
Source Salvia officinalis (Wikipedia)
Snapdragon, Species
Source Wikipedia: Antirrhinum
Source Wikipedia: Polystichum setiferum
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Testudo hermanni
Source Teucrium fruticans (Wikipedia)

In Biome

Chaparral, Biomes
Source World Wildlife Fund
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Mediterranean Basin (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Wikipedia summary, lead paragraph
    In biogeography, the Mediterranean basin, also known as the Mediterranean region or sometimes Mediterranea, is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that mostly have a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and warm to hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation.
  • Wikipedia, Mediterranean basin, lead section, area/biodiversity-hotspot sentence
    The Mediterranean basin has an area of 2,085,292 km2, of which only 98,009 km2 remains undisturbed.
  • Hosts: Mediterranean Monk Seal, Article text
    Endangered mammals of the Mediterranean basin include the Mediterranean monk seal, the Barbary macaque, and the Iberian lynx.
  • Hosts: Aleppo Pine, Article text
    Among the endemic species prominent in the Mediterranean vegetation are the Aleppo pine, stone pine, Mediterranean cypress, bay laurel, Oriental sweetgum, holm oak, kermes oak, strawberry tree, Greek strawberry tree, mastic, terebinth, common myrtle, oleander, Acanthus mollis and Vitex agnus-castus.
View the Source
World Wildlife Fund
World Wildlife FundIn Biome: ChaparralView the Source
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
  • Demonstrates: Wildfire
  • Demonstrates: Drought
View the Source
Wikipedia: House Sparrow
WikipediaHosts: House Sparrow, Wikipedia intro: "markings. One of 28 species in the genus Passer, the house sparrow is native to most of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, and a large part of Asia. Its intention..."View the Source
Cedrus libani, Wikipedia
  • Hosts: Cedar of Lebanon, Wikipedia intro: "pecies of large conifer in the pine family, Pinaceae, and is native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. Known for its longevity, height, and du..."
  • Hosts: Cedrus Libani, Wikipedia intro: "pecies of large conifer in the pine family, Pinaceae, and is native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. Known for its longevity, height, and du..."
View the Source
Italian Cypress (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Italian Cypress, Wikipedia intro: "ies of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Iran. It is widespread throughout the Mediterranean basin and has become endemic in similar dry su..."View the Source
Huntsman spider, Wikipedia
Hosts: Huntsman Spider, Lead
Quote, Hosts: Huntsman Spider, Lead
More than a thousand Sparassidae species occur in most warm, temperate to tropical regions of the world, including much of Australia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Americas.
View the Source
Amanita phalloides (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Death Cap, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: Death Cap, Distribution and habitat
It is found from the southern coastal regions of Scandinavia in the north, to Ireland in the west, east to Poland and western Russia, and south throughout the Balkans, in Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal in the Mediterranean basin, and in Morocco and Algeria in north Africa.
View the Source
Amphipoda (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHosts: Amphipod, Ecology
Quote, Hosts: Amphipod, Ecology
Around 750 species in 160 genera and 30 families are troglobitic and live in caves, and are found in almost all suitable habitats, but with their centres of diversity in the Mediterranean Basin, southeastern North America and the Caribbean.
View the Source
Lavandula angustifolia (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), Lead
Quote, Hosts: Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), Lead
Lavandula angustifolia, formerly L. officinalis, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean basin.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Pleurotus eryngii
WikipediaHosts: King Trumpet Mushroom, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: King Trumpet Mushroom, Distribution and habitat
Its natural range extends from the Atlantic Ocean through the Mediterranean Basin (including North Africa) and Central Europe into Western Asia and India.
View the Source
Agave americana (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Century Plant, Lead
Quote, Hosts: Century Plant, Lead
This plant is widely cultivated worldwide for its ornamental value and has become naturalized in various regions, including Southern California, the West Indies, South America, the Mediterranean Basin, Africa, the Canary Islands, India, China, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Antirrhinum
WikipediaHosts: Snapdragon, Circumscription
Quote, Hosts: Snapdragon, Circumscription
By contrast the narrow circumscription (sensu stricto) confines the genus to the monophyletic Old World perennial species with a diploid chromosome number of 16, distributed in the Mediterranean basin, approximately 25 species, following the phylogenetic analysis of Vargas et al. (2004) suggesting they are a distinct group.
View the Source
Rhamphospermum arvense (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Rhamphospermum arvense, Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Rhamphospermum arvense, Distribution
A native of the Mediterranean basin, from temperate regions of North Africa, Europe and parts of Asia.
View the Source
Potentilla recta (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Potentilla recta, Lead
Quote, Hosts: Potentilla recta, Lead
The plant probably originated in the Mediterranean Basin.
View the Source
Pea (Wikipedia)
  • Hosts: Pea, Distribution and habitat
    The wild pea is restricted to the Mediterranean Basin and the Near East.
  • Hosts: Garden Pea (Pisum sativum), Distribution and habitat
    The wild pea is restricted to the Mediterranean Basin and the Near East.
View the Source
Ricinus (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Castor Bean (Ricinus communis), Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: Castor Bean (Ricinus communis), Distribution and habitat
Although R. communis is indigenous to the southeastern Mediterranean Basin, Eastern Africa, and India, today it is widespread throughout tropical regions.
View the Source
Laurus nobilis (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Laurus nobilis, Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Laurus nobilis, Distribution
It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cooking.
View the Source
Ruta graveolens (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Ruta graveolens, Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Ruta graveolens, Distribution
It is native to the Mediterranean.
View the Source
Salvia officinalis (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Sage (Salvia officinalis), Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Sage (Salvia officinalis), Distribution
It is a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae) and native to the Mediterranean region, though it has been naturalized in many places throughout the world.
View the Source
Teucrium fruticans (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Teucrium fruticans, Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Teucrium fruticans, Distribution
Teucrium fruticans (common name tree germander or shrubby germander) is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to the western and central Mediterranean.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Lunularia
Hosts: Crescent-cup Liverwort, Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Crescent-cup Liverwort, Distribution
It occurs commonly in western Europe, and is native to the Mediterranean region, where the morphological forms from sexual reproduction are more frequently found there.
View the Source
Glebionis segetum (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Glebionis segetum, Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Glebionis segetum, Distribution
Chrysanthemum segetum) is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, probably native only to the eastern Mediterranean region but now naturalized in western and northern Europe as well as China and parts of North America.
View the Source
Gladiolus communis (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Gladiolus communis, Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Gladiolus communis, Distribution
Gladiolus communis, the eastern gladiolus, or common corn-flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, native to temperate northern Africa, western Asia and southern Europe, from the Mediterranean to the Caucasus, and widely naturalised in frost-free locations elsewhere, such as coastal parts of the southwestern British Isles.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Polystichum setiferum
WikipediaHosts: Soft Shield-fern, Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Soft Shield-fern, Distribution
is most abundant in Ireland, southwestern Great Britain, western France and northwest Iberia, where it benefits from the combination of mild winters and moist summers, but also occurs more locally north to northern Scotland and east to the Crimea and Turkey; in the Mediterranean it usually grows at high altitudes.
View the Source
Eryngium maritimum (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Eryngium maritimum, Lead
Quote, Hosts: Eryngium maritimum, Lead
Eryngium maritimum, also called the sea holly, sea eryngo, or sea eryngium, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to the coasts of most of Europe and the Mediterranean.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Pteris cretica
WikipediaHosts: Cretan Brake, Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Cretan Brake, Distribution
cretica is native in an area from the Mediterranean to tropical Asia, in Africa, in Madagascar and on the Atlantic islands.
View the Source
Marjoram (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Marjoram, History
Quote, Hosts: Marjoram, History
Marjoram is indigenous to Cyprus, the Mediterranean, Turkey, Western Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Levant, and was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as a symbol of happiness.
View the Source
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Testudo hermanni
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHosts: Testudo Hermanni, Geographic Range
Quote, Hosts: Testudo Hermanni, Geographic Range
Hermann’s tortoises, are found along the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in western Europe, ranging from Romania and Greece to southern Spain.
View the Source

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