Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests
Encyclopedia
The Thyrrenian-Adriatic Sclerophyllous and Mixed Forests Ecoregion
, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Biome
, is in southern Italy
, Sicily
, Corsica
, and the Dalmatian Islands
.
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, characterized by dry summers and rainy winters. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near some seas, as near San Francisco, which have a sea of cool waters...
Biome
Biome
Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...
, is in southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, and the Dalmatian Islands
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
.
Major forest zones
The Thyrrenian-Adriatic Sclerophyllous and Mixed Forests ecoregion has four major forest zones.- Thyrrenian mixed oak forests are dominated by mixed sclerophyllSclerophyllSclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
ous evergreen oak Quercus ilex, Quercus suber and deciduous species such as Quercus pubescens, Fraxinus ornusFraxinus ornusFraxinus ornus is a species of Fraxinus native to southern Europe and southwestern Asia, from Spain and Italy north to Austria and the Czech Republic, and east through the Balkans, Turkey, and western Syria to the Lebanon.It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15–25 m tall with a trunk up...
, Ostrya carpinifoliaOstrya carpinifoliaOstrya carpinifolia, the Hop Hornbeam, is a tree in genus Ostrya, in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe.-Distribution:Ostrya carpinifolia is found in Italy, France, Austria, Slovenia, Greece, the Balkans, southern Switzerland and Anatolia.It is found in the medium elevations, in southern...
.
- Relict temperate deciduous oak forests Quercus robur woodlands appear in coastal wetlands on the Italian Peninsula and on Corsica. Stone pine Pinus pinea is found on some coastal sand dunes.
- The southeastern Italian woodlands, in the Puglia region, contain the Eastern Mediterranean endemic oak species Quercus trojana and Quercus macrolepisQuercus macrolepisQuercus macrolepis, the Valonia oak, is a tree in the family Fagaceae.It is found in the Southern Mediterranean, in the Balkans including the Greek Islands, in Morocco, and in Asia Minor.-Description:...
, together with evergreen holm oak Quercus ilex and deciduous oak Quercus pubescens. Aleppo pine Pinus halepensis also appears.
- The Dalmatian Islands are dominated by Aleppo pine Pinus halepensis and holm oak Quercus ilex. A relict and endemic pine, Pinus nigra dalmatica occurs.