The Mediterranean forest
Introduction
The term “Mediterranean forest” means not only those forests scattered around the Mediterranean but also those in California, parts of Chile, South Africa and Australia. The forest around the Mediterranean circumference, specific to the Mediterranean, was defined by botanists, foresters and geographers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. To the west, that particular kind of forest stops on the Atlantic coasts of Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula. To the south and east, it gradually disappears into the desert. To the north, the exact boundary with Alpine forest or medio-European forest is still a matter of debate. Should one use bio-climatic criteria to decide or botanical – defining the area according to where olive trees and Holm oak grow (Quercus ilex)? In fact, all these limits are even more difficult to fix because the Alpine and Oceanic influences penetrate far into the Mediterranean area, and anyway Mediterranean forest is very varied. It consists of many species of pine, oak and cedar, plus a rich, dispersed flora. Again with these vague, fluctuating boundaries there is a sort of intermediate sub-forest near copses or coppiced woods: on siliceous soil this is called maquis (northern scrub) on limestone chalk it is called garrigue (Mediterranean scrub), both thick with shrubs and long grasses. But although there is a wide variety of habitat, the various Mediterranean forests have common characteristics. Trees, even fully grown, are often stunted and bush-fires catch easily because of the amount of undergrowth. The forest ecosystem is also specific, defined by the Mediterranean climate (a hot, dry, season, a cold, wetter season, sometimes brutal rainfall) and by a wide variety of soils, often eroded and poor in humus. However, the forest ecosystem is complex, partly because of the action of climate and soil, but mainly because of humans. For a long time the forest has been a major economic, social and ecological issue. Building timber, firewood, secondary products, collecting fruit and other food, hiking and tourism – the forest around the Mediterranean is at the heart of many social and economic practices which have in turn had a profound influence on forest ecosystems.
Introduction
I- The Mediterranean forest: an...
II-The Mediterranean forest: a ...
III - The Mediterranean forest:...
Conclusion
Bibliography
Abstract
The term “Mediterranean forest” means not only those forests scattered around the Mediterranean but also those in California, parts of Chile, South Africa and Australia. The forest around the Mediterranean circumference, specific to the Mediterranean, was defined by botanists, foresters and geographers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. To the west, that particular kind of forest stops on the Atlantic coasts of Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula. To the south and east, it gradually disappears into the desert...
Author
Chalvet Martine
Lecturer in environmental and forestry history, University of Aix-Marseille, TELEMME, MMSH.