Mediterranean woodlands, sometimes referred to as chaparral, occur around the world in five widely scattered areas.

Mediterranean Woodlands

Harvesting Olives South of Rome

Expand

A climate of mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers produces characteristic woodlands composed of evergreen shrubs and small trees, many with small, hard leaves—sclerophyll—that resist drying by closing the pores through which water vapor can escape. After the season of drought, the sclerophylls resume their photosynthetic activity.

Also on Encarta •  10 tips for building your English vocabulary •  Alternatives to the M.B.A. •  GPS for students •  Saving for college •  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain

Fire is a regular feature of these woodlands, whose scrubby character is maintained by frequent burns. By sending up new sprouts from its root crown, a shrub can rebound more quickly than most trees from the effects of fire. Many species in these woodlands are fire-resistant, such as the thick-barked Mediterranean cork oak. Others are fire-dependent and will only bloom, release their seeds, or germinate after a fire.

Mediterranean woodlands grow in five widely scattered regions. The best known, and the ones for which this class of ecoregions is named, are the woodlands that grow all around the Mediterranean Sea. Almost all of this area’s original vegetation of evergreen oaks and pines has been altered by people over the course of the last several millennia. Where vineyards and olive groves do not displace them, communities of dense shrubs—maquis or macchia—are typical. Stands of shorter shrublets—garigue—are even more common. Both types contain many species rich in aromatic oils, which may deter the ubiquitous goats and sheep.

Woodlands similar to the maquis occupy the region of the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Called the fynbos, this ecoregion contains an extraordinary number of species, many found nowhere else. In southwestern Australia, eucalyptus trees and protea shrubs dominate the jarrah and wandoo forests that occupy the zone of Mediterranean climate. In Chile, south of the desert, is a sclerophyllous scrub community called the matorral, and in central and southern California, the coastal hills are covered with the manzanitas, ceanothus, scrub oaks, and other plants that make up the chaparral.

Also on MSN •  Iditarod: Toughest Race on Earth on the Discovery Channel •  MSN TV Scavenger Hunt: Win the ultimate prize pack •  MSN Shopping: Best books for the season •  MSN Careers: Nail that job interview •  Today's news on MSNBC

Source: Encarta Interactive World Atlas

Appears in

Forest