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The ecoregions around the Mediterranean basin and in California have been particularly affected by degradation due to human activity, suffering extensive loss of forests and soil erosion, and many native plants and animals have become extinct or endangered.
Foliage and cone of the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis).. The natural vegetation consists of forests, woodlands, and shrublands.The five chief plant communities are: Xeric pine forests and woodlands: The xeric pine forests are found mainly in the drier interior, near the transition to the Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe, where rainfall averages 300 to 600 mm per year.
The loss of native forests had significant impact on biodiversity, with some 90% of the endemic mammalian genera of the Mediterranean becoming extinct after the development of agriculture. [9] Conservation International has designated the Mediterranean basin as one of the world's biodiversity hotspots.
Mixed forests of oaks and stone pine (Pinus pinea) grow on rocky silicaceous coastal mountain slopes. Forests of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) grow on sandstone-derived soils in some coastal mountains. Mixed forests of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) and holly oak (Quercus coccifera) are found on soils derived from limestone and marl.
The California Central Valley grasslands ecoregion, as well as the coniferous Sierra Nevada forests, Northern California coastal forests, and Klamath-Siskiyou forests of northern California and southwestern Oregon, share many plant and animal affinities with the California chaparral and woodlands.
These animals are primarily found in Mediterranean hedgerows and are at risk of extinction due to loss of habitat. [75] Two species of dormouse are known to inhabit the Levant. The forest dormouse and the Asian garden dormouse are both arboreal mammals that inhabit temperate forests, hedgerows, and rocky areas. [ 76 ]
The climate is Mediterranean, with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. [2] Almost all of the daily maximum temperatures lie between 16 and 27 °C (61 and 81 °F). [ 4 ] Mean annual precipitation is generally below 12 inches (300 mm), [ 4 ] although can be as high as 26 inches (660 mm) in the Santa Monica Mountains and hills around the Los ...
The Mediterranean Biogeographic Region is the biogeographic region around and including the Mediterranean Sea. The term is defined by the European Environment Agency as applying to the land areas of Europe that border on the Mediterranean Sea, and the corresponding territorial waters. The region is rich in biodiversity and has many endemic species.