Mediterranean Forests of High Ecological Value...16 2.1 the Biodiversity
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MEDITERRANEAN FORESTS OF HIGH ECOLOGICAL VALUE STUDENT’S GUIDE PROMOTED WITH THE COFINANCING OF EXECUTIVED UNIT 1: THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION, A SINGULAR GEOGRAPHIC AREA IN CONSTANT CHANGE.............................................................................................................................................1 1.1 AN ANCIENT AND TURBULENT HISTORY: FOREST AND CIVILIZATION............................................................2 1.2 DEMOGRAPHY: A HUGE POPULATION CONCENTRATED AND IN CONSTANT GROWTH ......................................4 1.3 A SINGULAR CLIMATOLOGY WITH VERY DRY SUMMERS.............................................................................6 1.4 OROGRAPHIC COMPLEXITY: A MOUNTAIN AND STEEP TERRITORY................................................................9 1.5 THE MEDITERRANEAN: A HOT SPOT OF HEAVILY TRANSFORMED BIODIVERSITY.............................................11 1.6 LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION: MULTIPLE PROCESSES, OFTEN CONTRADICTORY, HAVE AFFECTED THE FORESTS............13 UNIT 1I: THE SINGULARITIES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN FORESTS OF HIGH ECOLOGICAL VALUE...16 2.1 THE BIODIVERSITY................................................................................................................17 2.1.A THE ABUNDANT PRESENCE OF BIODIVERSITY..........................................................................17 2.1.B THE BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: DELIMITED AND LOCATED.............................................................18 2.2. THE COMPLEX ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES .............................................................................21 2.3 THE OLD-GROWTH FORESTS ................................................................................................24 2.3.A THE FOREST MATURITY......................................................................................................24 2.3.B THE OLD TREES AND THE DEAD WOOD OF THE FOREST..........................................................25 UNIT 1I1: TH PARTICULARITIES OF THE HIGH ECOLOGIC VALUE FOREST IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION................................................................................................................................................28 3.1. THE MEDITERRANEAN BIOCLIMATES........................................................................................................29 3.2. ADAPTATIONS OF VEGETATION TO MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE.......................................................................30 3.3. HIGH ECOLOGICAL VALUE MEDITERRANEAN FOREST...................................................................................32 UNIT 1V: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN FOREST OF HIGH ECOLOGICAL VALUE..................................................................................................................................................38 4.1. MEDITERRANEAN FORESTS OFFER US LOTS OF SERVICES............................................................................39 4.2. FOREST ALSO FORM PART OF OUR CULTURAL IDENTITY............................................................................42 4.3. CLIMATE CHANGE, A THREAT FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN...........................................................................44 4.4 PRESERVING FORESTS, PERSERVING OUR FUTURE.....................................................................................46 UNIT 1 THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION, A SINGULAR GEOGRAPHIC AREA IN CONSTANT CHANGE Around the Mare Nostrum, various civilizations have been established throughout history. Commercial relations across the sea have populated the coastal areas and the interaction between various cultures have been perpetuating over the centuries. This space is not only a rich cultural and human space but also a unique biogeographic area, considered one of the areas of the planet with high values of biodiversity. With a climate characterized by mild winters and scanty rains during the summer, vegetation and fauna have developed a series of adaptations. On the other hand, the variability of environments is abundant with multiple mountain systems that contradict the image of extensive beaches (for tourists). In this sense, the forest systems subjected to the Mediterranean climate are known as "Mediterranean forests", being able to refer to many plant forms: scrubland, scrub, holm oaks, cork oaks, oak, pine trees, cedar forest, among others. About 75 million hectares are covered by Mediterranean forests and distributed among the 25 countries in the Mediterranean basin. These are forests with singularities of high ecological value as well as being especially recognized as one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world. The topics that you will find in this unit are: 1.1 AN ANCIENT AND TURBULENT HISTORY: FOREST AND CIVILIZATION 1.2 DEMOGRAPHY: A HUGE POPULATION CONCENTRATED AND IN CONSTANT GROWTH 1.3 A SINGULAR CLIMATOLOGY WITH VERY DRY SUMMERS 1.4 OROGRAPHIC COMPLEXITY: A MOUNTAIN AND STEEP TERRITORY 1.5 THE MEDITERRANEAN: A HOT SPOT OF HEAVILY TRANSFORMED BIODIVERSITY 1.6 LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION: MULTIPLE PROCESSES, OFTEN CONTRADICTORY, HAVE AFFECTED THE FORESTS 2 1.1_AN ANCIENT AND TURBULENT HISTORY: FOREST AND CIVILIZATION The Mediterranean region is one of the cradles of western civilization, transformed intensely by the man from a very long time ago. The need for wood to build (cities, refugees, fleets, tools or weapons), firewood and agricultural land to produce food has been monumental. All civilizations have interacted with great intensity with the forest. Many of them still remain today. Identify how different civilizations have used the resources located in the place where you live will allow you to obtain a historical view of the relationship of humanity with your nearest forest. Surely, you have some element of an ancient age. Can you identify it and relate it to the use of the forest by the civilization in question? THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION, A SINGULAR GEOGRAPHIC AREA IN CONSTANT CHANGE 3 REMNANTS OF DIFFERENT CIVILIZATIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA. AUTHOR: LIMOINUM AUTHOR: LIMOINUM Talatí de Dalt, Menorca (2000 a.C. – 123 a.c.) Tharros, Sardinia (s. VIII a. C. –X d.C.) AUTHOR: LIMOINUM AUTHOR: LIMOINUM Roman quarry of El Mèdol, Tarragona (s I.d.C.) Montfort Castle, Galilee (s. X d.C.) AUTHOR: LIMOINUM AUTHOR: LIMOINUM Great agricultural transformation (Priorat, s. XIX d.C.) Urbanization, Vespella de Gaià (s. XX-XXI d.C.) THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION, A SINGULAR GEOGRAPHIC AREA IN CONSTANT CHANGE 4 1.2_ DEMOGRAPHY: A HUGE POPULATION CONCENTRATED AND IN CONSTANT GROWTH BARCELONA, CATALONIA. 184.000 INHABITANTS IN 1857, 1.615.000 INHABITANTS IN 2011 The Mediterranean region concentrates a large population: POPULATION EVOLUTION AND ESTIMATES 700 600 500 400 300 200 Million inhabitants Million 100 0 1970 2010 2025 2050 FONT: WORLD POPULATION PROSPECTS, UNITED NATIONS THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION, A SINGULAR GEOGRAPHIC AREA IN CONSTANT CHANGE 5 In the Mediterranean, the distribution of the population in the territory is quite irregular with little populated areas in the interior and areas that are very populated on the coast. Historically, many of the major cities have been articulated along coastal plains, due to their strategic navigation characteristics that guaranteed the surveillance and defense of the territory as well as the establishment of commercial routes. During the last decades, coastal areas have also concentrated the population increase due to the rural exodus of the countryside to the city and the growing presence of tourism in the Mediterranean. Has your locality or region also experienced this growth or has a decreasing evolution? In any case, if you know the reasons you can analyze has been impact on the forests. Do you think the forest extension will have changed a lot? And its uses? Do you think that urbanizing agricultural areas is a good idea? THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION, A SINGULAR GEOGRAPHIC AREA IN CONSTANT CHANGE 6 1.3_ A SINGULAR CLIMATOLOGY WITH VERY DRY SUMMERS The climate is the result of complex interrelations between several factors, including latitude, elevation or altitude, topography or proximity to the sea. Several climates have been identified throughout the globe, and one of them corresponds to the Mediterranean climate, present on the western coasts of the continents, between 30° and 45° latitude. The Mediterranean climate is characterized by dry and warm summers, and by mild and humid winters. The rains in the Mediterranean climate are irregularly distributed throughout the year, concentrating in the spring and autumn. Its forests are adapted to this great annual variability, but especially to an unusual fact: when it is warmer is when it rains less, unlike other climates where the warm season usually coincides with the rainy season. This conjunction causes a water deficit for living beings, especially prominent in coastal areas and found in lower latitudes. CLIMOGRAPH OF THE MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE 45 90 40 80 35 70 30 60 ) ) C º MM ( ( 25 50 20 40 RECIPITATION EMPERATURE P T 15 30 10 20 5 10 0 0 jan feb mar apr may jun jul aug sep oct nov dec precipitation temperature SOURCE: Own elaboration based on official statistics of Agencia Estatal de Meteorologia (AEMET) THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION, A SINGULAR GEOGRAPHIC AREA IN CONSTANT CHANGE 7 The Mediterranean climate is not limited to the Mediterranean Sea but is present in several parts of the world. In the same way, it does not cover the whole Mediterranean basin, for example, there are desert climates by the sea in Libya or Egypt. AREAS WITH MEDITERRANEAN