Knowra Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub are ecosystems shaped by dry summers and mild, wet winters, with vegetation adapted to seasonal drought and recurring fire.
Mediterranean climate : A climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Winter rainfall and summer drought set the central seasonal rhythm of these ecosystems.
Mediterranean Basin : The lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, including parts of Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. This is the largest and historically defining region of the biome.
Köppen climate classification : A system that classifies world climates by temperature, precipitation, and seasonal patterns. Its Mediterranean climate types provide a standard way to identify the biome's climatic setting.
Biodiversity hotspot : A region with exceptional endemic species that has lost much of its original habitat. Several Mediterranean-climate regions qualify because of high endemism and extensive habitat loss.
Sclerophyll : A plant growth form with small, tough, often leathery leaves adapted to water stress. Sclerophyllous leaves help many local plants limit water loss through the dry season.
California chaparral and woodlands : A Mediterranean-climate ecoregion of California and northern Baja California, with shrublands and oak woodlands. Its chaparral illustrates how the biome takes a distinct regional form in North America.
Ecoregion : A geographically distinct area defined by characteristic ecological communities and environmental conditions. Ecoregions divide the broad biome into areas with distinct species and habitats.
Habitat fragmentation : The division of continuous habitat into smaller, isolated patches. Roads, farming, and settlement split once-connected Mediterranean landscapes and populations.
Wildfire : An uncontrolled fire that spreads through vegetation and other combustible material. Recurring fire shapes vegetation structure, regeneration, and landscape patterns.
Chilean matorral : A Mediterranean-climate shrubland and woodland region of central Chile. The matorral is the biome's South American counterpart, with many locally distinctive plants.
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