The ecoregion has montane Mediterranean climate. Rainfall averages 1,100 mm annually, and can exceed 1,500 mm in some high-elevation areas. Below-freezing temperatures and snow are common in the winter months.[2]
Geography
The ecoregion covers higher elevations in several disconnected ranges in southern and central Spain.
The southern ranges are mostly in Andalucia region and part of the Baetic System (Sistema Bético) of mountains. The Sierra Nevada is in southern Andalucia, north of the Mediterranean Sea. Mulhacén in the Sierra Nevada reaches 3478 metres elevation, and is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Alps and the Caucasus.[3] The Sierra de Gádor is immediately to the southeast of the Sierra Nevada, and the Sierra de Baza (2,271 m) lies close to the northeast. The Sierra de Cazorla (2,107 m) is north of the Sierra Nevada. The Sierra de Castril lies northeast of the Sierra de Baza, at the boundary between Andalucia and Castilla-La Mancha regions.[4]
Spanish red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are widespread.[2] The Western Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica victoriae), a threatened subspecies of goat, was reintroduced to Sierra de Guadarrama National Park in 1991 from the Gredos Mountains further west, and has increased in numbers since.[6]
The Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) lives in limited numbers in the northern ranges. An isolated southern population in the Sierra Morena of western Andalucia dwindled in numbers and interbred with dogs, and may now be extinct.[7]
The ecoregion is home to over 150 species of birds, including the Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti) and golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos).[4]
The Sierra Madre Occidental pine–oak forests are a Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the Sierra Madre Occidental range from the southwest USA region to the western part of Mexico. They are home to a large number of endemic plants and important habitat for wildlife.
California mixed evergreen forest is a plant community found in the mountain ranges of California and southwestern Oregon.
The woodlands of the Iberian Peninsula are distinct ecosystems on the Iberian Peninsula. Although the various regions are each characterized by distinct vegetation, the borders between these regions are not clearly defined, and there are some similarities across the peninsula.
The Sierra Madre Oriental pine–oak forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion of northeastern and Central Mexico, extending into the state of Texas in the United States.
Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests is an ecoregion, in the temperate coniferous forest biome, which occupies the high mountain ranges of North Africa. The term is also a botanically recognized plant association in the African and Mediterranean literature.
The Illyrian deciduous forests is a terrestrial ecoregion in southern Europe, which extends along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It belongs to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, and is in the Palearctic realm.
Pinyon–juniper woodland, also spelled piñon–juniper woodland, is a biome found mid-elevations in arid regions of the Western United States, characterized by being an open forest dominated by low, bushy, evergreen junipers, pinyon pines, and their associates. At lower elevations, junipers often predominate and trees are spaced widely, bordering on and mingling with grassland or shrubland, but as elevation increases, pinyon pines become common and trees grow closer, forming denser canopies. Historically, pinyon-juniper woodland provided a vital source of fuel and food for indigenous peoples of the American Southwest. The nuts continue to be a traditional indigenous food, and because nut-collecting was also adopted by the Spanish in the 1500s, the nuts are also traditionally harvested by some Hispanic communities.
Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park is a natural park in the eastern and northeastern part of the province of Jaén, Spain, established in 1986. With an area of 2,099.2 square kilometres (810.5 sq mi), it is the largest protected area in Spain and the second largest in Europe. It was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1983 and also a Special Protection Area for migratory birds in 1988.
The Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the middle and upper elevations of the western Middle Himalayas of Nepal, India, and Pakistan.
The Apennine deciduous montane forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. The development of these forests is ensured by the high rainfall in the Apennines, combined with a temperate-cool climate. Because of climate change, the presence of silver fir, although still widespread, has been dramatically reduced in favour of beech.
The Southeastern mixed forests are an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome, in the lower portion of the Eastern United States.
The upper montane forest is a vegetation type generally found above the mixed coniferous forest and below the subalpine forest vegetation types. Most of what grows in upper montane forests are conifers, because of the short growing season.
The Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests is an ecoregion located in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
The Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park is a protected area in the Spanish provinces of Málaga and Granada. It contains the Sierra de Tejeda and Sierra de Almijara mountains. The park is mountainous and is partly covered by pine forests at the lower levels, while typical Mediterranean vegetation is found higher up. There is a large number of endemic species.
The Carpathian montane conifer forests, also known as Carpathian montane forests, is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in the Carpathian Mountains of the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine.
The Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It occupies the interior valleys and plateaus of the Iberian Peninsula. The ecoregion lies mostly in Spain, and includes some portions of eastern Portugal.
The Northeastern Spain and Southern France Mediterranean forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It occupies the Mediterranean coastal region of northeastern Spain, Southern France, the Balearic Islands and a small part of Italy.
The Northwest Iberian montane forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It lies in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula, includes inland mountains, foothills, and plateaus in northwestern Spain and northeastern Portugal.
The Pyrenees conifer and mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It extends along the Pyrenees mountains which run east and west along the border between France and Spain, and includes all Andorra. The ecoregion extends from the lower slopes of the Pyrenees to its highest peaks, which include Aneto, Posets, and Vignemale.
References
↑ Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b.
1 2 3 4 5 Linares, Juan & García-Cervigón, Ana & Dugo-Díaz, M.L. & Garcilaso, D. & Lechuga Ordóñez, Víctor & Blanes, M.C. & Viñegla, Benjamín. (2014). "Sierra Nevada Range, the Biodiversity Legacy of the Southernmost European Glaciated Mountain", in Mountains: Geology, Topography and Environmental Concerns, António Avelino Batista Vieira and António José Bento Gonçalves, eds. Nova Science Publishers, ISBN 9781631172885
↑ Refoyo, Pablo, Cristina Olmedo, Ignacio Polo, Paulino Fandos and Benito Muñoz (2015). "Demographic trends of a reintroduced Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica victoriae population in central Spain". Mammalia 2015; 79(2): 139–145
↑ Gómez-Sánchez, Daniel; Olalde, Iñigo; Sastre, Natalia; Enseñat, Conrad; Carrasco, Rafael; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; Leonard, Jennifer A; Vilà, Carles; Ramírez, Oscar (2018). "On the path to extinction: Inbreeding and admixture in a declining grey wolf population". Molecular Ecology. 27 (18): 3599–3612. doi:10.1111/mec.14824. PMID30074659.
↑ Arroyo, J. et al. (2022). Sierra Nevada, a Mediterranean Biodiversity Super Hotspot. In: Zamora, R., Oliva, M. (eds) The Landscape of the Sierra Nevada. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94219-9_2
↑ Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b.
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