Lecture on Mediterranean woodlands

Abstract

All over the Mediterranean region the hillsides lie bare of their original vegetation, the wind blows unfettered by trees that once adorned vast tracts of the region. The landscape bares man's imprint. The current generation will never be able to appreciate the extent of destruction wrought about by man and his animals on this area's vegetation. The Mediterranean vegetation, once dominated by forest trees, has been reduced to much steppe and garrigue through anthropogenic forces. The forest has receded into the inaccessible and other areas that man cannot easily reach. Notwithstanding this, the forest is the main climax vegetation [or much of the Mediterranean. Different regions have different forest habitats, each reflecting the environment in which each type is most adapted to live in. This was brought about though past evolutionary forces.