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Flora and Founa in the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean region has a transitional climate with abundancy of water in the north-west and extreme scarcity in the south, prevailing westerly winds and irregularity of rainfall during a year and from one year to the next.
Three continents come in touch in this region, giving rise to volcanic and seismic activity, thus forming a complex mosaic of interpenetration of sea and mountains and about 5000 rocky islands.
The pronounced change of climate from north to south and from west to east as well as the numerous microclimates lead to remarcable variety of species, a significant number of which are endemic.
The natural habitats not only show great diversity of species, but are also an important stop-zone for many migrating birds.
Here follows a list of links to General and Reservation areas web sites. It is not exhaustive, but will be filled in on a regular basis.
General sites
Extensive list of links to internetional conventions and laws dealing with biodiversity issues globally, such as whaling, tuna fishing, and transportation.
The Mediterranean Marine Bird Association
Organization for the Phyto-Taxonomic Investigation of the Mediterranean Area
The OPTIMA Commission For Lichens is supporting an international project for a compilation of a general checklist of lichens of the Mediterranean region. This paper describes the history of the project and the present State of the Art
With almost 5000 islands and islets, the Mediterranean comprises one of the largest group of islands in the world. The region is of high value to global biodiversity due to its wealth of species, relatively high rate of endemism, long history, and tolerance of all kinds of disruptions, as well as its role as a natural laboratory for evolutionary studies.
This section of the Mediterranean Gardening Site will provide various types of information about the plants we grow in the gardens of this unique region
We examined patterns of commonness and rarity among plant species in montane wet grasslands of Iberia.
European Centre for Nature Conservation, the Netherlands.
Metadatabase on European species data, providing addresses and contacts for local, national and international databases on European species - from the European Centre for Nature Conservation, the Netherlands.
Reservation Areas
Site of the joint efforts of Le Balkan France Society and Le Balkan Bulgaria Foundation on the conservation of endangered and rare ecosystems, natural habitats, animal and plant species. Site is in French and English.
The Flora of Croatia Check-list, herbarium, links to botanical gardens and other botanical services
The 38 Regional Nature Parks in France - maps and fact sheets
If you travel just a brief half an hour beyond the busy beaches and coastal towns, you'll find lonely hills and steep mountain passes, water falls, clear mountain lakes, villages shaded by multi-hundred-year-old trees and (in the summer season) a tiny fraction of the people. In the Beyond area, close to the most famous summer vacation spot in the world, you'll find hawks and eagles and wild animals that most city people have only seen in zoos.
a general description on the nature of the Camargue - in French
a very nice site with images of all kinds of fish living in the fresh waters of this basin
The flora of Gavdos is different from the one in close Crete. There are many species that can be found only in Gavdos, but not in Crete or in the rest of Greece.
Due to the geologic and geographic nature of the Rock there is considerate variation in the type of scrub, and also in the variety of habitats available to plants
Links to several natural habitats and reserved areas
by Carlo del Prete, Botanical Garden, University of Modena.
Department of Plant Sciences. Remarks on Flora and Vegetation in the Land of Israel
Petra National Trust - Jordan
The park is named after Mt.Triglav (2864m), symbol of the Slovenia, which is situated almost in the middle of the protected territory. From it the valleys spread out radial, supplying water to two large river Systems which have theirsources in the Julian Alps: the Soca river and the Sava river flowing to the Adriatic and Black Sea respectively.
Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Sciences was founded in 1889 by Dr. Antun Heinz, professor of botany
A nice site on all 16 natural habitats in Gerona, including wetlands and the Medes Islands
Andalucia's extraordinary wealth of natural beauty and flora and fauna has led the regional government to create a network of Protected Natural Environments, covering over 17% of the entire territory.
The province of Pontevedra, in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, is situated in an area of climatic transition that influences the flora and the fauna to be found there. - Nice images