Ecosystems

Mediterranean Scrub

Mediterranean biodiversity

Mediterranean vegetation is very important as the habitat of a wide variety of wild and farm animals. Particularly important in the Mediterranean is its high number of endemic vegetal species which make up approximately 50% of the total number of plants living in this environment. Southern Italy is the southernmost limit for many species living all over Europe, for instance beeches, oaks and silver firs. During the ice age, the southern regions must have acted as “sheltering areas” for these species, from which they spread again to the rest of Europe. This is why southern Italy is a great store of biodiversity whose importance is now recognised all over the world.