About the Biome

What is a Biome?

Biomes are distinct areas of the Earth that contain ecologically similar communities of plants and animals. They include habitats as diverse as the arctic tundra and the tropical rainforest. Biomes are defined by climate, geology and ecology and reflect differences in vegetation structure (such as trees, shrubs, and grasses), leaf type (such as broadleaf and needleleaf) and vegetation spacing (forest, woodland, savanna).

What is the Mediterranean Biome?

The biome gets its name from the largest of its five regions, made up of land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The other regions - portions of California / Baja California, South Africa, Australia, and Chile - are the four other places on earth that have a similar climate and vegetation. The unique soils, topography, climate, and geography of the Mediterranean biome have yielded a vast diversity of life, including tens of thousands of plants and animals that are found nowhere else, and are specifically adapted to hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.

Why is it threatened?

The Mediterranean biome contains some of the most fertile, beautiful, and therefore most coveted land on the planet. Over the centuries, it has given rise to many of the Earth's greatest civilizations - including the ancient Persians, Romans, Egyptians and Greeks. Today, the biome is home to some of the world's most important centers of commerce and culture: Rome, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Tunis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Perth, Santiago, and Cape Town, to name a few. It's also a major producer of agricultural crops such as citrus fruits, grapes, wheat, and rice.

This long history of human influence has taken its toll on the Mediterranean biome. Over 30 percent of the area has already been modified through development and land conversion, and less than 5 percent of remaining lands are protected. Population and urbanization have increased 13 percent from 1990 to 2000. Other threats include tourism development, modifications to the natural fire patterns, and invasive plants or animals that encroach on or kill native species.

Why is the biome vanishing?

Fast Facts

The Mediterranean biome is home to over 48,000 vascular plant species, 26,000 of which are found nowhere else on earth, and at least 7,700 are threatened (Cowling, 1996). In addition, the biome is home to over 2,800 animal species, 300 of which are found nowhere else on earth, and at least 245 are threatened (TNC analysis of Wildfinder data, 2007).

If we are to reach the goal of conserving 10% of the world's ecological regions by 2010, as stated by The United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), there is a tremendous amount of work to be accomplished in the Mediterranean biome.

According to a global Gap analysis conducted by the Nature Conservancy of California, less than 5% of the total Mediterranean biome currently protected, with significantly lower levels of protection in some key regions. The pace, scale and effectiveness of conservation must be sharply increased across the biome in order to reach the CBD goal.

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