The Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests is an
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
in the lands around the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
. The ecoregion covers most of mainland
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
), the western coast of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, the southern
Vardar
The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . Th ...
river valley in
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
, the southern Struma river valley at the extreme south-western corner of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
.
The ecoregion has a
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
biome
A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
.
Flora
The predominant plant communities are maquis, low shrublands, and pine forests.
Maquis is woody shrubland characterized by low trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Maquis species include strawberry tree (''Arbutus unedo''), ''
Arbutus andrachne
''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to warm temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islan ...
'', sweet bay (''Laurus nobilis''), olive (''Olea europaea''),
carob
The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and lands ...
(''Ceratonia siliqua''), ''
Erica arborea
''Erica arborea'', the tree heath or tree heather, is a species of flowering plant (angiosperms) in the heather family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. It is also cultivated as an o ...
'', and ''
Spartium junceum
''Spartium junceum'', known as Spanish broom, rush broom, or weaver's broom, it is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and the sole species in the genus ''Spartium''. It is closely related to the other brooms (in the genera '' Cy ...
''. Maquis includes many aromatic plants, particularly species in the mint family ( Lamiaceae).
Low shrublands, known in Greek as phrygana, are characterized by low aromatic shrubs and herbs, including ''
Euphorbia acanthothamnos
''Euphorbia acanthothamnos'', is a species of flowering plant, belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also ...
,
Thymus capitatus
''Thymus capitatus'' is a compact, woody perennial native to Mediterranean Europe and Turkey, more commonly known as conehead thyme, Persian-hyssop and Spanish oregano. It is also known under the name ''Thymbra capitata''.
Description
The plant ...
Cistus
''Cistus'' (from the Greek ''kistos'') is a genus of flowering plants in the rockrose family Cistaceae, containing about 20 species (Ellul ''et al.'' 2002). They are perennial shrubs found on dry or rocky soils throughout the Mediterranean region ...
,
Helichrysum
The genus ''Helichrysum'' consists of an estimated 600 species of flowering plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The type species is '' Helichrysum orientale''. They often go by the names everlasting, immortelle, and strawflower. The nam ...
,
Phlomis
''Phlomis'' is a genus of over 100 species''Phlomis''. Flora of China. of '', and ''
Salvia
''Salvia'' () is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with nearly 1000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, ''Salvia'' is part of the tribe Mentheae within the subfamily Nepetoi ...
''. Phrygana is common on limestone (calcareous) soils, and in areas subject to frequent fires and heavy grazing."F7.3 Eastern Mediterranean spiny heath (phrygana)" European Red List of Habitats - Heathland Habitat Group, 05/01/2016.
Kermes oak
''Quercus coccifera'', the kermes oak, is an oak bush in the '' Ilex'' section of the genus. It is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern African Maghreb, south to north from Morocco to France and west to east from Portugal to Cyprus ...
(''Quercus coccifera'') and holm oak (''Quercus ilex'') are found in maquis, and also form oak woodlands.
Forests of
Turkish pine
''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey.
Turkish pine is also known by several other common names: Calabrian pine (from a naturalis ...
(''Pinus brutia'') occur in Anatolia, and forests of Aleppo pine (''Pinus halepensis'') are found in central Greece and the Peloponnese.
The oriental sweetgum (''Liquidambar orientalis'') is endemic to a limited area of southwestern Turkey and the island of
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
. The largest remaining stands are near
Köyceğiz
Köyceğiz is a town and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey.
The town of Köyceğiz lies at the northern end of a lake of the same name ( Köyceğiz Lake) which is joined to the Mediterranean Sea by a natural channel cal ...
.
Fauna
Mammals in the ecoregion include
wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
golden jackal
The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy ...
(''Canis aureus''),
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
(''C. lupus''),
European badger
The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to almost all of Europe. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List as it has a wide range and a large stab ...
(''Meles meles''),
European hare
The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly ...
(''Lepus europaeus''),
northern white-breasted hedgehog
The northern white-breasted hedgehog (''Erinaceus roumanicus'') is a species of hedgehog. Distribution
The range of the species extends in the west as far as Poland, Austria and the former Yugoslavia, and south to Greece and the Adriatic Islands ...
(''Erinaceus roumanicus''),
southern white-breasted hedgehog
The southern white-breasted hedgehog (''Erinaceus concolor''), sometimes referred to as white-bellied hedgehog or white-chested hedgehog, is a hedgehog native to Eastern Europe and Southwestern Asia. Description
It is very similar in lifestyle an ...
(''Erinaceus concolor''),
Eurasian red squirrel
The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent.
In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbers ...
(''Sciurus vulgaris''),
Caucasian squirrel
The Caucasian squirrel (''Sciurus anomalus'') or Persian squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' found in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in south-western Asia.
The species is usually said to have first been described in 1778 ...
(''Sciurus anomalus''), and
pine marten
The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...
(''Martes martes''). The
Eurasian lynx
The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is a medium-sized wild cat widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an eleva ...
(''Lynx lynx''),
European wildcat
The European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') is a small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus. It inhabits forests from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus. Its fur i ...
(''Felis sylvestris''), and
brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is ...
(''Ursus arctos'') are now rare in the ecoregion.
The ecoregion is important habitat for several limited-range bird species, including the
eastern olivaceous warbler
The eastern olivaceous warbler (''Iduna pallida'') is a small passerine bird with drab plumage tones, that is native to the Old World. For the most part it breeds in southeastern Europe, the Middle East and adjacent western Asia, and winters in t ...
(''Hippolais pallida''),
olive-tree warbler
The olive-tree warbler (''Hippolais olivetorum'') is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus '' Hippolais''. It breeds in southeast Europe and the Near East. It is migratory, wintering in eastern and southern Africa, from Kenya
)
, ...
cinereous bunting
The cinereous bunting (''Emberiza cineracea'') is a bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a ''passerine'' family now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. This species was first described by Christian Ludwig Brehm.
...
(''Emberiza cineracea''), and
Cretzschmar's bunting
Cretzschmar's bunting (''Emberiza caesia'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.
It breeds in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and the Levant. It is migratory ...
(''Emberiza caesia'').
Characteristic birds of the maquis include the red-legged partridge (''Alectoris rufa''),
rock partridge
The rock partridge or common rock partridge (''Alectoris graeca'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family, Phasianidae, of the order Galliformes (gallinaceous birds). It is native to southern Europe, and is closely related and very similar to its ...
(''A. graeca''),
chukar partridge
The chukar partridge (''Alectoris chukar''), or simply chukar, is a Palearctic upland gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the rock partridge, Philby's partridge and Pr ...
(''A. chukar''),
eastern subalpine warbler
The eastern subalpine warbler (''Curruca cantillans'') is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe. It was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name ''Motacil ...
cirl bunting
The cirl bunting ( ), (''Emberiza cirlus''), is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.
It breeds across southern Europe, on the Mediterranean islands an ...
(''Emberiza cirlus''),
rock bunting
The rock bunting (''Emberiza cia'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.
The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a bunting. T ...
Krüper's nuthatch
Krüper's nuthatch (''Sitta krueperi'') is a species of bird in the family Sittidae. It is a small to medium-sized nuthatch, measuring in length. The are blue-gray, with the front half of the black in adults of both sexes, but with a less m ...
(''Sitta krueperi'') is associated with Turkish pine forests in the ecoregion and neighboring ones. Other birds of the pine forests include common European forest species like the
Eurasian wren
The Eurasian wren (''Troglodytes troglodytes'') or northern wren is a very small insectivorous bird, and the only member of the wren family Troglodytidae found in Eurasia and Africa (Maghreb). In Anglophone Europe, it is commonly known simply a ...
coal tit
The coal tit or cole tit, (''Periparus ater''), is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder in forests throughout the temperate to subtropical Palearctic, including North Africa. The b ...
(''Periparus ater''),
Eurasian blue tit
The Eurasian blue tit (''Cyanistes caeruleus'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is easily recognisable by its blue and yellow plumage and small size.
Eurasian blue tits, usually resident and non-migratory birds, are ...
(''Cyanistes caeruleus''),
great tit
The great tit (''Parus major'') is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of North Af ...
(''Parus major)'',
short-toed treecreeper
The short-toed treecreeper (''Certhia brachydactyla'') is a small passerine bird found in woodlands through much of the warmer regions of Europe and into north Africa. It has a generally more southerly distribution than the other European treecr ...
(''Certhia brachydactyla''), Eurasian jay (''Garrulus glandarius''), and
common chaffinch
The common chaffinch or simply the chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The female is more subdued in ...
(''Fringilla coelebs'').
Birds associated with the liquidambar forests of western Anatolia include the
common nightingale
The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...
(''Luscinia megarhyncos''), olivaceous warbler, and
Cetti's warbler
Cetti's warbler (''Cettia cetti'') is a small, brown bush-warbler which breeds in southern and central Europe, northwest Africa and the east Palearctic as far as Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. The sexes are alike. The bird is named after t ...
(''Cettia cetti'').
Protected areas
As of 2017, 23,189 km², or 18%, of the ecoregion was in protected areas. Protected areas in Greece include
Otea The ōtea (usually written as ''otea'') is a traditional dance from Tahiti characterized by a rapid hip-shaking motion to percussion accompaniment. The dancers, standing in several rows, may be further choreographed to execute different figures (inc ...
,
Parnassus
Mount Parnassus (; el, Παρνασσός, ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is and historically has been especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers ...
Marmaris
Marmaris () is a port city and tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in Muğla Province, southwest Turkey, along the shoreline of the Turkish Riviera.
Although Marmaris is known for its honey, its main source of income is internationa ...
Köyceğiz-Dalyan Special Environmental Protection Area
The Köyceğiz-Dalyan Special Environmental Protection Area is a protected natural reserve in the Turkish province of Muğla. In June 1988 it was determined and declared the first protected area of its kind (''Özel Çevre Koruma Bölgesi'') of Tu ...