The Cyprus Mediterranean forests is a terrestrial ecoregion that encompasses the island of Cyprus. The island 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 ...

, and is in the

Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...

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 ...

found in the lands in and around the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

Geography

Cyprus lies in the eastern

. It is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, with an area of 9,251 km². The

Troodos Mountains Troodos (sometimes spelled Troödos; el, Τρόοδος ; tr, Trodos Dağları) is the largest mountain range in Cyprus, located in roughly the center of the island. Its highest peak is Mount Olympus ( el, Όλυμπος), also known as Chion ...

lie in the southwest of the island, and

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

(aka Chionistra), Cyprus' highest peak, reaches an elevation of 1,952 m. The lower

Kyrenia Mountains The Kyrenia Mountains ( el, Κερύνειο Όρος; tr, Girne Dağları) is a long, narrow mountain range that runs for approximately along the northern coast of the island of Cyprus. It is primarily made of hard crystalline limestone, w ...

(aka Pentadaktylos Mountains) run east and west along the island's northeast coast. The

Mesaoria The Mesaoria ( el, Μεσαορία, tr, Mesarya) is a broad, sweeping plain which makes up the north centre of the island of Cyprus. Geography The Mesaoria is the name given to the broad tract of plain which extends across the island from the ...

lowlands lie in central part of the island between the two ranges.

Flora

The island's range of topography and soils support diverse plant communities, including mountain conifer and broadleaf forests, open woodlands, grasslands, high shrublands ( maquis), and low shrublands (

garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( el, φρύγανα , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern Fran ...

or phrygana). There are 1,750 native plant species on the island, of which 128 are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

. Endemic species are concentrated in the Troodos Mountains (87 species), Kyrenia Mountains (57 species), and Akamas peninsula (35 species). Two endangered endemic trees, the Cyprus cedar ''(Cedrus brevifolia)'' and

golden oak ''Quercus alnifolia'', commonly known as the golden oak, is an evergreen oak species of Cyprus. Its common English name refers to the golden coloured lower surface of its leaves. ''Quercus alnifolia'' belongs to the endemic flora of the island a ...

or Cyprus oak ''(Quercus alnifolia)'', are found only in the Troodos Mountains. Other endemic species include

geophyte A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

s such as '' Chionodoxa lochiae, Crocus cyprius, Crocus veneris, Cyclamen cyprium, Gagea juliae'', and ''

Tulipa cypria ''Tulipa cypria'', the Cyprus tulip, is a tulip, an erect perennial bulbous herb, 15–40 cm high (in blossom), with glabrous, glaucous leaves. The four leaves are alternate, simple, entire, fleshy, the two lower ones larger, laceolate, 1 ...

'', and aromatic herbs such as '' Nepeta troodi, Origanum cordifolium, Salvia willeana, Teucrium cyprium, Teucrium micropodioides'', and '' Thymus integer''.

Fauna

The island is home to 36 species of mammals, 26 species of amphibians and reptiles, and 397 species of birds. The Cyprus mouflon ''(Ovis gmelimi ophion)'', a subspecies of wild sheep, is

to the island. The Cyprus warbler ''(Sylvia melanothorax)'' and Cyprus wheatear ''(Oenanthe cypriaca)'' breed only on Cyprus. Two sea turtles, the

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

''(Chelona mydas)'' and the

loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

''(Caretta caretta)'', and the endangered

Mediterranean monk seal The Mediterranean monk seal (''Monachus monachus'') is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. , it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the A ...

''(Monachus monachus)'' breed on Cyprus' shores.

Extinct fauna

The extinct Cyprus dwarf elephant ''(Palaeoloxodon cypriotes)'', Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus ''(Hippopotamus minor)'' once lived on Cyprus. Both species are examples of

Insular dwarfism Insular dwarfism, a form of phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of large animals evolving or having a reduced body size when their population's range is limited to a small environment, primarily islands. This natural process is disti ...

. The cave shelter at Aetokremnos includes remains of dwarf hippos and elephants butchered by humans approximately 11,500 to 12,000 years ago.

Protected areas

752.26 km² of the island's land area is protected. Protected areas in the Republic of Cyprus include seven nature reserves, eleven national forest parks, 13 permanent game reserves, and one turtle nesting beach (Lara-Toxeftra, 1.01 km²). The nature reserves are Chionistra (0.99 km²), Drys Tis Lanias, Kyros Potamos (0.23 km²), Livadhi Tou Pasha (0.26 km²), Madari (11.37 km²), Pikromiloudhi (0.95 km²), and Tripylos - Mavroi Kremmoi (33.31 km²). The national forest parks are Akamas (76.62 km²), Athalassa (8.71 km²), Ayios Nikadros (0.26 km²), Kavo Gkreko (5.0 km²), Pedagogiki Akademia (0.45 km²),

Petra Tou Romiou Petra tou Romiou ("Rock of the "Roman") (that is East Roman or Byzantine as Byzantines referred to themselves as either Greeks or Romans until the 1920s), also known as Aphrodite's Rock, is a sea stack in Paphos, Cyprus. It is located off the sho ...

(3.51 km²), Polemidia (1.27 km²), Potamos Liopetriou (0.88 km²), and Troodos (90.62 km²). In 2015, Troodos

UNESCO Global Geopark UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are geoparks certified by the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council as meeting all the requirements for belonging to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The GGN is both a network of geoparks and the agency of the United Nati ...

was created in the

, with an area of 1149.8 km². It encompasses most of the Troodos range, including several smaller protected areas.

External links

Cyprus Mediterranean forests

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Cyprus Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of the Mediterranean Basin Sclerophyll forests