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Montgrí Massif
The Montgrí () is a small mountain range in Catalonia, on the north bank of the Ter river. It is part of the Catalan Coastal Range and its highest point is 311 m. Features The Montgrí Massif stretches from east to west north of the town of Torroella de Montgrí, sheltering it from the Tramontana northern wind. Local people call it simply "el Montgrí". This long mountain formation looks like a sleeping bishop seen from afar. The Montgrí Massif is topped by an ancient fortress in the middle, the Montgrí Castle. Local people say the castle is the ring on the sleeping bishop's hand. It is a largely denuded karstic mountain, beaten by the persistent winds that blow in the region. It has some dunes at its feet, on its northern side, which formed by windblown sand coming from the shores of distant Roses. These dunes were fixed about a century ago by and lie now covered under low forest. The Medes Islands further east, beyond the town of l'Estartit, are a geological prolong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baix Empordà
Baix Empordà (; ; "Lower Empordà") is a comarca (county) in the Girona region, Catalonia, in Spain. It is one of the two comarques into which Empordà was divided in the comarcal division of 1936, the other one being Alt Empordà. It is popularly known as ("the Little Empordà"). The capital is La Bisbal d'Empordà. Geography Extent Baix Empordà is the southern portion of the historical region of Empordà. It includes the municipalities between the Montgrí Massif, just north of the river Ter, and the Aro valley, in the south. It measure some from north to south, and from east to west, with a total area of . It borders Alt Empordà to the north, Gironès and Selva to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the east. The Mediterranean coast of the Baix Empordia is part of the Costa Brava, and is a major tourist destination, including resorts such as Sant Feliu de Guíxols, s'Agaro, Platja d'Aro, Sant Antoni de Calonge, Palamós, La Fosca, Calella de Palafrugell, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medes Islands
The Illes Medes (, ) is a small and craggy group of seven islets in the Costa Brava area of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the Medes Archipelago belongs to the Baix Empordà comarca, Catalonia, Spain. The islands are protected as a nature reserve; scubadiving is popular but is thus regulated there and requires permission. The islands are located close to the shore, east of the coastal town of L'Estartit. Islands *Meda Gran, the largest island in the group, has an area of and is the only island of a considerable size. It has some Mediterranean vegetation and a 19th-century lighthouse on it. The lighthouse was built on La Meda Gran in 1866; it had a resident lighthouse keeper until 1932, when the installation of an automatic light made him redundant. Currently the island has a solar-powered automatic lighthouse. *Meda Xica, the second largest island, has a total surface of only . *Carall (or Cavall) Bernat, Tascons Grossos, Medellot, Tascons Petits and Ferr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire (Bushfires in Australia, in Australia), desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, Peat#Peat fires, peat fire, prairie fire, vegetation fire, or veld fire. Some natural forest ecosystems Fire ecology, depend on wildfire. Modern forest management often engages in prescribed burns to mitigate fire risk and promote natural forest cycles. However, controlled burns can turn into wildfires by mistake. Wildfires can be classified by cause of ignition, physical properties, combustible material present, and the effect of weather on the fire. Wildfire severity results from a combination of factors such as available fuels, physical setting, and weather. Climatic cycles with wet periods that create substantial fuels, followed by drought and heat, of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); originally described in France as ''Phylloxera vastatrix''; equated to the previously described ''Daktulosphaera vitifoliae'', ''Phylloxera vitifoliae''. The insect is commonly just called phylloxera (; from , leaf, and , dry). These almost microscopic, pale yellow sap-sucking insects, related to aphids, feed on the roots and leaves of grapevines (depending on the phylloxera genetic strain). On ''Vitis vinifera'', the resulting deformations on roots ("nodosities" and "tuberosities") and secondary fungal infections can girdle roots, gradually cutting off the flow of nutrients and water to the vine.Wine & Spirits Education Trust ''"Wine and Spirits: Understanding Wine Quality"'' pgs 2–5, Second Revised Edition (2012), London, Nymphs also for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vineyard
A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards are often characterised by their , a French term loosely translating as "a sense of place" that refers to the specific geographical and geological characteristics of grapevine plantations, which may be imparted to the wine itself. History The earliest evidence of wine production dates from between 6000 and 5000 BC. Wine making technology improved considerably with the ancient Greeks but it was not until the end of the Roman Empire that cultivation techniques as we know them were common throughout Europe. In medieval Europe the Catholic Church was a staunch supporter of wine, which was necessary for the celebration of the Mass (liturgy), Mass. During the lengthy instability of the Middle Ages, the monasteries m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Snail
A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have gastropod shell, shells (those without shells are known as slugs). However, it is not always easy to say which species are terrestrial, because some are more or less amphibious between land and fresh water, and others are relatively amphibious between land and salt water. Land snails are a Polyphyly, polyphyletic group comprising at least ten independent evolutionary transitions to terrestrial life (the last common ancestor of all gastropods was marine). The majority of land snails are pulmonates that have a lung and breathe air. Most of the non-pulmonate land snails belong to lineages in the Caenogastropoda, and tend to have a gill and an operculum (gastropod), operculum. The largest clade of non-pulmonate land snails is the Cyclophoroidea, with more than 7,0 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Eagle Owl
The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl, a type of bird that resides in much of Eurasia. It is often just called the eagle-owl in Europe and Asia. It is one of the largest species of owl. Females can grow to a total length of , with a wingspan of . Males are slightly smaller.''Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide'' by Mikkola, H. Firefly Books (2012), This bird has distinctive ear tufts, with upper parts that are mottled with darker blackish colouring and tawny. The wings and tail are barred. The underparts are a variably hued buff, streaked with darker colouring. The facial disc is not very defined. The orange eyes are distinctive.Penteriani, V., & del Mar Delgado, M. (2019). ''The eagle owl''. Bloomsbury Publishing. At least 12 subspecies of the Eurasian eagle-owl are described. Eurasian eagle-owls are found in many habitats; mostly mountainous and rocky areas, often near varied woodland edge and near shrubby areas with openings or wetlands. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cork Oak
''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork (material), cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the cores of cricket balls. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. In the Mediterranean basin the tree is an ancient species with fossil remnants dating back to the Tertiary period. It can survive for as long as two centuries. Typically, once it reaches 25 years old, its thick bark can be harvested for cork every 9 to 12 years without causing harm to the tree. It endures drought and makes little demand on the soil quality and is regarded as a defence against desertification. Cork oak woodlands are home to a multitude of animal and plant species. Since cork for sealing bottles is increasingly being displaced by other materials, these forests are at risk as part of the cultural landscape and as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as current, with additional synonyms, and ''Plants of the World Online'' 126 species-rank taxa (113 species and 13 nothospecies), making it the largest genus among the conifers. The highest species diversity of pines is found in Mexico. Pines are widely species distribution, distributed in the Northern Hemisphere; they occupy large areas of boreal forest, but are found in many habitats, including the Mediterranean Basin, and dry tropical forests in southeast Asia and Central America. Wood from pine trees is one of the most extensively used types of timber, and some pines are widely used as Christmas trees. Description Pine trees are evergreen, coniferous resinous trees (or, rarely, shrubs) growing tall, with the majority of species reachin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean Forest
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 low-lying inland locations but can be cool near colder seas. Winters are typically mild to cool in low-lying locations but can be cold in inland and higher locations. All these ecoregions are highly distinctive, collectively harboring 10% of the Earth's plant species. Distribution The Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome mostly occurs in, but not limited to, the Mediterranean climate zones, in the mid-latitudes: * the Mediterranean Basin * the Chilean Matorral * the California chaparral and woodlands * the Fynbos of South Africa * the Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands of Australia The biome is not limited to the Mediterranean climate zone. It can also be present in other climate zones (which typically border the Mediterran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean Fan Palm
''Chamaerops'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae. It contains only one species, ''Chamaerops humilis'', variously called European fan palm or the Mediterranean dwarf palm. It is one of the most cold-hardy palms and is used in landscaping in temperate climates. Taxonomy Apart from the universally accepted ''Chamaerops humilis,'' there are a few potential taxa of unresolved status, plus numerous species synonymised under ''Chamaerops humilis''. The genus ''Chamaerops'' is closely related to the genus ''Trachycarpus''. The genera differ in that ''Trachycarpus'' lacks the clumping habit (only forms single stems without basal suckers), the spiny leaf stems (spineless in ''Trachycarpus''), and in small details of the flower anatomy. Subspecies The species ''Chamaerops humilis'' itself has two accepted varieties as follows: *''Chamaerops humilis'' var. ''argentea'' André (syn. ''C. h.'' var. ''cerifera'') – "Atlas mountains palm" of Northwest Africa. Leaves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
