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

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. The island has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, 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 distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

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 lie in the southwest of the island, and

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...

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

Kyrenia Mountains The Kyrenia Mountains (; ) 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, with some marble. Its highest peak is Mount Selvili, ...

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

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 only 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 foun ...

. 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 or Cyprus oak (''Quercus alnifolia''), are found only in the Troodos Mountains. Other endemic species include geophytes such as '' Scilla lochiae'' (syn. ''Chionodoxa lochiae''), '' Crocus cyprius'', '' Crocus veneris'', '' Cyclamen cyprium'', '' Gagea juliae'', and '' Tulipa cypria'', and aromatic herbs such as ''Nepeta italica'' subsp. ''troodi'' (syn. ''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 (''Curruca 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 exte ...

(''Chelona mydas'') and the

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

(''Caretta caretta''), and the endangered Mediterranean monk seal (''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 Aetokremnos is a rock shelter near Limassol on the southern coast of Cyprus. It is widely considered to host some of the oldest evidence of human habitation of Cyprus, dating to around 12,000 years ago. It is situated on a steep cliff site c. abo ...

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 (3.51 km²), Polemidia (1.27 km²), Potamos Liopetriou (0.88 km²), and Troodos (90.62 km²). In 2015, Troodos UNESCO Global Geopark was created in the Troodos Mountains, 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