Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests
Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests
The Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests stretch across the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey and the Amanos, Lebanon, and Anti-Lebanon ranges into Syria, Lebanon, and Israel, on mostly limestone terrain with peaks rising above 3,500 meters. Conifers dominate the slopes, most famously the Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) alongside Anatolian black pine, Greek juniper, and Taurus fir, while wetter areas hold deciduous oriental hornbeam, oaks, and maples. The climate is montane Mediterranean, with summer drought and high winter precipitation that brings frost and snow at higher elevations. This region holds the highest proportion of endemic species of any Mediterranean zone, and shelters wildlife such as brown bear, lynx, and caracal, including the last natural fallow deer population in Antalya-Düzlerçamı; very little of it is currently protected. For gardeners, it is the native home of the stately, drought-tolerant Cedar of Lebanon, a classic ornamental conifer.
RESOLVE 804
Palearctic
29,516 sq mi
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub
Landscape type
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub
Plant region
Palearctic
Region footprint
29,516 sq mi
Habitat pressure
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
Source & care
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Plan for hot, dry summers, mild wet winters, and plants built for seasonal swings. This climate favors drought-adapted shrubs, bulbs, herbs, and open-woodland plants; local native guidance matters because fire, habitat loss, and endemism are part of the planting story.
Range & origins
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 36.6°N, 33.1°E.
Region through time
Modern footprint
RESOLVE 2017 maps 29,516 sq mi
This boundary is a modern ecological footprint for Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests, not a permanent line on the planet. It is useful for today's plant and wildlife context because it follows recurring vegetation, climate, landform, and disturbance patterns.
Why here
mediterranean forests, woodlands & scrub conditions
The region sits in the Palearctic realm and is classed as mediterranean forests, woodlands & scrub. Elevation, moisture, fire, soils, coasts, and human land use can all make the real landscape more varied than a single map color suggests.
Change pressure
Nature Imperiled
Plotwright shows this as the current RESOLVE footprint. Over decades to centuries, warming, disturbance, invasive species, land use, and restoration can move the living edge of a region even when the reference map stays fixed.
Planting collections
Finished planting recipes where every member can handle this region's climate range. The fit badge uses the collection's most sensitive plant, so a resilient collection is a safer starting point than any single standout.
Currently suited · 2 plants
Bright shade foundation
A part-shade planting with shrub structure and low foliage contrast.
Currently suited · 8 plants
Climate-resilient natives for warming zones (eastern NA)
A pollinator-supporting palette of eastern North American natives with broad hardiness ranges and wide native distributions. Built for gardeners who want a planting that can handle warming zones without giving up wildlife value.
Currently suited · 3 plants
Kitchen patio planters
A compact edible collection for containers, patios, and near-door harvesting.
Currently suited · 6 plants
Mediterranean drought-tolerant edible
A low-water edible palette of culinary herbs + a hardy grape for hot dry sunny sites. Mediterranean-origin plants thrive on neglect; their primary failure mode is overwatering, not underwatering.
Currently suited · 9 plants
Native pollinator border (eastern US)
A continuous-bloom native pollinator strip for eastern North America. Covers spring through frost with host + nectar plants spanning monarchs, native bees, hummingbirds, and specialist Lepidoptera. Little bluestem provides the matrix grass + Hesperiidae host.
Currently suited · 4 plants
Sunny pollinator border
A durable sunny border with summer bloom, seedheads, and upright winter texture.
Similar planting regions
Browse other regions with a similar hot, dry-summer rhythm. Their plant lists can suggest species and combinations worth comparing.
RESOLVE 785 - Palearctic
Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests
The Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests ring the Aegean Sea, spanning most of mainland Greece and the Aegean islands, the western coast of Turkey, and reaching into southeastern North Macedonia and southwestern Bulgaria. Its vegetation is classic Mediterranean: dense maquis shrubland of holm oak, strawberry tree, and bay laurel, extensive pine forests of Calabrian (Turkish) pine, Aleppo pine, and stone pine, with sweet chestnut and oriental beech on cooler northern slopes. The climate is Mediterranean, with mild winters and dry summers. The ecoregion's flagship is the oriental sweetgum (Liquidambar orientalis), endemic to a limited area of southwestern Turkey and the Greek island of Rhodes, and much of the original habitat has been heavily degraded by human activity dating back to ancient times. For gardeners drawn to drought-tolerant Mediterranean planting, native genera such as Arbutus (strawberry tree), Laurus (bay laurel), and the pines offer ornamental, climate-suited choices.
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub
Zones 9a-12b
+3.5°F by 2070
51,531 sq mi
NNH tier 4
RESOLVE 786 - Palearctic
Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests
The Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests cover the mountains and plateaus of southwestern Anatolia in Turkey, a transitional zone where Mediterranean conditions grade into increasingly continental climate moving from west to east. Its forests are a mosaic of pines and deciduous broadleaf trees: Turkish pine (Pinus brutia) holds the western foothills and inland depressions, while the emblematic Anatolian black pine (Pinus nigra ssp. pallasiana) dominates the drier east and higher elevations, mixing with oaks (Quercus cerris, Q. pubescens, Q. robur, Q. frainetto), sweet chestnut, Oriental beech, and juniper. The climate is broadly Mediterranean, with hot dry summers and rainy winters and annual precipitation ranging roughly 400 to 600 mm. The region shelters brown bears, grey wolves, Saker falcons, and the critically endangered long-legged wood frog, and its wetlands are vital for migratory waterfowl such as Dalmatian pelicans and white-headed ducks; it is classified as critical or endangered, with only a small fraction of its area protected. For gardeners, several plants native here are familiar ornamentals, including the cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) and sweet chestnut.
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub
Zones 9a-12a
+3.3°F by 2070
33,325 sq mi
NNH tier 4
RESOLVE 787 - Palearctic
Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests
The Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests ecoregion covers the five western islands of Spain's Canary Archipelago—La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria—volcanic islands in the Atlantic roughly 115 km off the northwest African coast. Vegetation sorts itself by elevation: lowland scrub and open woodland with the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis) and dragon trees give way to humid laurisilva (laurel) forest between about 500 and 1,400 m, fayal-brezal heath of Myrica faya and tree heath (Erica arborea), and forests of the endemic Canary Island pine. The climate is dry and warm, with rain falling mainly in winter and the moist northeasterly trade winds making windward slopes far wetter than the southwestern rain shadow. Despite their small area, the islands are exceptionally rich in endemic and relict species, including endemic birds such as Bolle's pigeon and the Tenerife blue chaffinch, and a large share of the archipelago's vascular flora is found nowhere else. Conservation is significant here, with about 52% of the ecoregion protected within parks such as Teide and Garajonay National Parks.
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub
Zones 11b-13a
+2.1°F by 2070
1,920 sq mi
NNH tier 1
RESOLVE 788 - Palearctic
Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests
The Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests cover the high, steep mountain massifs of the island of Corsica in France, climbing to summits such as Monte Cinto (2,710 m) and Monte Rotondo (2,625 m). Vegetation shifts sharply with elevation: evergreen sclerophyll oak forests of holm oak and cork oak occupy the lower slopes, maritime pine mixes with downy oak, European hop-hornbeam, Italian alder, and sweet chestnut at middle elevations, while silver fir and European beech hold cool north-facing slopes and Corsican pine (Pinus laricio) dominates the sunnier southern aspects. The climate follows a strong altitudinal gradient, from warm, dry lower elevations to cold, humid heights. The flagship Corsican red deer has been reintroduced here, and the ecoregion harbors a notably rich endemic flora alongside endemics such as the Corsican nuthatch and Corsican fire salamander. For gardeners, native ornamental woody genera here include juniper, sycamore maple, and silver birch found in its subalpine shrublands.
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub
Zones 9b-12a
+3.0°F by 2070
1,401 sq mi
NNH tier 1
RESOLVE 789 - Palearctic
Crete Mediterranean forests
The Crete Mediterranean forests ecoregion covers the entire Greek island of Crete, the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Basin, ranging from low coastal plains up over three mountain spines: the Lefka Ori, Psiloritis (Mount Ida), and the Dikti Mountains. Vegetation shifts sharply with elevation, from sclerophyllous evergreen and semi-deciduous oak forests and maquis of carob and Phoenician juniper in the lowlands, through Calabrian pine and kermes oak woodlands, up to cypress stands where the endemic Cretan maple grows. The climate is strongly altitude-dependent: warm, dry lowlands average about 17 to 19 degrees Celsius with under 300 mm of annual rainfall, while cold, humid highlands average roughly 9 to 13 degrees Celsius with up to 1,400 mm. Crete's long island isolation gives it a distinctive flora of around 1,600 species, about 10% of which are endemic, including the near-endemic Cretan date palm (Phoenix theophrasti) of coastal ravines, alongside flagship fauna such as the Cretan wild goat. For gardeners, characteristic native genera include Cistus, Thymus, Phlomis, and Genista, well suited to dry Mediterranean planting.
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub
Zones 10a-12b
+3.4°F by 2070
3,163 sq mi
NNH tier 3
RESOLVE 790 - Palearctic
Cyprus Mediterranean forests
The Cyprus Mediterranean forests ecoregion covers the entire island of Cyprus, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, spanning both the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus and divided between the Kyrenia range along the north coast and the larger Troodos range in the southwest, which rises to Mount Olympos at 1,952 meters. Lower elevations carry maquis and garigue scrub with European olive, carob, and Phoenician juniper alongside oaks, while Calabrian pine clothes both mountain ranges and higher Troodos slopes hold Anatolian black pine, foetid juniper, and two endemic trees, the Cyprus cedar (Cedrus brevifolia) and golden oak (Quercus alnifolia). The climate is Mediterranean, warm and dry across the central Mesaoria plain but humid and cooler in the surrounding mountains. The island supports a rich endemic flora concentrated in the mountains, and its flagship animal is the Cyprus mouflon, a wild sheep with distinctive sickle-shaped horns. Gardeners may recognize several ornamental geophytes native here, including Cyclamen cyprium, the Cyprus tulip (Tulipa cypria), and Crocus cyprius.
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub
Zones 11a-12b
+3.3°F by 2070
3,580 sq mi
NNH tier 4
Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or regional planting notes that use this Plotwright page. To cite the underlying ecoregion framework or a specific editorial profile, use the source cards below.
Plotwright. (n.d.). Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests (Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests). Retrieved 2026, June 14, from https://plotwright.garden/regions/resolve-804
Sources for this region
This page cites Plotwright first for the compiled view, then lists the upstream framework, climate, and editorial source pages so readers can cite the original material directly.
RESOLVE 2017 Terrestrial Ecoregions (Dinerstein et al.)
Primary ecoregion framework
Backs 4 fields
RESOLVE id
Biome + realm
Area
NNH tier