Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests
RESOLVE 805
The Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests cover the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, spanning coastal lowlands, valleys, and mountains across southern Portugal (Alentejo, Algarve, Lisboa, and Centro) and Spain (Andalucía and Extremadura). Evergreen sclerophyllous forests of cork oak (Quercus suber) and holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia) form the dominant canopy, often opened into the savanna-like sylvopastoral landscapes known as montados in Portugal and dehesas in Spain, with maquis of wild olive (Olea europaea) and carob (Ceratonia siliqua), rock rose (Cistus ladanifer) shrubland, and coastal stone pine (Pinus pinea) woodlands. The climate is Mediterranean and moderated by the Atlantic, bringing hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, with summers cooler than many other Mediterranean regions and frost rare at lower elevations. The ecoregion holds one of Western Europe's largest and most important wetlands at Doñana National Park, a wintering site for over 500,000 waterfowl and a refuge for the endangered Iberian lynx and Spanish imperial eagle. For gardeners, several native plants are familiar ornamentals, including the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) and tree heath (Erica arborea).
About the mediterranean forests, woodlands & scrub biome
Regions of hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters supporting drought-adapted shrublands — chaparral, maquis, fynbos — and open woodlands. Fire is a natural shaping force, and these climates hold extraordinary plant diversity and endemism.
Collections for this ecoregion
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.