Table Of ContentMediterraneanE cogeography
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Med iterra nea n Ecogeog ra phy
Harriet D. Allen
Director of Studiesa nd Senior Lecturer, Homerton College, Cambridge
Affiliated Lecturer, Departmento f Geography,U niversity of Cambridge
Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published2 0111 by PearsonE ducationr ,imited
Published2 014 by Routledge
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The right of Harriet D. Allen to he identified as author of
rbis Work has been assertedb y her in accordancew ith
the Copyright, Designsa nd PatentsA ct 1988.
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ISBN 13: 978-0-582-40452-6(p bk)
British Library Cataloguing-in~Publicatibon ook availableD ata
A cataloguer ecord for this book is available from the British Library
Library ofC ongressC ataloging-in-PublicationD ata
Allen, Harriet D.
Mediterraneane cogeographyI Harriet D. Allen.
p. cm. - (Ecogeographys eries)
Includes bibliographical references( p.
ISBN 0-582-40452-5
1. MediterraneanR egion-Geography. 2. Landscapee cology-MediterraneanR egion.
3. Agricultural geography-MediterraneaRne gion. 4. Land use, Rural-Environmental
aspects-MediterraneaRne gion. L Title. II. Series.
D973.A42 2000
508.3182'2-dc21 00-045310
Typesetb y 35 in 1 1112pt AdobeG aramond
Contents
List ofp lates page ix
List offigures
Xl
List tables ~
of
Seriesp reface xv
Author'sp refacea nd acknowledgements XVll
Publisher'sa cknowledgements xx
Chapter1 The Mediterranean:a n introduction 1
1.1 What do we mean by 'Mediterranean'? 3
1.2 Historical overview 10
1.3 Literature of the Mediterraneanw orld 19
1.4 Structureo f this volume 20
1.5 Further reading 24
Box 1.1 Regions of the world with mediterranean-typecl imates 6
Chapter2 Climate 25
2.1 Generalc haracteristics 25
2.2 Winter rain, summerd rought and wind 28
2.3 Generalc irculation - the Mediterraneanr egion 31
2.4 Secondaryi nfluenceso n climate 33
2.5 Extremew eatherc onditions and short-termc limate variability 35
2.6 Establishmento f a mediterranean-typecl imate in the
MediterraneanB asin 38
2.7 Late glacial and Holocenec limate changes 39
2.8 Future climates 40
2.9 Climate and life 41
2.10 Further reading 46
Box 2.1 Bioclimates 44
Chapter3 Topographya nd drainage 47
3.1 Geological evolution 48
3.2 Structural framework of the Mediterraneanr egion 51
3.3 Topographya nd geology 54
3.4 Drainaged evelopmenta nd landscapec hange 59
3.5 Hydrology 65
v
vi Contents
3.6 Glaciation in the Mediterraneanr egion 68
3.7 Coastlinec hanges 69
3.8 Further reading 77
Chapter4 Soils 78
4.1 Soil types 79
4.2 The role of time in Mediterraneans oil development- mineral
matter and organic matter 86
4.3 Soil erosion 87
4.4 Salinisationo f soils 95
4.5 Soils and fire 96
4.6 Soils, ecosystemsa nd soil conservation 98
4.7 Further reading 98
Chapter5 Plants and animals 99
5.1 Explanationsf or distribution patterns 99
5.2 Historical developmento f the presentM editerraneanf lora 101
5.3 Historical developmento f Mediterraneana nimal populations 109
5.4 Adaptationso f plants to Mediterraneanc limate 115
5.5 Adaptationso f plants to fire 119
5.6 Summary 121
5.7 Further reading 121
Chapter6 Communities 122
6.1 Mediterraneanv egetationc ommunities 123
6.2 Plant and animal communities 127
6.3 Bird communities 139
6.4 Mammals 140
6.5 Further reading 142
Box 61 Phytosociology 123
Chapter7 Ecosystems 143
7.1 Ecosystemf unctioning 144
7.2 Biodiversity - its role in ecosystemf unctioning 148
7.3 Ecosystemd evelopment- to succeedo r not to succeed? 161
7.4 Perturbation-dependenotr homeorhetice cosystems 166
7.5 Effects of global change 166
7.6 Further reading 168
Box 1.1 Convergente volution in mediterranean-typee cosystems 158
Chapter8 Land use 169
8.1 Pre-Neolithicl andscapes 170
8.2 Early agriculture 176
8.3 The impact of Neolithic people on the Mediterranean
landscape 185
8.4 The 'triad' of Mediterraneana griculture 186
Contents vii
8.5 Woodlandm anagement 188
8.6 Transhumance 191
8.7 Grazing - separatingt he sheepf rom the goats and the goat
as scapegoat 193
8.8 Twentieth-centurya griculture 195
8.9 Forest plantations 200
8.10 Landscapes tability in the face of human activity 201
8.11 A model of landscapec hange 203
8.12 Summary 206
8.13 Further reading 208
Box 8.1 Pollen indicators of anthropogenica ctivity 173
Chapter9 Environmentali ssuesa nd conservation 209
9.1 Conservation- the value of biodiversity in the
Mediterraneanc ontext 210
9.2 Conservation- the value of the physical landscapea nd its
integrationw ith the biological resourceso f the
Mediterraneanr egion 215
9.3 Conservationi n practice 218
9.4 Sustainabler esourceu se 227
Box 9.1 Institutional frameworks for conservation 211
Appendix 1 A note on the taxonomyo f plants and animals 230
Appendix 2 Geological chronology 232
Appendix 3 Calibration of the radiocarbont ime scale 233
References 235
Index 253
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List of plates
1.1 Oxalis pes-caprae( Bermudab uttercup),a n exotic species
introducedt o the Mediterraneanr egion from southernM rica
in the eighteenthc entury. 1
1.2 Cultivated olive tree growing on the edge of a terracew ith
further terracesb eyond. 9
1.3 The ruins of Delphi on the lower slopeso f Mount Parnassus,
Greece.C onsideredb y Ancient Greeks to be the centre of the
world, the site was sacredt o the god Apollo and visitors came
from far to consult its oracle. It was an importants ite from the
sixth to early secondc enturiesB e. It was designateda World
Heritages ite in 1987. 16
3.1 The Helikon Massif (> 1500 m), Boeotia, central Greece.
Note the changingv egetationc ommunitiesw ith altitude -
coniferousw oodlandsi n the foregrounda nd grass meadows
beyond. 48
3.2 The plain of Stymfalos, a fault-boundedi nter-montane
sedimentaryb asin in the PeloponneseG, reece. 54
3.3 Badlandss ceneryn ear Thebes,B oeotia, Greece. 57
4.1 Terraceda griculture in the serra (uplands) of Monchique,
Portugal. 89
4.2 Vines in early spring before the leaves appear.N ote the bare
soils betweent he rows. 94
5.1 Agave( the century plant) and Opuntia (the prickly pear cactus)
growing on the Likavittos Hill, Athens. 108
5.2 Coppicede ucalyptusr esproutinga fter a fire. 120
6.1 Garrigue/steppev egetation.N ote the areaso f bare ground
betweent he cushion-shapedl,o w growing vegetation. 127
6.2 Cistus ladanifir (gum cistus). This specieso ccurs in two forms,
with or without five purple spots at the base of the petals. 129
7.1 Wild boar, Sus scrofo, in S. Rossoren ature reserve,T uscany,I taly. 153
7.2 Grazing goats under tree in Andalucia, Spain. 163
8.1 Cork oaks (Quercus suber) growing in a dehesap arkland. 190
8.2 Shepherd,d ogs and sheepo n annual transhumancen ear
Caceres,E xtremadura,S pain. 192
8.3 Landsati mage, Alpujarra uplands,S pain. 267
ix
