Mediterranean tall-grass and Artemisia steppes
Description (English)
Meso-, thermo- and sometimes supra-Mediterranean formations of the Mediterranean basin, physiognomically dominated by tall grasses, between which may grow communities of annuals or sometimes chamaephytes. They include silicicolous as well as basiphile formations. In the Mediterranean region proper, they are most characteristic of the Iberian peninsula and of the Mediterranean rim of Anatolia, with local representations in southern Provence, Sardinia, southern peninsular Italy, Sicily and Greece. In the semiarid regions between the Mediterranean and the deserts of western Asia, they dominate the landscape, forming a major steppe belt in which low scrub of Artemisia may be prominent.
Source: EUNIS habitat classification
Quick facts
EUNIS habitat type | code E1.4 |
---|
Vegetation types
Relation to vegetation types (syntaxa)
Name | Definition | Alternatives | Reftext |
---|---|---|---|
Hyparrhenion hirtae Br.-Bl. et al. 1956 | Cirsum-mediterranean tall tussock thermophilous pseudosteppes of subtropical affinity | Avenulo cincinnatae-Ampelodesmion mauritanici Minissale 1995; Aristido coerulescentis-Hyparrhenion hirtae S. Brullo et al. 1997; Micromerio graecae-Hyparrhenion podotrichae O. de Bolòs 1962 corr. Rivas-Mart. et al. 1992; Saturejo-Hyparrhenion hirtae O. de Bolòs 1962; Hyparrhenion sinaicae Br.-Bl. et al. 1956 corr. J.C. Costa et al. 2001; Panico repentis-Hyparrhenion hirtae S. Brullo et Siracusa 2000; Micromerio graecae-Hyparrhenion hirtae O. de Bolòs 1962; Dauco criniti-Hyparrhenion hirtae (Br.-Bl. et al. 1956) O. de Bolòs 1962 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
Moricandio-Lygeion sparti S. Brullo et al. 1990 | Southern Italian-Ionian thermo- and mesomediterranean relict edaphic steppes on clayey soils | Polygonion tenoreani S. Brullo et al. 1990 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
Stipion parviflorae De la Torre et al. 1996 | Ibero-Levantine thermo- to supramediterranean sub-nitrophilous pseudosteppes on shallow calcareous soils | Schaminee et al, 2012 | |
Reichardio maritimae-Dactylidion hispanicae Biondi et al. 2001 | Thermomediterranean subhalophilous perennial grasslands in wind-swept habitats along Tyrrhenian, Ionian and Aegean coasts | Schaminee et al, 2012 | |
Stipion tenacissimae Rivas-Mart. 1984 | Southern Iberian thermomediterranean relict edaphic steppes on deep loamy-clayey soils | Stipion tenacissimae Rivas-Mart. 1978 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
Cymbopogono hirti-Brachypodion ramosi Horvatic 1963 | Pseudosteppes on calcareous and sandy soils in eastern Mediterranean and coastal areas of Balkan Peninsula | Alyssion muralis Konstantinou 1992; Alyssion muralis Konstantinou et Babalonas 1996; Alyssion muralis Konstantinou in Carni et al. 2000; Cymbopogono-Brachypodion ramosi Horvatic 1957; Hyparrhenio-Brachypodion ramosi Horvatic 1963 nom. mut. propos.; Cymbopogono hirti-Brachypodion ramosi Horvatic 1958 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
Scorzonero creticae-Lygeion sparti S. Brullo et al. 2002 | Cretan thermomediterranean relict edaphic steppes on clayey soils | Schaminee et al, 2012 | |
Triseto velutini-Brachypodion boissieri Rivas-Mart. et al. 2002 | Perennial grasslands on dolomitic and ultramafic soils in thermo- to supramediterranean belts of southern Spain | Triseto velutini-Brachypodion boissieri Rivas-Mart. et al. 2001 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
Festucion scariosae Martínez-Parras et al. 1984 | Betic upper meso-supramediterranean semiarid pseudosteppes on deep calcareous soils | Schaminee et al, 2012 | |
Leontodono tuberosi-Bellion sylvestris Biondi et al. 2001 | Thermo-mesomediterranean secondary pseudosteppes on deep calcareous soils of Central and Eastern Mediterranean | Schaminee et al, 2012 | |
Thero-Brachypodion retusi Br.-Bl. 1925 | Western Mediterranean thermo- to supramediterranean semi-arid pseudosteppes on calcareous substrates | Scabioso turolensis-Brachypodion retusi Rossellò 1994; Phlomidi lychnitis-Brachypodion retusi Mateo 1983; Bupleuro baldensis-Brachypodion distachyi (Br.-Bl. 1925) de Foucault 1999; Thero-Brachypodion Br.-Bl. 1931; Teucrio pseudochamaepitys-Brachypodion retusi Rivas-Mart. In Rivas-Mart. et al. 2011; Thero-Brachypodion ramosi Br.-Bl. 1925 nom. mut. propos.; Asphodelo aestivi-Brachypodion retusi de Foucault 1999 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
Agropyro pectinati-Lygeion sparti Br.-Bl. et O. de Bolòs 1958 corr. Rivas-Mart. et al. 1999 | Central Iberian relict edaphic steppes on clayey soils | Eremopyro cristati-Lygeion sparti Br.-Bl. et O. de Bolòs 1958 | Schaminee et al, 2012 |
Species mentioned in habitat description
Other classifications
Classification | Code | Habitat type name | Relationship type |
---|---|---|---|
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 200112 | 34.6 | Mediterranean tall-grass and wormwood steppes | same |
CORINE Land Cover | 3.2.1. | Natural grassland | n/a |
History
Classification | Code | Habitat type name | Relationship type |
---|---|---|---|
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200410 | E1.4 | Mediterranean tall-grass and Artemisia steppes | same |
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200308 | E1.4 | Mediterranean tall-grass and Artemisia steppes | same |
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200202 | E1.4 | Mediterranean tall-grass and Artemisia steppes | same |
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199910 | E1.4 | Mediterranean tall-grass and Artemisia steppes | same |
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199811 | E1.4 | Mediterranean tall-grass and Artemisia steppes | same |
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199712 | E1.15 | Mediterranean tall-grass and wormwood steppes | same |
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 199905 | 34.6 | Mediterranean tall-grass and wormwood steppes | same |
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1997 | 34.6 | Mediterranean tall-grass and wormwood steppes | same |
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1996 | 34.6 | same | |
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1993 | 34.6 | same | |
CORINE Biotopes Classification 1991 | 34.6 | same | |
CORINE Biotopes Classification 1989 | 34.6 | same |