Mediterranean and Macaronesian riparian woodland

These are broadleaved deciduous woodlands of periodically- or seasonally-flooded alluvial or gravelly deposits in river valleys and along streamsides within the Mediterranean and Macaronesian regions. Typical of humid localities within the thermo- and meso-Mediterranean belts, this habitat has been long exploited for being an easy source of firewood and widely lost from the middle and lower reaches of rivers, often surviving now as more fragmentary relict stands in deeper steep-sided valleys extending upstream into the submediterranean zone. Dominance can be of a single tree species, among which Populus alba and, in Sicily, the Balkans and Greece, Platanus orientalis are the most widespread and these fast-growing trees can attain a huge size in a very tall canopy. To the east also, Populus canescens, P. nigra and P. tremula can be prominent along with P. alba while, on Rhodes, Liquidambar orientalis dominates in gallery woodlands of this kind. Also included here are woodlands with Rhododendron ponticum ssp. baeticum and Betula parvibracteata (a synonym of B. pendula subsp. fontqueri var. parvibracteata) that occur in riparian situations in the Iberian peninsula. Generally, Fraxinus angustifolia, F. ornus, Salix alba, S. eleagnos, Alnus glutinosa are common associates and can be locally prominent and where Salix spp, dominate in riparian woodlands in the Mediterranean and Macaronesia, they are included here and not in G1.1 Riparian and gallery woodland. Other woody species, sub-shrubs and lianas associated with this habitat are Frangula alnus, Salix atrocinerea, Juglans regia, Crataegus monogyna, Cornus sanguinea, Nerium oleander, Vitex agnus-castus, Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris, Rubus subsp., Rosa sempervirens, Hedera helix, Clematis vitalba. The field layer shares some species with the equivalent habitat type, G1.2 hardwood riparian woodland in the temperate and boreal zone, but more distinctive here are Aristolochia grandiflora, Cyclamen hederifolium, C. repandum, C. creticum, Galanthus nivalis subsp. reginae-olgae, Dracunculus vulgaris and Arum italicum. The associated fern, bryophyte and lichen floras can be very species-rich and especially luxuriant in deep humid gorges.

Indicators of good quality:

• Intact natural hydrology
• Natural composition of canopy
• Structural diversity/ complexity with (semi)natural age structure or completeness of layers
• Typical flora and fauna composition of the region
• Presence of natural disturbance such as treefall openings with natural regeneration
• Survival of larger stands of forest without anthropogenic fragmentation and isolation (to support fauna which need large undisturbed forests)
• Absence of non-native species in all layers (flora & fauna)
• No signs of pollution

Synthesis of Red List assessment

Confidence in the assessment

Pressures and threats