Mediterranean thermophilous deciduous woodland

Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis (Kotschy) Hedge and Yaltirik (Valonia oak) is a subspecies of the broadly distributed East Mediterranean deciduous oak species Quercus ithaburensis Decne (mount Thabor’s oak), that is confined to continental Greece and some Greek islands (surviving as relict isolated trees or in scattered localities as the dominant species in open woodland), in Southeastern Italy, in Southern Albania (forming important pure and mixed forests up to 800-900 m a.s.l.) and in Turkey. The relict Quercus macrolepis stands in Salento (S Italy), appear to have been derived from planted stock, but are treated here as semi-natural woodlands. Most stands occur on shallow soils, perhaps because of the absence of competition from rival trees but also maybe because of preferential felling of the oak on deeper better soils. It can grow on a variety of terrain types and soils up to 700m and beyond, but growth is better where the local climate is semi-arid with warmer winters. Often the canopy is pure but there can be some other deciduous oaks such as Q. frainetto, Q. coccifera or Q. pubescens, Pinus pinea. In some cases the overall effect is of a phrygana, at higher altitudes a grassland with trees, but a common feature in many stands is the prominence of a variety of therophytes, maybe because of the long history of disturbance of the landscapes. Agroforestry and specifically silvopastoralism is a traditional land use system in parts of continental and insular Greece where livestock breeders use the valonia oak forests (Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis) for grazing and the collection of acorns. Valonia oak regeneration is affected by livestock grazing and tree canopy cover. Very low regeneration is observed in various distances from the sheep and goat sheds where livestock is intensively grazing in the surrounding area. On the other hand, tree regeneration is strongly related to the tree canopy cover, whereas new seedlings are observed under trees due to the favorable micro-environmental conditions.

Indicators of quality:

• No forest exploitations (if applicable, mainly azonal types with high nature value)
• 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 old trees and a variety of dead wood (lying or standing) and the associated flora, fauna and fungi
• Presence of natural disturbance such as treefall openings with natural regeneration
• Long historical continuity (ancient woodland) with high species diversity
• 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 man-induced very high population levels of grazing animals (sheep, goats, cows)

Synthesis of Red List assessment

Confidence in the assessment

Pressures and threats