Mainland laurophyllous woodland

This habitat comprises micro-forest vegetation with a low canopy dominated by lauriphyllous evergreen shrubs or small trees growing in warm-temperate oceanic to hyper-oceanic environments along the Atlantic coasts of northern Iberian Peninsula, central and southern Italy, Sardinia and Sicily. Nowadays, they present small remnants in the most humid and oceanic areas of the Atlantic areas of the continent or isolated enclaves surviving where sheltered situations like ravines provide local protection against summer heat and dessication. Typically species-poor, the habitat is usually dominated by shrubs of the humid Mediterranean zone, such as Arbutus unedo and Laurus nobilis which have a broad Mediterranean and southern Atlantic distribution and has an associated liane and field flora with general affiliations to the evergreen oak forests of the Quercetea ilicis.

Indicators of good quality:

• When the stands are in optimal conditions they show the appearance of a closed deep shady bush or small forest.
• Canopy is continuous and evergreen
• Soil is covered by a thick layer of decomposing litter.
• Ferns are common in the understory, sometimes as epiphytes, and bryophytes cover the stones and the trunks.
• No signs of disturbance (logging, grazing, etc.) should be visible
• Dead wood can be considered as a good indicator of maturity

Synthesis of Red List assessment

Confidence in the assessment

Pressures and threats