Mediterranean mountain Abies woodland

These are xerophytic coniferous woodlands of shallow, drought-prone soils within the lower to mid-altitudinal belts of the Mediterranean climatic zone, where firs of very limited, sometimes relictual, distribution are able to maintain a competitive advantage against other trees and dominate in woodlands of highly distinctive character.  

Abies pinsapo persists in three small enclaves in southern Andalusia on relatively humid northerly slopes between 1000 and 1800 m, stands on limestone having Quercus ilex and Q. faginea in the canopy and a sparse shrub layer with Berberis vulgaris subsp. australis, Rosa micrantha, Juniperus oxycedrus and Ulex baeticus.  Some stands on limestone have Paeonia broteroi and  P. coriacea as distinctive field layer elements, others on serpentine are distinguished by Bunium alpinum subsp. macuca.  

On the southern Greek mainland and some Ionian and Aegean islands A. cephalonica dominates, often growing tall and dense, sometimes with Pinus nigra intermixed. Usually only in gullies away from dense shading does the field layer attain any richness with such distinctive species as Geocaryum parnassicum, Lilium heldreichii, Cardamine graeca, Neotinea maculata, Helictotrichon convolutum, Iris unguicularis and Carex macrolepis. 

On a fog-bound slope in the Madonie mountains of Sicily a relict population of Abies nebrodensis survives on embryonic quartzite soils with an understorey of Juniperus hemisphaerica, occasional Acer pseudoplatanus and Sorbus graeca and a field layer with Silene sicula, Plantago humilis, Galium venustum and Armeria nebrodensis.    

Synthesis of Red List assessment

Confidence in the assessment

Pressures and threats