Mediterranean Cupressaceae woodland

This habitat combines conifer woods dominated by Cupressus sempervirens and/or various juniper species, including Juniperus excelsa, J. drupacea, J. foetidissima and J. thurifera. The few stands of Juniperus phoenicea and J. oxycedrus that qualify as woodlands are also attributed in this unit. The following sub-types can be distinguished: • Natural Cupressus sempervirens-dominated woodlands are found in South Anatolia, Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyrenaica and the islands of southeast Greece, while isolated occurrences are also reported in Iran, Tunisia and Morocco. They form moderately open (cover ca. 60%) to open canopies often with thermophillous coastal pines (Pinus halepensis, P. brutia) or forming mixed stands with Acer sempervirens and Quercus coccifera. The woodlands are found on mountainous rocky slopes, in a wide range of altitudes, slopes and expositions. C. sempervirens form stands from the thermo- to the upper levels of the supra-Mediterranean zones and exhibits no clear preference for geological substrate, growing on shallow and dry to deep and moist soils. • Juniperus excelsa woodlands are distributed throughout the eastern Mediterranean, from the southern and central Balkans (Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM), through Anatolia (regionally widespread and continuously distributed along the Taurus chain in southern Anatolia), to Ukraine and Crimea, central and southwest Asia (Turkmenistan, Cyprus, Iran, Lebanon, Syria), Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) and east Africa (Quézel and Médail 2003). The species does not occur in regions with annual precipitation below 500 mm. In the Balkan peninsula, the altitudinal range of distribution is from 100 to 1300 m, yet in Turkey it goes up to 2200 m. It occurs in xerothermic sites, most frequently on limestone, diabase or serpentine, and often forms rather small, almost pure associations. • Juniperus foetidissima woodlands are found in mountainous areas of the eastern Mediterranean region, mainly in the central and south Balkans (Albania, FYROM, Greece), Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Asiatic Turkey (rare or absent on the interior plateau), SE Caucasus to the coast of the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan, along the coast of the Black Sea near Novorossiysk and in the Crimea (Farjon 1992). The Juniperus excelsa and J. foetididissima woodlands exhibit growth plasticity and can adapt to the soil dryness of the mountainous rocky slopes, forming the human-induced tree limits. They mainly occur on limestones in the meso- to upper supra-Mediterannean zone. Their canopy is moderately open (cover ca 60%) to open (cover <50%). Deciduous elements in the canopy are not uncommon, as for example Fraxinus ornus, Carpinus orientalis and Quercus pubescens, while at the higher altitudes the junipers are often associated with Astracantha cretica, Daphne oleoides and Stipa pennata. • Juniperus drupacea woodlands are distributed in the Mediterranean, where they occur in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Southern Turkey and two mountain locations in Greece (the species just reaches southeastern Europe). In the south Peloponnese mountains in Greece (Parnon and Taigetos), they occupy somewhat extended areas, but in general these woodlands are more widespread outside Europe in Turkey and the Middle East. Within this distribution range, J. drupacea forms mixed montane conifer forests with Abies cilicica, A. cephalonica, Pinus brutia, P. nigra, Cedrus libani, Juniperus excelsa, J. foetidissima, J. oxycedrus, Quercus coccifera, Q. ilex and sometimes with Fagus orientalis. Much of its habitat has been modified into maquis vegetation. It grows on shallow, rocky soils, usually on calcareous or granite rocks at altitudes of between 600-1800 m and occurs in small groups or as solitary trees mixed with other conifer species. • Juniperus thurifera woodlands are scattered throughout the western Mediterranean basin and are relicts from the Tertiary distribution of the species pattern, a now disjunct spread occurring from Algeria and Morocco over the Iberian Peninsula and the Pyrenees to the French and Italian Alps and to Corsica. In general, these woodlands occur in a wide ecological amplitude, forming open stands from an altitude of 140m in Spain to more than 3000m in Mt. Atlas, Morocco. More specifically, and in contrast to the situation in Europe and Algeria, where J. thurifera occurs from 200 to 1800m, the Moroccan stands are associated with sub-humid cold winter bioclimates at the tree line, mainly between elevations of 1800 and 3150m. In Algeria, thuriferous juniper is limited to the Aurès mountains with a number of scattered and often very large trees that are probably the remains of formerly more extensive stands. The Juniperus thurifera woodlands are found on various substrates, slopes and inclinations of the supra-Mediterranean zone. The juniper is often associated with Pinus nigra subsp. nigra, Quercus pubescens, Q. ilex and other Juniper species. • Woodlands of Tetraclinis articulata are restricted to the dry coastal region of Cartagena in south-east Spain (regarding Europe), where these occur as scattered stands with a typical maquis understorey; in North Africa these woodlands are widespread in lowland areas of Morocco and Algeria. Since the canopy of all Cupressaceae woodlands is open, the presence of typical woodland species in the ground-flora is expected to be relatively limited, while, on the other hand, perennial steppe species are expected to dominate

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
• 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 ungulates
• Absence of i) soil trampling signs, ii)  deformation of woody species due to over-browsing, iii) logging, iv) fire signs, v) ruderal taxa.

Synthesis of Red List assessment

Confidence in the assessment

Pressures and threats