Mediterranean ultramafic inland cliff

Ultramafic (igneous and mostly igneous-metamorphic rock with high magnesium and iron content) rocks and cliffs in the Mediterranean with few vascular plant species and cryptogams growing in rock fissures and crevices. The cliffs may be textured as ophiolite or like a breccia. Many ophiolites are built of ultramafic rocks such as peridotite and, after transformation, serpentinite. The high magnesium and iron content, and the frequently elevated amounts of chromium and nickel are toxic to most plants. Due to this unmitigated toxic effect only few adapted plants are able to grow on ultramafic cliffs.

The vegetation is mainly composed of small ferns of the genera Allosorus and Asplenium, together with Paragymnopteris marantae and others. The plant composition is unique. It consists of highly specialised species and rare ecotypes of more common and widespread species. Plant cover is low.

Mediterranean ultramafic cliffs, though widely distributed, are local phenomena and occur in restricted hilly and mountainous areas of the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Italian Peninsula, western and southern Balkans, Aegean, Cyprus, Mediterranean Turkey (Anatolia) and northern Africa (Cyrenaica, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco).

Indicators of quality:

The vegetation of Mediterranean ultramafic cliffs consists chiefly of highly specialised ferns and other plants (serpentinophytes). Any of these, and sometimes their hybrids, indicate favourable habitat quality. Although cliff habitats generally enjoy protection through inaccessibility, quarrying destroys the habitat and its populations of specialised plants. While most serpentinophytes are restricted largely to primary cliff habitats, some, such as Paragymnopteris marantae and a few bryophytes, occur occasionally on abandoned gravel heaps. The following characteristics may be used as indicators of favourable quality:

• Occurrence of rare species, in particular serpentinophytes,
• Presence of different aspects of rock walls, different exposure, moisture and rock structures such as rock shelters and ledges
• Contact with natural habitats such as serpentine screes and dry metal-rich grasslands
• Absence of mining and quarrying
• Absence of rock control structures and garbage dumping

Synthesis of Red List assessment

Confidence in the assessment

Pressures and threats