The Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests is an

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

in the lands around the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

. The ecoregion covers most of mainland

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, the Aegean Islands (except for

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

), the western coast of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, the southern

Vardar The Vardar (; , , ) or Axios (, ) is the longest river in North Macedonia and a major river in Greece, where it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of ...

river valley in

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, the southern Struma river valley at the extreme south-western corner of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, as well as Greece's Heptanese Islands in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

. The ecoregion has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, and is in the

Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

Flora

The predominant plant communities are maquis, low shrublands, and pine forests. Maquis is woody shrubland characterized by low trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Maquis species include strawberry tree (''Arbutus unedo''), '' Arbutus andrachne'', sweet bay (''Laurus nobilis''),

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

(''Olea europaea''),

carob The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit, which takes the form of seed pods, and as an ornam ...

(''Ceratonia siliqua''), '' Erica arborea'', and '' Spartium junceum''. Maquis includes many aromatic plants, particularly species in the mint family (

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

). Low shrublands, known in Greek as phrygana, are characterized by low aromatic shrubs and herbs, including '' Euphorbia acanthothamnos, Thymus capitatus'', and species of '' Ballota,

Cistus ''Cistus'' (from the Greek ''kistos'') is a genus of flowering plants in the rockrose family Cistaceae, containing about 20 species (Ellul ''et al.'' 2002). They are perennial shrubs found on dry or rocky soils throughout the Mediterranean reg ...

, Helichrysum, Phlomis'', and ''

Salvia ''Salvia'' () is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with just under 1,000 species of shrubs, Herbaceous plant, herbaceous Perennial plant, perennials, and Annual plant, annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, ''Salvia'' is part o ...

''. Phrygana is common on limestone (calcareous) soils, and in areas subject to frequent fires and heavy grazing."F7.3 Eastern Mediterranean spiny heath (phrygana)" European Red List of Habitats - Heathland Habitat Group, 05/01/2016. Kermes oak (''Quercus coccifera'') and holm oak (''Quercus ilex'') are found in maquis, and also form oak woodlands. Forests of

Turkish pine ''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine and Calabrian pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but certain varieties are naturalized as far east as Afghanistan. It is ...

(''Pinus brutia'') occur in Anatolia, forests of

Aleppo pine ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. It was officially named by the botanist Philip Miller in his 1768 book ''The Gardener's Dictionary''; he pro ...

(''Pinus halepensis'') are found in central Greece and the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

and Stone pine (''Pinus pinea'') grows on stabilized coastal dunes on the

. The oriental sweetgum (''Liquidambar orientalis'') is endemic to a limited area of southwestern Turkey and the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

. The largest remaining stands are near Köyceğiz. Bozpırnal oak ('' Quercus aucheri'') is another endemic tree, native to the islands of Rhodes and Kos and adjacent southwestern coastal Turkey. It has sweet, edible acorns which are collected locally for coffee.

Fauna

Mammals in the ecoregion include

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

(''Sus scrofa''),

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

(''Vulpes vulpes''),

golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called the common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Eurasia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is smaller a ...

(''Canis aureus''),

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

(''C. lupus''), European badger (''Meles meles''),

European hare The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly ...

(''Lepus europaeus''), northern white-breasted hedgehog (''Erinaceus roumanicus''), southern white-breasted hedgehog (''Erinaceus concolor''), Eurasian red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris''), Caucasian squirrel (''Sciurus anomalus''), and

pine marten The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and parts of Iran, Iraq, and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red Lis ...

(''Martes martes''). The

Eurasian lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is one of the four wikt:extant, extant species within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. It is widely distributed from Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe to Cent ...

(''Lynx lynx''), European wildcat (''Felis sylvestris''), and

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

(''Ursus arctos'') are now rare in the ecoregion. The ecoregion is important habitat for several limited-range bird species, including the eastern olivaceous warbler (''Hippolais pallida''), olive-tree warbler (''Hippolais olivetorum''), Rüppell's warbler (''Curruca rueppelli''), masked shrike (''Lanius nubicus''), cinereous bunting (''Emberiza cineracea''), and Cretzschmar's bunting (''Emberiza caesia''). Characteristic birds of the maquis include the red-legged partridge (''Alectoris rufa''), rock partridge (''A. graeca''), chukar partridge (''A. chukar''), eastern subalpine warbler (''Sylvia cantillans''), Rüppell's warbler (''Curruca ruppeli''), cirl bunting (''Emberiza cirlus''), rock bunting (''E. cia''), and black-headed bunting (''E. melanocephala''). Krüper's nuthatch (''Sitta krueperi'') is associated with Turkish pine forests in the ecoregion and neighboring ones. Other birds of the pine forests include common European forest species like the

Eurasian wren The Eurasian wren (''Troglodytes troglodytes'') or northern wren is a very small insectivorous bird, and the only member of the wren family Troglodytidae found in Eurasia and Africa (Maghreb). In Anglophone Europe, it is commonly known simply as ...

(''Troglodytes troglodytes''),

common blackbird The common blackbird (''Turdus merula'') is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird. It breeds in Europ ...

(''Turdus merula''), common chiffchaff (''Phylloscopus collybita''), coal tit (''Periparus ater''),

Eurasian blue tit The Eurasian blue tit (''Cyanistes caeruleus'') is a small passerine bird in the tit (bird), tit family, Paridae. It is easily recognizable by its blue and yellow plumage and small size. Eurasian blue tits, usually resident bird, resident a ...

(''Cyanistes caeruleus''),

great tit The great tit (''Parus major'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of No ...

(''Parus major)'',

short-toed treecreeper The short-toed treecreeper (''Certhia brachydactyla'') is a small passerine bird found in woodlands through much of the warmer regions of Europe and into north Africa. It has a generally more southerly distribution than the other European Certhi ...

(''Certhia brachydactyla''),

Eurasian jay The Eurasian jay (''Garrulus glandarius'') is a species of passerine bird in the crow family Corvidae. It has pinkish brown plumage with a black stripe on each side of a whitish throat, a bright blue panel on the upper wing and a black tail. The ...

(''Garrulus glandarius''), and common chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs''). Birds associated with the liquidambar forests of western Anatolia include the common nightingale (''Luscinia megarhyncos''), olivaceous warbler, and Cetti's warbler (''Cettia cetti'').

Protected areas

As of 2017, 23,189 km², or 18%, of the ecoregion was in protected areas. Protected areas in Greece include Otea, Parnassus, Parnitha, and

Sounion Cape Sounion (Modern Greek: Aκρωτήριο Σούνιο ''Akrotírio Soúnio'' ; ''Άkron Soúnion'', latinized ''Sunium''; Venetian: ''Capo Colonne'' "Cape of Columns") is the promontory at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula, ...

national parks. Protected areas in Turkey include Dilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes Delta,

Marmaris Marmaris () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Muğla Province, Turkey. Its area is 906 km2, and its population is 97,818 (2022). It is a port city and tourist resort on the Aegean Sea, Mediterranean coast, along the shorel ...

, and Spil Dağı national parks, and

Köyceğiz-Dalyan Special Environmental Protection Area The Köyceğiz-Dalyan Special Environmental Protection Area is a protected natural reserve in the Turkish province of Muğla Province, Muğla. In June 1988 it was determined and declared the first protected area of its kind (''Özel Çevre Koruma ...

References

External links

* {{WWF ecoregion, name=Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests, id=PA1201
Aegean and Western Turkey Sclerophyllous and Mixed Forests
One Earth Aegean Sea Natural history of Anatolia Biota of Bulgaria Biota of Greece Biota of Turkey Ecoregions of Asia Ecoregions of Bulgaria Ecoregions of Europe Ecoregions of Greece Ecoregions of North Macedonia Ecoregions of Turkey Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of the Mediterranean basin Sclerophyll forests