The Crete Mediterranean forests is a terrestrial ecoregion that encompasses Greek the island of Crete. The island has a Mediterranean climate, 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 found in the lands in and around the Mediterranean Sea. Crete's diverse habitats, from shrublands to forests, sustain 1600 species of plants, including dozens of endemic species."Crete Mediterranean forests". World Wildlife Fund. Accessed 23 April 2020

/ref> The island was once characterized by forests, but centuries of human habitation have transformed the landscape, converting much of the original forest into shrublands, woodlands, fields, orchards, and pastures.

Geography

Crete lies in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The Aegean Sea is to the north, and the Libyan Sea is to the south. It is about 160 km south of the Greek mainland. Crete is the largest island in Greece and the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean, with an area of 8,336 km². Crete extends 260 km from east to west, and its north–south width varies from 60 to 12 miles. A mountainous spine extends the length of the island, with three principal ranges: the White Mountains or Lefka Ori in the west (2,454 m),

Psiloritis Mount Ida ( el, Ἴδα), known variously as Idha, Ídhi, Idi, and Ita (the massif including the mountain is called Psiloritis, el, Ψηλορείτης), is the highest mountain on the island of Crete, with an elevation of . It has the highest ...

in the center (which includes

Mount Ida In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida in Crete, and Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), which was also known as the '' Phrygian Ida'' ...

, Crete's highest point at 2,456 m), and the

Dikti Mountains Dikti or Dicte ( el, Δίκτη) (also Lasithiotika Ori; el, Λασιθιώτικα Όρη "Lasithian Mountains"; anciently, Aigaion oros ( grc, Αἰγαῖον ὄρος) or la, Aegaeum mons) is a mountain range on the east of the island of C ...

in the east (2,148 m). Geologically Crete is part of the Hellenic arc, created by the collision of the

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

and Eurasian tectonic plates starting 11 to 15 million years ago. Seas have divided Crete from the Greek and Anatolian mainlands for at least five million years. Crete's high mountains were uplifted 1.5 million years ago.Benda, Petr & Georgiakakis, Panagiotis & Dietz, Christian & Hanák, Vladimír & Galanaki, Kosmoula & Markantonatou, Vessa & Chudárková, Adéla & Hulva, Pavel & Horacek, Ivan. (2008). Bats(Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. Part 7. The bat fauna of Crete, Greece. Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem. ZoologyNatural History). 7287. 105-190.

Flora

The island's range of topography and soils support diverse plant communities. At lower elevations, low shrubland ( phrygana) is common. Phrygana includes many aromatic plants, and typical species include '' Sarcopoterium spinosum, Thymus capitatus, Phlomis fruticosa,

Phlomis cretica ''Phlomis'' is a genus of over 100 species''Phlomis''.
Flora of China. of

, Phlomis lanata, Cistus'' spp., '' Genista acanthoclada, Calicotome villosa'', and spurge (''Euphorbia'' spp.). There are also high shrublands (

maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

) dominated by carob (''

Ceratonia siliqua 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 pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landsca ...

''), juniper ('' Juniperus phoenicea''), and tree-spurge ('' Euphorbia dendroides''), and woodlands and forests of evergreen and semi-evergreen oaks ('' Quercus coccifera'' and '' Quercus brachyphylla''). Groves of

Cretan date palm ''Phoenix theophrasti'', the Cretan date palm, is a palm native to the eastern Mediterranean, with a very restricted distribution, confined to southern Greece, a few sites on Crete and nearby islands, as well as some places on the Turkish coast. ...

''(Phoenix theophrasti)'' are found in a few stream gorges around the island. Woodlands of Calabrian pine (''Pinus brutia'') and Kermes oak (''Quercus coccifera'') are found at mid-elevations, along with maquis, and phrygana of '' Berberis cretica, Rhamnus saxatilis,

Prunus prostrata ''Prunus prostrata'' (mountain, rock, creeping, spreading or prostrate cherry) is a hardy alpine shrub found naturally above about 2000 m. up to as high as 4000 m. in Israel, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, Turkey, Albania, Greece, Sardini ...

'', and '' Satureja spinosa''. Woodlands of Mediterranean cypress (''Cupressus sempervirens'') and Cretan maple (''Acer sempervirens'') are found at high elevations. Above the tree line (1600-1800 meters), thorny cushion scrublands grow on the highest peaks. There are 1,600 plant species on Crete, of which about 10% are endemic.

Fauna

Crete is home to two endemic mammals, the

Cretan shrew The Cretan shrew (''Crocidura zimmermanni'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic and exclusive to the island of Crete, Greece. Its natural habitat is temperate shrubland, and the animal is threatened by habitat loss. ...

(''Crocidura zimmermanni'') and

Crete spiny mouse The Crete spiny mouse (''Acomys minous'') is a species of mouse endemic to Crete. It is characterized by the coarse, stiff hairs on its back and tail and a notably grayer coloration and more pointed face than other species of spiny mice. Its fu ...

(''Acomys minous''). The Kri-kri ''(Capra aegagrus cretica)'' is subspecies of feral goat found only in Crete's mountains and on nearby islands. 66 species of terrestrial birds breed on Crete and adjacent islands, belonging to 41 genera. Year-round resident birds include the bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus''), golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos''),

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

(''Falco peregrinus''), red-billed chough (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), and chukar partridge (''Alectoris chukar''), Eurasian scops owl (''Otus scops''), northern long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus''), and tawny owl (''Strix aluco'').

Rüppell's warbler Rüppell's warbler (''Curruca ruppeli'') is a typical warbler of the genus ''Curruca''. It breeds in Greece, Turkey and neighbouring islands. It is migratory, wintering in northeast Africa. This is a rare vagrant to western Europe. The name is ...

(''Curruca ruppeli'') breeds on the island in the summer, and winters across the Mediterranean in northeastern Africa.BirdLife International (2022) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Mount Idi, Crete. Accessed 27 March 202

/ref>Crete bird checklist. Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World. Accessed 27 March 2022

/ref>

Extinct fauna

Crete's long isolation from the mainland made its fauna distinct. Dwarf elephants (''Palaeoloxodon chaniensis'' and ''P. creutzburgi''), the

Cretan dwarf hippopotamus ''Hippopotamus creutzburgi'', the Cretan dwarf hippopotamus, is an extinct species of hippopotamus from the island of Crete. ''Hippopopotamus'' colonized Crete probably 800,000 years ago and lived there during the Middle Pleistocene. Bones of ''H ...

(''Hippopotamus creutzburgi''), Cretan dwarf mammoth (''Mammuthus creticus''), and Cretan dwarf megacerine (''Candiacervus cretensis''), a tiny deer, lived on Crete until the end of the Pleistocene epoch. These species are examples of insular dwarfism. The

Cretan owl The Cretan owl (''Athene cretensis'') is an extinct species of owl from the Pleistocene of the island of Crete, in the eastern Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean B ...

''(Athene cretensis)'', a giant flightless owl, and the Cretan otter ''(Lutrogale cretensis)'' also went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene.

Protected areas

35.26% of the ecoregion is in protected areas.These include the Lefka Ori,

, and

and Samaria Gorge National Park.

External links

Crete Mediterranean forests

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Greece Geography of Crete Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of the Mediterranean Basin Sclerophyll forests