Question

The South Apennine mixed montane forests are found in which type of region?
1. Tropical Grassland
2. Mediterranean
3. Polar Lowlands
4. East Margin

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : Mediterranean

The correct answer is Mediterranean.

 

• The South Apennine mixed montane forests are located in the southern Apennine Mountains of southern Italy and Sicily.
• It has a Mediterranean climate.
• It is restricted to the regions of Basilicata, Calabria, and the island of Sicily.
• The climate of the ecoregion changes with attitude. The lower mountain slopes have a warm and sub-humid climate, with a median annual temperature of 14 to 17º C. 
• High elevations are cooler and more humid, with annual average temperatures of 9 to 13º C and over 2000 mm of precipitation annually. The mountain summits in southern Calabria and northeastern Sicily are frequently covered in dense fog. Winters at high elevation are cold, with abundant snowfall.

Flora:

• Lowest elevations, medium elevations, and high elevations are the ecoregion's wide altitudinal ranges.

- Lowest elevations: It is characterized by the sclerophyllous evergreen holm oak (Quercus ilex) and cork oak (Quercus suber), coniferous stone pine (Pinus pinea),  and the deciduous trees Quercus pubescens, Fraxinus ornus, and Ostrya carpinifolia.
- Highest elevations: It is sub-divided into south-facing plant communities and North-facing plant communities.

1. South-facing plant communities: The cold and dry climate of European black pine are the dominant species here. Etna birch and Heldreich's pine are another dominant species.
2. North-facing plant communities: Silver fir,  European beech, and shrubs like Sicilian milkvetch(Astragalus siculus) grow here.

• Medium elevations: It is characterized by mixed deciduous forests of Quercus cerris, Quercus pubescens, Quercus frainetto, sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa), and Ostrya carpinifolia.
• ​Fauna: Roe deer, European wildcat, Sicilian shrew, etc. are found here.
• The Mediterranean Basin is characterized by mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.
• The region was named by German botanist August Grisebach in the late 19th century.
• This type of climate is found in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
• Given below is the list of all Mediterranean Basin regions:

1. Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests (Greece, Turkey, North Macedonia, Bulgaria)
2. Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests (Turkey)
3. The Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests (Spain)
4. Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests (France)
5. Crete Mediterranean forests (Greece)
6. Cyprus Mediterranean forests (Cyprus)
7. Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests (Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Turkey)
8. Iberian conifer forests (Spain)
9. Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests (Portugal, Spain)
10. Illyrian deciduous forests (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Slovenia)
11. Italian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests (France, Italy)
12. Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets (Morocco, Canary Islands (Spain))
13. Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia)
14. Mediterranean woodlands and forests (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia)
15. Northeastern Spain and Southern France Mediterranean forests (France, Monaco, Spain)
16. Northwest Iberian montane forests (Portugal, Spain)
17. The Pindus Mountains mixed forests (Albania, Greece, North Macedonia)
18. South Apennine mixed montane forests (Italy)
19. Southeastern Iberian shrubs and woodlands (Spain)
20. Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests (Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Turkey)
21. Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests (Portugal, Spain)
22. Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests (Croatia, France, Italy, Malta)