Mediterranean Acacia-Argania dry woodlands

The Mediterranean Acacia-Argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in North Africa centered mainly on Morocco but also including northwestern Western Sahara and the eastern Canary Islands.

Mediterranean Acacia-Argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets
Argan tree, which is dominant in these woodlands
Ecology
Biome	Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Borders	Mediterranean woodlands and forests, North Saharan steppe and woodlands and Atlantic coastal desert
Geography
Area	99,619 km^2 (38,463 sq mi)
Countries	Morocco, Western Sahara and Canary Islands
Conservation
Conservation status	Critical/endangered[1]
Protected	17,725 km² (18%)[2]

Geography

This ecoregion occupies 1,000,000 km² (390,000 sq mi) in Morocco, northwestern Western Sahara, and the eastern Canary Islands (Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and associated islets). On the African mainland, it encompasses the Atlantic coastal plain, the lowlands of Al Haouz Province, the valleys of the Sous River and Draa River, and the westernmost part of the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains.[1]

It has either a Mediterranean climate or a semi-arid climate or even an arid climate given that mean annual rainfall is below 500 millimetres (20 in) and falls as low as 50 millimetres (2.0 in) in the driest areas of the ecoregion. The winters are mild and frost-free and the summers relatively cool because of the moderating influence of the ocean. Temperatures average 18 to 20 °C (64 to 68 °F).[1]

The Mediterranean Acacia-Argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets ecoregion is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean woodlands and forests, on the east by the North Saharan steppe and woodlands, on the south by the Atlantic coastal desert, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean.[1]

Ecology

The chief plant communities in the ecoregion are dominated by Argania spinosa accompanied by Acacias, and the predominant lower vegetation is succulent shrubland dominated by Euphorbias. Some of the associated plant species are Periploca laevigata, Senecio anthephorbium, Launaea arborescens, Warionia saharae, Acacia gummifera, Rhus trpartitum, Withania frutescens, Euphorbia officinarum, Cytisus albidus, Ephedra altissima and Tetraclinis articulata.[1]

There are a number of plants endemic to the Canary Islands part of the ecoregion, and the white-toothed shrew is the only mammal endemic there. On the mainland, a number of mammals are found in this ecoregion. These include the honey badger, European wildcat, Egyptian mongoose, Barbary ground squirrel, North African elephant shrew, Hoogstraal's gerbil, Barbary striped grass mouse and wild boar. Other, rarer mammals include caracal, African wildcat, dorcas gazelle, Cuvier's gazelle and Barbary sheep.[1]

Protected areas

Protected areas in Morocco include Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve (23690 km², and includes Souss-Massa National Park), Khenifiss National Park (1668.16 km²), Oued Chbeyka Hunting Reserve (1329.78 km²), and Rouisset Tayssa Boulafraij Ouinskour et Oued Daraa Hunting Reserve (3177.54 km²).

Protected areas in the eastern Canary Islands include Timanfaya National Park (51.81 km²), Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park (460.16 km²), and Los Volcanes Natural Park (99.95 km²) on Lanzarote, and Jandia Natural Park (149.83 km²) and Corralejo Natural Park (26.89 km²) on Fuerteventura.

External links

• "Mediterranean Acacia-Argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.

References

1. "Mediterranean Acacia-Argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets, in Northern Africa". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
2. Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b.