Hard foliage vegetation

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Hard leaf vegetation is the umbrella term for the vegetation formation of the winter- humid subtropics ( Mediterranean climate ). From a physiognomic aspect, the term describes the adaptation of the vegetation to the summer dry period that determines the vegetation there . Hartlaub plants are characterized by small, stiff, leathery and durable to evergreen leaves ( Sklerophyll ; leather, Hartblättrigkeit) from. The name derives from the Sklerophyll strongly developed sclerenchyma from the plant, which is responsible for the hardness or stiffness of the leaves. Type form of sclerophyllous trees is the holm oak ( Quercus ilex L.).

The Mediterranean areas are among the most biodiverse on earth, but have usually been under great pressure from the population for a long time. This is particularly true in the Mediterranean region. By overexploitation ( logging , grazing , agricultural use ) is the original vegetation mostly in Degradationsstadien been converted ( garrigue ).

distribution

The zone of the Mediterranean hard-leaf vegetation lies in the border area between the subtropics and the temperate zone , approximately between the 30th and 40th  parallel . The occurrence is limited to the western sides of the continents. There are five hard-leaf vegetation regions around the world: the Mediterranean , Southwest Australia , California , Central Chile and the Cape Country .

literature

See also