What is the temperate climate Mediterranean

On our planet there are mainly three types of climates: the warm, tempered and cold. Each is segregated in more categories, depending on the rainfall and temperatures regime of each region.

This article will discuss a very particular climate, classified within the temperate environments and constituted by 4 stations clearly defined. It is about Temperate Mediterranean Climatetypical of areas between 30º and 45º of latitude, such as the Mediterranean SeaCalifornia and some areas of South Africa and Australia.

This type of environment is mainly characterized by having Dry summer, springs and rainy autumn and soft winters. It turns out to be one of the most arid climates, since of the twelve months the year, the presence of water on the ground is zero of three to five months, coinciding with the summer season. On the contrary, in spring and autumn, these areas come into contact with winds of the west and thunderstorms and strong rains can be caused. Thus, this type of weather presents, on the one hand, seasons of frequent rains and, on the other, periods in which there are no significant rainfall for several months. Even so, it should be taken into account that the frequency of rainy times will be lower in lower latitudes.

Regarding the Mediterranean temperate temperaturesas mentioned above, they are relatively soft in winter and warm in summer, even though not in excess. The temperatures difference between the stations can vary greatly depending on the geographical region in which they are, such as between California and the Pyrenees, where the first one presents soft winters and with just the presence of snow, and in the second there are considerable frost taking into account the characteristics of the climate in which they are found.

It should be mentioned that, depending on the continental extension that has the climate in question, certain subtypes that adapt to each concrete region can appear and mark gradual differences in terms of parameters such as moisture, temperature or availability of sunlight, among others. This is, for example, what happens in the Iberian Peninsula, since having a fairly large geographical extension and being exposed to two seas and an ocean, each region will be influenced by many parameters.

He most common biological landscape or bioma of the Mediterranean temperate climate is the one we know as Durisilvaalthough it is commonly known as Mediterranean forest and scrub. It is a very rich biotic area in fauna and flora, limited by the extreme summer drought and with a wide variety of shapes in the field and soil types.

This type of landscape can be represented in the form of a low height forest, also called primary forest, in which there are predominant species such as holm oaks, pines or alcornocales. In this type of forests, even so, this type of weather can also be represented by sclerophilic thickets, also called maquis or chaparral, which are dense shrub formations (and even sometimes impenetrable) of about two or three meters high. This type of thicket can be formed naturally or favored by some ancient intervention of the human being.

Thus, there is a small variability between the formations of this type of bioma depending on the region and the conditions in which it is established, in addition to the accompanying species will also predetermine their evolution a bit.

The tempered Mediterranean climate offers abundant diversity both animal and plantwhich is surprisingly adapted to the typical alterations of this type of environment, such as forest fires in the summer time or strong spring and autumn storms.

In addition, we can say that the fauna and flora of this type of weather has an important role in many ecological functions. That means that, many of the plants, mammals, insects, fish, amphibians and birds that inhabit this type of environment perform functions that make the ecosystem gears work and that the trophic relationships between the organisms of those communities are enlarged (they can serve as a source of food, seed dispersators, primary producers, water purifiers, crop pollinators, etc.).

Mediterranean temperate climate flora

Regarding the flora of the temperate Mediterranean climate, we can say that it is its great majority xerophilic, which means that it is adapted to living in dry environments, presenting modifications as longer roots or smaller leaves. The underobosque of this type of climate, usually to be woody, sometimes with thorns, and with many aromatic species. Some examples of the typical vegetation of the Mediterranean climate are the pines (especially P. halepensis and P. Pinea) The holm oaks, heather, cork oak, endrino, lentisco, aldierno, Madroño, Zarzaparilla, Romero, Thomillo, among many others.

Mediterranean temperate climate fauna

As for the fauna of the tempered Mediterranean climate, it is very rich and varied, and includes all types of animals, from mountain goats, wild boars, foxes, wolves or lynx, to squirrels, rabbits, raptures and reptiles and amphibians. Thus, having a wide range of animals, fish, insects, birds and microorganisms, really very biodiverse ecosystems are created, a fact that makes them more complex and with a greater balance against adversities. Even so, it should be mentioned that the biodiversity of the fauna, both in this type of climate and in all of the world, is decreasing drastically because the presence of man is increasingly invasive and becomes more in the natural habitats in which these species reside.

In this other link you can find out more about what animals live in the temperate forest, a very biodiverse area of ​​the planet with this type of climate.

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