The forest and Mediterranean or durisilva scrub, is a biome of forests and bushes that grows in regions with Mediterranean climate, characterized by mild winters, dry summers, warm autumns and springs with abundant rainfall, as well as frequent forest fires to which the vegetation is adapted.
The typical vegetation is sclerophyllous and xerophilous, since it has to withstand summer aridity. The dominant species is oak. The understory is woody, thorny and aromatic, with species such as the mastic, the aladierno, numerous lianas such as sarsaparilla and, in the clearings, the cistus, the rosemary and the thyme. In the floristic procession appear species such as the Aleppo pine and the stone pine, the juniper, the strawberry tree, etc. In the most humid areas, the gall oak appears; in siliceous soils the cork oak appears.

In the transition with other biocenosis may appear leafy species as scrub, along with xerophilous, in a mixed forest. The gallery forest is very important, where leafy species such as poplar or elm appear on the margins of rivers, lakes and lagoons.

Fire plays an important role in the dynamics of these forests and, therefore, the species that comprise it have developed numerous mechanisms to adapt to fire. Thus, for example, cork oaks have very thick barks to protect themselves; Holm oaks and oaks have a great sprouting capacity; and rockroses form seeds that germinate more easily when subjected to high temperatures.

The Mediterranean forests are mostly evergreen, although there are also marcescent species, that is, they have deciduous leaves that remain on the tree until the following spring, to protect the buds of the new leaves. The leaves of the trees are covered with wax to reduce the loss of moisture in the warm months. In general, these forests present a relatively small number of species in the tree canopy.

The Mediterranean country has been inhabited since ancient times, and human intervention in biocenosis has been decisive in shaping the landscape and the environment. The forest is degraded in garrigue, dominated by the kermes oak, maquis and Mediterranean steppe, depending on the importance of the degradation. In the Iberian Peninsula there is a type of clearing of the Mediterranean forest known as dehesa.

The Mediterranean forest ecosystem is very sensitive to desertification if its vegetation cover is destroyed. The torrential rains drag the soil with ease and erode very quickly.

They generate between 4 and 20 liters of oxygen daily

for each square meter constituting one

of the most important sources of oxygenation

of this sea.

They produce an average of 38 tons of bio-

mass in dry weight per hectare.

It is estimated that more than 400 vegetative species

animals and 1000 animals live in the

of Posidonia.

Its leaves and rhizomes are an ideal place for sessile animals and plants (which can not move on their own) to live there, attracting many other species.

Apart from the biological diversity they can harbor, their dense leaves provide protection for small animals and a place for many others to lay their eggs.

A current problem is the disappearance of the Posidonia meadows near the coast due to the trawling and the anchors of the boats, which start them up and thus destroying the whole ecosystem linked to it. This plant is very sensitive to pollution and the phenomenon called eutrophication, which gives an increase in nutrients in the environment, causing their epiphytic organisms to grow a lot, preventing the plant from making photosynthesis.

Definim ecologic successió with a conjunct of canvis seqüencials, not cyclic, of durada variable, that can produce deep variations in the characteristics of the original ecosystem. The ecological success manifests the tendency towards the autoorganització that tea tot ecosystem, which is so strong that it ends up imposing itself on the canvis fortuits.