What’s a “Mediterranean” habitat, anyway?
• Only five places on Earth have “Mediterranean” habitats: the Mediterranean Sea Basin, southern Australia, coastal California and northern Baja California, the central coast of Chile and the western cape of South Africa. • All of these places have similar climates and vegetation — hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters, and arid grasslands, shrub lands and woodlands. • With its abundant sun, rich soils for agricultural products, and high quality of life, Mediterranean regions have become the most cherished places worldwide to settle, develop, and to live — causing a degree and pace of destruction not seen in any other major habitat type on earth.
