Mediterranean-type Ecosystems

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XII

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2. Climate, vegetation, vertebrates and soil/litter invertebrates of mediterranean-type ecosystems — data-banks

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Climate, vegetation, vertebrates and soil/litter invertebrates of mediterranean-type ecosystems — data-banks

      • P. C. Catling, Ph. Daget, B. J. Fox, P. Greenslade, J. D. Majer, G. Orshan et al.

      Pages 3-9

3. Vegetation, nutrition and climate — data tables

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11

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   2. Natural vegetation — ecomorphological characters

      • R. L. Specht

      Pages 13-61

   3. Foliar analyses

      • R. L. Specht

      Pages 63-80

   4. Species richness

      • R. L. Specht

      Pages 81-91

   5. Climate

      • R. L. Specht

      Pages 93-136

4. Vegetation, nutrition and climate — examples of integration

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 137-137

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   2. Mediterranean bioclimate and its variation in the palaearctic region

      • Ph. Daget, L. Ahdali, P. David

      Pages 139-148

   3. Climatic control of ecomorphological characters and species richness in mediterranean ecosystems of Australia

      • R. L. Specht

      Pages 149-155

   4. Leaf structure and nutrition in mediterranean-climate sclerophylls

      • P. W. Rundel

      Pages 157-167

5. Vertebrates

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 169-169

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   2. Vertebrates

      • R. L. Specht

      Pages 171-194

6. Soil and litter invertebrates

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 195-195

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   2. Soil and litter invertebrates

      • R. L. Specht

      Pages 197-226

7. Back Matter

   Pages 227-248

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The regions of the world which experience a mediterranean type climate, with a cool wet season alternating with a hot dry summer, contain some of the world's most attractive landscapes. In the Old World, the mediterranean landscapes became the cradle of civilization; other mediterranean areas of the world have attracted considerable populations for many centuries. These large human populations have exerted consid­ erable stress on the fragile ecosystems which developed in these sunny, but droughted, fire-prone land­ scapes. The mediterranean landscape has thus become one of the most threatened in the world. In recent years much has been learned about the structure and function of mediterranean-type ecosystems (Di Castri and Mooney 1973, Mooney 1977, Thrower and Bradbury 1977, Mooney and Conrad 1977, Specht 1979, 1981, Miller 1981, Di Castri et at. 1981, Conrad and Oeche11982, Queze11982, Margaris and Mooney 1981, Kruger et ai. 1983, Long and Pons 1984, Dell et ai. 1986, Tenhunen et ai. 1987). Much of this research has been fostered under the International Biological Program (IBP), UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) and, recently, the International Society of Mediterranean Ecologists (ISOMED). To facilitate intercontinental comparisons, many of these studies have concentrated on a limited number of intensive sites thought to be representative of a general region.

• ecosystem
• ecosystems
• invertebrates
• nutrition
• vegetation
• vertebrates

• Botany Department, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia

  R. L. Specht

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