View source for Crete Mediterranean forests

{{Infobox ecoregion
|name = Crete Mediterranean forests
|image = Forest in the Zakros Canyon 2 - panoramio.jpg
|image_size = 
|image_alt = center
|caption = Streamside forest in Zakros Gorge, Crete
|map = Crete topographic map-fr.jpg
|map_size = 
|map_alt = center
|map_caption = Topographic map of Crete
|biogeographic_realm = [[Palearctic realm|Palearctic]]
|biome = [[Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub]]
|animals =
|bird_species =
|mammal_species =
|border =
|borders =
|area = 8,450
|country = [[Greece]]
|state =
|region_type =
|elevation = sea level to 2,456 m
|coordinates = 
|geology =
|seas =
|rivers =
|climate =
|soil =
|conservation = critical/endangered
|global200 =
|habitat_loss =
|habitat_loss_ref =
|protected = 35.26
|protected_ref = <ref name = dopa>[https://dopa-explorer.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ecoregion/81205 "Crete Mediterranean forests". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 27 March 2022]</ref>
|embedded = 
}}

The '''Crete Mediterranean forests''' is a terrestrial ecoregion that encompasses the [[Greece|Greek]] island of [[Crete]].

The island has a [[Mediterranean climate]], and is in the [[Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub]] [[biome]] found in the lands in and around the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. Crete's diverse habitats, from shrublands to forests, sustain 1600 species of plants, including dozens of [[endemism|endemic]] species.<ref name = "worldwildlife">"Crete Mediterranean forests". World Wildlife Fund. Accessed 23 April 2020. [https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa1205]</ref> The island was once characterized by forests, but centuries of human habitation have transformed the landscape, converting much of the original forest into shrublands, woodlands, fields, orchards, and pastures.

==Geography==
Crete lies in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The [[Aegean Sea]] is to the north, and the [[Libyan Sea]] is to the south. It is about 160&nbsp;km south of the Greek mainland. Crete is the largest island in Greece and the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean, with an area of 8,336&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.

Crete extends 260&nbsp;km from east to west, and its north–south width varies from 60 to 12 miles. A mountainous spine extends the length of the island, with three principal ranges: the White Mountains or [[Lefka Ori]] in the west (2,454 m), [[Psiloritis]] in the center (which includes [[Mount Ida]], Crete's highest point at 2,456 m), and the [[Dikti Mountains]] in the east (2,148 m).

Geologically Crete is part of the [[Hellenic arc]], created by the collision of the [[African Plate|African]] and [[Eurasian Plate|Eurasian]] tectonic plates starting 11 to 15 million years ago. Seas have divided Crete from the Greek and Anatolian mainlands for at least five million years. Crete's high mountains were uplifted 1.5 million years ago.<ref name="bats">Benda, Petr & Georgiakakis, Panagiotis & Dietz, Christian & Hanák, Vladimír & Galanaki, Kosmoula & Markantonatou, Vessa & Chudárková, Adéla & Hulva, Pavel & Horacek, Ivan. (2008). Bats(Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. Part 7. The bat fauna of Crete, Greece. Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem. ZoologyNatural History). 7287. 105-190.</ref>

==Flora==
[[File:Phlomis fruticosa RF.jpg|thumb|225px|right|''[[Phlomis fruticosa]]'' on Crete.]]
The island's range of topography and soils support diverse plant communities. At lower elevations, low shrubland ([[phrygana]]) is common. Phrygana includes many aromatic plants, and typical species include ''[[Sarcopoterium spinosum]], [[Thymus capitatus]], [[Phlomis fruticosa]], [[Phlomis cretica]],  [[Phlomis lanata]], [[Cistus]]'' spp., ''[[Genista acanthoclada]], [[Calicotome villosa]]'', and [[spurge]] (''Euphorbia'' spp.). There are also high shrublands ([[maquis shrubland|maquis]]) dominated by carob (''[[Ceratonia siliqua]]''), juniper (''[[Juniperus phoenicea]]''), and tree-spurge (''[[Euphorbia dendroides]]''), and woodlands and forests of evergreen and semi-evergreen oaks (''[[Quercus coccifera]]'' and ''[[Quercus brachyphylla]]'').<ref name="bats" /><ref name = "worldwildlife" /> Groves of [[Phoenix theophrasti|Cretan date palm]] ''(Phoenix theophrasti)'' are found in a few stream gorges around the island.

Woodlands of [[Calabrian pine]] (''Pinus brutia'') and Kermes oak (''[[Quercus coccifera]]'') are found at mid-elevations, along with maquis and phrygana of ''[[Berberis cretica]], [[Rhamnus saxatilis]], [[Prunus prostrata]]'', and ''[[Satureja spinosa]]''.

Woodlands of [[Cupressus sempervirens|Mediterranean cypress]] (''Cupressus sempervirens'') and [[Acer sempervirens|Cretan maple]] (''Acer sempervirens'') are found at high elevations. Above the tree line (1600–1800 meters), thorny cushion scrublands grow on the highest peaks.<ref name = "worldwildlife" /><ref name="bats" />

There are 1,600 plant species on Crete, of which about 10% are [[endemism|endemic]].<ref name = "worldwildlife" />

{{see also|List of endemic plants of Crete|Category:Flora of Crete}}

==Fauna==
Crete is home to two endemic mammals, the [[Cretan shrew]] (''Crocidura zimmermanni'') and [[Crete spiny mouse]] (''Acomys minous'').<ref name = "worldwildlife" />

The [[Kri-kri]] ''(Capra aegagrus cretica)'' is subspecies of feral goat found only in Crete's mountains and on nearby islands.

66 species of terrestrial birds breed on Crete and adjacent islands, belonging to 41 genera.<ref>Stylianos Michail Simaiakis, Michail Dretakis, Christos Barboutis, Thanos Katritis, 
Danae Portolou, and Stavros Xirouchakis (2012) "Breeding land birds across the Greek islands: a biogeographic study with emphasis on faunal similarity, species–area relationships and nestedness". ''Journal of Ornithology'' 153:849–860, January 2012. DOI 10.1007/s10336-011-0803-1</ref> Year-round resident birds include the [[bearded vulture]] (''Gypaetus barbatus''), [[griffon vulture]] (''Gyps fulvus''), [[golden eagle]] (''Aquila chrysaetos''), [[peregrine falcon]] (''Falco peregrinus''), [[red-billed chough]] (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), and [[chukar partridge]] (''Alectoris chukar''), [[Eurasian scops owl]] (''Otus scops''), [[northern long-eared owl]] (''Asio otus''), [[short-eared owl]] (''Asio flammeus''), and [[tawny owl]] (''Strix aluco''). [[Rüppell's warbler]] (''Curruca ruppeli'') breeds on the island in the summer, and winters across the Mediterranean in northeastern Africa.<ref>BirdLife International (2022) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Mount Idi, Crete. Accessed 27 March 2022 [http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mount-idi-crete-iba-greece/details]</ref><ref name = avibase>Crete bird checklist. Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World. Accessed 27 March 2022. [https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=grcr&list=howardmoore]</ref>

===Extinct fauna===
Crete's long isolation from the mainland made its fauna distinct. [[Dwarf elephant]]s (''Palaeoloxodon chaniensis'' and ''P. creutzburgi''), the [[Cretan dwarf hippopotamus]] (''Hippopotamus creutzburgi''), [[Cretan dwarf mammoth]] (''Mammuthus creticus''), and [[Cretan dwarf megacerine]] (''Candiacervus cretensis''), a tiny deer, lived on Crete until the end of the [[Pleistocene]] epoch. These species are examples of [[insular dwarfism]].

The [[Cretan owl]] ''(Athene cretensis)'', a giant flightless owl, and the [[Cretan otter]] ''(Lutrogale cretensis)'' also went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene.

==Protected areas==
35.26% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. These include the [[Lefka Ori]], [[Psiloritis]], and [[Dikti Mountains]] and [[Samariá Gorge|Samaria Gorge National Park]].<ref name = dopa/>

==External links==
{{commons category|Crete Mediterranean forests}}
* [https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa1205 Crete Mediterranean forests]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Ecoregions of Greece]]
[[Category:Geography of Crete]]
[[Category:Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub]]
[[Category:Palearctic ecoregions]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of the Mediterranean Basin]]
[[Category:Sclerophyll forests]]