{{Short description|Region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate}} {{Redirect|Mediterranean region}} {{Distinguish|text=the drainage basin, including that of the River Nile, of the [[Mediterranean Sea#Hydrography|Mediterranean Sea]]}} {{More citations needed|date=August 2025}}In [[biogeography]], the '''Mediterranean basin''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|m|ɛ|d|ɪ|t|ə|ˈ|r|eɪ|n|i|ən}} {{respell|MED|ih|tə|RAY|nee|ən}}), also known as the '''Mediterranean region''' or sometimes '''Mediterranea''', is the region of lands around the [[Mediterranean Sea]] that mostly have a [[Mediterranean climate]], with mild to cool, rainy [[winter]]s and warm to hot, dry [[summer]]s, which supports characteristic [[Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub]] vegetation. ==Geography== [[File:Koppen World Map (Mediterranean Sea area only).png|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Köppen climate classification|Köppen–Geiger]]-based map of the areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Based on the work of M. C. Peel, B. L. Finlayson and T. A. McMahon at the [[University of Melbourne]]. For a full legend, see ''[[commons:Template:Köppen-Geiger legend|Legend of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification]]'' on the Wikimedia Commons. ---- {{unbulleted list |{{Legend inline|#FE0000|}}{{Legend inline|#FE9695|[[Desert climate]]}} |{{Legend inline|#F5A301|}}{{Legend inline|#FFDB63|[[Semi-arid climate]]}} |{{Legend inline|#FFFF00|}}{{Legend inline|#C6C700|[[Mediterranean climate]]}} |{{Legend inline|#C6FF4E|[[Humid subtropical climate]]}} |{{Legend inline|#66FF33|[[Oceanic climate]]}} |{{Legend inline|#00FFFF|}}{{Legend inline|#38C7FF|}}{{legend inline|#FF00FE|}}{{Legend inline|#C600C7|[[Humid continental climate]]}} |{{Legend inline|#007E7D|}}{{Legend inline|#963295|[[Subarctic climate]]}} |{{Legend inline|#B2B2B2|[[Tundra]]}} }} ]] The Mediterranean basin covers portions of three continents: [[Africa]], [[Asia]], and [[Europe]].{{Cite web |last=magdy |date=2025-01-08 |title=Landscapes Across the Mediterranean: A Comprehensive Case Study |url=https://www.ierek.com/news/landscapes-across-the-mediterranean-a-comprehensive-case-study/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=IEREK}} It is not the same as the [[drainage basin]] of the Mediterranean Sea; the drainage basin is larger, as rivers including the [[Nile]] and [[Rhône]] reach further into Africa and Europe. Conversely, the Mediterranean basin includes regions not in the drainage basin, such as [[Iraq]], [[Jordan]], and [[Portugal]]. It has a varied and contrasting topography. The Mediterranean region offers a varied landscape of high mountains, rocky shores, impenetrable scrub, semi-arid steppes, coastal wetlands, sandy beaches and a myriad of islands of various shapes and sizes dotted amidst the clear blue sea. Contrary to the classic sandy beach images portrayed in most tourist brochures, the Mediterranean is surprisingly hilly. Mountains can be seen from almost anywhere.{{cite book |url=http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/info/pubs/docs/biogeos/Mediterranean.pdf |title=Natura 2000 in the Mediterranean Region|year=2009 |access-date=August 6, 2015|publisher=European Commission of the European Union |isbn=978-92-79-11587-5 |archive-date=September 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919022729/http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/info/pubs/docs/biogeos/Mediterranean.pdf |url-status=live}} By definition, the Mediterranean basin extends from [[Macaronesia]] in the west to the [[Levant]] in the east, although some places may or may not be included depending on the view, as is the case with Macaronesia: some definitions only include the [[Canary Islands]] and [[Madeira]]{{cite book |title=The Status and Distribution of Reptiles and Amphibians of the Mediterranean Basin |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HlekD2kK0dAC&q=mediterranean+basin&pg=PP6 |publisher=Neil Cox, Janice Chanson, Simon Stuart |isbn=978-2-8317-0912-3 |access-date=29 November 2020 |archive-date=26 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526213913/https://books.google.com/books?id=HlekD2kK0dAC&q=mediterranean+basin&pg=PP6 |url-status=live }} while others include the whole Macaronesia (with the [[Azores]] and [[Cape Verde]]).{{cite web |title=Mediterranean Basin |url=https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/mediterranean-basin |publisher=[[CEPF]] |access-date=29 November 2020 |archive-date=24 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624055723/https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/mediterranean-basin/ |url-status=live }} The northern portion of the [[Maghreb]] region of north-western Africa has a Mediterranean climate, separated from the [[Sahara|Sahara Desert]], which extends across [[North Africa]], by the [[Atlas Mountains]]. In the eastern Mediterranean, the Sahara extends to the southern shore of the Mediterranean, with the exception of the northern fringe of the peninsula of [[Cyrenaica]] in [[Libya]], which has a dry Mediterranean climate. In [[West Asia]], it covers the western and southern portions of the [[Anatolia|Anatolian Peninsula]], as far as [[Iraq]],{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DifRCwAAQBAJ |title=Plant Ecology in the Middle East |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |author=Hegazy, Ahmad |author2=Lovett-Doust, Jonathan |year=2016 |chapter=2.18 Iraq |isbn=978-0-19-107874-3 |quote=the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forest ecoregion, which extends slightly into Iraq}} but excluding the temperate-climate mountains of central Turkey. It includes the Mediterranean [[Levant]] at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, bounded on the east and south by the [[Negev]] and [[Syrian Desert|Syrian]] deserts. Europe lies to the north of the Mediterranean. The European portion of the Mediterranean basin loosely corresponds to [[Southern Europe]]. The three large Southern European peninsulas, the [[Italian Peninsula|Apennine Peninsula]], the [[Balkans|Balkan Peninsula]], and the [[Iberian Peninsula]], extend into and comprise much of the Mediterranean-climate zone. A system of folded mountains, including the [[Pyrenees]] dividing [[Spain]] from [[France]], the [[Alps]] dividing [[Italy]] from [[Central Europe]], the [[Dinaric Alps]] along the eastern [[Adriatic]], and the [[Balkan Mountains|Balkan]] and [[Rila]]-[[Rhodope Mountains|Rhodope]] mountains of the Balkan Peninsula divide the Mediterranean from the temperate climate regions of [[Central Europe]], [[Eastern Europe]], and [[Northern Europe|Northern]], [[Northwestern Europe|North-western]], or [[Western Europe|Western]] Europe. ==Geology and paleoclimatology== The Mediterranean basin was shaped by the ancient collision of the northward-moving African–Arabian continent with the stable Eurasian continent. As Africa–Arabia moved north, it closed the former [[Tethys Sea]], which formerly separated Eurasia from the ancient super continent of [[Gondwana]], of which Africa was part. At about the same time, 170 mya in the [[Jurassic]] period, a small Neotethys ocean basin formed shortly before the Tethys Sea was closed at the eastern end. The collision pushed up a vast system of mountains, extending from the [[Pyrenees]] in Spain to the [[Zagros Mountains]] in [[Iran]]. This episode of mountain building, known as the [[Alpine orogeny]], occurred mostly during the [[Oligocene]] (34 to 23 million years ago ([[mya (unit)|mya]])) and [[Miocene]] (23 to 5.3 mya) epochs. The Neotethys became larger during these collisions and associated folding and subduction. About 6 mya during the late Miocene, the Mediterranean was closed at its western end by drifting Africa, which caused the entire sea to evaporate. There followed several (debated) episodes of sea drawdown and re-flooding known as the [[Messinian Salinity Crisis]], which ended when the Atlantic last re-flooded the basin at the end of the Miocene.{{cite journal |title=Astrochronology for the Messinian Sorbas basin (SE Spain) and orbital (precessional) forcing for evaporite cyclicity |year=2001 |doi=10.1016/S0037-0738(00)00171-8 |author1=W. Krijgsman |author2=A. R. Fortuinb |author3=F. J. Hilgenc |author4=F. J. Sierrod |journal=[[Sedimentary Geology (journal)|Sedimentary Geology]] |volume=140 |issue=1 |pages=43–60 |bibcode=2001SedG..140...43K |hdl=1874/1632 |url=https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/1874/1632/1/Krijgsman01.pdf |access-date=2019-04-05 |archive-date=2024-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101150300/https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/1632/Krijgsman01.pdf;jsessionid=EB9895C5447EC3BC0694C40094EE6BBE?sequence=1 |url-status=live }} Recent research has suggested that a desiccation-flooding cycle may have repeated several times{{cite journal|author1=Gargani J., Rigollet C.|title=Mediterranean Sea level variations during the Messinian Salinity Crisis.|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|date=2007|volume=34|issue= L10405|page= L10405|doi=10.1029/2007GL029885|bibcode=2007GeoRL..3410405G|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|author1=Gargani J.|author2=Moretti I.|author3=Letouzey J.|title=Evaporite accumulation during the Messinian Salinity Crisis : The Suez Rift Case.|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|date=2008|volume=35|issue=2|page=L02401|doi=10.1029/2007gl032494|bibcode=2008GeoRL..35.2401G|s2cid=129573384|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00357241/file/2007GL032494.pdf|access-date=2021-05-06|archive-date=2021-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507122326/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00357241/file/2007GL032494.pdf|url-status=live}} during the last 630,000 years of the Miocene epoch, which could explain several events of large amounts of salt deposition. Recent studies, however, show that repeated desiccation and re-flooding is unlikely from a [[geodynamic]] point of view.{{cite journal |last1=Govers |first1=Rob |title=Choking the Mediterranean to dehydration: The Messinian salinity crisis |journal=Geology |date=1 February 2009 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=167–170 |doi=10.1130/G25141A.1 |language=en |issn=0091-7613 |bibcode=2009Geo....37..167G }}{{cite journal |last1=Garcia-Castellanos |first1=D. |last2=Villaseñor |first2=A. |title=Messinian salinity crisis regulated by competing tectonics and erosion at the Gibraltar Arc. |journal=Nature |volume=480 |issue=7377 |pages=359–63 |date=2011 |url=https://docs.google.com/uc?id=0B_xuyENh5ksFN2MwYWE5YjUtNzNkOS00OGZlLWFkMDYtOWMxYTViYjRiZjc0&export=download&hl=en |access-date=2011-12-15 |via=sites.google.com |bibcode=2011Natur.480..359G |doi=10.1038/nature10651 |pmid=22170684 |s2cid=205227033 |archive-date=2012-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110135708/https://docs.google.com/uc?id=0B_xuyENh5ksFN2MwYWE5YjUtNzNkOS00OGZlLWFkMDYtOWMxYTViYjRiZjc0&export=download&hl=en |url-status=live }} The end of the Miocene also marked a change in the Mediterranean basin's climate. Fossil evidence shows that the Mediterranean basin had a relatively humid subtropical climate with summer rainfall during the Miocene, which supported [[laurel forest]]s. The shift to a Mediterranean climate occurred within the last 3.2–2.8 million years, during the [[Pliocene]] epoch, as summer rainfall decreased. The subtropical laurel forests retreated, although they persisted on the islands of [[Macaronesia]] off the Atlantic coast of Iberia and North Africa, and the present Mediterranean vegetation evolved, dominated by coniferous trees and [[sclerophyllous]] trees and shrubs, with small, hard, waxy leaves that prevent moisture loss in the dry summers. Much of these forests and shrublands have been altered beyond recognition by thousands of years of human habitation. There are now very few relatively intact natural areas in what was once a heavily wooded region. ==Flora and fauna== {{Category see also|Environment of the Mediterranean}} [[Phytogeography|Phytogeographically]], the Mediterranean basin together with the nearby Atlantic coast, the [[Mediterranean woodlands and forests]] and [[Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe]] of [[North Africa]], the [[Black Sea]] coast of northeastern [[Anatolia]], the southern coast of [[Crimea]] between [[Sevastopol]] and [[Feodosiya]] in [[Ukraine]] and the Black Sea coast between [[Anapa]] and [[Tuapse]] in [[Russia]] forms the ''Mediterranean floristic region'', which belongs to the Tethyan Subkingdom of the [[Boreal Kingdom]] and is enclosed between the [[Circumboreal region|Circumboreal]], [[Irano-Turanian region|Irano-Turanian]], [[Saharo-Arabian region|Saharo-Arabian]] and [[Macaronesian region|Macaronesian]] [[phytochorion|floristic regions]]. The Mediterranean region was first proposed by German botanist [[August Grisebach]] in the late 19th century. The Mediterranean basin is a hotspot of plant diversity with many endemic species.{{cite journal |last=Bedair |first=Heba |last2=Shaltout |first2=Kamal |last3=Halmy |first3=Marwa Waseem. A. |title=A critical inventory of the mediterranean endemics in the egyptian flora |journal=Biodiversity and Conservation |volume=32 |issue=4 |date=2023 |doi=10.1007/s10531-023-02555-5 |doi-access=free |pages=1327–1351 |url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10531-023-02555-5.pdf |access-date=6 August 2025}} The genera ''[[Aubrieta]]'', ''[[Sesamoides]]'', ''[[Cynara]]'', ''[[Dracunculus (plant)|Dracunculus]]'', ''[[Arisarum]]'' and ''[[Biarum]]'' are nearly endemic. Among the endemic species prominent in the Mediterranean vegetation are the [[Aleppo pine]], [[stone pine]], [[Mediterranean cypress]], [[bay laurel]], [[Oriental sweetgum]], [[Quercus ilex|holm oak]], [[kermes oak]], [[Arbutus unedo|strawberry tree]], [[Greek strawberry tree]], [[Pistacia lentiscus|mastic]], [[terebinth]], [[common myrtle]], [[oleander]], ''[[Acanthus mollis]]'' and ''[[Vitex agnus-castus]]''. Moreover, many plant [[taxa]] are shared with one of the four neighbouring floristic regions only. According to different versions of [[Armen Takhtajan]]'s delineation, the Mediterranean region is further subdivided into seven to nine [[floristic province]]s: Southwestern Mediterranean (or Southern Moroccan and Southwestern Mediterranean), Ibero-Balearian (or Iberian and Balearian), Liguro-Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, [[East Mediterranean]], South Mediterranean and Crimeo-Novorossiysk.{{cite web |last1=Тахтаджян |first1=А. Л. |title=Флористические деления суши и океана |url=http://zr.molbiol.ru/i_flor_susha_i_b.html#reg_6 |website=Древнесредиземноморское подцарство |access-date=26 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616085106/http://zr.molbiol.ru/i_flor_susha_i_b.html |archive-date=2008-06-16 |language=ru}} The Mediterranean basin is the largest of the world's five [[Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub]] regions. It is home to a number of plant communities, which vary with rainfall, elevation, latitude, and soil. * [[Scrubland]]s occur in the driest areas, especially areas near the seacoast where wind and salt spray are frequent. Low, soft-leaved scrublands around the Mediterranean are known as ''garrigar'' in [[Catalan language|Catalan]], ''[[garrigue]]'' in [[French language|French]], ''phrygana'' in [[Greek language|Greek]], ''tomillares'' in [[Spanish language|Spanish]], and ''batha'' in [[Hebrew]]. * [[Shrubland]]s are dense thickets of evergreen sclerophyll [[shrubs]] and small trees and are the most common plant community around the Mediterranean. Mediterranean shrublands are known as ''[[maquis shrubland|màquia]]'' in Catalan, ''[[macchia]]'' in [[Italian language|Italian]], ''[[maquis shrubland|maquis]]'' in French, and "[[matorral]]" in Spanish. In some places, shrublands are the mature vegetation type, and in other places the result of the degradation of former forest or woodland by logging or [[overgrazing]], or disturbance by major fires. * [[Savanna]]s and [[grassland]]s occur around the Mediterranean, usually dominated by annual [[grass]]es. * [[Woodland]]s are usually dominated by [[oak]] and [[pine]], mixed with other sclerophyll and coniferous trees. * [[Forest]]s are distinct from woodlands in having a closed canopy, and occur in the areas of highest rainfall and in [[riparian]] zones along rivers and streams where they receive summer water. Mediterranean forests are generally composed of evergreen trees, predominantly oak and pine. At higher elevations Mediterranean forests transition to mixed broadleaf and tall conifer forests similar to temperate zone forests. The Mediterranean basin is home to considerable [[biodiversity]], including 22,500 [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] [[vascular plant]] [[species]]. [[Conservation International]] designates the region as a [[biodiversity hotspot]], because of its rich biodiversity and its threatened status. The Mediterranean basin has an area of 2,085,292 km2, of which only 98,009 km2 remains undisturbed. Endangered [[mammal]]s of the Mediterranean basin include the [[Mediterranean monk seal]], the [[Barbary macaque]], and the [[Iberian lynx]]. ==Ecoregions== The WWF identifies 22 [[Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub]] ecoregions in the Mediterranean basin, most of which feature [[sclerophyll]] plant species:{{CC-notice|bysa3}} {{cite web |url=http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/selecting_terrestrial_ecoregions/habitat12.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401124536/http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/selecting_terrestrial_ecoregions/habitat12.cfm |archive-date=2011-04-01 |title=Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub Ecoregions |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=2010-05-27}} * [[Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests]] ([[Greece]], [[Turkey]], [[North Macedonia]], [[Bulgaria]]) * [[Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests]] ([[Turkey]]) * [[Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests]] ([[Spain]]) * [[Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests]] ([[France]]) * [[Crete Mediterranean forests]] ([[Greece]]) * [[Cyprus Mediterranean forests]] ([[Cyprus]]) * [[Eastern Mediterranean conifer–sclerophyllous–broadleaf forests]] ([[Lebanon]], [[Iraq]], [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], [[Palestine]], [[Syria]], [[Turkey]]) * [[Iberian conifer forests]] ([[Spain]]) * [[Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests]] ([[Portugal]], [[Spain]]) * [[Illyrian deciduous forests]] ([[Albania]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Croatia]], [[Greece]], [[Italy]], [[Montenegro]], [[Slovenia]]) * [[Italian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests]] ([[France]], [[Italy]], [[San Marino]]) * [[Mediterranean acacia–argania dry woodlands]] ([[Western Sahara]], [[Morocco]], [[Canary Islands]] ([[Spain]])) * [[Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe]] ([[Algeria]], [[Egypt]], [[Libya]], [[Morocco]], [[Tunisia]]) * [[Mediterranean woodlands and forests]] ([[Algeria]], [[Libya]], [[Morocco]], [[Tunisia]]) * [[Northeastern Spain and Southern France Mediterranean forests]] ([[France]], [[Monaco]], [[Spain]]) * [[Northwest Iberian montane forests]] ([[Portugal]], [[Spain]]) * [[Pindus Mountains mixed forests]] ([[Albania]], [[Greece]], [[Kosovo]], [[North Macedonia]]) * [[South Apennine mixed montane forests]] ([[Italy]]) * [[Southeastern Iberian shrubs and woodlands]] ([[Spain]]) * [[Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests]] ([[Lebanon]], [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], [[Syria]], [[Turkey]]) * [[Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests]] ([[Portugal]], [[Spain]]) * [[Tyrrhenian–Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests]] ([[Croatia]], [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Malta]]) [[File:Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub (Palearctic).svg|thumb|600px|center|Map of the Mediterranean basin's ecoregions. '''1201''': Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests. '''1202''': Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests. '''1203''': Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests. '''1204''': Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests. '''1205''': Crete Mediterranean forests. '''1206''': Cyprus Mediterranean forests. '''1207''': Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests. '''1208''': Iberian conifer forests. '''1209''': Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests. '''1210''': Illyrian deciduous forests. '''1211''': Italian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests. '''1212''': Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets. '''1213''': Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe. '''1214''': Mediterranean woodlands and forests. '''1215''': Northeastern Spain and Southern France Mediterranean forests. '''1216''': Northwest Iberian montane forests. '''1217''': Pindus Mountains mixed forests. '''1218''': South Apeninne mixed montane forests. '''1219''': Southeastern Iberian shrubs and woodlands. '''1220''': Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests. '''1221''': Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests. '''1222''': Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests.]] ==History== {{Main|History of the Mediterranean region}} [[Neanderthal]]s inhabited western Asia and the non-glaciated portions of Europe starting about 230,000 years ago. Modern humans [[Recent African origin of modern humans|moved]] into western Asia from Africa less than 100,000 years ago. Modern humans, known as [[Cro-Magnon]]s, moved into Europe approximately 50–40,000 years ago. The most recent glacial period, the [[Wisconsin glaciation]] ([[Würm glaciation|Würm]] in Southern European contexts), reached its [[Last Glacial Maximum|maximum extent]] approximately 21,000 years ago, and ended approximately 12,000 years ago. A warm period, known as the [[Holocene climatic optimum]], followed the ice age. Food crops, including [[wheat]], [[chickpea]]s, and [[olive]]s, along with [[sheep]] and [[goat]]s, were [[domestication|domesticated]] in the eastern Mediterranean in the [[9th millennium BCE]], which allowed for the [[Neolithic Revolution|establishment of agricultural settlements]]. Near Eastern crops spread to southeastern Europe in the [[7th millennium BCE]]. [[Poppy]] and [[oat]]s were domesticated in Europe from the 6th to the 3rd millennium BCE. Agricultural settlements spread around the Mediterranean basin. [[Megalith]]s were constructed in Europe from 4500 – 1500 BCE. A strengthening of the summer [[monsoon]] 9000–7000 years ago increased rainfall across the [[Sahara]], which became a [[grassland]], with lakes, rivers, and wetlands. After a period of climatic instability, the Sahara settled into a desert state by the [[4th millennium BCE]]. ===Historiography=== One of the earliest modern studies of the Mediterranean was [[Fernand Braudel]]'s ''La Méditerranéee et le monde méditerranéen à l époque de Philippe II'' (The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II), published in 1949. [[S.D. Goitein]]'s multivolume study of the [[Cairo Geniza]] documents was another important contribution in the area of Mediterranean Jewish culture.{{cite book |title=Medieval Iberian Crusade Fiction and the Mediterranean World |first=David A. |last=Wacks |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2019 |page=4}} ==Agriculture== {{Further|Mediterranean cuisine}} [[Wheat]] is the dominant grain grown around the Mediterranean basin. The characteristic tree crop is the [[olive]]; and the grape, for wine, completes the "trinity" of basic ingredients of traditional Mediterranean cuisine.{{cite book |last=Essid |first=Mohamed Yassine |chapter=Chapter 2. History of Mediterranean Food |title=MediTerra: The Mediterranean Diet for Sustainable Regional Development |publisher=Presses de Sciences Po |date=2012 |isbn=978-2-7246-1248-6|page=29|url=http://www.cairn.info/mediterra-2012-english--9782724612486-page-51.htm}} The [[Arab Agricultural Revolution]] brought a new combination of foods [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania|to Portugal, Spain]], and [[Emirate of Sicily|Sicily]] in the [[Middle Ages]].{{cite book |last=Schwabe |first=Calvin W. |title=Unmentionable Cuisine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SiBntk9jGmoC&pg=PA414 |year=1979 |publisher=University of Virginia Press |isbn=978-0-8139-1162-5 |page=414}} Those foods included aubergines, [[spinach]], [[sugar cane]], [[rice]], [[apricot]]s, and [[citrus fruit]]s.{{cite journal |last1=Duarte |first1=A. |last2=Fernandes |first2=J. |last3=Bernardes |first3=J. |last4=Miguel |first4=G. |year=2016 |title=Citrus as a Component of the Mediterranean Diet |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311911612 |journal=Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics |volume=IV |issue=4 |pages=289–304 |access-date=2019-02-28 |archive-date=2018-10-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001220519/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311911612 |url-status=live }} The [[Columbian Exchange]] in the [[early modern period]] added the [[tomato]] and the [[haricot bean]]. ==See also== {{Commons category|Mediterranean}} * [[Ancient Egypt]] * [[Ancient Greece]] * [[Ancient Rome]] * [[Indo-Mediterranean]] * [[Life zones of the Mediterranean region]] * [[Climate categories in viticulture##Mediterranean climates|Mediterranean wine climate]] * [[Mistrals]] * [[Ottoman Empire]] * [[Phoenicia]] * [[Zanclean flood]] == References == {{reflist|25em}} == Further reading == * {{Cite book |author-link=David Attenborough |author=Attenborough, David |year=1987 |title=The First Eden: The Mediterranean world and man |publisher=Little Brown and Company |place=[[Boston]], MA}} * Borutta, Manuel, ''[http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/crossroads/border-regions/manuel-borutta-mediterraneum?set_language=en&-C= Mediterraneum]'', [http://www.ieg-ego.eu/ EGO - European History Online], Mainz: [http://www.ieg-mainz.de/likecms/index.php Institute of European History], 2021, retrieved: March 8, 2021. * {{Cite book |author=Dallman, Peter F. |year=1998 |title=Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates |work=California Native Plant Society |publisher=University of California Press |place=[[Berkeley, California]]}} * {{Cite journal |last=Suc |first=J.-P. |year=1984 |title=Origin and evolution of the Mediterranean vegetation and climate in Europe |journal=Nature |volume=307 |issue=5950 |pages=429–432 |doi=10.1038/307429a0 |bibcode=1984Natur.307..429S|s2cid=4318726 }} * {{Cite book |author=Wagner, Horst-Günter |title=Mittelmeerraum, Geography, History, Economy |publisher=Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft |place=Darmstadt |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-534-23179-9}} == External links == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051123034655/http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/mediterranean/ Mediterranean Basin biodiversity hotspot (Conservation International)] (archived 23 November 2005) * [http://www.uv.es/jgpausas/papers/Pausas-2008-IJWF_disaster.pdf Are wildfires a disaster in the Mediterranean basin? – A review] (PDF) * [http://www.uv.es/jgpausas/medtrees/ MedTrees: Trees and large shrubs of the Mediterranean Basin] * [https://www.medecc.org/ Mediterranean Experts on Climate and environmental Change (MedECC)] {{Regions of the world}} {{Floristic regions}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Mediterranean basin| ]] [[Category:Drainage basins of the Mediterranean Sea|Drainage basins of the Mediterranean Sea]] [[Category:Environment of the Mediterranean|Environment of the Mediterranean]] [[Category:Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub]] [[Category:Palearctic realm]] [[Category:Palearctic ecoregions]] [[Category:Natural history of Europe]] [[Category:Levant]] [[Category:Floristic regions]] [[Category:Regions of Europe]] [[Category:Geography of North Africa]] [[Category:Geography of West Asia]] [[Category:Geography of the Middle East]] [[Category:Regions of Africa]]