Cyprus Island, Cyprus Photograph by Pedro Regato/ WWF MedPO   Palaearctic Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub   3,600 square miles (9,300 square kilometers) -- about half the size of New Jersey Critical/Endangered

· Small but Diverse
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Small but Diverse

From high mountain ranges to low plains, the Cyprus Mediterranean Forests ecoregion includes a wide range of habitats on the island of Cyprus. Oak, strawberry, juniper, and cypress trees thrive at lower elevations. On the driest low plains in the center of the island, the shrub-like vegetation includes wild olives and carob trees. As you move higher into the mountains, pine forests provide an ideal habitat for many specialized species of plants and animals. And impressive mountain pine forests and juniper woodlands cover the mountain summits. Throughout the island, each mountain range hosts a number of plants and animals that are found nowhere else on Earth.

Special Features

Although the island of Cyprus is small, the Cyprus Mediterranean Forests ecoregion includes a very wide range of elevations and habitats. Climate conditions change sharply as altitude increases, ranging from warm and dry conditions on the low plains of the central part of the island to cold and humid conditions higher in the mountains. These diverse conditions provide diverse habitats for many species. With its approximately 1,800 species and subspecies of flowering plants, Cyprus is a botanist's paradise. About 8 percent of the indigenous plants on the island (approximately 125 different species and subspecies) are endemic. The present-day fauna of Cyprus includes some 7 species of land mammals, 26 species of amphibians and reptiles, 357 species of birds, and a great variety of insects.

	Cyprus was an important shipbuilding center and timber exporting country during Roman times.

Wild Side

The largest animal that still lives on the island is the endemic Cyprus moufflon (Ovis orientalis ophion), a rare type of wild sheep that can be found only on Cyprus. This ecoregion is also used by millions of birds as a layover during their migration from Europe to Africa and back--something that has been observed since ancient times. Some notable examples of these birds include the Griffon vulture, hirundelle, golden oriole, pochard, and Cyprus pied wheatear. The primary reason for their stopover is the presence of two wetlands of international importance: the Larnaca and Akrotiri salt lakes. Birds of prey are among the most fascinating and most numerous wild birds of Cyprus. Of those, the Eleonora's falcon and the imperial eagle are considered the crown jewels. Butterflies are abundant along the forest edges and near standing water, where they often drink from puddles with their long tongues.

Cause for Concern

Cyprus has a long history of abusing its timber resources. The most endangered forests today include the endemic cedar forests and black pine forests, which are threatened by logging. Overgrazing and the setting of fires to produce fresh grassland for livestock have also contributed to the transformation of large areas of mature forests into degraded shrublands. In fact, during the nineteenth century, Cyprus had more goats than any other island in the Mediterranean. All of the deciduous oak forests of the island have been cleared for agriculture, and only scattered trees remain.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.