<i>Quercus rotundifolia</i> Lam. Woodlands of the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula
Ricardo Quinto Canas,
Ana Cano-Ortiz,
Carmelo Maria Musarella,
Sara del Río,
Mauro Raposo,
José Carlos Piñar Fuentes,
Carlos Pinto Gomes
Affiliations
Ricardo Quinto Canas
Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Campus de Gambelas, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Ana Cano-Ortiz
Department of Animal and Plant Biology and Ecology, Section of Botany, University of Jaén, Las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Carmelo Maria Musarella
Department of AGRARIA, “Mediterranea” University of Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Sara del Río
Department of Biodiversity and Environmental Management (Area of Botany), Mountain Livestock Farming Institute (Joint Center CSIC-ULE), Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Campus of Vegazana, s/n, University of León, E-24071 León, Spain
Mauro Raposo
Department of Landscape, Environment and Planning, Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED), The Institute for Earth Sciences—ICT, School of Science and Technology, University of Évora, Portugal, Rua Romão Ramalho, nº 59, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
José Carlos Piñar Fuentes
Department of Animal and Plant Biology and Ecology, Section of Botany, University of Jaén, Las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Carlos Pinto Gomes
Department of Landscape, Environment and Planning, Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED), The Institute for Earth Sciences—ICT, School of Science and Technology, University of Évora, Portugal, Rua Romão Ramalho, nº 59, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
The holm oak woodlands as ecotonic phytocoenoses occur under different ecological conditions, and frequently representing the climax of edaphoxerophilous series of crests and siliceous rocky areas. In this paper we study the floristic, ecological, and biogeographical differences of the edaphoxerophilous holm oak woodlands of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, included in the Querco rotundifoliae-Oleenion sylvestris suballiance. Our phytosociological (Braun–Blanquet methodology) and numerical analysis (hierarchical cluster analysis) of three formerly described association and our own samples lead us to propose a new association: Ulici argentei-Quercetum rotundifoliae, growing mostly on semihyperoceanic Monchique Sierran Biogeographic District, on rocky slopes and outcrops derived from schists and greywackes. Moreover, we present an overview of ecological features and the diversity of plant communities occurring in the serial dynamic of the thermophile holm oak woodlands of the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula.
