A complete inventory of all native Mediterranean tree species of North Africa, Western Asia and Southern Europe
This dataset is an inventory of all native trees of the Mediterranean region in North Africa, Western Asia and Southern Europe.
By Mediterranean, we mean a climate experiencing a dry summer season with an overall annual precipitation no less than 400 mm. In addition to all ecoregions of the Mediterranean biome in the Mediterranean basin except the Macaronesian islands, we included the following three ecoregions in our inventory: the Dinaric Mountains mixed forests of the Balkans, the Zagros Mountains forest steppe of Iran and Iraq and the Crimean Submediterranean forest complex. The geographic coverage of the inventory is figured in file "Geographic coverage map".
By tree, we mean a woody plant with a well-defined trunk that can reach a 3-meter high adult size. We also considered woody species that are generally shrub-like but can, under some natural conditions, exhibit the tree-like habit defined above. By Mediterranean tree, we mean a species or a subspecies that has at least part of its natural distribution area in a habitat where Mediterranean bioclimatic conditions prevail in North Africa, Western Asia and Europe. Tree species whose main distribution is either in the temperate, oceanic, arid or desert climates but have some populations in a Mediterranean climate were considered.
The dataset contains 14 files with data on occurrence, habit, endemism, risk of extinction and use for 739 taxa (species and subspecies) of Mediterranean trees and shrubs, spanning 39 botanical territories in Africa, Asia and Europe. The dataset also contains a bibliometric compilation of genetic knowledge available for these Mediterranean tree species as well as information on DNA content and ploidy.
The data are analyzed in the following publication: Fady B., Farsakoglou A-M., Caron M., et al., 2025. Native trees of the Mediterranean region: distribution, diversity and conservation challenges. Current Forestry Reports 11, 20 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40725-025-00252-w).