ecologia mediterranea – Vol. 40 (1) – 2014 35

communities in the Tingitanian peninsula of northern Morocco. We conclude that the cork oak forests of this western Mediterranean region represent a conservation priority. They are faced with multiple threats, and their survival depends on a range of conservation approaches.

Introduction

The cork oak tree (Quercus suber L.) is of exceptional international importance for its economically valuable cork product (Pausas

et al. 2009). Across its western Mediterranean range, the tree is also a significant ‘ framework species’ of savannah-like formations (dehesas

in Spain and montados in Portugal), an increasingly threatened agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystem (Pereira et al. 2009) (figure 1a). The matrix of trees, pastures and occasional cropping support not only an economically productive multi-use system, but also a rich fauna and high levels of vascular plant species diversity. For example, Maranón (1988) noted as many as 130 species of legumes and annual grasses per 0.1 ha in dehesa grasslands. Less well known and studied for their conservation significance are the relatively closed-canopy forest stands of cork oak (fig-Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) forests of western Mediterranean mountains: a plant community comparison