Abstract
The similar vegetative characteristics in regions with similar mediterranean-type climates imply that these characteristics should be important for plant survival and optimal resource use within the constraints of irradiance, temperature, annual precipitation and soil moisture. These similar vegetative characteristics include shrub form, moderate leaf area indices and hard, small, evergreen leaves. Usually, where the annual precipitation decreases, the vegetation includes smaller shrubs, lower leaf area indices and drought-deciduous, soft leaves. The links between the vegetative morphological characteristics and soil characteristics involve the physiological characteristics of the species. The vegetation has developed similar forms despite separate phylogenetic histories and different intensities of various selective forces, including climatic factors, low nutrient conditions and frequent fire (Walter 1973; Specht 1979). Regardless of the vegetation histories, differences in distribution and diverse previous selective forces within the regions, the broad similarities between vegetation form and climate in the present mediterranean regions imply current functional-physiological interrelations.
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Miller, P.C. (1983). Canopy Structure of Mediterranean-Type Shrubs in Relation to Heat and Moisture. In: Kruger, F.J., Mitchell, D.T., Jarvis, J.U.M. (eds) Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems. Ecological Studies, vol 43. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68935-2_8
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