CHAPTERS
Synthesis
The environment of the Mediterranean-type ecosystems appears spatially
fragmentous and highly heterogeneous in time. Temporal heterogeneity resides upon strong interannual, seasonal and diurnal oscillations of climatic
variables inducing analogous fluctuations in food and water resources. The
spatial heterogeneity of the Mediterranean habitats is to a lesser extent originated from the heterogeneity of the landscapes but for the most part from
management practices involving overgrazing of the lands coupled with frequent fires and wood removal. It is evident, however, that seasonal effects are
most important and overwhelm effects based either on interannual fluctuations or on ordinary human impacts.
The combined effect of climatic and human impacts on Mediterranean
ecosystems results in the continuous degradation of the Mediterranean
lands. Indeed, climatic variation, intensive grazing, fire cycles and wood
removal have degraded or drastically changed the natural Mediterranean
vegetation, resulting in fine-grained mosaics which represent degradation
stages and induce unevenly distributed resources. Mediterranean regions are
characterized by the co-existence of diversified formations from the subhumid to the xeric, and the severity of their environment is based upon both
the strong temporal oscillations of the climatic variables and the fragmentary
structure of habitats. However, the effect of both climatic and human impacts
appears to a great extent predictable, although unpredictable variation can
also be recorded.
As has been shown (Stamou 1995; Stamou and Pantis 1995), plant and animal species have adopted different kinds of solutions to overcome predictable and unpredictable unfavourable periods in their environment. Notwithstanding severe environments, plant and animal adaptations result in high
system resilience which ensures the persistence of the Mediterranean-type
formations for millennia. Thus, within a context involving counteracting
forces such as strong climatic and anthropogenic impacts leading to degradation on the one hand and resisting organisms on the other, the goal of this
book was to describe strategies shown by arthropods in response to the
severity of the Mediterranean habitats.
Synthesis
The environment of the Mediterranean-type ecosystems appears spatially
fragmentous and highly heterogeneous in time. Temporal heterogeneity resides upon strong interannual, seasonal and diurnal oscillations of climatic
variables inducing analogous fluctuations in food and water resources. The
spatial heterogeneity of the Mediterranean habitats is to a lesser extent originated from the heterogeneity of the landscapes but for the most part from
management practices involving overgrazing of the lands coupled with frequent fires and wood removal. It is evident, however, that seasonal effects are
most important and overwhelm effects based either on interannual fluctuations or on ordinary human impacts.
The combined effect of climatic and human impacts on Mediterranean
ecosystems results in the continuous degradation of the Mediterranean
lands. Indeed, climatic variation, intensive grazing, fire cycles and wood
removal have degraded or drastically changed the natural Mediterranean
vegetation, resulting in fine-grained mosaics which represent degradation
stages and induce unevenly distributed resources. Mediterranean regions are
characterized by the co-existence of diversified formations from the subhumid to the xeric, and the severity of their environment is based upon both
the strong temporal oscillations of the climatic variables and the fragmentary
structure of habitats. However, the effect of both climatic and human impacts
appears to a great extent predictable, although unpredictable variation can
also be recorded.
As has been shown (Stamou 1995; Stamou and Pantis 1995), plant and animal species have adopted different kinds of solutions to overcome predictable and unpredictable unfavourable periods in their environment. Notwithstanding severe environments, plant and animal adaptations result in high
system resilience which ensures the persistence of the Mediterranean-type
formations for millennia. Thus, within a context involving counteracting
forces such as strong climatic and anthropogenic impacts leading to degradation on the one hand and resisting organisms on the other, the goal of this
book was to describe strategies shown by arthropods in response to the
severity of the Mediterranean habitats.