- Laurisilva
Infobox World Heritage Site
Name = Laurisilva
infoboxwidth = 270px
State_Party = POR
Type = Natural
Criteria = ix, x
ID = 934
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 1999"Laurisilva" or laurissilva ("laurel forest") is an endemic type of
humid subtropical laurel forest found on several of theMacaronesia n islands of theNorth Atlantic , namelyMadeira Islands , theAzores and theCanary Islands , a precious relic of thePliocene subtropical forest s.The forests are made up of laurel-leaved
evergreen hardwood tree s, reaching up to 40 meters in height. Many of thespecies are endemic to the islands, and harbor a richbiota ofunderstory plants,invertebrate s, andbird s andbat s, including a number of endemicspecies ."Laurisilva" formerly covered much of the Azores and Madeira and parts of the western Canary Islands, but the forests have been much reduced in extent by
logging , clearance foragriculture andgrazing , and the invasion ofexotic species . The most extensive "laurisilva" forests remain on Madeira, where they are found between 300 and 1400 meters altitude in the northern slope, and 700-1600 meters altitude in southern slope, and cover 149,5 km². In the Canary Islands, roughly 60 km² of "laurisilva" remain onTenerife , smallest areas onLa Palma , over 20 km² inGarajonay National Park onLa Gomera , and relic areas inGran Canaria . In the Azores, small patches of "laurisilva" forest remain on the islands of Pico, Terceira, and São Miguel.The Madeira "laurisilva" forests were declared a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Predominant lauraceous trees include Til "(Ocotea foetens )", Loureiro "(Laurus novocanariensis)", Vinhático "(Persea indica )", a valuable hardwood, and Barbosano "(Apollonias barbujana)"; other important trees include Aderno "(Heberdenia excelsa )", Pau Branco "(Picconia excelsa )", the Mocanos "(Visnea mocanera " and "Pittosporum coriaceum )", and Sanguinho "(Rhamnus glandulosa )", and the small trees or large shrubs Folhado "(Clethra arborea)" and Perado "(Ilex perado)". The forests support a diverse understory offern s and herbaceous plants, including the Leitugas "(Sonchus spp.)",geranium s "(Geranium maderense , G. palmatum and G. rubescens)", the Estreleiras "(Argyranthemum spp.)" and the endemicorchid "Goodyera macrophylla".The "laurisilva" forests of Macaronesia are
relict s of avegetation type which originally covered much of theMediterranean Basin when theclimate of the region was more humid. With the drying of the Mediterranean Basin during thePliocene , the laurel forests gradually retreated, replaced by moredrought -tolerantsclerophyll plant communities. Most of the last remaining "laurisilva" forests around the Mediterranean are believed to have disappeared approximately 10,000 years ago at the end of thePleistocene , when the Mediterranean basin became warmer and drier, although some remnants of the laurel forest flora still persist in the mountains of southernSpain , north-center ofPortugal and northernMorocco , and two constituent species ("Laurus nobilis" and "Ilex aquifolium") remain widespread. The location of the Macaronesian Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean moderated these climatic fluctuations, and maintained the relatively humid and mild climate which has allowed these forests to persist to the present day.ee also
Cloud forest References
* [http://www.madeira-island.com/features/1999/laurissilva/ Madeira: The laurissilva forest of Madeira] UNESCO World Heritage Site, 1999.
* [http://www.madeirabirds.com/madeira_laurel_forest Madeira Laurel Forest] , Madeira Wind Birds 2005
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