Conserving Mediterranean shrubland and woodland ecoregion

Mediterranean shrublands and woodlands occur in five parts of the world. The biome reaches its maximum extent in the Mediterranean proper - around the Mediterranean sea in Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor and penetrating deeply into the Old World land masses. Much of the formation is considered a subclimax developed on degraded and eroded soils and maintained in part by fire and goats. It is from this region that many culinary herbs associated with Italian cuisine originate.