The endemism rate in the Mediterranean Basin is high, often 10-20% and contained in mountainous or forested areas that make up a small portion of the overall land area (http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa1218). This makes the ecosystem very valuable from a conservation standpoint, because it is necessary to preserve the natural diversity and the rare flora and fauna that can be found within it. After a period of decline, the populations of the European polecat and the otter are now recovering, a good sign for the conservation of this region (http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa1215).
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The state of this ecosystem is generally classified as critical or endangered, though some areas are considered vulnerable. Luckily, until recent years the ecoregion has maintained the majority of forest cover, and extensive old-growth forest has remained intact due to the inaccessible nature of the areas. However, due to growing populations and the attractive tourism qualities of the Mediterranean Basin, forest fires, urbanization, agriculture, pollution, and intensive water usage all have come to threaten the biodiversity of this ecoregion (http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa1215). Other unintentional ecological stressors are tourism and road building, and the soil degradation that often follows.
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While human populations remain low and tend to group near the coasts, the structure of forests has still been considerable altered by grazing and forest management policies. In fact, a lack of regulation for clear-cutting in some areas has depleted old-growth forests, leading to even-age stands with an abundance of newer trees and a less rich forest understory. Though much of the original forest still exists, it is important for government institutions and forest management systems to work together and monitor the way trees are cut so that the forest is not overused as it becomes when there is a lack of regulation. Most of the ecoregion is used heavily for agricultural purposes, including terraces, pastures, vineyards, orchards, groves, and other growing methods for the region's cash crops.
Much of the forest degradation and land clearance is a result of the early 1900's, when woodlands were destroyed, leaving behind arid and poor-quality lands, where agriculture could not flourish. Government subsidies, known in Portugal as the "Wheat Campaign", supported this practice. By 1950 it was apparent to the countries in the west of the Mediterranean Basin that soil degradation was becoming a pressing issue, and the following decline in agriculture led to further desertification in many parts of this ecoregion. Governments then promoted productive reforestation programs, mostly through the use of non-native conifer and eucalyptus species, even making some artificial plantations. However, these European Union reform policies did not help the survival of existing forest ecosystems, and important natural habitats of forest, scrubland, and grassland were still being destroyed. This led to an increase in soil erosion and a decrease in both biodiversity and the existing small or fragmented populations of many threatened species, some of the big reasons why this ecoregion is commonly seen as endangered or vulnerable. Human impact remains high in this ecoregion, even to this day. Degradation now is mainly a result of agricultural intensification combined with land abandonment, which led to a desertified landscape in many areas (http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa1221).
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A big issue that has arisen rather recently is the deliberate setting of forest fires in these Mediterranean Basin areas. This comes as a demonstration of a lack of approval and support for social and political measures and an expression of opposition towards the creation of new protected areas (http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa1218). These forest fires are becoming increasingly problematic as pastures and grazing areas are poorly managed. Land use pressures arise with new industrial development, leading to changes such as rural depopulation, which increases land abandonment and in turn leads to the accumulation of dead plant matter that fuels these large fires. Climatic warming increases the risk of these fires spreading, which can cause massive and destructive burns. These non-arable lands, effected by cutting, clearing, terracing, cultivating, and later abandonment have created a landscape in many areas that is molded by humans and their practices. When people leave an area, decreasing the amount of grazing and wood gathering in favor of urbanization, large areas are farm land become desolate and are at risk of being locations for future fires. This move to coastal urbanization is often in order to promote tourism, but it has the sad effect of degrading coastal woodlands as well as extensive areas of open arable land, and can provoke water shortages and pollution as well. To manage these problems, pine tree reforestation is commonly employed, also serving an economic purpose for many people in the region (http://www.sfu.ca/~ianh/geog315/readings/PausasVallejo1999.pdf).
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