Malta Virtual Field Sites

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Maltese Habitats

Woodland

It is thought that before the human colonisation of the Maltese islands, large areas were covered with mediterranean Sclerophyll forest, which is the highest type of vegetation that can develop in the Mediterranean climatic regime.This forest is characterised by Holm Oak (Quercus Ilex) and Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis) with an undergrowth of smaller trees shrubs and climbers.

The early settlers cut the trees for wood and to clear the land for agriculture and buildings. They also introduced sheep and goats to the islands, whose grazing causes some damage but more importantly prevents them from regenerating.

 

 

Buskett woodlands

In the Maltese islands the native forest is all but extinct and only remants remain at four localities (Ballut tal-Warija, Ballut ta' I-Imgiebah, Ta' Baldu/Wied Hazrun, and Il Bosk near Buskett). These forest remains take the form of small copses of Holm Oak where the total number of trees is often less than thirty. Some of these trees are between 500 and 900 years old.