Indigenous Scilla peruviana, which grows from a bulb
The Mediterranean region is a biodiversity hotspot: 10% of Earth’s terrestrial plants grow here, in an area representing only 1.6% of its surface. According to some criteria, the Mediterranean basin ranks third in the hotspot list, after the tropical Andes and Sundaland (see Box 1 and Figure 1), but there are serious threats to the future survival of its landscapes, fauna and flora.
■ Why is the region so biodiverse and why has so much of its primary vegetation been lost?
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