A phytogeographical study of Malta

Abstract

A Phytogeographical Study of Malta was made using a specifically designed technique of recording field data on the relative abundance of a number of predetermined plant communities. This fast and relatively accurate method of recording data was modified and elaborated for the presentation of the final vegetation map by using colours for major habitats, letters to represent their percentage coverage and symbols to indicate minor communities present within the major habitat types. Malta can be broadly divided into three regions - the Western region is characterized by a series of horsts and graben with garigue and/or afforestation on the ridges and cultivated basins between. The North-eastern region is dominated by escarpments supporting cliff-side communities and sheltering cultivated ground. Finally, the Central and South-eastern region is characterized by convexo-concave hills and pIains which are mostly cultivated although a good part of this region is built-up. Some 28.4% of the whole Island consists of built-up areas, 44.1% is cultivated land and 22.9% is occupied by natural vegetation. Of this 22.9%, 10.13% is garigue which can also be considered as the present day vegetation.