The relationships of living organisms and their interaction with their physical environment form ecosystems. Ecosystems then undergo a process of change over time, brought about by the replacement of one plant (or animal) community with another in view of environmental changes. This is referred to as ecological succession. This process starts with a pioneer community, and eventually leads to the development of a stable, mature community (climax community).

Natural habitats in the Maltese islands appear in different stages of ecological succession. In certain localities it is easy to differentiate between the different stages, though in other cases, the habitats occur as a mosaic of the different stages of ecological succession. There are four principle stages of ecological succession in the Maltese Islands. These are: steppe (Maltese: Steppa); garrigue (Maltese: Xagħri); maquis (Maltese: Makkja) and woodland (Maltese: Masġar), in this order.

Apart from these habitats that form part of the process of succession, there are other specialised habitat types, including coastal (saline marshlands, rainwater rockpools, sand dunes), freshwater (valley watercourses) and rupestral (caves, cliffs and boulder screes) habitats, each supporting species that are mostly confined to specific areas.

We shall have a look at each of these in the coming issues.

Should you require more information, please contact nature.

requests@mepa.org.mt.

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