Vegetation of the Canary Islands

Abstract

The vegetation of the Canary Islands is very diverse and many of this communities are endemic. The widespread and more representative plant formations of the natural landscapes of the islands display a marked zonal distribution, with a clear distribution into altitudinal belts (Fig. 6.1). These belts are unevenly developed on the north and south slopes. The northern slopes are cooler, more humid and rainy, and climatically more diverse than the southern slopes which are warmer and drier. In the western islands, which biogeographically include Gran Canaria, a cloud layer develops in the mid-altitude zone (midlands) of the north slopes because of the influence of the humid northeast trade-wind. It gives rise to a special climatic humid zone on these slopes, with its own altitudinal vegetation pattern, including laurel forests.